Good morning, lovelies! Welcome to my review for Of the Trees, by E. M. Fitch! Boy, this was a hell of a ride for me and I didn’t expect to be left in the dark [haha] for so long =O I received my ebook copy from the publisher, Month9Books, in exchange for an honest review. Here we goo!
Cassie and Laney fancy themselves amateur ghost hunters. When a carnival comes to town, Cassie embraces the chance to try something new.
Carnival workers watch the girls with a collective gaze that ignites in Laney a dark and dangerous fascination, leaving Cassie unnerved.
It’s not just their age or the unsettling way they stare. There is something in the shifting of their skin and the way their features seem to change in the shadows.
Cassie can’s shake this sickening feeling that there’s more to the carnival than meets the eye.
When townspeople suddenly start dying and bloody warnings appear around town, Cassie is lured into a nightmare where trees whisper and strange, shape-shifting men haunt the backwoods she once hunted for ghosts with her best friend.
Then Laney goes missing, and only Cassie can get her back. But the creatures of the trees aren’t simply going to hand Laney over to Cassie without getting something in return.
Me after finishing this book:
Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader =)
Of the Trees surprised me in many ways. I’ve been overall tired of many plot lines from YA books, including “the chosen one”, but omg, this book did it so right! Also, the suspense and the mystery kept me pinned on my seat, with my heart beating wildly, until the last page! Seriously, if the book hadn’t dragged on so much in several parts, it would have been a full 5 stars. As it is, 4 delighted stars =)
The narrative was third person style, from Cassie’s point of view, and it not only worked wonders in this book, it also helped me on those times when Cassie made me roll my eyes a bit, haha! Overall, tho, I liked her as a main character =) Fitch’s writing style was also great, not too minimal, not overcomplicated ❤ The girl knows how to set the mood for a suspense, haha!
As I already hinted, the plot was amazing. I had some theories while reading, but nothing ever approaching what truly was happening, haha! This is sort of rare with me, so I was swept off my feet with happiness ❤
The characters were mostly okay, but I couldn’t bring myself to care deeply about anyone =/ Don’t get me wrong, they are very well built, but I felt like reading the adventures of the popular people in my high school rather than imagine myself along them, you know? I don’t know how to explain this, but everyone just looked too cool for their ages? Hahahaha!
And, as nothing sells the bread better than its smell what, here are some quotes from the book ❤
It was easily explainable. All weird things were if you tried hard enough. – Cassie’s thoughts
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Overactive imagination. It had always been her downfall.
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If you like YA, Mystery, Suspense, Faes and Dark Romance, Of the Trees is your next must-read!
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Thank you so much for reading!! Also, of course, thanks again to Month9Books for my review copy of Of The Trees! Bellow, you can find more information about the book and the author, buying links, and an awesome excerpt!
Title: Of The Trees
Author: E.M. Fitch
Pub. Date: February 28th, 2017
Publisher: Month9Books
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 345
Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play | Indiebound
The woods seemed to protest her leaving. Every branch caught Cassie’s foot and she stumbled into Laney so many times, she was surprised her friend didn’t snap at her. Laney didn’t yell. She just righted her time and again, murmuring gentle reassurances. Corey led them quietly, the brightness of the moon enough for him to make out their path. Everything was still except for their crushing footsteps onto the years of dead, fallen leaves. Everything, but the wind. It rushed on through the trees, only higher up and away from them. Cassie couldn’t feel it; it didn’t whip her hair back or tug at her clothing, but she could hear it. The whoosh and whistle of it, the rush that sounded like words.
Just the wind. Just the wind. She repeated over and over in her mind, trying to make it true. Because underneath the wind, or maybe softer than that, maybe coming directly from inside her, were the words.
Come back. Come back.
She would have screamed, but she didn’t think that would make it stop. She didn’t want the others to know, didn’t want them to look at each other in fear and pity that poor Cassie was losing it, hearing voices in the wind. Maybe she could blame her behavior on the guilt, the crushing mortification of allowing that boy to keep her pressed against that tree. It wasn’t until they were safely back in the car that Cassie even thought to ask. “What about … ” she stalled, realizing she didn’t even know his name, “your friend?”
“He can grab a ride with someone else,” Corey assured her.
The whispers wouldn’t quit inside her head. Even after the car door shut, even with the engine started and revved, still, over the noise, Cassie could hear the whisper.
Come back. Come back.
She grunted, her hands flying up to her ears and pressing tightly. It didn’t help. Laney turned in her seat, concern etched over her face. “How much did you have to drink tonight?”
Cassie grimaced, rocking in her seat. “Nothing,” she said. “No, a beer. Just one.”
“You’re staying at my place tonight,” Laney said, catching Corey’s eye for a moment before putting her hand out and patting Cassie’s arm. “I’ll text your mom.”
Laney pulled her phone out of her pocket, and Cassie stilled, remembering where her phone was, and who had it, and something like hot lead filled her stomach at the thought of facing Ryan tomorrow.
E.M. Fitch is an author who loves scary stories, chocolate, and tall trees. When not dreaming up new ways to torture characters, she is usually corralling her four children or thinking of ways to tire them out so she can get an hour of peace at night. She lives in Connecticut, surrounded by chãos, which she manages (somewhat successfully) with her husband, Marc.
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With love,
The Book Adventures of Annelise Lestrange 
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