Debut Review: Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill
A fun weaving of folklore and myth that isn’t exactly sure what it wants to be.
Metadata
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Author | Molly O’Neill |
| Fic/Non Fic | Fiction |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Format | eARC |
| Rating | 3/5 |
Disclosure: This book was provided as an eARC from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Review
To be quite honest, I’m really not sure how to rate this book. I believe that the book largely hits the marks it wants to, but as a complete work it seems to defy categorization, beyond the apt T. Kingfisher comp. There is an early voiceyness in the first person narration by the titular character, Jenny Greenteeth, that I found entertaining in its own right. However that unique narration falls away after the first chapters, reappearing in fits and starts through the book, but never really coming home to roost. It then settles into a quite cozy narrative, where Jenny finds herself on a quest with a witch and a hobgoblin, carried more by fun banter between the characters than by any tension between them or within the plot. The quest follows a fairly straightforward fetch quest design that never quite lives up to the heroic epics that clearly inspired it. At best, the tasks feel linked to the characters own struggles, and there are moments where it feels like a myth told around a campfire. Those moments prove too rare for me, and often the quest feels more like a D&D campaign that went a little off the rails, the game master stepping in to save the characters from their own mistakes and get things back on track. Surprisingly, the stakes ramp up quickly as the book nears its end, throwing off its cozy exterior and never quite recapturing that magic. I tend to enjoy stories that start as one thing, but morph their way into another, but it never felt quite justified here, landing a bit flat on what could have been a more triumphant finish.
On the other hand, there is still so much to love in this book, and you can feel the author’s passion for British folklore, myth, and geology leaping off the pages. When everything in this book is working together, it is a delight, and I think that will raise this to a 5 star read for some readers. There is such a sweet joy in the character’s journey through the British countryside, and the beautiful landscapes they discover, their banter flying freely as they frow from acquaintances into fast friends. Although this book was not my favorite read of the year so far, I am genuinely looking forward to what O’Neill will write next. Another potential T. Kingfisher writing in the space is never something I’ll complain about.