Review of The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long

Goodreads Book Description: The trees swallowed her brother whole, and Jenny was there to see it. Now seventeen, she revisits the woods where Tom was taken, resolving to say good-bye at last. Instead, she's lured into the trees, where she finds strange and dangerous creatures who seem to consider her the threat. Among them is Jack, mercurial and magnetic, with secrets of his own. Determined to find her brother, with or without Jack's help, Jenny struggles to navigate a faerie world where stunning beauty masks some of the most treacherous evils, and she's faced with a choice between salvation or sacrifice--and not just her own.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

My Review: I saw this book mentioned on several people's TBR lists, so I added it to mine. I award this book 3.5 stars.

The Treachery of Beautiful Things (which by the way, I think the title is one of the strongest points of the book-- love it!) by Ruth Frances Long is about Jenny, a girl who has lost her older brother, Tom, a long seven years ago, when the woods ate him. No one believes her, and after many psychiatrists, she has just stopped talking about it. Then one day, she hears Tom play his flute and follows it into the woods, where she has dreaded to set foot in for so long. She meets Jack, a mysterious Guardian, and Puck, his small friend, and she undertakes a very dangerous journey to save her long lost brother.

There are some really wonderful things about this book. The writing is very beautiful and I can imagine this Faery like land. Jenny is a likeable heroine, and Jack is fun love interest. I really loved the ending, which caused me to round this up to 4 stars.

That said, I had some major issues with this book as well. The middle drags a lot as we are waiting for things to happen. There are a lack of plot twists, and a large amount of time is spent on watching Jenny bumble around the forest. While beautifully described, I had to sometimes push forward to get to the end.

That said, I think that Long has promise as a writer, and I think she can only improve from here on out.

What did you think of this book?