book cover is gorgeous and so on point
What is Between the Pages?
Don’t subscribe if you think this is gonna be me being wise or learning things to advanced me professionally or as a human - this is pure screaming in girl talk.
This is basically me texting you at midnight about whatever book just destroyed me. Expect gushing, expect honesty, expect me to lovingly drag the parts that were absolutely unhinged. Sometimes a book leaves you in such an emotional way you cant move on for days and other times you want to die from the cringe that someone thought was acceptable to publish.
I’ll give you the details in this newest book review below…
Hey friends, here’s another book for you all that I read. Its a bit shorter so flew through it just in time to share with you all before I spend my weekend outside.
If you want to read fantasy that feels like a fairy tale that grew up and got complicated, with some of the best magical forest horror you'll read, this is it. It's moody and weird and the WOOD... the Wood is what makes this book special. The themes, the imagery, the way it's woven through everything—that's the real star here.
The setup (keeping it vague don't worry)
There's this girl Agnieszka (ag-NYESH-kah, you're welcome) living in a village next to the most nightmare-inducing forest you've ever heard of. The Wood isn't just spooky—it's actively malevolent and corrupts everything it touches.
Every decade, this wizard called the Dragon (not a dragon, just a really pretentious man with magic) shows up and takes one girl back to his tower and they never come back.
The story started with it being selection year for a girl to go to the tower to live with the Dragon for ten years.
GRUMPY WIZARD - The Dragon is not a dragon but a wizard who has the absolute WORST PRETENTIOUS attitude. Like if you combined every irritated sigh you've ever heard into one person who's also incredibly powerful and has been alive way too long. He's condescending, he's snippy, he acts like teaching anything is the biggest inconvenience of his immortal life.
She does everything the "wrong" way and he's SO irked about it. Nothing like irritating someone who has perfection and control issues LOL.
But then... the romance. Okay look, this came out in 2015 when fantasy romance was still in its handholding era, so the spice level is basically non-existent. And honestly? The romantic shift felt kinda rushed and awkward to me. Like we went from teacher/student to something else and I was sitting there going "hmmm….how about NOT?"
Part of me really wished he'd just stayed her mentor and it was a found family trope instead. That dynamic was working SO well with the plot and then it pivoted and I wasn't fully convinced. Maybe that's just me though.
THE WOOD IS EVERYTHING - Okay this is what makes the book. The forest as this ancient, corrupting force that's almost alive? The way it represents so many things—fear, nature fighting back, old magic, darkness that spreads? The villain!!!! Love the villain in this story. The overarching themes around the Wood and what it means are so well done.
Magic you can actually picture - This is huge for me. The way Novik describes magic is SO visual and easy to imagine. When Agnieszka does a spell, you can see it happening. It's not abstract theory, it's tangible and weird and beautiful. Honestly some of the best magic description I've read.
The forest is HORRIFYING - Like genuinely unsettling. People go in and come back wrong. Trees that shouldn't move. Corruption that spreads. It's got serious folk horror energy and I was into it.
Magic feels wild and unpredictable - Not your clean systematic "here are the rules" magic. This is messy and instinctual and there's something really cool about how different people access it differently.
The friendships hit hard - Without saying too much, the bonds between characters (especially the women) are so well done. No unnecessary drama, just genuine care and sacrifice.
The atmosphere is immaculate - Crumbling tower, ancient library, mysterious forest, village traditions... the whole setting just works.
Why I gave this book 3 stars though…
The middle drags a bit - There's a whole chunk where things slow down considerably and I kept wanting to skip ahead. Still important but it tested my patience.
Things speed up too fast at the end - Major stuff happens and then we're immediately onto the next thing before you can fully process. I needed more time to sit with certain reveals!
The Polish/Russian-ish terms with ZERO explanation - Listen, I appreciate the Eastern European inspiration but there were so many words just... thrown at you with no context? I spent half the time being like "is that a title? A place? A type of bread???" A glossary would've been nice.
The romance pivot - Already said it but yeah, it felt forced to me and just plain awkward. The mentor relationship was compelling enough on its own.
Bottom line:
🌶️ 1/5 spice (it's 2015 fantasy, expect vibes not scenes)
⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 stars
📖 465 pages of atmospheric, visual forest magic - a quick read
Read if:
Magical forest horror
Forced proximity/slow burn/mentor and student
Deep themes about nature and corruption and fighting darkness
Very mild romance that's more emotional than physical
Skip if:
You want actual spice (this is a 2015 fantasy so it's basically G-rated)
You want constant action with no breather moments
You prefer your fantasy worldbuilding super straightforward with explanations
Unexplained foreign terms stress you out
Tell me if you've read this! Did the romance work for you or did you also want them to stay mentor/student? Did you also feel bad for the villain?
Talk soon,
Sisi