Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh Review

Silver in the Wood follows the story of Tobias, the "Wild Man" of Greenhollow. He lives a simple, predictable life in the woods until Henry Silver arrives, causing change to come as Tobias reexamines his past.

The only way I can describe this book is that it feels like drinking a warm cup of tea near a fire, deep in the woods, while reading an old fairytale. It was such a cozy story and I loved every minute of it. I don't generally read novellas because I always find myself wanting a story that's just a bit longer, but I can't overstate how much I enjoyed this book and how much I'm looking forward to reading its sequel.

What I enjoyed about this book:

- The tone! As mentioned in the introduction to this review, this is such a cozy book. Among all the chaos of 2020 and of the opening week of 2021, this was the sort of book that I desperately needed.

- The writing! All of Emily Tesh's descriptions are absolutely beautiful and Greenhollow really comes to life thanks to her writing. The writing style reminded me a lot of old fairytales, which I absolutely adored. It often feels poetic and the writing itself was just as enjoyable as the story.

- The characters! Silver in the Wood primarily centers on Tobias and Henry and they are both lovely characters. I loved the contrast of Tobias' quiet, stubborn nature and Henry's more excitable personality. I really enjoyed each of them individually, but their relationship with one another was also incredibly heartwarming.

- The setting and worldbuilding! The magic in Greenhollow feels both simple and complicated. While there are many elements to it, I never felt overwhelmed and generally felt like it was reminiscent of how magic works in most fairytales, in which there isn't necessarily a set structure, but there are clear rules. Thanks to Tesh's wonderful writing, the setting itself is also vivid and Greenhollow is a wonderful world to explore.

Generally, I would have here a section about what I didn't enjoy, but there wasn't anything about this story that I didn't love, other than I found myself wishing there was more of it. This was an easy 5 star read for me and I'd absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a modern fairytale with lovable characters and a quiet, sweet romance.