The Good and the Green is a light cozy fantasy novel with a hint of romance that is the first in the Wilderise Tales. Readers who love a mix of cozy (yes, with a hint of mystery) and fantasy are not going to want to miss out on checking out this book.
The Good and the Green by Amy Yorke weaves a tale about a young human woman who aspires to a better tomorrow. She’s experienced loss with the passing of her father and watched how it dampened her mother’s spirits. But through their sacrifice in her younger years, she’s been able to get a decent job and make a living in the city. However, as things tend to go, rent goes up, everything becomes more expensive and life becomes all the harder. Sound familiar?
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As our young heroine is contemplating how she and her orc friend, Rinka, are contemplating how they will fend off this latest rent hike of 8 gold, Alison receives a letter in the mail. It’s not the one she’s been expecting and hoping for, but it brings with it a promise. Will things go the way that she hopes or is she about to face yet another setback?
The Good and the Green, when it comes to the overall pacing of the story, leans towards the slower side. Author Yorke works to set the stage for the characters, and gives readers great detail when it comes to the locale and the characters that Alison meets along the way. While the pacing isn’t fast, the story moves along smoothly, so that is always a plus.
Alison’s goal concerning this windfall that she has received is to honestly offload it as quickly as possible. But in lieu of that, she’ll happily leave it in the capable hands of a renter. There’s just one not-so-small problem...vines. Lots of them. Curious yet? LOL! Well, it won’t hurt you to check out this story! It’s rather good ya know. But vines surround not just the place she’s heading to, but it surrounds quite a bit of the village as well.
The author pricks at your curiosity with this mysterious plant. What is the meaning of it? Is it dangerous? Honestly, when you get some background on it, it gives off Sleeping Beauty vibes. On the surface, it appears rather harmless, but it grows faster than the most determined weed! Author Yorke imbues this plant with some interesting attributes that really leave the villagers frustrated and us readers scratching our heads. Nevertheless, your curiosity will push you to keep reading to see how this all plays out.
The main character, Alison, meets a cast of characters in this small village, and one just so happens to catch her eye. The handsome Keir. He’s a bit reclusive and their first chance meeting happens to be a rather embarrassing one, but their paths are meant to cross and become entangled. They just don’t know it when they first meet.
Keir is written as a bit of a curmudgeon, but his past is filled with pain. Pain has haunted him well into his present day and potentially threatens his future if he’s not careful. What does that mean? Well, you’ll have to grab a copy of The Good and the Green to find out! LOL! It’s really worth the read, but you’ll need to exercise a touch of patience to get to that point in the story.
The pace of the story is like a winding river. You may get a touch impatient to get to the good parts, but the characters help to keep readers engaged. Well, more accurately, the side characters. Alison, unfortunately, isn’t the most engaging character, but most “number crunchers” rarely are. The side characters – Willow, Dinah, Gwenla, and many others bring sparks of life to the story. All the characters come together to weave a tapestry of a story where everyone contributes and no one really outshines the other. It’s an all-in-all nice balance that is struck thanks to the author’s skills.
Looking for some romance? Well, once again, be patient. It’s going to show up but it’s going to take time. You’ll see the attraction Alison has toward Keir, but you won’t see it reciprocated until you’re well past a certain point in the story. There will be no steamy situations either, so for those of you wondering...there ya go. LOL! It’s not a disappointment for this reader though. Sweet romances are always something nice, and a few sparks of passion add a little pizzazz as well.
Now, while this book is the first in a series, it reads like a standalone. You get a nice sweet ending, but with the promise that there will be more to come. The question arises from this – will the next book have a shift in main characters? Or will Alison and friends be making a return with fresh issues as a new “secondary” main character makes an appearance? For now? We’ll just have to wait and see what the author has in store for us.
One thing is for sure though – we look forward to a future return to Wilderise.
Thank you to the author, Amy Yorke, for the opportunity to read and review this book. We look forward to what comes next!
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