Review: Silver In The Wood by Emily Tesh

Title: Silver In The Wood
Series: The Greenhollow Duology #1
Author: Emily Tesh
Source/Format: Tor E-book club; eBook
More Details: Fantasy; Novella
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor.com; June 18, 2019

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

There is a Wild Man who lives in the deep quiet of Greenhollow, and he listens to the wood. Tobias, tethered to the forest, does not dwell on his past life, but he lives a perfectly unremarkable existence with his cottage, his cat, and his dryads. When Greenhollow Hall acquires a handsome, intensely curious new owner in Henry Silver, everything changes. Old secrets better left buried are dug up, and Tobias is forced to reckon with his troubled past—both the green magic of the woods, and the dark things that rest in its heart.

Recently, I’ve been reading a few articles about Emily Tesh’s writing, and they renewed my interest enough for Silver In The Wood that I finally gave it a read. I liked this story a lot. It had the kind of fairy-tale atmosphere and deftly spun folklore that I’ve enjoyed in the past—in books like Spinning Silver and The Bear and the Nightingale. Tobias Finch’s story was well-done, and I was quickly engrossed in the mysterious nature of his prolonged stay in the woods around Greenhollow Hall. His care for the wood spoke volumes about his character, despite his sometimes gruff demeanor. I also liked Henry Silver, for the nature of his characteristics—sometimes inquisitive, charming, and determined—and his time with Tobias. Separately, they were great characters, but their interactions were some of the best parts of Silver In The Wood. What I also liked was how the past clashed with the present, and the themes of age and reconstruction, the cycle of a forest—and the play on the story of the Green Man. As such, the magical elements of the story had a very lush and earthy feel to them—as did the writing, which I consider to be atmospheric—and all around it was pretty great.

I could keep going, but I don’t want to spoil this story for anyone who hasn’t read it. What I will say—and leave off at—is that there was much that I enjoyed about Silver in the Wood. I know there is a sequel for it, and it’s on my TBR list.