SHADOW GROVE IS A PERFECTLY PLEASANT TOWN…Shadow Grove isn’t a typical town. Bad things happen here. Children disappear, one after the other, and nobody is doing anything about it. Parents don’t grieve, missing posters don’t line the streets, and the sheriff seems unconcerned.Seventeen-year-old Rachel Cleary lives on the outskirts of Shadow Grove, next to the creepy forest everyone pretends … everyone pretends doesn’t exist. Usually the forest is filled with an eerie calm, an unmistakable graveyard solemnity. But the trees have started whispering, forgotten creatures are stirring, and the nights feel darker than ever.
Something is stalking the residents of Shadow Grove, changing them into brain-dead caricatures of themselves. It’s up to Rachel to stop the devouring of her hometown before all is destroyed and everyone she loves is forever lost.
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Simultaneously refreshing and deeply unsettling, The Night Weaver weaves together small-town horror with an intricate otherworldly fairytale to deliver a blend of horror and fantasy that captures the essence of young adult terror seasoned with the stuff of grown-up nightmares.
Children in Shadow Grove are going missing—spirited away into the forest by an unknown presence as if lured into the darkness by the Pied Piper himself. But that’s not the worst part. Nobody is looking for them—in fact, nobody seems to even acknowledge they’re missing at all. There’s no missing posters, no search parties, no frantic parents. This isn’t the first time something tragic has happened in Shadow Grove, either. The town’s history is peppered with the strange and the horrific, from poisoned school lunches to devastating factory fires—all events that have been glossed over in the town’s history with startlingly bland recall. The only people who seem concerned about the newest calamity are the kids that have not yet been taken.
Rachel Cleary’s family, along with her neighbors the Crenchaws, harbor a clandestine, multigenerational obligation: to guard the perimeter of the forest at the edge of Shadow Grove, maintaining an uneasy peace with the magical beings who live in the forest. It’s not so much a matter about keeping things out of the forest but keeping other naughty nighttime beasties in. And for years, it’s worked—a delicate, if tenuous, balance has been more-or-less kept, even if the occasional shadow does slip through the bounds. But now it seems like something nastier than usual has made its—her— way through the cracks: “There’s something wrong with the forest. It’s waking up.”
In addition to the recent slew of missing children, the adults of Shadow Grove are acting….very Stepford…but Rachel suspects there’s a deeper link to the strange events in Shadow Grove—and this new darkness is not only far from over, but it may be deep enough to swallow the town whole. With the help of her eccentric, elderly neighbor, a Scottish hottie, a childhood friend turned handsome socialite, and a super hot fae prince, Rachel discovers that the dark presence lurking around the edges of the forest of Shadow Grove belongs to the Night Weaver. Modeled off the Black Annis, a blue-faced, iron-clawed, child-gobbling bogeyman in English folklore, the Night Weaver doesn’t only prey upon the flesh of children, but on grief, fear, and pain—making her both the monster under the bed in a scared child’s bedroom and a fitting personification of the dark shadow that lives in the back of the mind of anyone who has experienced tragedy. If Rachel wants to save the missing children and the adults of her Shadow Grove, she’ll have accept that the small town she’s grown up in is anything other than normal, and that sometimes nothing is as it seems—and that the only way to find your way out of the darkness is to move toward the light.
Though at times the story moves perhaps a little too quickly and is not entirely free of YA tropes, The Night Weaver is nonetheless a well-laid dark fantasy and a clear entrance into a new series that will invite in a new generation of horror readers.
Monique Snyman
This is a great read. Rachel lives on the out skirts of Shadow Grove. Where the town just isn’t normal. She investigates in her own way. Its up to her to discover what is happening with people going missing. I really enjoyed this read. It was like putting a puzzle together for me. A great storyline. The Author brought the characters out great. I definitely recommend this read.
Shauna Joesten
5 Cranky Stars
The Night Weaver was way out of what I normally read, and I couldn’t put it down. The author takes you on a journey right along with Rachel and Dougal with the way she describes what is going on around them. I’m usually one to shy away from books with over descriptive text but when Rachel plunged her hand into that cocoon like tree I felt just as gross as she felt. So, buckle up and plan to dedicate some time to this book. I think it’s perfect for the reader who likes the gritty side of fairies and other supernatural creatures. Reader beware this book might make you squeamish and realize the fair folk are a lot more evil than you imagined.
Rachel notices some strange going ons in her tiny town of Shadow Grove. Young kids are going missing left and right and not a single adult seems to really care. In fact, she starts to notice that some of the adults acting very Stepford Wife her own mother included. When her plucky elderly neighbor suggest she goes through her late fathers’ journals to get a better understanding of what is going on she learns that the forest that no one dares enter is alive and looking for its next victim. It’s on this journey to save the kids and the others she befriends Dougal her neighbor’s grandson, Greg the towns golden boy and who can forget Orion. Rachel’s seemingly mundane life is about to be flipped on its axis and she knows she must save Shadow Grove, her mother and all those missing children.
“The stars may be everlasting, but the most precious things are fleeting and fragile and one of a kind.” I loved this quote! I liked Rachel she was a pretty kick butt chick. She charged in without any hesitation about her safety. She wanted to get those kids back. Dougal was the perfect best friend to Rachel he wasn’t going to let her go alone. Orion surprised me I was unsure about who he was, but he proved to be a decent guy. He may be a fairy but he’s a good one for the most part. He would make a good book boyfriend. A few times I had to go back and re read what I wrote because it seemed to jump to something else but it didn’t hinder the story one bit. I hope that this is the beginning of a series because it should be. I can imagine all the adventures Rachel can go on with these men by her side.
Actually 4 1/2 stars
Note: This review contains SPOILERS
The Night Weaver, nominated for a Bram Stoker Award and rightfully so, Monique Snyman writes an action, mystery, and horror that got me intrigued within the first three chapters. The Night Weaver revolves around Rachel Cleary, a seventeen-year-old girl with a family history intertwined with the supernatural. She is witty, stubborn, caring, and adventurous. Despite these qualities, she has lived quite a normal, peaceful life where she strives to be the best in her class and lives with a loving mother. As the reader continues into the story, parts of Rachel’s past is revealed that will cause the reader to empathize with her, seeing as her father died a few years prior, she has a neighbor who she looks to as a grandmother, and an old childhood friend that she reconnects with during the events of the book. The fantastical yet ominous creatures of the Fae realm, that Rachel delves into, bring real wonder to the reader.
The Night Weaver unfolded at a magnificent pace, that left me curious to read more. I first started reading The Night Weaver simply for the mystery of children going missing and an epic adventure to go retrieve them. This book did not disappoint, and I would encourage others to read it too. Snyman wrote beautiful descriptions throughout the of the book. At one point in the book, Rachel was flying and falling through the air. As Snyman described, the wind kept her teary eyes from blinking and her struggle not to fall from her captor made Rachel’s fear and adrenaline apparent from Rachel’s perspective. The Night Weaver was a horrid, blue faced woman with nails for teeth and a sentient cloak. Rachel’s childhood friend, Greg, was written as a worthy academic adversary and ally and Dougal, Rachel’s new neighbor, was a gruff, courageous, and opinionated young man. Rachel’s relationships with these characters are built upon throughout The Night Weaver, which brings the story to life. For example, Rachel spends time with her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Crenshaw, and befriends her grandson, Dougal.
One thing is for sure, that her life in Shadow Grove will certainly not be the same. The book ends on a note wherein Rachel is left to hope for another interaction with the Fae.
Reviewer: Mariah