I love reading fantasy in December, especially if I can devour a trilogy or short series. I did this last year with the His Dark Materials trilogy; this year, I opted for something shorter and quicker with the Greenhollow Duology.

I unreservedly loved the first book, Silver in the Wood. It has a storyteller-esque quality to the prose that I adore and often associate with Neil Gaiman. It has a lush, forest setting that feels both cozy and sinister. Tobias is a delightfully stoic main character. It's perfect.

My feelings about Drowned Country are more complicated. The voice is very different, stuck as it is in Henry Silver's mopey, selfish head. It will vary in its appeal depending on your ability to withstand/enjoy Howl Pendragon levels of self-pity. I have to say that I found it taxing.

However, I loved the deeply eerie approach Emily Tesh takes to writing the fae. She captures a brittle, desiccated uncanniness that I don't think I've seen taken to this level anywhere else. Once I got into this part of the book, I enjoyed things much more.

But I never got back onto Henry Silver's side, and I didn't really buy or want the ending that happens. The conclusion felt rushed to me, partially because this is a novella and things have to wrap up quickly, which is just a hazard of the format, but partially because the resolution didn't feel emotionally earned. It felt like a redemption arc without any actual redemption, just a lot of grace being afforded to someone whom I don't really think deserved it.

I'm not straightforwardly telling you to read the first book but not the second, because there are worthwhile things here that you would miss: the aforementioned creepy faerie stuff; more of Tobias out in the world; and the introduction of Maud Lindhurst, a character I like to imagine having many long years of adventures. And there are thought-provoking things here about love and possessiveness. However, I kind of wish that I hadn't immediately read this one. I think it would have felt good to marinate in the warm feelings I have for Silver in the Wood for a bit.