Wildwood Dancing

This is a super close 4 stars but I'm being a selective gal with my stars and this was genuinely so good. Lola Glass has a way of writing extremely addictive and bingeable stories. You immediately become enthralled in the story and character, you can't wait to see how they end up. Love is a blood wolf who has been hiding out from the clan that turned her. Madd is the alpha shifter who immediately feels the mate bond the second he meets Love. Unfortunately, Love reveals herself as a vampire and it goes down hill from there. BUT very quickly it goes up hill with lots of caretaking, groveling, and pinning from Madd. Their love was infectious and the effort Lola's MMCs put in is absolute perfection.

My only complaints are I wish wish wish there was more world building. The politics of the feud between supernatural beings was superficial, I feel it would have propelled the story to get more information and to see some of the action! The romance was perfect, lighthearted but enough depth to keep you intrigued.

I received this as an arc but leaving my review completely voluntarily!

I have literally had this book on my TBR for YEARS! And I am so sad that I haven't read it until now. This book hit everything right for me, and after a long string of disappointing YA fantasy and fairytale retellings, I was happy to finally find one I loved, even if it is an older release.
Firstly, I found the writing to be exquisite, being atmospheric and lyrical, but not so much so that it detracts from the story. It transported me to that world and wrapped me in it. The ancient, maze-like castle, the mysterious forest, the magical realm, and all the varied fairy denizens hidden in the Wildwood –are described in striking detail and made it a place I wanted to wander to myself.
The main character Jena and her frog companion were my favourites by far and a huge reason why I loved this book. Level-headed, family-oriented, smart, and determined, Jena has a lot of qualities to admire. But also, to be wary of! It would be easy to have made her this all-encompassing hero, but Marillier shows that even our best qualities can become toxic if not kept in check and when not considering others. The story is at its heart a coming-of-age story and Jena must learn to grow as well as let go, and her journey there feels very real.
Jena's sisters are not as detailed and therefore I didn't find my connection to them to be very strong, only through the lens of Jena's love for them is there any kind of feeling for them. In fact, her older sister Tatiana was probably the most annoying of the bunch. The love at first sight and wasting away and ignoring your family because you're pining over love is just too base and toxic, and if I had one detraction to mention about this book it would be her storyline. I was thoroughly annoyed with her!
The villain of the story was suitably slimy and made my skin crawl every time he appeared, but his motivations allow him some humanity and therefore he's not just a cookie-cutter bad guy, but also all the more frustrating in how he chooses to act.
There are surprise reveals and lessons to be learned, which is very fitting for a fairytale. I was satisfied with the ending, even if the story was a bit drawn out in the middle and took longer to get to the conclusion than was maybe necessary. I didn't mind since I liked the world so much.
Much of what I dislike about YA fantasy was done so much better in Wildwood Dancing. Delicious writing, strong family bonds, friendship, a strong main character but with room to learn and grow, a dark, mysterious, and magical world, and a main romance born out of friendship rather than love at first sight.
I just fell in love with this book and will definitely be putting it on my favs list.