Review 151. Kate Danley – The woodcutter.

Title: The woodcutter.
Author: Kate Danley.
Pages: 334.
Published: October 14th 2010 (first published January 1st 2010)
Publisher: Createspace.
Sort: Stand alone.

Cinderella is dead and one of Odin's hellhounds has gone rogue. The Woodcutter, protector of peace between the Twelve Kingdoms of Man and the Realm of Faerie, is charged with finding the beast and returning him to the Wild Hunt. Unfortunately, it seems the forces of evil have other plans. It is a race against time as the Woodcutter travels east of the sun and west of the moon, up beanstalks and down to the bowels of the earth to unravel a mystery that can only be described as Grimm

Rating:

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I thought it sounded interesting and I quite liked the cover, so I decided to give it a shot. I’m so happy I did, because it was a wonderful story. I fell in love with the fairytale world Danley created and all her magnificent characters. Be prepared to enter the Twelve Kingdoms filled with a mixture of different fairytales! The story, characters and world-building is so layered and it’s hard to explain the story without giving spoilers. This is the best I can do:


The woodcutter is the protector between the Realm of the Faerie and the Twelve Kingdoms of the humans. His forest is the boundary and he is part of it. He will do everything to protect it, because it is his duty on earth. When an evil force tries to ruin the peace, it is up to the woodcutter to stop them. Pixies are gone missing, a mysterious house appears and vanishes and girls are found dead. In a race against the clock, the woodcutter tries to protect the princesses and princes from our beloved fairytales against one of Odin’s hellhounds. The woodcutters job is to ensure that the princess/prince get his true love’s kiss. The hellhound can’t attack after that kiss and he must save enough characters to weaken his enemies power. It is not going to be easy, because the pieces of information are revealing a sinister plot to overrule the save and happy world they all know.

I LOVED it. I tried to decipher all the fairytales and it was so much fun to find them all. There are at least 12 different stories and they are used in a creative way. There are also some mythological characters, like Odin and Baba Yaga. The woodcutter was a complex character. We start off slowly, but I really feel like I know him. He is loyal to his wife; the love of his life and he is brave, strong and intelligent. Danley uses short chapters and it worked for me in this story. Her writing-style is magical and detailed.

Yes, if you are looking for something refreshing with fairytales, mystery and interesting characters, this is the book you want to pick up!