Silver in the Wood

3½ stars for this debut novella!

The premise was interesting, the execution was on point, but the pacing was a bit off considering that it's such a short piece. I felt that apart for Tobias the characters weren't as developed nor properly introduced for me to get attached to them, especially Fabian and Silver. The romance was very light, which is fine, but the downside was that I didn't feel much for the relationship. There wasn't much buildup or tension between the two characters, and the resulting relationship felt a bit out of place (a sad result of the short number of pages and the nature of the novella).

The leading up to the action scene was much too long so that when we got to the climax of the story, it felt rushed. Although not a bad piece by any means, I think this novella could have been expanded into a full-length novel instead since it is clear that the author has wonderful ideas and very good writing skills. The descriptions of the forest were enchanting and really showed the author's strengths.

All things considered, I look forward to reading the second part to this story in the author's other novella “Drowned Country.”