By Emma Barhydt
Let me start off my review by saying you don’t need to read the rest of this review. Go buy this book right now and read it immediately after you buy it and then re-read it immediately after you finish reading it the first time. That’s it. That’s the review.
In all seriousness, Winterwood is an amazing book. It is magical and enthralling and utterly magical (did I say that twice?). It’s the details that take this book from simply being a great work of YA fiction to an amazing story. Even before the first page you’re greeted with a quotation from C.S. Lewis: “I do not think the forest would be so bright, nor the water so warm, nor love so sweet, if there were no danger in the lakes.”
From the moment you read this you realize there will be no leaving the woods, not until they’re done with you. You’re trapped in the book much like the characters are trapped in their mountain town. Even on a 90-degree day the chill of the winter storm races down the back of your neck and sends a shiver down your spine (helped by sitting uncomfortably close to the AC). You also get these amazing snippets of Nora’s family history in between each chapter, fleshing out the history of Jackjaw Lake and the people who lived there. It adds a colorful and fun break from the intensity of the story without pulling you out of the world.
Winterwood is a mystery, a romance, coming of age story, and a supernatural spinechiller all wrapped up in the almost lyrical writing style of author Shea Ernshaw. We get to see the events in the story unfold from the point of view of the two main characters, Nora and Oliver. While Oliver is integral to the story and is certainly a main character, Nora is really the star of the show. Nora Walker, moon girl, doesn’t believe in herself and doesn’t believe she has what it takes to live up to the legacy of her family. Oliver Huntsman doesn’t have anyone left in the world and hides a shadowy secret. There’s something dark that draws the two of them together.
I will say that for as much as I love this book it does wander a bit in the middle. For about 80 or so pages there is
definitely some redundancy and unsure footing. Ernshaw gets to a place where she’s saying things she’s said before in the book. We do get some good information that continues the story, but it’s delivered in ways we’ve already heard. That being said, the beginning and the ending of this book are so unbelievably good that honestly, I felt it didn’t really matter.
While there’s nothing quite explicit in this story it does have mentions of death in a myriad of ways, and it does drop a couple of swear words – just so you’re aware. In my opinion everything that happened fits perfectly well within the confines of the story and helps to further the plot and pull my heartstrings.
At the end of the day, it’s a YA novel with a beautiful, fast, and intense romance intertwined with the supernatural which, if you catch me on the right day, is just my cup of tea. It’s a quick read. I read it in about four hours – I literally could not put this book down. Shea Ernshaw is an author to watch, and I look forward to reading her other books! I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.
