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A review by kaylinwriter14
The Girl and the Grove by Eric Smith
3.0
3 Stars
This is a really fun urban fantasy with a strong, biracial MC front and center. Lelia is a foster-child trying to navigate life in her new adoptive family and there was some fantastic discussion about acceptance and what it means to be a family.
This paired well with the strong earthy-vibes and focus on environmentalism. Without spoiling, the fantasy element directly ties to Lelia's connection with nature, and it's written rather beautifully.
Unfortunately, despite so many strong elements the pacing was really inconsistent. The fantasy element isn't introduced until 50% of the way through the book, and the resulting storyline feels VERY rushed.
The only antagonist is intensely stereotypical. She's a mean-girl-cheerleader type who will go out of her way just to mess with our mains... for what reason? Uh... just general bitchiness I guess? It felt really off and the senseless girl-hate really detracted from my enjoyment of the story.
That being said, there's also a really non-cliche romance storyline (with the main girl standing up for herself in a great way!) and lots of fun/accurate internet usage, so this really was enjoyable!
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review, thanks to Flux for the opportunity!
"Nobody gets to 'well actually' me and get away with it."
This is a really fun urban fantasy with a strong, biracial MC front and center. Lelia is a foster-child trying to navigate life in her new adoptive family and there was some fantastic discussion about acceptance and what it means to be a family.
This paired well with the strong earthy-vibes and focus on environmentalism. Without spoiling, the fantasy element directly ties to Lelia's connection with nature, and it's written rather beautifully.
Unfortunately, despite so many strong elements the pacing was really inconsistent. The fantasy element isn't introduced until 50% of the way through the book, and the resulting storyline feels VERY rushed.
The only antagonist is intensely stereotypical. She's a mean-girl-cheerleader type who will go out of her way just to mess with our mains... for what reason? Uh... just general bitchiness I guess? It felt really off and the senseless girl-hate really detracted from my enjoyment of the story.
That being said, there's also a really non-cliche romance storyline (with the main girl standing up for herself in a great way!) and lots of fun/accurate internet usage, so this really was enjoyable!
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review, thanks to Flux for the opportunity!