In 2019 my health started going down hill and I didn't take into consideration what that would mean for my book reviewing. Sadly, I've been trying to play catch up for years and it's been affecting my ability to keep up with present day tasks. So I greatly apologize for this but I am going to clear out all these older review books and focus on present day. I will come back and update this review if I end up reading the book, which is very possible as a lot of these books are still ones I would like to read, I just don't think the pressure looming over me is helpful. Thank you for giving me a chance to early read these books and I am so sorry I wasn't able to provide what was needed.

Great book! It had all the fears of growing up. Make a choice. Turn the page or close the book. Enter the darkness if you wish!

I value the opportunity I was given to read this in advance, but it has been three years and I still haven't read this. With so many books ahead of me, I cannot return to this title.

This was a fascinating read that, at its core, is about learning when to let go of your dreams. Because if you don’t, your dreams might end up ruining you.

Thank you Rebellion & Fiona Barnett for this read Told in mixed POVs it kept me reading from start to finish. There was alot going on at some places but overall this was a decent read!

3.5/5

DNF at 29%

I originally had the e-arc and I think I must’ve deleted this off my Kindle whilst going through my arcs. Since it’s a 2022 arc (yes, I know, quite late but this is what we do), the e-arc was archived. Only the audiobook was available for me from the library. Unfortunately I think that might’ve added to my reason to dnf? I didn’t like the narrators.

Furthermore I didn’t feel like the characters were interesting, at all. I think I maybe was more interested in the past characters but only because I wanted to see what would happen to them, not their personalities. I didn’t really care much for the characters in the present. I think the writing wasn’t really capturing my attention so all of together just had me click the dnf button

*Thank you Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

This book came out in 2022 and I’m honestly surprised I haven’t heard more people talking about The Dark Between the Trees. I absolutely loved this book! It was on my TBR list for a while. Bummed I waited this long to read it.

I’m not really sure how to even describe the plot. I’m kinda not even sure what all even went down! 😮 A lot of strange and unusual things happen and there are next to no answers. Seriously…. If you wanted any answers to all the questions that you will most definitely have, well…. you are going to be left waiting!! I normally HATE not having answers, but I really didn’t mind here. 😮 For me, it really worked out well. It left me thinking over the story long after I finished the book!

The plot is WILD! What is even going on??? A killer creature, ghosts, cursed land??? NO CLUE!! But I have a lot of tin foil hat theories!! 😮 I feel like the meme of the guy at the cork board will all the red string criss crossing everywhere. You know the one….

What I DO know is that I loved all the weird mysterious stuff going on in these woods. I loved the dual time line between the lost soldiers and the group of researchers in the present day time.

Both time periods are good. I personally enjoyed the soldiers story a little bit more. It was more curious watching the story unfold in the 1647 timeline. It was also interesting watching the soldiers story unfold because it answered questions that the present time groups is in the woods to find out about.

Not sure how much I loved the characters of the present day time. The did not have much chemistry or likability. Couldn’t ever figure out if Alice was just selfish or crazy or both? Neither…? Not sure, but I do know I did not really like her…

The Dark Between the Trees is a little confusing because of a lack of explanations, but the story is entertaining because of the same reasons! It is a very slow burn story. I could see this book frustrating some readers because of all of that. Even thought I normally don’t like stories that have a lack of explanations, but I really enjoyed this book!! I would be very curious to read something else from this author. 😀

Not for me unfortunately. Remembered I never left a review here. It's been a while since I read it so my review isn't going to help very much! I haven't been on my Netgalley in years.

What’s that creepy, murdery thing in the woods always feels like it should be a great premise for a novel, but unfortunately we frequently get something like this book, which fails to build much in the way of atmosphere and leads us to a vague and anticlimactic finish.

Indeed, there’s nothing especially creepy about this, even if what’s happening theoretically should be. There’s no real mystery either, or at least none that culminates into any sort of intriguing reveal.

The slow pace is fine, but this kind of gothic build requires a sense of foreboding and menace for the slow build to have the desired effect. Lacking that, it just feels like a slog. And what happens at the end isn’t much, and feels more like the author couldn’t figure out where their story should lead than like any kind of worthy conclusion.

I had such high hopes for this one, but this unfortunately fell flat for me for several reasons. Firstly, the beginning was wonderful! The premise was so interesting and the storyline of the mystery hooked me from the start. The lead up was phenomenal, but the all the excitement and the tension kind of peters out in the second half, for various reasons that I won’t say in fear of spoilers. Secondly, I didn’t like the main character, Dr. Alice. I’m not sure if we as readers were supposed to dislike her, but I really couldn’t stand her to the point that I would avoid picking up the book again.

All told, this wasn’t a bad book, it just wasn’t the book for me. Others will probably enjoy this one though!

The promise of this story had so much potential, but it just didn’t deliver for me.

This story focuses on two alternating perspectives - one of a military unit lost in the for in the 1600s and another of a modern day group of women seeking to discover the history of the lost military group. This story sets you up to expect dark twists and monstrous beings as both groups discover the fatal mysteries of the woods. It seemed to me to have a feel crossed between Annihilation, though not science fiction, and The Blair Witch Project. However I quickly discovered that while the set up of the story gave these vibes, the execution just didn’t keep me interested or deliver enough mystery and excitement for my liking.

To be honest, I didn’t find much of this story to be memorable. I found that the scenes describing the monster and the hardships and horrors the characters experience tended to speed through too quickly and not give enough detail to really give them the scare they ought to have delivered. And I felt the deterioration of some of the characters relationships, especially the women in modern time, occurred to quick. By the end I felt both that the horror aspect of a dark woods was sped over and therefore this read was not all too memorable for me. The ending just didn’t wow me either to elevate the rest of the issues I had with it.

Overall, I really wanted to like this book based on its premise, but it was not a book written for me after all.

Thanks NetGalley and Revellion for an ARC of this book.

I have this a two out of five stars. At times it was interesting. But I didn’t like the main character she was annoying and selfish.

I could not finish this. The story wasn’t engaging enough for me. Maybe I will try rereading it at one point, but i doubt it.

This gave me major folklore vibes and I’m all here for it! Dual timelines, a haunted forest and a creepy story to be discovered, literally all I need. It gave me the creeps in the best way possible - read it now’

Really enjoyed this one, apparently much more than other people did. It's a slow-burn, but not in a bad way, and maintained my interest throughout. I liked the way the story was told from both the past and present, and felt satisfied with the ending.

I’m on the fence about this one. Overall the author has created a spooky and atmospheric book. Told in dual timelines I became invested in both. The book read like a a combination of The Ritual and The Blair Witch Project and that’s not a bad thing at all. I loved the dread and fear that surrounds the monster, it created a wonderful build up of foreboding that is integral to a horror novel. The reason I’m on the fence is the ending. It felt sudden and abrupt and almost unfinished to me and that is all I’m going to say. Read it and see what you think. This book was about the journey, not the destination for me. And it was a great journey. Thank you to @netgalley and Solaris publishers for an arc of this book.

The story is a delightfully eerie tale that taps into one of my favourite horror themes - the unsettling forest. This book skillfully weaves two timelines together. The first delves into the mysterious disappearance of a group of soldiers from centuries ago, while the other follows a modern-day group of women who venture into the same ominous woods.

Five scholars and forestry enthusiasts embark on an expedition to uncover the truth behind the soldiers’ vanishing act in the 1600s. These soldiers sought refuge in the woods after a brutal attack during a civil war, adding an immediate layer of intrigue. The setup captivates the reader’s curiosity, as this uncharted woodland remains largely disconnected from civilization.

Fiona Barnett masterfully maintains a delicate balance between an unsettling atmosphere and logical reasoning throughout the narrative. Unfortunately, the ending really didn't do it for me. There were a lot of unexplained loose ends.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's well written and it's a good single story which Is what I was looking for. The reason I only gave it three stars is this, it's a little plain, the title teases you that it's a bit of a horror, no Joey moments (friends) to found here so I suppose it does open it up to a wider audience, but for me it wasn't that great but I feel like I will probably forget about this one by the time I've read another few books. Well done to the writer on her style.

Oh man, where do I start? This was supposed to be a quick read. And I guess it kinda was. Took me about 3 hours, including me going back and forth a few pages to reread some confusing parts. The thing is... that was 3 hours over two days, because I kept putting my Kindle down. And that's not a good sign at all.

First of all, the story was – how should I put it – uninteresting. Nothing was happening. Technically, something was: people died/disappeared, the characters told stories about the woods, and they bickered among each other. But it was all very tell-y and not show-y.

There were two timelines. One was set in the present day, and the other was set like 300-400 years in the past. The present-day story was sooo boring, sooo hard to get through. The characters weren't any better. I couldn't care less about any of them or their issues, honestly. Two of the characters, Sue and Kim, were so forgettable that I don't even know who they were and what they were doing. They were pretty much interchangeable in my head. And don't get me started on Nuria. She wasn't forgettable, alright, but she was quite unlikeable.

The other timeline, set in the past, is a bit more interesting, but there were so many characters and not enough differences between them that it was also hard to care at first. Eventually, it got a bit better, and I actually started speed-reading the women's chapters to get to the men's faster.

My second issue is that the story didn't really go anywhere. There was some semblance of a horror story in there, something about a family that disappeared in the woods, but it was never really fleshed out. The author also tried to provide some explanations for the mysteries near the very end, but again, it wasn't fully fleshed out and was definitely not enough. And just when things were getting kinda interesting... the book ends. Just like that. It was so frustrating.

The thing is, this is actually the author's first published book, so I kinda feel bad about this review. Her writing skills are really great. The descriptions were quite vivid, and I can imagine the forest right in front of me. I just couldn't FEEL any of the emotions I think I was supposed to feel, because the story, the characters, the plot – they were all subpar. I can say, unbiased, that she's a good writer, but a decent storyteller, she is not. Hopefully, that changes in the future.

Thanks NetGalley for the free ARC.

pleasantly surprised here. while the premise sets up something like annihilation by way of macbeth, i think
the prose is really strong and was the right kind of suspenseful