ABOUT THE BOOK:

Title: Winterwood

Author: Shea Ernshaw

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Release Date: November 5, 2019

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 319

 

SYNOPSIS:

From New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep comes a haunting romance perfect for fans of Practical Magic, where dark fairy tales and enchanted folklore collide after a boy, believed to be missing, emerges from the magical woods—and falls in love with the witch determined to unravel his secrets.

Be careful of the dark, dark wood…

Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even.

Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it’s this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman—the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago—and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he’d been missing.

But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver’s presence. And it’s not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest, and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn’t know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own—secrets he’ll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn’t the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago.

For as long as there have been fairy tales, we have been warned to fear what lies within the dark, dark woods and in Winterwood, New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw, shows us why. 

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REVIEW:

*I was fortunate to receive a copy of an arc from a friend for review*

After being in love with Shea Ernshaw’s first book, The Wicked Deep, I was super excited to dive into her sophomore novel. I was utterly bewitched from the very first page of Winterwood! It was absolutely magical, and hauntingly beautiful. I loved the setting of the dark, dark woods and the magic and mystery surrounding them (I could almost picture myself standing there, facing them myself, because of the author’s beautiful description). I love the main character, Nora Walker, who is said to be a witch. I love how there’s so much history surrounding her family, and how it’s so integral to the story. Nora’s connection to the woods is what leads her to a boy, Oliver Huntsman. He should have been dead as he was lost in a big snowstorm weeks ago, yet she finds him very much alive. She embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about what happened, and discovers that Oliver has some of his own secrets. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, romantic, mysterious and lyrical story, be sure to pick up your own copy of Winterwood in bookstores and libraries everywhere!

 

AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

1.) What are some of your favorite books from childhood?

I loved Watership Down by Richard Adams—I think it was the first book that made me cry. My parents read a lot when I was younger so I often just picked up whatever book they were reading once they were finished. My dad loved J.R.R. Tolkien so I was introduced to that series pretty early on, and those books changed how I saw stories. The characters and world building was so well developed that I began to wonder if Middle-Earth might truly be real. You still can’t convince me otherwise! Ha!

2.) What initially inspired you to write Winterwood?
WINTERWOOD is based on a real-life lake not far from where I live. I’ve spend many long weekends beside that lake and heard the locals talk of the haunted forest to the north. It was such a compelling setting for a story, that writing WINTERWOOD almost felt like non-fiction.
3.) I absolutely love Nora! What was it like getting to know her and the Walker women?
Nora is one of my most favorite characters I’ve ever written! Her family history is so layered and interesting, and I felt very protective of Nora while writing her story. I could have easily written a nice sleepy book about how Nora just stayed at home where she was safe and read her favorite books and hung out with her dog, Fin. But alas, I forced her to go out in the world and fall in love and have adventures! And I think by the end she came out much stronger for it!
4) Which actor would you choose to play Oliver?
I’m awful at casting my characters! Like truly bad at it. LOL! I’ll take any suggestions anyone has!

5) What can we expect from you next? Any upcoming projects?

I’m working on a secret book right now that is nearly finished! I’m so excited about it and it’s slightly different than what you might expect from me, but hopefully I’ll be able to share more soon!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shea Ernshaw is the NYT bestselling author of The Wicked Deep and Winterwood. She is the winner of the 2019 Oregon Book Award, and both The Wicked Deep and Winterwood were Indie Next Picks. She lives in a small mountain town in Oregon and is happiest when lost in a good book, lost in the woods, or writing her next novel.