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Martha is one of my all time favourite heroines. She is so strong and yet so full of self loathing and doubt. She is beautiful and scarred. She is dealing with so much: her accident, her mum's betrayal, the death of her grandmother, the sudden onset of her abilities and then everything that happens once she gets to Norway. But she is incredible. She takes it all in, and yes she is sceptical and it takes her some time to come to terms with it but damn does she pull through. She absolutely owns her ability and her legacy. I just love her, I love everything about her. I didn't like the present tense used, the dialogue was stilted and the writing clunky. Too much time was spent in the house, and not enough time on the action scenes.
The tree needs to be watered and the souls need to be kept safe, and the monster needs to be killed. This tense and gripping story has it all and at just the right amounts too. I enjoyed the flow of the books, the characters, and the interweaving of Norwegian. The old folklore is wonderful too. I wanted to know what the mystery was surrounding the tree and Martha and her grandmother the whole way through the book and I certainly wasn't disappointed. The Twisted Tree combines Nordic Mythology, a contemporary setting and a ghost story together in what is a twisted tale that involves romance, secrets and lies, the underworld and a remote island in Norway! The book has so many levels to it. I’ve never really been a lover of mythology but it was weaved into the story perfectly and with ease and the book certainly wouldn’t have worked without it.This was a NetGalley book that I was approved for. As with previous books, I was given a digital review copy of this in exchange for a fair and honest review. Mormor – I just wish we had seen more of her. Without making this a spoilers review, for someone who is so key to the story I didn’t feel like I got much of an idea of who she was, her own personality and just her. The mythology. For me this is one of the aspects of this story that made it stand out to me. I really enjoyed once we got into the actual mythology and the way the story was intertwined with it I felt like the story really took off and came into its own. The way of intertwining the mythology with the ghost story aspect makes this book stand out.
The descriptions of the cabin were amazing, I felt like I was actually there with Martha and Stig and the wind howling outside. I loved the romance aspect and was really rooting for them to get together. This was a wonderful and relatively short fantasy/reality story. Martha was a great heroine and I loved the combination of fantasy, Norse mythology, creepiness and romance. That doesn't sound like it would work but it really did! The only reason for not giving this 5 stars? I felt there was a lot of unfinished business with Stig. At the end of the novel I had more questions than answers with regards to his past and personality and I felt more could have been done to tie up these loose ends.Upon arrival she finds herself in an even more difficult position in that her Grandmother has recently died, a stranger is in her Grandmother’s house and there is something wild in the woods killing animals and people. Something that even a bullet can’t stop! Also, I was really uncomfortable with how Martha being blind in one eye was handled. Martha falling out of the tree and becoming blind in one eye was her destiny, and there's a purpose behind her half-blindness. Being half-blind is a tool that will help her (again, not fully explained to my satisfaction). It just doesn't seem right to me to purposely decide a character will be half-blind, she'll be half-blind for a reason, and there's something "magical" about her being half-blind. It just feels really insensitive to me, using people's disability as a magical means to an end. Martha isn't half-blind for purposes of representation or diversity, she's half-blind because it helps the plot. I think where this book really excels is in the creepy elements. Burge really has a gift for atmosphere and creating a scene which you can visualise so fully. I would love to see a pure horror novel from her actually, as few authors can scare and give me chills as much as this one did. I liked the incorporation of mythology, particularly aspects that I hadn't seen included in a book before. I enjoyed the character development that the main character went through, as she learned to be happy with herself, and I liked that a romance wasn't the reason that she did so. It was a cute little romance too, with a different love interest. I think that's overall what I can say about this-it was different. It's a YA book that feels set apart from a lot of the ones I've read lately. The insta-love was so cringey and unnecessary, but it's YA so has to have romance right?! Also, the love interest was called Stig, which just made me think of the book, Stig of the dump Every. Single. Time. 😂😂 On a negative note, I think that this book could have been more engaging. It was a little hard to get into, and I only actually finished this on my second attempt. These issues did diminish as the book went on, but it was a slow beginning for such a short book. I was also disappointed that right at the very end, we're talking 95% in, some plot twists were thrown in and weren't resolved by the end, with no sequel being confirmed. It felt unnecessary and inconsistent.
Even Martha's mum is strong. She thought she was going crazy. Can you imagine how you would cope with that? She had visions that she could only work through by painting terrifying pictures, doctors told her it was because of what her mother had told her when she was growing up, she wanted to protect her daughter...what would you do? Probably the exact same if we're honest. Because you do anything to protect your kids. Even though she knew Martha might hate her, even though she had terrifying visions, when she realised Martha might be in danger so was straight on a plane to be with her and protect her as best she could. But when Martha arrives, she is devastated to discover her grandmother is dead and a strange boy has taken up residence in her cabin. Oh yeah and there's some big scary creature on the loose and it seems Martha is the key to putting everything right again. Trapped in the money cottage as the snow begins to fall, Martha must face her fears and save the day. Or rather the world.I bought this book after seeing the cover on my Facebook feed. I'm a big book cover fanatic and I just love abstract covers. This one is so beautiful and I'm so delighted to be able to say that the story matched it perfectly. This spooky, grim, story is dark and twisted with just the right amount of angst for a YA novel. This book is honestly excellently written. I loved the style, I loved the imagery, I loved the Norse mythology woven in. I loved Martha and her insecurities, and I loved Stig and how mysterious he was. I didn't know who to trust and what was real or imagined, and I loved it. I really enjoyed how the setting, how being in such close quarters, accelerated the building relationship between Martha and Stig.
I know I'm not the target audience, but I love a ya fantasy, and was really looking forward to this! It felt very young ya/middle grade to me, and the writing was very immature. Martha has a rather strange ability which awakened after her accident and she has gone to her grandmother for answers. Also, amongst all these amazing female characters we have Stig. I adored Stig even though by the end I had no idea if he was who he said he was or not. I want to know so much more about him. Just one of the reasons I would love a sequel. I think one of the main things I like about Stig is that he isn't your average love interest, just like Martha isn't your average heroine. He's good looking but in his own way, he takes everything that is thrown at them and even though he struggles with it, he always helps Martha and wants to protect her. He marches into a snowstorm to help her even though he is scared. That's courage. But also...I mean did he do something to Nina? If that was her ghost, did she follow him there? Why? Does she blame him? Why? I need to know!!! I also want to know what happens next between him and Martha. Can she trust him? I don't know but I want there to be a future for them somewhere. Part ghost story, part Nordic mystery – a creepy and chilling tale steeped in Norse myth, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Michelle Paver’s DARK MATTER. This is catogorised as a "Teens and Young Adult" book so I'm certainly not part of the intended demographic but nevertheless as someone who enjoys a well written spooky tale I must admit that I found this a most enjoyable read. Combining such diverse themes as romance, disability, Nordic mythology, ghosts, monsters and broken families the story ultimately is about redemption and coming to terms with the past and who you are.
Visitors' opinions on The Twisted Tree
We meet Martha who is desperately unhappy after an accident left her blind in one eye and with a scar on her face. A bizarre result of this accident was that she can ‘read’ people from touching their clothes. She can sense feelings and memories and see a part of them when she connects with their clothes.
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