Among the Beasts and Briars

Cerys is safe in Aloriya.  It's been that way for centuries since the first king made a bargain with the Lady of the Wilds.  Now each ruler wears the golden crown whose power keeps the dark wood at bay.  That power keeps them all safe, but it also keeps them close.  Venturing into the forest means death if you are lucky.  If you aren't, you could be transformed into a bone eater who hungers for flesh and power.

Cerys knows about this first hand.  When she was a child, she lost a dear friend and her own mother to the forest.  She never saw her friend again, but her mother returned as a monster who would have killed her own child.  Cerys also escaped with a new ability.  Instead of destroying her, the forest gave her the ability to make plants grow or even manipulate their appearance.  It's a good gift for the daughter of the palace gardener.

Now the king is dead, and his daughter Arwen is preparing to take the throne.  Arwen and Cerys only grew closer after the day they lost her brother and Cerys's mother to the forest, and Arwen leans on Cerys for support. 

But on the day of Arwen's coronation, everything goes terribly wrong.  Ancient creatures come out of the forest and begin infecting everyone with the bone eater disease, including Cerys's father and best friend Arwen.  She flees into the forest with only the fox from her garden as a companion.  In her fear, she holds the fox too close, and he bites her to escape.  The magic in her blood transforms into something new.  Now, he is a human, almost.  There is still a bit of the fox about him.  Their only hope is to travel through the forest to find the Lady of the Wilds, return her crown, and beg for help.  

There are other creatures in the forest who want the crown and who hunger for blood and violence.  Will Cerys and fox find the Lady of the Wilds before they become victims of the forest themselves?

This new novel by Ashley Poston is right up my alley!  I love and dark and creepy fantasy and this book did not disappoint.  I only felt like the ending was a bit rushed.  I wish we could have seen more of the final climactic battle.  Fans of dark fantasy will love this.  Recommended for 8th grade and up due to violence and brief profanity.  Also, that cover is a work of art.  Beautiful!