Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw is a young adult fantasy novel published by Simon Pulse. This standalone was released on November 5, 2019.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy.

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BOOK REVIEW – Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw

Synopsis

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep comes a haunting romance set deep in the magical snow-covered forest, where the appearance of a mysterious boy unearths secrets that awakens the enchanted, but angry, woods.

Be careful of the dark, dark wood . . .

Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even.

Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it’s this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman—the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago—and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he’d been missing.

But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver’s presence. And it’s not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest, and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn’t know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own—secrets he’ll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn’t the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago.

• Author: Shea Ernshaw
• Publisher: Simon Pulse
• Publication Date: November 5, 2019
• Book Length: 320 pages
• Genre: YA Fantasy

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Book Review

Nora Walker lives in the mountains, and the rumor mill at school and in town proclaims that she is a witch. Only a member of the Walker family can wander the forbidden woods of Fir Haven where lost things are found. Then, one day, Nora finds more than she bargained for – a boy, named Oliver, who has been missing for the past two weeks.

Even though Nora thinks Oliver may have been involved in the death of another boy who disappeared that same night, she still helps him. Oliver doesn’t remember what happened, how he has survived in the snow for the past two weeks, or even how he ended up in that forest. But as Oliver and Nora become closer, his memory begins to return and what he remembers might just shatter all his hopes.  

Winterwood was very well written, like Ernshaw’s earlier novel, The Wicked Deep. The story alternates between Nora’s and Oliver’s points of view. Both characters are intriguing and relatable characters, but I favored Oliver’s character simply because I really wanted to know what had happened to him. 

I very much enjoyed the story, even though I figured out the conflict/storyline about one-third of the way through the book. Nonetheless, I did not see the very last action coming, and that made up a bit for the lack of mystery earlier for me. I loved the last two chapters – the conclusion was excellent. 

This book is a four-star read for me, and I highly recommend it.

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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About the Author – Shea Ernshaw

Shea Ernshaw is the New York Times Bestselling author of THE WICKED DEEP and WINTERWOOD. She is a 2019 Oregon Book Award winner and her debut novel, The Wicked Deep, was an Indie Next Pick.
She often writes late, late, late into the night, enjoys dark woods, scary stories and moonlight on lakes.

You can connect with her here:
www.sheaernshaw.com.
www.twitter.com/SheaErnshaw
www.instagram.com/sheaernshaw/

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