by Katya de Becerra
♦publisher: Imprint/Macmillan
♦release date: September 18th, 2018
♦hardcover, 352 pages
♦ intended audience
♦series: ?? (hoping!)
♦source: ARC from publisher for review consideration
On her eighteenth birthday, Hayden inherits her childhood home—on the condition that she uncover its dark secrets.
Hayden tried to put the past behind her, and it worked. She's getting ready for college, living in a Brooklyn apartment, and hanging out with her best friend and roommate Del. But now it's all catching up with her: her mother's mysterious disappearance a decade before, her father's outlandish theories about a lost supernatural race, and Hayden's own dark dreams of strange symbols and rituals in the Colorado woods where she grew up.
As soon as Hayden arrives at her hometown, her friend Del in tow, it begins: Neighbors whisper secrets about Hayden's mother; the boy next door is now all grown-up in a very distracting way; and Hayden feels the trees calling to her. And among them, deep in the woods, Hayden will discover something incredible—something that threatens reality itself.
Hayden tried to put the past behind her, and it worked. She's getting ready for college, living in a Brooklyn apartment, and hanging out with her best friend and roommate Del. But now it's all catching up with her: her mother's mysterious disappearance a decade before, her father's outlandish theories about a lost supernatural race, and Hayden's own dark dreams of strange symbols and rituals in the Colorado woods where she grew up.
As soon as Hayden arrives at her hometown, her friend Del in tow, it begins: Neighbors whisper secrets about Hayden's mother; the boy next door is now all grown-up in a very distracting way; and Hayden feels the trees calling to her. And among them, deep in the woods, Hayden will discover something incredible—something that threatens reality itself.
{Becky's Thoughts}
This was such a fun surprise read for me! Not at all what I expected---for some reason (now that I look back at the synopsis, I really don't know why) I was expecting a mythical, ethereal, Hazel-Woodsy type atmosphere from this, and I was excited for it then..BUT it turned out to be a snarky but dark urban fantasy with a mysterious streak, hinting around every tree and stone at something dangerous and ancient. I loved the modern paranormal romance style. This one caught me off guard more than once! My mind immediately assumed some sort of fairy shenanigans, but again I was completely thrown by the direction this story went! It was such a unique story all the way through.
Hayden definitely is a character with her plate full of off-kilter stuff. Mother disappeared into the woods. Father forced out of his career and status by his obsession with a certain mythical creature, and Hayden herself expelled for an attack on a schoolmate she doesn't even remember. But still, she's managed to distance herself and find some normalcy living on her own with her best friend Del. Then she turns 18 and finds that she'd inherited their old house in the woods--but only with the promise of discovering it's secrets and finishing what her mother started.
Strange things start to ensue almost immediately after the two girls get to the manor. Creepy things. I loved each and every chilling moment as Hayden unearths her mothers secrets, planting little morsels of doubt in her mind about everything she thought she knew. She encounters a few sinister small town folk claiming to know her mother, sparking her own past memories back to life. She also crosses paths with a boy she used to know, one she's wondered and worried about since her father moved them away. I do always enjoy a good slow-burn love story with lots of history behind it, and this is definitely one of those.
The ending actually had me a little bewildered---it was left kind of finished but open, if that makes sense. And while there is no continuation announced quite yet, I really hope there is more to come! I need more info on the creatures we encounter and where Hayden's bizarre dreams may lead. I don't think this hidden world is quite finished with her yet!
The ending actually had me a little bewildered---it was left kind of finished but open, if that makes sense. And while there is no continuation announced quite yet, I really hope there is more to come! I need more info on the creatures we encounter and where Hayden's bizarre dreams may lead. I don't think this hidden world is quite finished with her yet!
All in all, an excellent read, kept me turning pages late into the night (and sometimes too creeped out to turn the lights off!) Sign of a good book, definitely!
{ABOUT THE AUTHOR}
Katya de Becerra was born in Russia, studied in California, lived in Peru, and then stayed in Australia long enough to become a local. She was going to be an Egyptologist when she grew up, but instead she earned a PhD in Anthropology. Katya is a short version of her real name, which is very long and gets mispronounced a lot. What The Woods Keep is her first novel (out in September 2018). Katya's second book, Oasis, is forthcoming in 2019.
Purchase the book: Indiebound • BookDepository • Amazon
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