Gorse described itself as a folkloric dark-academia-esque fantasy, and one thing done really well was the imagery. The moors, the Folk themselves, and so many settings in the book were described so vividly that you feel like you're really there amongst it all.
The things that proved hard to like for me were the pacing and the characters. The pacing in this book was really slow - the action started more than halfway in -and the story itself is told in a rather choppy manner that I just didn't like personally. Moreover, I found Pel hard to like, and I would have really liked to see more characterization of Nancy beyond what we were given here - maybe a next installment in the series?
All in all, a solid and quite readable book. If you enjoy folklore and Fae Folk fantasy, you might enjoy this.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I enjoyed this folk horror novel, the small town setting was excellent, as well as the presence of the small folk and folk beliefs blended with some murder mistery... It definitely was a really good read!

This was a nicely done haunting myster,y, with a cramped small town setting. The characters interact so nicely which gives a vibe of modern folktale. The beginning could have been tighter, but from about halfway onwards, the story really picks up the pace and I become instantly engrossed. The magic system was unique as well. Overall, decently done.

Thank you NetGalley and Sam K Horton for allowing me to read this early, it has been on my Wishlist since I saw it announced, and I was not disappointed!
A beautiful Folk-lore mystery, filled with wonderful characters and a dark moody atmosphere. Loved it! Perfect read for wet and windy afternoons

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and publisher.

This was a wonderful, affectionate exploration of Cornish folklore. This dark, historical novel follows a community tormented by a killer. Where danger persists because of a war between church and ancient traditions.

This is a beautifully written book, celebrating heritage, nature and those who seem to protect the ancient bond with the spirits of the land.

We see humans being corrupted by their denial of the natural world and their attempt to master it. A severe lack of respect for non-human residents of the moors leads to harrowing consequences. Only a few brave individuals seek to protect the spirits of the moor.

Alongside this beautiful folklore story we also have a bond between teacher and student and father and adopted daughter and a coming of age story. This was a wonderful book.

I wish more books were written about this particular strand of magic and folklore, and was delighted to see this labelled as book one of a series. Excited to return to the moor and these brilliant and compelling characters. With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me an advance copy in return for an honest review.

Good world-building but after a while I found the story started to drag due to the use of a very choppy writing style and the overly descriptive language. Perhaps it's a book that one should linger over but personally I need a bit more engagement and this was just too slow. By the time the pace picked up I'd almost lost interest. I need to add that I'm not averse to a slow unfolding and I loved Katherine Arden's Bear and the Nightingale (to which this book was compared) but this wasn't for me.

Gorse will be well-liked. It is the first instalment in the Eythin Legacy series and is an example of speculative fiction mixing folklore, religion/beliefs, and fantasy.

Set in the 18th century Britain, the village Mirecoombe is going through some change.
The new vicar Cleaver and the old Keeper Pel’s practices and principles are in clash.
Some deaths have occurred, and Nancy and Pel try to solve the mystery, each in their own ways.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The concept and the atmosphere appealed to me, however I found the plot not well-balanced; well-paced and interesting around after page 45, the about the middle of the book, and not slow but not getting at what makes the essence of this story in a better pace.

The prose contributed to this imbalance with its descriptiveness.

I recommend it and I hope this book and its ideal audiences meet soon.
I might read the sequel because the world building has been established now. Yet, despite being sure that the author has worked so hard to write this book, the writing style did not appeal to me %100.

Concept and themes: 4
Characterisation: 3.5 (+0.5 for Nancy)
Plot: 3
Structure and pacing: 2.5
Prose: 3

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Set against the backdrop of 18th century Cornwall, Gorse weaves a folkloric tale blending genres of historical fiction, fantasy and murder/mystery. Drawing inspiration from English fairytales, particularly the story of the bear and the nightingale, the novel introduces readers to a world where ancient beliefs and fae forces collide with the rigid structure of religious dogma. The book had a very slow start for me, but picked up the pace at about 50%. I enjoyed the dark moody setting and, as always, the fairy lore. I thought the characters were well written and the relationships thoughtful and interesting. However, in my opinion, the book could benefit from a bit of editing. The bones of a really spectacular book are there, but it’s padded in a way that takes away from the best parts of the story. Honestly, I think with a few nips and tweaks, it has incredible potential. The book is set up to be a series and I will most likely read the next to see how the author’s journey progresses.

Folklore batting faith in 18th century Cornwall. The setting is atmospheric and vivid, I was on those moors with these characters. The murders are brutal and there is gore in the gorse. The role of the keeper is intriguing and dangerous. The MMC is a cantankerous old man and his understudy has been held back. We watch her come into her own, absolutely loved her characters development. I loved how dark this book and all of the folk, especially the brownies! The themes explored throughout are just a perfect backdrop to the tale. I cannot recommend this dark folk tale enough. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

Thank you to Solaris for my review copy.

4.5 stars

When I say I want more books about faeries, this is what I mean. Give me piskies, brownies, boggarts, I want all of them.

Horton weaves a tale that feels like a folklore tale we already know, but imparts his own spin (like all good folk horror should be!) The moors were so vivid that I could be running wild on them with Nancy.

I loved Nancy as a character so much. She was so headstrong and I loved seeing how she overcame what the plot threw her way. And I adored her relationship with Pel (he's really such a grumpy old man.)

The themes of folklore vs faith were so interesting to read and I cannot wait to see what happens next!

This is the best story of the Little Folk I have ever read! It was quite dark. Absolutely nothing like Holly Black and closer to Juliet Marillier. The conflict between religion and superstition comes to a head for the villagers. I can’t wait to see how the story continues. Many thanks to NetGalley for an ark of this book.

The moor is a place of magic; of spriggans and piskies and fey creatures of the earth. They shelter the crops from storms and, just as readily, lead wanderers out into the peat bogs with song and whispering lights. When the folk of Mirecoombe start turning up dead in the marshes, face down in the water, the townspeople turn to the Reverend’s Church of fire and brimstone, and turn their backs on the creatures of the moor. Nancy and Pel, Keepers of the moor and liaisons between humans and the fey, are faced with the task of solving the murders and proving their own innocence as accusations of witchcraft and trickery fly. The Undermoor stirs. Something foul is afoot in the grasses. Something cursed walks the moor.

Gorgeously dark and whimsical and lyrical, this story is the gothic sister to Emily Wilde. The physical structuring of the story, sentence by sentence, was a wonderful experiment in punctuation and dramatisation which I absolutely adored, and I thought the extremely distant third person perspective worked so so well. The descriptions of the moor, of the hilltops, of Mirecoombe, of the sky, and absolutely stunning and it felt like actually being in England oh my gosh. I also really enjoyed the toying with religion and tradition, the old gods versus the new, and found the underlying tensions of faith and belief really well done without taking over the vibes of the story. I thought the ending wrapped up a bit fast, and wasn’t necessarily satisfied with it, but I still really really enjoyed this and overall would 100% recommend it!

*ARC received from Netgalley - all opinions are my own*

TLDR: Very slow until 45% or so and then gets very interesting, I have conflicting feelings about the ending and think that I’m happy to consider this a standalone despite there being another book coming in the series.

From the get go I will say that Gorse isn’t the type of book I’d usually pick up but I was intrigued! It’s definitely a nice mixture of dark folklore and murder mystery vibes. The first half of the book is what tanked my enjoyment and review. I would definitely have DNF’d Gorse if it wasn’t for Netgalley.

There are a lot of positives though. I liked that Pel and especially Nancy are not your typical “good guys” and even as the book ends you’re still rooting for the main characters despite them being very morally grey.

I thoroughly enjoyed the world building and lore and the look at different religious beliefs and how they can live side by side in balance. It was a very interesting take that I haven’t read before.

Despite the many positives of Gorse and my interest in what happens next, I just couldn’t imagine wanting to sit down and read the next instalment if it suffers from the same pacing issues. The pacing really hinders Gorse and sucks the majority of the enjoyment out.

If you don’t mind slower paced books or having to wait for a bit of action I would definitely recommend but I won’t personally be picking up the sequel.

I'll be up front about this and say that Gorse is not particularly the kind of book I'd normally check out but I saw it on Netgalley and thought I'd give it a go. It's fairly dark folk fantasy, set in 18th century England. Religious beliefs in the person of the newest vicar are clashing heavily with the long-standing beliefs in magic in the person of the Keeper of the Moor (Pel), whose job it is to deal with the fae and stop any conflict between them and humans in the area. Alongside Pel is his student Nancy, who also plays a major part in this story.

The basic plot is that a number of deaths have occurred, deaths which the villagers feel the Keeper should have done more to prevent. Pel and Nancy are drawn into the hunt for the source of these murders, with both of them taking drastic measures of their own to get to the bottom of the mystery. Unfortunately, while very atmospheric, at times the pacing of the book dragged for me and it was a bit of a struggle to finish it.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.

This is a historical fantasy novel set in 1700s Cornwall when the land still teemed with folklore and people coexisted with magical beings, leaving gifts for them in exchange for help around the farm and hearth. Very atmospheric, full of moors, bogs, and fog. The magic system was wholly unfamiliar to me but fascinating. It takes awhile to get into, kind of like sinking into peat, but by about 50% of the way I was completely invested because of the character Nancy.

A similarity between ‘Gorse’ and other novels in the same genre is this deliberate choice of time period and depiction of christianity as a new (and extremely hostile and invasive) religion that seeks to eradicate preexisting longstanding centuries-old beliefs that are tied to tangible things like the land. This seems to be a common historical experience across countries in the area. The villain, a priest, was also the kind who denounced magic while hypocritically using it serve his own ends—we been knew so no surprises there.

When the King of the Undermoor talked about coexisting with the various emerging gods from the Greek to the Roman, it provided a sense of perspective. The message seems to be that there is room for everyone and there’s no need to exterminate others just because they don’t believe in your god. Just leave them alone? Live and let live. It’s a sensible moral. As for me, the message I personally got was that full-body floral tattoos are great ◡̈

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I found the writing to be quite dry and confusing at times. Maybe it was just me, and I'm sure it will appeal to many others, but it just wasn't for me.

I can say with 100% certainty that I haven't read a narrator's voice as distinct as this one in ages. The story is promoted as folk fantasy, stressing the "folk", and the narrator's voice absolutely delivers on this. The atmosphere and setting are on point. The prose is on point. The characters feel real enough to touch. The battle between old and new religion is familiar, sure, but it takes a fresh (imo) angle by celebrating how the two can successfully merge rather than fight each other. If you love fast-paced books with plenty of plot twists, then this is not the book for you, but if you love a deliciously slow grind with great atmosphere and interiority and emotion, weaved around the themes of family and blood and legacy and history, then this is definitely a book for you.

An atmospheric modern folklore tale with complicated interpersonal dynamics, the claustrophobic small town setting and eerie mystery. Absolutely loved it.