If you like mythology, mystery, intrigue and a little bit of romance then this is a book for you. The story flows easily, giving little away, we discover the secrets along with Martha, peeling back more and more layers. Well written and the ending left me stunned and wanting more.

This was beautifully written, mysterious and original. A sleep agent in terms of what I was expecting, it was inspired by Norse mythology blending seamlessly with a contemporary setting. Excellent characterisation and an engaging, page turning read. Highly recommend.

Absolutely raced through this dark and twisted tale centred on Martha, now blind in one eye after an accident, and Stig, a boy she meets at her grandma’s house in Norway under unusual circumstances. The tension builds up brilliantly and I loved the Norwegian settings and dip into folklore and fantasy. The characters are well drawn and I genuinely felt sad to leave them behind. Can’t wait to see what Rachel writes next! Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

Martha spends summers in Norway with her grandmother. One day, following a catastrophic accident, she sneaks away to visit her grandmother. Her secret journey covers hundreds of kilometres and involves just a little subterfuge. When she arrives, she finds her grandmother's home empty. The beautiful landscape she loves during summer looks a lot more sinister in winter. Worse still, there's someone in her grandmother's house. Stig. He heard that the place was empty and decided to stay. Over the course of the following days, in a spectacularly supernatural way, things start to unravel for Martha and Stig...

I really liked the way that Burge explored Martha's injury and her missing eye, with it becoming central to the story. The way that Stig helped Martha to see herself as beautiful and regain her self-confidence once again made me smile. He was very sweet. I only wish that the hints of his past that came through towards the end of the novel had came up earlier.

The way that Martha was able to read emotions in clothing was something else I really enjoyed as I don't think I've seen something like that in a YA novel before. If there is a sequel it's something I'd love to see explored. In the outside world that might have some interesting consequences, especially if someone is wearing cashmere.
The use of Nordic mythology was also very impressive, especially the way it geared up so the reader uncovered details right alongside Martha. Likewise, the Nordic landscape was utilised incredibly. The atmosphere in the cabin and its surroundings really added to the creepiness in the middle of the book.

I wish The Twisted Tree had started earlier than when Martha was heading to Norway to visit her grandmother. I wanted to know more about her, about the friend back home who she was texting on arrival, what her hobbies were other than jewellery making. Likewise, I feel like the most exciting bit of the novel was crammed up into a short space. The final showdown was very quick, compared to the long scenes in the cabin, and it disappointed me a bit. Although exciting, I felt at times that the pace towards the end took away from the emotional impact of some scenes. Once everything was tied up, the novel ended pretty quickly. I think a little more time spent on those final scenes would have been great.

I finished reading The Twisted Tree quite quickly. As another reviewer mentioned, it's a wonderful book for a cold evening (as we're sadly already experiencing in my area!). It wasn't quite for me, for the reasons I've mentioned and perhaps as I was expecting something a little heavier on the ghosts, but I'm going to round up my review to four stars. For The Twisted Tree's target audience, which I wonder if might be the slightly younger end of YA, this could be a beautiful read. At that age, I think I would have loved the mystery, the unresolved threads, the hopeful ending.

I received this arcs which I requested from NetGalley, so thank you!!

This novel is incredibly atmospheric, it’s a perfect book to read on a rainy fall, winter or just grey day. The main character Martha begins the story on her way to see her grandmother who may be able to help with some changes that have happened to her ever since a freak accident left her blind in one eye. This books combines Norse myths, paranormal beings, monsters and romance in a way that just pulls you in and takes you to the cabin. It is an incredibly interesting book with some very mysterious characters and lots of twists and turns.
I’m really hoping there is going to be a sequel as there are a few unanswered questions and some which were raised right at the end!
I can’t wait until it comes out, I can read it again and give a full review!

Thank you to Netgalley, Bonnie Zaffre and Rachel Burge for my arc of The Twisted Tree.

Martha feels more than a little out of place since she lost her eyesight in one eye after falling from a tree in her grandmother's garden. Ever since it happened, Martha has been able to read people's thoughts, emotions and memories just by touching their clothes. Determined to find out the truth and not getting any answers from her mother. Martha concocts a story about where she'll be and catches a flight back to Norway to visit her grandmother.

But when Martha arrives, she is devastated to discover her grandmother is dead and a strange boy has taken up residence in her cabin. Oh yeah and there's some big scary creature on the loose and it seems Martha is the key to putting everything right again. Trapped in the money cottage as the snow begins to fall, Martha must face her fears and save the day. Or rather the world.

This was a wonderful and relatively short fantasy/reality story. Martha was a great heroine and I loved the combination of fantasy, Norse mythology, creepiness and romance. That doesn't sound like it would work but it really did!

I really enjoyed this and I'm hoping there's going to be a sequel after some questions were left unanswered in the end!

I had a feeling I was going to love The Twisted Tree (Norse mythology in a Norwegian setting with a stunning cover to boot) and it more than lived up to my expectations. I even got to practice my Norwegian in places!

The story of Martha's post-accident trip to Norway, seeking answers from her beloved grandmother regarding her strange new 'gift', had me hooked right from the start. I was naturally drawn to both Martha and Stig, admiring their bravery in the face of such grizzly creepiness. The sense of menace they experience during their time in the cottage was palpable and the visceral quality to the descriptions of other-worldly creatures was spot on. This would be a great winter read to hunker down with. Du vil elske 'The Twisted Tree'... det er deilig!!

The Twisted Tree combines Nordic Mythology, a contemporary setting and a ghost story together in what is a twisted tale that involves romance, secrets and lies, the underworld and a remote island in Norway!

We meet Martha who is desperately unhappy after an accident left her blind in one eye and with a scar on her face. A bizarre result of this accident was that she can ‘read’ people from touching their clothes. She can sense feelings and memories and see a part of them when she connects with their clothes.

She believes her Grandmother will be able to help her understand what’s happening to her and she packs a bag and heads to a remote island in Norway to visit her. After an interesting journey Martha arrives on the Island to find a strange boy living in her grandmother’s cabin. After the strange boy tells her that Mormor is dead and she’s missed the funeral things get even more peculiar.

I’m not going to tell you much more at this point as there is no way to tell you more without being a completely spoilers based review

The Positives:
• The mythology. For me this is one of the aspects of this story that made it stand out to me. I really enjoyed once we got into the actual mythology and the way the story was intertwined with it I felt like the story really took off and came into its own. The way of intertwining the mythology with the ghost story aspect makes this book stand out.
• The fact that this is a debut novel. I know that’s not really a positive about the book itself but I feel like this author has a real point of view and it excites me that there could be more to come.
• The writing style- This is linked to both of the above points. The way that the author pulls all of this together is done in such a natural way that it really draws you in
• The use of the Norwegian language. The way that it became natural in the story to have so many mentions of words and phrases was so well written. I actually feel like I learned something!
• THIS WOULD MAKE SUCH A GOOD FILM!!
• Stig and Martha – I really liked both of these characters, I felt like the author went outside the box for them. They were different, unique, had an interesting story and it was nice to see someone who was slightly alternative without being ‘OMG THEY ARE A GOTH’


The Negatives
• Mormor – I just wish we had seen more of her. Without making this a spoilers review, for someone who is so key to the story I didn’t feel like I got much of an idea of who she was, her own personality and just her.
• The pacing – while I really enjoyed this book I did feel like the scene setting and getting Martha to the Island and getting to the cabin and essentially the story itself took too long. The ‘events’ of the story then felt rushed a little bit.
• Events that added little to the story – there were a few things that felt a bit ‘non-eventy’ to me that dragged out that first portion of the story and kinda added to the bit above ^^^
• The fact that its YA. Okay so this isn’t *really* a negative but more of a ‘God damn I wish…’ from me. I would LOVE to see this story written as an adult story with even more spookiness and more in depth psychological aspects to it


Overall this was a 3.5 out of 5 for me. I enjoyed it and would absolutely read something else by the same author. I found it an engaging read and something slightly different for me. I’d recommend this if you want to get away from fantasy while still having some fantastical elements to it.

I've rounded up to a 4 for Good Reads as it was a positive 3.5