Excellent book. Definitely a page turning book from start to finish.

I appreciate that the protagonist isn't a "Only you can save the world" type person. In fact, she's kind of terrible at everything; she's always last to be chosen for the reindeer games, but she works *hard* to try and surpass her own limitations. You can feel her efforts, and you cheer when she succeeds. The romance is sweet, subtle, and realistic, and her friends are simply friends. Not a single girly catfight trope in sight. If I have any complaint, it's that it both moves too quickly (the school work blazes by, without developing her classmates to the required end), and the pace sometimes meanders, but the ending has a magnificent payoff, and I Want To Live In A Tree House City.

I love everything about the world of Renthia and am thrilled to have found this series!

Love love love! Villages of trees, nature spirits gone rogue and an unlikely champion whose affinity with nature spirits take her from working with the village hedgewitch to being trained as an heir to the queen - the one person who can keep the spirits happy. And the spirits are not happy. A cross between Uprooted and The Ranger's Apprentice.

Compelling characters and intriguing world-building anchor this exciting story that should appeal to both teen and adult readers. It was one I went out of my way to make extra time for and am excited to see has a second book already out.

The only redeeming thing about this book was the interesting take on the hostile elemental spirits and how they need to be controlled. I didn't much like this aspect, but it was a different take on elemental magic. Otherwise the story was lacking in everything. It didn't seem written for an adult or teen audience except that the mention of casual sex and a bunch of blood and violence wouldn't make it suitable four younger readers either. I wouldn't recommend this book.

Adventure full of hope and danger. Highly recommended.