Post by angelac on Sept 14, 2016 9:53:24 GMT -6
From the Description
Sitka’s Quay appears to be like every other coastal tourist town on Highway 101, but lurking below its southern grove of ancient spruce are three sleeping primordial gods. For an eon, their bloodthirsty dreams have radiated into the ground and restore anyone who walks within the Grove. The Keeper, Dayla Fischer, must remain in control of her magical abilities or fall into sickening madness, but lives a relatively quiet life with her husband, Oliver, their cat and garden gnome roommates.
That is, until the delusional, but charming Jonah Leifson comes to town with a plan to awaken the Three. Soon, children begin disappearing. With powerful suggestion spells and mind reading abilities, Jonah wins over other sorcerers, meth users, the police, and eventually even her husband. Though no one believes her and she doubts her own sanity, she must stop Jonah, before he wakes the Three and brings about the end of the world.
Publication Date: September 13, 2016
Publisher: ZB Publications
Publication Length: 340 pages
I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This is in no way reflected in my opinion of this book.
I'm always iffy when it comes to books about witches. So often they end up being a poor version of The Craft or try to imitate Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Thankfully The Grove doesn't fall into either of these categories. The Grove started out a little slow for me, making it hard to get into,,,, at first. I think it was because of the switching from one characters POV to another. As I read I became more interested in what was going on with Dayla, Oliver, Jonah and Sam. Plus I absolutely loved the garden gnomes, Willow and Howard! Dayla is starry-eyed and little bit of a mess but with a good heart as she tries to protect Sitka's Quay and it's people from the evil that resides in the Grove. Oliver is just straight up annoying right from the start, he's very condescending toward his wife and kind of stuck up. Jonah, along with Sam, wants to end all war and violence no matter who they have to kill to do it. The world building for Sitka's Quay is well done. You get a realistic place full of people that you will recognize if you've ever lived in a small town. The action doesn't really start until the later parts of this book. Some of the events are horrifying but it doesn't get exciting until the end. That being said, the ending is fantastic. A full on battle full of blood, fire, as Dayla tries to stop Jonah and Sam from waking the Old Gods. This is a charming and quirky story that morphs into horror. Overall a good book, just not really one that scared me. A solid 3.5 stars.
About the Author
Much to her chagrin, Elizabeth Guizzetti discovered she was not a cyborg and growing up to be an otter would be impractical, so she began writing stories. Guizzetti currently lives in Seattle with her husband and two dogs. When not writing, she loves hiking and birdwatching.
Guizzetti loves to write science fiction, horror, and fantasy with social commentary mixed in – even when she doesn’t mean it to be there. She is the author and illustrator of independent comics. She became a published author in 2012 and her debut novel, Other Systems, was a Finalist for the 2015 Canopus Award. The Grove is her third novel.
She believes the best advice for all aspiring authors and artists is "Believe you have a story worth telling and get to work!"
You can find her at her her website, elizabethguizzetti.com, or at her blog, ZB's Blog of Awesomeness, or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and GoodReads
Praise For The Grove
“Chaos, murder, sacrifice: it was a delicious read, and I devoured it all.” - Dan Thompson, The Black Petal
“If you’re a fan of well-written, fast-paced, fantasy thrillers that trot into the neighborhood of horror, you’ll love it…” - Fia Essen, Ariel
“Guizzetti’s delusional and magically gifted anti-hero is truly terrifying…” - Janice Clark, Healer's Apprentice Series
“I was blown away…” - Madison Keller, The Dragon Tax Saga