The Will and the Wilds

DNF@ 47%. It's just soooo slow. And although I like Enna and she has some decent character motivation (she wants to be a scholar who studies the creatures of the magic forest) she spent the entire book making dumb choices. And keeping secrets from people who could help her get out the mess she's put herself in. At halfway into the book our two main characters only kind of start to like each other and they have made literally zero progress in solving the conflict that is introduced in the very first part of the story. It's just a bit too boring for me so I'll drop this one.

Kind of an odd story, but in a good way. Definitely has a strong resemblance to Disney's Beauty and the Beast, though I did just hear on her podcast that she didn't have this in mind when writing the book. I feel like she must have watched that movie, and maybe Gremlins, only to fall asleep that night and have the dream that ultimately inspired this book. Easy to read, and the magic system is soft enough that you don't have to question too much. Normally I hate first person narrative, but the fairy tale mood helped me get over that. I'm going to be thinking about this one for a while.