DNF

Can I give this negative stars? I feel as though that should be a thing. This b0ok is so unapologetically racist I honestly don't know how its a best-seller. The world building was half-arsed at best, and the way information was dumped on the reader is just lazy.

Please, don't read it. ( )

If it hadn't been for the first three hundred pages, this might have been a tolerable read; not great but the sort of mindless rubbish one could enjoy at the beach. Sadly, the plot was rendered completely unenjoyable by an interminable, uninteresting and awkwardly written set-up for the actual story which doesn't start until halfway through the book. Any relevant information contained in the beginning chapters could easily have been referenced as flashbacks or memory-sharing between characters but instead we are treated to page after page after page of stilted conversations and pointless musings that do nothing but breed irritation. By the time our protagonist's mother finally died, I was glad to see the back of her after waiting soooo long for it to happen since it was clear from the first chapter that would be the catalyst for the whole story. It saddens me to see what was a good story idea so tragically bungled.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Griffin Press for the advanced reader copy. ( )

Set in the future, where there is no technology and the humans are split into three groups, the Tree Tribe, Earth Walkers and Skin Eaters. Mari is the result of a forbidden union of Tree Tribe and Earth Walker. Her dual nature has been hidden most of her life. Very New Age, Sun and Moon magic.
( )

TRIGGER WARNING: THis book contains rape, threats of rape, racism and homophobia and thus I will be highlighting them

So if you love racist as hell books like "The Continent" have we got a book for you! Also probably want to go read one of those 5★ reviews.
First of all we have Earth Walkers who are the black, maybe dark skinned Asian people based on the fact that "but her eyes were wrong. They were bigger and almost almond-shaped." Presumable "almost" meaning that her Companion father helped her to get more "normal" white people eyes.
Then there are the Companions. The Tree Tribe. These are the blond haired, blue eyed white people that are "WISE AND JUST" even though they enslave and murder the Earth Walkers and call them Scratchers. I don't remember if there was a vulgar term for Companions.. probably isn't one because they are so White and Pure and Wise and JUST! They have dogs. Shephard are better than Terriers. What happened to all the other dogs? Who knows! This is dystopia.
Finally we have the Skin Stealers. They are the cannibals that don't really do anything except paint themselves like Native Americans, have lots of sex, skin people and eat them. We don't have a vulgar term for them either.

Now takes all of this together and add a lot of filler and you'll have this book. This was a very tedious book to get through having so many words that don't add to the story at all.
We have Mari that whines that she's not the Moon Woman, yet she fakes being sick and doesn't really practice. Compare this with Sora that does want to be the Moon Woman, but we are supposed to see her in a bad light because she makes eyes at the guys and acts like a typical person. She's kind of the princess type that's weak and is going to need Mari to save her later. She also almost gets raped just to put her in her place.
Then there is Nik the Companions that is also part of the white savior trope that we have going on here. Mari is basically the other half.
Oh then there's the Night Fever that strikes the Earth Walkers. We don't know what causes it, but [bc:Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America|12724|Drawing Down the Moon Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America|Margot Adler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388286986s/12724.jpg|1589815] Drawing down the moon can cleanse them of it. This needs to be performed every 3 days or the women turn into a depressed crying mess and the men turn into violent rapists. :D Fun right?
Now comes the fun when a shepard pup escapes the Treeple and runs off to Mari. So all the Treeple get together to find the pup leading to Mari's clan where then eventually leads to Mari's mom dying, Jenna being enslaved, Jenna's dad being killed, Danita being "raped so bad she might be unable to have children" and pretty much all of Mari's clan being murdered by the Companions.
Where do the Skin Stealers fit into this? They kind of bait the Companions and set it up for Mari and Nik to meet. The lesbian couple is broken up by one of them dying. That's about it. Oh and they make Thaddeus evil, even though he was on the path because "Terrier people can't be leaders so I'm going to kill everyone to make a point." Then Mari washes the people that the tree people kidnapped and everything is on fire. Then there is maybe a trans person, or a trans cat? Right at the end.
All amongst this is Mari calling her people Scratchers the derogatory name for them that she leart from somewhere.
Now amongst this is just endless spewage of words that you can honestly skim past and still understand what's going on. Add to this copy paste basic Wiccan rituals that you can find in any 101 book. Cast doesn't even do this once just to illustrate. No, it's every. Damn. Time.
So we have maybe Native American stand ins that kill and eat people, paint their bodies and wear their skin.
Black, maybe Asian or Islander men that go "crazy" and rape and kill people when they aren't washed every 3 days. The women cry a lot and die of a broken heart.
And the white people that kill and enslave the Earth Walkers but who are called "wise and just" by Mari's mother, who is an Earth Walker.
I could talk about the amazing amount of misogyny going on in here, but I think others have covered it. Because we have that going on too. ( )

There are so many wonderful things I have to say about this novel. For one, the writing style was fantastic -- a very easy and enjoyable read. For another, the storyline was amazing. I am in love with all of the characters and truly want to know how to story progresses.

I borrowed this book from a friend and I want to own it. It was fantastic! I can't wait for the next installment ... I miss Mari & Nik already :-(

Adrianne ( )