I just finished the eARC of Daughter of the Pines by Maria A. Eden. It was amazing. I absolutely enjoyed this. This one is a bit hard to describe. It's a historical fantasy urban legend retelling. It takes place in a real world location called the Pine Barrens in the town of Galloway. It's set prior to the American Revolution from what I gleaned from the description but its fantasy so I may be off on that. The author decribes this as a retelling of the Jersey Devil story. I have to admit I knew nothing really about the Jersey Devil nor this region, the Pine Barrens. This story is rich and imaginative. I was immersed in a hauntingly spectator world. The story follows a single family that is more or less the nobility of this town, the Ledes family. The Pine Barrens is described as a place where the separation between realms is thin so demons and other fantastical creatures can move through these realms. When triplet boys are born in Galloway with fire magic the thin barrier between realms is closed. The devil counteracts this upheaval of order with, basically a prophesy, that the thirteenth Ledes child will reopen the doorway. The three Ledes triplets go on to marry and have children. All the cousins are raised together in Galloway. The FMC Harper is the twelfth and last born cousin. The Ledes family knew what it would mean to have a thirteenth child so they avoided it at all cost. Harper's mother died during childbirth and the midwife that delivered all the Ledes children was implicated in her death. It was forbidden to speak either Sarah or Raina's name after that. At the beginning of the book Harper is desperately trying to escape Galloway with her older brother James. She feels suffocated in Galloway and she's trying to save her brother before he must enter into an unwanted marriage. Harper has the magic of mindset, so she can read other people's minds and she can speak telepathically with her brother James who also can mindspeak. She's earning money by beating people in illegal card games run in her cousin's tavern. On the way back home after the card game she is approached by the new captain of the militia Jacob Miller and his partner Logan. They know about the illegal gambling in the tavern and they know she can minspeak so they blackmail her into helping them. Iron is used to ward the town from the demons out in the Barrens and someone has been stealing iron weapons from the militia armory. They need her to spy for them. Harper is a gifted artist so the cover story they come up with is that she's volunteered to paint a mural on the wall near militia headquarters. A warded wall was built around Galloway after she was born. With her in close proximity to paint the wall, she'd be able to read the minds of the militia men to find the guilty party stealing the weapons. But once she begins painting her mural she begins to hear a voice from the other side of the wall. This voice makes her question everything she's ever been told about her mother, the midwife and the curse on her family. This book was sooo good! The story was engaging, the imagery was immersive. The banter between Harper and Logan is excellent. Harper is irreverent and snarky and I love her. There were great twists in this story, one I saw coming and one I absolutely did not. It was just a super fun story. It will be released February 17th.
-Q
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