On a negative note, I think that this book could have been more engaging. It was a little hard to get into, and I only actually finished this on my second attempt. These issues did diminish as the book went on, but it was a slow beginning for such a short book. I was also disappointed that right at the very end, we're talking 95% in, some plot twists were thrown in and weren't resolved by the end, with no sequel being confirmed. It felt unnecessary and inconsistent. The only reason for not giving this 5 stars? I felt there was a lot of unfinished business with Stig. At the end of the novel I had more questions than answers with regards to his past and personality and I felt more could have been done to tie up these loose ends.

There are some scenes that is way too creepy it gives me a goosebumps and made my heartbeat race!! Like I didn’t know that it would be that creepy?!!!! I didn't like the present tense used, the dialogue was stilted and the writing clunky. Too much time was spent in the house, and not enough time on the action scenes.Part ghost story, part Nordic mystery – a creepy and chilling tale steeped in Norse myth, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Michelle Paver’s DARK MATTER. 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. And then there's the plot itself. As I said, there were elements to it that were pretty intriguing, but they just weren't developed enough. So there's more to this twisted tree in the garden that meets the eye. Ok, fine. But why? There's a link to Norse mythology, which was really fascinating, but it's just surface level stuff, and if you don't know Norse mythology, like me, then you'll be left with even more questions starting with "why?" And other questions like, what is the creature in the woods? Ok, it's X, but what is that? What does it mean? How and why did Mormor die? Because she seemed to know she would die, but there's no explanation as to why, or what happened. Why Martha's family, specifically? And what happened before they were given this task? There were just so many things that were underdeveloped, world building that wasn't fleshed out enough. I have read a lot of fantasy, and so I'm used to in depth explanations and world building that has an answer to every possible question. It feels to me that Burge didn't put enough effort into fleshing out her world building, and so I feel a little cheated. 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.

Even Martha's mum is strong. She thought she was going crazy. Can you imagine how you would cope with that? She had visions that she could only work through by painting terrifying pictures, doctors told her it was because of what her mother had told her when she was growing up, she wanted to protect her daughter...what would you do? Probably the exact same if we're honest. Because you do anything to protect your kids. Even though she knew Martha might hate her, even though she had terrifying visions, when she realised Martha might be in danger so was straight on a plane to be with her and protect her as best she could. This book is well written and well thought. Every characters, stories, the pace, the setting, and every detail are carefully weaved and knitted into one wonderful and magical story. I love this book SO MUCH! It gripped me from the very beginning and I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. This book has everything - a great plot with twists you don’t see coming, interesting and well-rounded characters that you care about, beautiful writing. And the Norse myth and Norwegian language made it even more special.You write the story of you every day with your thoughts, words and deeds. You create yourself. You get to decide your story. No one else. You." I have mixed feelings about this one. It's impressive for a debut novel, and something different, but it does have it's issues. I'm not actually going to provide a synopsis for this one as 1. It's a complex little book to summarise, and 2.I think this works way better with no prior knowledge, but in short, it's a YA horror/fantasy/thriller/paranormal set in remote Norway with a mysterious family history and a really creepy old tree. Also, I was really uncomfortable with how Martha being blind in one eye was handled. Martha falling out of the tree and becoming blind in one eye was her destiny, and there's a purpose behind her half-blindness. Being half-blind is a tool that will help her (again, not fully explained to my satisfaction). It just doesn't seem right to me to purposely decide a character will be half-blind, she'll be half-blind for a reason, and there's something "magical" about her being half-blind. It just feels really insensitive to me, using people's disability as a magical means to an end. Martha isn't half-blind for purposes of representation or diversity, she's half-blind because it helps the plot. So this one hsowed up on the newly added section of NetGalley last week and I was intrigued. The cover looked similar to the Frances Hardinge books that I keep seeing everywhere: 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 insta-love was so cringey and unnecessary, but it's YA so has to have romance right?! Also, the love interest was called Stig, which just made me think of the book, Stig of the dump Every. Single. Time. 😂😂 Determined to understand her strange ability, Martha sets off to visit her grandmother, Mormor – only to discover Mormor is dead, a peculiar boy is in her cabin and a terrifying creature is on the loose.

Also, amongst all these amazing female characters we have Stig. I adored Stig even though by the end I had no idea if he was who he said he was or not. I want to know so much more about him. Just one of the reasons I would love a sequel. I think one of the main things I like about Stig is that he isn't your average love interest, just like Martha isn't your average heroine. He's good looking but in his own way, he takes everything that is thrown at them and even though he struggles with it, he always helps Martha and wants to protect her. He marches into a snowstorm to help her even though he is scared. That's courage. But also...I mean did he do something to Nina? If that was her ghost, did she follow him there? Why? Does she blame him? Why? I need to know!!! I also want to know what happens next between him and Martha. Can she trust him? I don't know but I want there to be a future for them somewhere. Things then start to get spooky ... I won't tell you what happens (because spoilers) but you're in for a great ride! 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! Martha is one of my all time favourite heroines. She is so strong and yet so full of self loathing and doubt. She is beautiful and scarred. She is dealing with so much: her accident, her mum's betrayal, the death of her grandmother, the sudden onset of her abilities and then everything that happens once she gets to Norway. But she is incredible. She takes it all in, and yes she is sceptical and it takes her some time to come to terms with it but damn does she pull through. She absolutely owns her ability and her legacy. I just love her, I love everything about her. 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.