[ARC Review] Within the Darkening Woods by Scarlett D. Vine
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It’s been five years since the world was forever changed. Overnight, parts of the mortal world disappeared and were replaced by fragments from another realm, taking entire counties and countries and leaving the lands of fae, sirens, and other creatures out of legend in their place. People no longer have to imagine what it would be like to live in a fantasy world, because now they live in one. Amber, though, likes to pretend that these strange new neighbors don’t exist. And since the elven forest that replaced Saint Cloud, Minnesota is completely isolated from the surrounding world, that’s been relatively easy. She just wants to find a job with her degree in landscape design that will fulfill her enough to ignore how the rest of her life–especially her love life–is in a million pieces.
But when Amber is poisoned by a giant spider that escaped the forest, she has no choice but to acknowledge that she lives right beside magical creatures. Which is made even worse when she’s rescued by an elf—who turns out to be the king’s brother. He brings her into the forest to save her life. However, her healing comes with a cost–while the king permits Amber to be temporarily healed, he refuses to give her the full antidote until she agrees to bind with and strengthen the barrier around the elven wood, leaving her trapped in this new world. With no choice, she accepts.
However, Amber soon realizes that the Darkening Woods holds many secrets, not least the webs that the king is weaving. She and the far-too-handsome Eldrin must figure out how to survive the king’s schemes—and their growing feelings for each other—before the king decides she’s no longer worth saving and the poison kills her after all.
☆ MY THOUGHTS: Within the Darkening Woods had such a unique and fun premise that it was hard to put this one down! I loved Amber and Eldrin's forbidden romance, and I really enjoyed the whole idea of these fairy tale worlds and characters just appearing in our world one day. The author did a great job at sort of blending these fantasy and realistic elements to create something totally new.
The premise of this story is what pulled me in, and even though Amber and Eldrin were fantastic characters, the premise is what kept me hooked all the way through. I've read plenty of stories where the human gets taken to fae lands, but this is the first story I've read where the fae lands come to the human girl. It was just so unlike anything else I've ever read, and that really kept my attention throughout.
Amber and Eldrin had great chemistry throughout, and I loved that connection. They both had good character development set against some strong world building. I could easily read more stories set in this fictionalized version of Earth, focusing on the other realms that appeared in our world, so I can't wait to see what comes next from Scarlett D. Vine.
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Release date: 7/15/24
Format: eARC
eARC obtained via: BookSirens
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