Review of Greenteeth by Molly O'Neil

I received a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review

CW’s: era-appropriate sexism, religious trauma/hatred, involves witch trials, violence, death, animal death (on page), death of a child (prior to book’s beginning, off page), mentions of blood, threats of violence against children.

My Rating: 5 stars

So this definitely falls into the cozier fantasy category in that it starts off pretty slow. The writing is engaging, so it doesn’t feel super boring per se. But it doesn’t make a big deal out of having a fast paced plot. I actually really loved the narrative voice. It was just somehow just engaging enough but not too much.

Also, right off the bat, Jenny was a little weirdo. I stan little wiggly weirdos with hunched little bodies and constant freakiness. Like Rumplestiltskin in Once Upon a Time. That little weirdo factor in a woman? Even better! A lady who’s a socially awkward, sort of crazy, spooky little freaky weirdo? An icon. A fave. O’Neil also managed to make socially awkward in a way that felt natural. Not a “ooh-ee I’m so cringe and random” type of way but a “I live in a bog and don’t see many humans” type of way.

Additionally, THIS is a good example of a historic fantasy. It’s not overly boring, the character aren’t mind numbing, and it doesn’t feel like the historical setting is just an excuse to put little effort into fleshing out women characters. Jenny and Temprance have barely been on page and they’re already being well developed.

Not only is she a freaky little weirdo, but Jenny is protective over Temprance, and they have this dynamic of “you’re my first friend in a long time” thing and I LOVE it.

The vibes are also immaculate, very much like Harvest of Hearts which was one of my favorite books of the year so far (and probably will be overall).

I also felt like the villain was an actually threatening guy, he was an actual menace, they combined this human persona with this Fae persona and both on their own would be menacing enough. But together? It made the stakes feel real.

Also, I love the little side characters. Brackus? Icon. Gwynn and his Queen? Iconic. The dog? Perfect. The fact that there are MULTIPLE Jenny’s? Absolutely a great decision. The world building and all the different creatures, from humans, dogs (Cavall my love!), Jennys, wisps, and other Fae, to menacing figures like the Erl King were really well done. The mythology felt well done and well understood while not occupying huge amounts of the narrative space. I didn’t feel like the author was spending loads of time developing the world, she did a good job of doing things gradually and efficiently without risking development. The creatures felt genuine in the way they acted and operated. They weren’t these smooth talking sex symbols that a lot of books about Fae make them to be. They’re awkward, weird, and have a variety of emotions, motivations, and personalities. But for the most part, they don’t know how to really human. Even the Erl King, the villain, who succeeds from disguising himself amongst humans, can’t be fully human. He’s still not genuinely “normal” and takes the form of a Witch Finder. He can’t help but being a sinister weirdo.

Jenny was really realistic. She wasn’t this super good person off the bat. The longer the book went on, the more layered she was revealed to be. She struggled with her own morality, so did Temperance and Brackus. They all had their moments of making decisions that were legitimately difficult to make. Their back stories and motivations fit into their actions throughout the book. Temperance and Jenny in particular.

And best of all, all of them had real, actual and possibly devastating vulnerabilities that impacted their hopes at success. Even as a cozy fantasy, there was still a real conflict. There were realized stakes that made you worry about it not working out. The villain worked so well because the heroes had to face physical, magical, and more limitations. Temperance and Jenny in particular had to decide what was against their conscience or not and decide if they were willing to sacrifice one thing for their goal. They were allowed to make compromises and keep their conscience while still challenging themselves. Their core beings never changed. They made progress, they developed, they had a character arc, but their core values stayed strong.

The author also kept it consistent in terms of acknowledging how much time had passed. She made that apparent, directly referenced it, and made it impact the characters. Especially Temperance who had young children, months matter with young kids.

Like I mentioned, the historic setting was really done. It felt like it made sense and was realistic, including dialogue and narrative, but it didn’t do that at the sacrifice of entertainment or core message. It allowed the women to still be active players in the plot while facing era appropriate challenges, but didn’t make it detrimental to the portrayal of women. Women were allowed to be dynamic and well rounded, they weren’t the victims of excessive and unnecessary violence. and they could be flawed. Men weren’t centered but weren’t demonized either. There were good men and bad men, good women and bad women, it didn’t feel like Temperance or Jenny were “not like other girls” either.

And oh my god the last 25%. Oh myyyy goooooddddd I was locked in, horrified, terrified, scared, on the edge of my seat, grieving, screaming internally, all of it. The Erl King was a terrifying villain throughout, the tension in the book built him up masterfully and he delivered. The ending had me gasping and gripping my e-reader tightly. And the epilogue was so cute, I loved it so much. Props to Molly O’Neil for making as terrifying of a villain as she did making lovable protagonists.

Absolutely amazing. A definite contender for my top 5 books of the year.