The Night Weaver is the rotten poisoned apple in Snow White. It is the first comparaison that comes to mind. Everything is beautiful and seems fine from the outside and you just need to scratch a little the surface to realize that something is wrong. It is what the reader, but also what Rachel, the main character, goes through, after reading a few pages of the novel. Yes, Shadow Grove seems to be a charming and calm little town, bordered by a beautiful green forest. But weird things definitely do happen there. Starting with the children, who disappear without a trace, leaving the adults at best a little worried.

Monique Snyman is definitively a strong story weaver and a master in story building. The heavy atmosphere is palpable. The drops of humor sprinkle here and there in the story are definitely needed. If you are acquitted with celtic folklore and beliefs , you rapidly understand what kind of creatures are lurking in the shadows. If you aren’t , they make themselves known throughout the pages, and you will appreciate the book the same, following the clues with Rachel.

I love the work Monique Snyman has done with the Fair Folk. It is to me, one of the best novels I have read on the subject for a while. It reminded me of Raymond E. Feist ‘s Faerie Tale or The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. It is dark, and draws deep inside human primal fears, nourishing of darkest dreams. So yes. Very good novel. I am definitely keeping an eye on Monique Snyman’s work. ( )

Shadow Grove has children disappearing and none of the adults are doing anything about it. Even the local Sheriff is concocting outrageous reasons for not investigating these occurrences and Rachel Cleary has had enough. With the help of her neighbor, Mrs. Crenshaw, Dougal, her grandson, and a few other unique characters, they decide to figure out what shadow is descending on their little town.

I definitely enjoyed this novel but there were just a few drawbacks that affected my rating. As the plot progresses there are scenes with topics that are touched on but not fully delved into and areas that are overly emphasized and drawn out. I can't pin point them here because it'll give away some reveals but I'm hopeful that the underdeveloped thoughts I ran across are tied into the next book.

The Night Weaver herself is well fleshed out and I really like the addition of the magical artifacts and "creatures" that stalk the boundaries. The woods that surround Mrs. Crenshaw has a history that seems to be just as deep and dark as Shadow Grove's and I hope the author goes into detail on that aspect in future sequels.

Overall, I am really glad I picked this up. I'm excited to move onto the sequel and see what is in store for Rachel and her group. This fantasy has the dark elements and fantastical creatures that I love to read about.

Thank you to Vesuvian Books and LibraryThing for the opportunity to win this novel and provide and honest and unbiased review. ( )

This just was not my cup of tea. The writing is good, but does nothing to further the plot. It was very boring and I just couldn't get through it. DNF for me. ( )

Things happen in Shadow Grove. Children disappear, but no one seems to care. Women turn into brain-dead shadow of their former selves, but no one challenges them. And the forest surrounding the town seems to be awakening with stirrings, whispering, and laughter. Seventeen-year old Rachel Cleary is the only one who will do anything about it. With the help of Dougal, her neighbor, Rachel beats back the evil surrounding them. But this is the first book in a series so the forest will be back. ( )

This had a very interesting premise, but I did not think it was executed well. I thought it was very boring, and I struggled to get through it. The characters seemed very one-note, and bland. In addition, one of the major characters was Scottish, and had the accent written out, which made his dialogue annoying to read. I would not recommend it. ( )