Woodwalker gave me the warm fuzzies. You know when something is familiar and comfortable and just makes you happy. Woodwalker just made me happy. I didn't feel bad or sad at the end. It gave me a lift.

It's the story of Mae and the three royal siblings she's trying to sneak through the woods to their homeland. Mae has been banished from her mountains for getting too mouthy to her king, just as the royal siblings have been ousted from their lake throne by a foreign country. Both sets want to return to their roots and their homes. Both need the other to accomplish their goals. Mae has to lead the siblings through her mountains for them to return home and reclaim their throne.

There's quite a bit of world building in Woodwalker. The different people are well-thought out with different economies, governments, and even religions. As the title suggests, much of the book is spent in the woods, and I see the author is a park ranger in real life, so all the woodland lore had a real ring of authenticity. I always enjoy time in a national park and that really helped this book speak to me.

There's a big twist to the story that I want to stay well away from, so I don't want to say much about the ending, except I found it very satisfying. This is the kind of fantasy where the magic is in the characters and the world building. There is no actual magic system, but I barely notice until after I finished reading. It's low on violence and big on character interaction. I really enjoyed the read!

fantasy11 s Cat9 2

Mae is a Woodwalker, a cross between a ranger in the Tolkien tradition and a park ranger. But for speaking out against the Silverwood king, she had been exiled. Forced to do odd jobs as she travels from one country to another, she meets Mona, Colm, and Alren – the lost monarchs of Lumen Lake who were presumed dead after the Alcoran invasion. Now they ask her for her help in guiding them back to their home to reclaim their country. The journey that ensues tests their determination – and stubbornness – and puts Mae’s skills as a Woodwalker to the test.

If you’re a fan of Megan Whalen Turner, you will love the political intrigue and twist ending. If you’re a fan of Tolkien, you’ll delight in a story of traveling and exploring new lands. The author has created rich cultures, each carved out familiar places in the US. As a National Park park ranger, Martin’s knowledge of Appalachia informed a lot of the setting of this first novel from the Blue Ridge Mountains to blue ghost fireflies.

The characters are memorable, too. Mae is head strong and stubborn but has a deep love for her people and country. These qualities lead in part to her exile from the Silverwood. Mona and her brothers are a huge contrast to Mae and not just in looks. Mona has a strong sense of duty to her country and people. This is what drives her motivations in asking Mae’s help. Mona’s brothers couldn’t be more different from each other. Arlen is the typical impulsive younger sibling, always getting into trouble. This is in part due to the fact he knows he will never be leader of his country. He does not bare the pressure and stress his two older siblings do. Colm, it could be argued, has as much weight on him as Mona, having suffered a great loss when Lumen Lake was taken in the Alcoran invasion. The enormity of the task ahead of them is not lost on him. Mona trusts him when it comes to his council.

In the end, all of these characters get their moment to shine. The novel’s conclusion sees the situation become dangerously precarious with loyalties tested and alliances forged. Woodwalker reveals a rich world with deep, well developed characters you’ll want to come back to visit.9 s Grace CrandallAuthor 6 books55

OKAY
SO
THAT WAS AWESOME

My gosh. Is there anything I don't love about this book? The intricate politics, and the lavish description, and the understated but strong character development...it was all so well done.

The plot twist. I have no idea how I didn't see that coming, but there it was, awesome and beautiful and exactly what I wanted to happen. I'm so in love with this book.

Something else I loved about this story was how connected everyone in it was to the land, the earth, the familiar spaces that they knew as home. The woods I live in have always held such a special place in my heart--being elsewhere always feels slightly wrong, and returning home always feels so right. Woodwalker is the first book I've ever read to capture that feeling--that ache in your heart when the ground under your feet feels foreign, and the rushing return to hope when everything around you is screaming HOME. It was so beautiful.

Mae is a gloriously crabby protagonist with a huge heart, and I love her. Mona got on my nerves at points, but at the same time you can always see her point of view, and it's impossible not to sympathize with her.
(Colm, meanwhile, is awesome. Even when he somewhat inadvisably shoots people).

Ahem. In any case, this is a beautiful book. Excuse me while I go chuck it at random strangers in the hopes of spreading its awesomeness. 8 s Beth CatoAuthor 116 books612

What a lovely, breezy, and surprising book! Woodwalker takes many epic fantasy tropes, displaced royalty and dangerous quests, and twists them into something new and fun. I to think I'm good at predicting the ends of books, but this one surprised me, and in a good way. I look forward to reading the next in the series!2017 fantasy7 s Susana993 257


You know what?
This book's title really doesn't lie, so get ready for a lot of walking through the woods, lol
That being said, I can't say that this story disappointed me, despite usually not being a fan of this type of narrative; I'm thinking about a book by Juliet Marillier in which I got to a point in which I wouldn't have minded if all the characters had fallen of a cliff...
In Woodwalker, the characters come out as real, flawed, secretive and interesting as hell, so no, I didn't want any harm to befall them.
Mae, the main character, has fallen into hard times following a forced banishment from her country.
A former woodwalker _ park ranger _ she got into a fight with her country's former king, and is now trying to survive in her ~new~ condition of wanderer...so when the opportunity of escorting three royals comes along, well, it's not she had a full schedule, you know? o_O
And she says, she has enough money to buy a whole peanut -_-
Mae is a great character. She's strong, resourceful, patient ~manages to not strangle Mona or even Arden through their long, long walk~ but she's so much more than meets the eye.
Throughout the story, the author manages to insert some basic ecology information; nothing wrong if she can bring some readers to the green side, lol
Now the negative, I wasn't a big fan of the way of the way some things were named, because the bad guy/invading country here, is named Alcoro...not so far from the word Alcoran, right?
~I do have politics in my mind, so it's kind of hard to avoid these kind of links~
That for me, could/should have been avoided. This is fantasy book, I don't want to feel as I'm being indoctrinated regards religion: good religion vs bad religion.
Maybe the author only wanted to show what happens when you take prophecies way to far... but it still left me somewhat discomforted by it.
As for romances, rest assured that there isn't a love triangle, in fact there barely is a romance;)
Well, no, actually there's a romance, we just don't know that it is there; because they're sneaky about it. And that was actually well done, so of course I'm not going to spoil it.
So, here you have it, a four star rating, because this had a pretty strong ending, which left me really keen in getting my hands on the second book. The only downside being, according to some reviewers, that Mae is no longer going to be the main character.
2017-reads characters-done-right epic-fantasy ...more6 s Carmen Steyn36

This book was such a fun read. I finished it in a day and it got me out of a rather impressive reading slump.

I was hooked from the first page. Emily B. Martin has a lovely writing style that is fun and easy to read.

At first I wasn't a fan of some of the characters, since I found them a bit self involved but I can honestly admit that by the end of the book I loved them all.

This book was very well planned and I loved the way everything was tied together.4 s Ashley StanglAuthor 1 book21

I really, really d this book. It hits a lot of familiar beats of YA-ish fantasy, but it takes place in a fantasy world patterned after America, which is wonderfully refreshing. The world-building is a bit simplistic, but the bits of culture are interesting, especially the religion, and the scenery is lovely, especially the forest sections (the author is a park ranger and this book shows her love and knowledge of the outdoors).

The characters are all enjoyable and feel familiar friends by the time the book ends. The plot starts out slowly (and the writing's a touch clunky at times), but the last 60% or so flies by. I read this book knowing nothing about it except the cover blurb and author bio (and that a reviewer compared the book to the Queen's Thief series) and I recommend reading it this way. This is a book that you want to explore.

I can't wait to explore Book 2.fantasy3 s Jessica419 1 follower

Ugh, this book.
My main problem with the book, besides the stupid twist (I'll get to that), is that it feels an info dump. We get constant backstory about the politics of the world, the mythos, and the history, but for the most part it doesn't feel natural. It feels the author trying to set up the world with clunky dialogue. Sometimes it feels the information we're getting is at the expense of the actual story. The story itself isn't awful, but I had a hard time liking the characters, with three of the main four frequently getting on my nerves, with Mona and Mae being jerks, especially to each other, and the younger brother filling the role of the annoying idiot. Only the older brother was constantly able, and that was in large part because he rarely talked.
But the reason I decided to write this review in the first place, rather than list it as read and forget it, was because of that STUPID TWIST that was made to annoy me. The twist makes you look back on everything differently, and, in fact, it makes the actions of the Mae make less sense in several parts. Unreliable narrators can be done well. This is not one of them. The whole story is from Mae's point of view, so why hide her true motivations? Why show any of her thoughts and motivations and hide others? It's not the other characters can read her mind and so she has to conceal her very thoughts. It doesn't make sense. The only reason it exists is so the author can go GOTCHA and think she'd clever. But it's not clever, it's stupid.
The only reason it gets two stars is because the writing itself is pretty decent, with some great descriptions. You can tell the author's a forest ranger by the way she gushes about the forest, and those descriptions generally work. But with so many other problems, I just can't recommend it. 3 s Elsabet87

THIS BOOK WAS A BLATANT RIPOFF OF The Thief BY Megan Whalen Turner!!!

And it wasn't even a good ripoff. It wasn't anywhere near as well written or executed. The 'subtle' hints bludgeoned you over the head the whole way through, the red herrings could be spotted from miles away, and if the world building fell flat on its face, the characters fell flatter still.

0/10, absolutely would not recommend.reviewed3 s Bec554 72

I tried but just can't do it, I'm going to DNF it. The main characters all suffer from a serious case of too stupid to live. I found it really unbelievable that the people hunting them wouldn't have killed them already since they practically announce who they are and how unprepared they are from the rooftops...after-the-end-of-the-world assassins-spies-and-mercs did-not-finish ...more3 s Matthew528 35

2.75

A forest type guide has to travel the woods in order to get royal siblings back to their home.

And, that's the make of it. Most of the book is, well, Woodwalking. While I didn't love this book, there's something to be said for the writing when there's this much walking and bickering between characters, and I still didn't hate the damn thing.

Wouldn't buy - but a fine library book.3 s Sanne168

I really enjoyed this book. Did not see that ending coming. Hopefully part 2 is just as easy and fun to read.2 s Lydia299 15

A charming, if predictable, quick read.2 s Amanda Nelson565 8

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to more. I adored the elements of natural history, especially the entomological tidbits, that were prevalent throughout the storyline. I used to live in the Smokies and the author really captured the feel of the mountains. The story was a bit reminiscent of Megan Whalen Turner's work, but I actually preferred this book because the setting itself seemed to be a character.

And speaking of characters, I don't think I can say enough about how well-fleshed out the characters were. I loved that they each had their own flaws, eccentricities, and motivations and I am very excited to see what will happen next. favorites nook-file2 s ErinAuthor 8 books1,096

4.5 stars- a very engaging read. Last half goes super fast. Safe to pass on to my kids. I loved all the details you can feel from the author's experience as an NPS ranger. A tad predictable- I saw the most of the big twist coming from a quite a ways off, but it was well done, and for a few pages I actually doubted myself. The characters and their dynamics were a lot of fun, and I look forward to learning more about them in the sequel.2 s Elizabeth194 4

I enjoyed reading this book, but what stood out to me is that it’s basically The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full reviewya-fantasy2 s Becca437 20

This reminds me of a book I love, but I can't tell you which one because that would be a spoiler. O.ofantasy fiction1 Kes2,056 48

Fun, light book.

Lumen Lake was overthrown five years ago. The royals (Queen Mona Alastaire and her brothers) seek to return to their country - but they need a guide to lead them through the mountains of Silverwood.

Enter Mae - an exile from the Silverwood. They hire her to bring her through the mountains on the promise of rewards once they return to the throne. So Mae does it.

This is a book mainly about hiking through the woods. What keeps the book going are the characters: the siblings have layers (Mona from growing up a Queen and her struggle with religion, Colm from seeing his wife sacrifice herself) and Mae's clear love for the woods.

I loved the way nature permeates this book. There is the hiking (and the woodcraft). Mae (and her country) respects the forest and caring for it. Mona discusses sustainable cultivation of the pearl beds that sustain her country. There is a widespread belief in the Light - Mae's country believes in the Light emitted by the fireflies (among others) and for Mona, Colm, and Arlen, it is the Light on the waterfalls at sunset. They also discuss a country where it is the Light over the sea at sunrise. The Alcorans (the invaders) are perhaps the only ones who do not see Light in nature - they see it through a Prism. It's a nice bit of symbolism.

The cursing also reflects where they're from - Mae uses "earth and sky"; Mona uses "rivers to the sea". It's small touches these that add to the worldbuilding.

It's a fun book and well-worth a read. 3.5 starsfiction read-20181 ro ??? ? ???50 5

this book was very cozy. i loved the botany and plant knowledge throughout the book (it made me happy because i recognized some of them too :)) as the title suggests, there is indeed a lot of walking in the woods, and Martin introduces some really cool animals.
my critiques include mostly the pacing (very fast in the beginning, slower when woodwalking, fast again). i also d the book until the plot twist, which absolutely racked my brain and made me rethink a lot of the previous plot development and actions of mae. it confused me a bit on how the story was written in first person and mae’s thoughts about val were not written. then again, i suppose the author wanted it to be a complete suprise to the reader, it’s not my cup of tea, but that is okay. i give this book a 3 because of this.
the author obviously put a lot of time into creating a believable, in-depth setting, and i really appreciate the care she put into information on sustainability, preserving wildlife, and ecology in the book.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review1 Caroline349 5

Much better than I expected it to be. Good writing, good characters, and a constant steam of activity. I may continue the series.fantasyish1 Kerri489 2

Strong 4 Stars. This book is everything the serafina series strives to be. Creative but concise in describing this new world. You think you know how it ends until you don’t. Still this is a young adult book for young adults. It does seem young. I look forward to reading the next one. 1 Robin Coral99 1 follower

Loved it! 1 Libby V230 4

Really enjoyable and quick read. It's a fantasy without any magic, which is already interesting, and the story comes from the natural world. You can really feel the author's love of nature and there are strong themes of environmentalism, colonialism, and spirituality of the "light." I'm also in love with the author's illustrations for this series (on her website) which are just gorgeous!2019 fantasy-sci-fi young-adult1 Leila50

i d it! especially the naturey stuff the fireflies and the waterfalls20211 Florence WittAuthor 1 book29

Delightful. Surprising. Well written. AND clean!
A wonderful surprise.
And the narrator was fantastic.audiobooks clean-books-my-boys-love favorite-series ...more1 Juny219 13 Shelved as 'havent-finished'

This book was just too much. Too much info dumping at beginning, too much cheese, (not even nice parmesan cheese, more squeeze cheese). The only thing that I thought mildly interesting was the concept of her woodwalkers but it wasn't enough unfortunately. 1 Esther JonesAuthor 2 books22

A fun romp through the woods

I did enjoy this story, and there was a twist or two that kept it engaging, but I never really felt at any time that the characters were actually in any danger. Additionally, heavy focus on conservation dragged down the plot a bit and kept me from fully connecting with the characters.

A bit light on the fantasy side, but a great book for environmental scientists and woodland enthusiasts.1 Lucille1,162 259

Finished this yesterday but there are almost no 3G or wifi where I'm at until tonight! So this book would be 4,5/5 even, the end was mind blowing, I cried out, and those are my favourite endings! Without the ending the book would have been a 3,5/5 for me I think!
I'll try to write a better review when I can! But this was amazing to read while i was on the Pyrenees (mountains between Spain and France)!

(Complete review with pictures and quotes on my blog! https://adragoninspace.wordpress.com/...)

I first learned about Woodwalker on twitter through a retweet, checked the bio of the author and got really intrigued that a real National Park Service ranger wrote a fantasy book. The cover had a nice YA feel to it (though it’s not really YA, the protagonists are adults, even if they’re not old or anything), with the main characters looking determined with her fist clenched, not looking back but ahead. Plus my family had planned to go take a two days’ vacation on the Pyrenees (the mountains between Spain and France) and I loved the idea to have a setting that would resemble the one from the book I was reading.

Mae knows her way in the forest and the mountains and that’s where I really felt Emily Martin’s experience. Mae is a nice character to follow, but she also has her flaws. For example she often forgets that what is obvious to her isn’t for everyone, which doesn’t make her the best guide.

Because that’s what she ends up being: a guide to the three other characters: Mona, Colm and Alren. They happen to be the lost royal family of the Lumen Lake, presumed dead by everyone and looking to take their throne and kingdom back. The story is a lot of Mae and Mona not really getting along and, obviously, learning to know and respect each other. They are very different women but they share some flaws, both proud and stubborn. I sometimes thought that their characterization was a little easy and that they definitely echoed each other but I kinda those kind of relationship so it didn’t bother me that much. Each character has a different thing that drives them, I really d Colm but I mostly wish we had seen more of Alren who is the younger brother, the one good with weapons and always ready to fight.

Woodwalker is classified as fantasy, there are no magic or fantastical elements, it just happens to be set in a world that isn’t ours and that has kings and queens. I didn’t think it lacked anything, the world-building was correct, enough to understand the dynamic of the kingdoms. It also is a really short book, I wouldn’t say it is fast-paced but it reads really fast and I was never bored. If I had had the time I think I could have read it in one setting during a long afternoon (which is my favourite way to read and appreciate a book). But I read it bits by bits and it still was untertaining, I never felt lost when returning to Woodwalker, it was easy to go back into it and never felt a chore.

This is one of those book that is so hard to talk about because it was nice reading it, enoyable, and talking about the best thing would be a huge spoiler. On goodreads you have to rate books on 5 stars, so during most of the book I didn’t know if it was going to be a 3 or 4 depending on what was going to happen, mostly because I was having a good time but wasn’t mind blown by anything really. Except near the end when I was suddenly rolling around on my bed, not screaming because there were people in the house but almost, totally shocked by the final twist and I knew it was definitely a 4,5 stars! When the final twist happens, it adds another layer to the story and it becomes a totally different one once you *know*!

Stories with a final twist are my favourite and picking one up without even knowing this is one of them is such a joy and a wonderful surprise! So far this is definitely the best surprise of 2016 for me. As soon as I was finished I wanted to read it again and try to catch some clues on this twist that left me completely stunned.

After tweeting to Emily B. Martin how much I enjoyed Woodwalker, she told me it was supposed to be a trilogy! But, Woodwalker can be read as a stand-alone, that’s what I thought it was when I bought it and read it! So I’m satisfied with the way it ended and on the other hand I’m really curious to see what Emily has coming next!

Harper Voyager Impulse is a new imprint that is really cheap and of which I really the format so I’ll definitely preorder the sequel as soon as available (apparently it should be out early next year) and wishes Emily good luck on writing and editing the rest!1 Pep76 3

Do I believe what I feel, or believe what I think?”

...says the exiled queen.

I that. Sometimes words just sound good. Sometimes they sound deep and meaningful but after thinking about them, they really don't make sense, or maybe they make a lot of it. For example:

"You might know, but you do not understand."

I forget where this gem came from but it stuck with me. There are quite a few of these tucked in the book and it made for an enjoyable read.

Good plot.
Good character building. (They are flawed, moody, not very able at times, grow on each other..kinda sorta and me. More on that later.)
Decent world building (yay maps)
No chosen ones, a little something about prophecy but I wondered if the author intended to use the word "legacy" as there didn't appear to be any prophets, omens, seers, etc.
No silly love complications. We are getting the family farm back first yall. (Yea..high five to those who get that reference). Seriously, we have the tragedy of young widows and broken engangements. Adult relationships hinting at their complexity. I loved this.

It was a well written fantasy built around three kingdoms who are dealing with the aftermath of a brutal takeover of a land and its people. One kingdom is ruling one while the third sits idle siding with neither.

Enter our characters. A strong exiled queen (thought to be dead) and her two brothers, and an exiled ranger/scout from the idle nation.

The queen wants to return home and reclaim her throne in Lumen and free her people. To do so, she must pass through the kingdom of Silverwood, a land of treacherous mountains and ruled by a monarchy that has cut off most communication with anyone outside their borders. Oh, and they can shoot foreigners on site if they cross into the land. Enter our fourth character, Mae. She is also exhiled from her home for not agreeing with the king on how to do her job as a Woodwalker, (scout/ranger/forest caretaker.)

The three royals of Lumen ask Mae to guide them undetected and safely through Silverwood so they can take back their kingdom.

A-questin we will go.

My kind of book. I love road trips in fantasy. Camping, foraging, stealth, making fires. Oh yea, take me on a trip to sleep under the stars and gather berries and you get a couple of stars just for that.

So why 3 stars? It was a good book. I knocked off one because the characters just weren't that able. I don't mean "hey, I'd to hang out with her/him on a Saturday night at the tavern" able. I just mean they give me insight into why they are the way they are. I to be able to tell after 1/3 of the book is read, how a character is going to react to something. It just didn't happen here. I wanted to throttle the two women for constantly bitching at each other. I mean come on...you have the lead! Stop acting spoiled entitled brats. And the youngest boy..I thought maybe there were no mcguffins..well he might count because he forces them in to doing things that jeopardize the goal because oops, he got drunk at the tavern again and opened his big mouth. Hey..why do you keep letting him go the tavern? I would have boxed his ears and chained him to a tree 40 pages in.

But all that is forgiveable. I can hope they mature as the book(s) progress.

The biggest reason it is not 4 or even 5 stars?

Ooooo because I hate dirty tricks played on me. If you expect me to remember the prologue, your story isn't tight.

So what happened here is you are told the story in 1st person narrative BUT from the perspective of a 3rd party awareness. You don't know this going in expecting the voice telling you the story to be telling you all the story from her perspective.

Confused? Oh you betcha.

It is hard to explain without spoilers but the author pulls a this trick on you. It was unnecessary and instead of feeling a-ha at a clever twist, I was more wtf?

*shoots a star off the board*

I recommend it and already bought the 2nd book, but I will have my eye out for this trick. I hope I never see it again.
1 Gary Furrow36 1 follower

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