The fact that this is a debut novel. I know that’s not really a positive about the book itself but I feel like this author has a real point of view and it excites me that there could be more to come. We meet Martha who is desperately unhappy after an accident left her blind in one eye and with a scar on her face. A bizarre result of this accident was that she can ‘read’ people from touching their clothes. She can sense feelings and memories and see a part of them when she connects with their clothes. Part ghost story, part Nordic mystery – a creepy and chilling tale steeped in Norse myth, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Michelle Paver’s DARK MATTER. Four months ago, Martha fell from a tree in her grandmother, Mormor's garden in Norway. The fall left her scarred and blind in one eye, and ever since, whenever she touches people clothes, she has access to their feelings and their memories. Desperate to know what's going on, she has written to her Mormor for answers, without any response. When she realises that Mormor has been replying, but her mother has been burning the letters, Martha decides to fly to Norway to speak to her Mormor. Only, when she arrives, she discovers her Mormor has died and been buried, and a strange boy is living in her house. There's something strange out in the woods that her Mormor's neighbours warn her of with unusual fear - and also that her Mormor wanted the twisted tree in the garden watered from the well. When strange things start happening around the house - a spinning wheel spinning, a rag doll twitching, books appearing, and dark shadows moving - Martha starts to suspect that the unwatered twisted tree is at the heart of it all.

Martha is one of my all time favourite heroines. She is so strong and yet so full of self loathing and doubt. She is beautiful and scarred. She is dealing with so much: her accident, her mum's betrayal, the death of her grandmother, the sudden onset of her abilities and then everything that happens once she gets to Norway. But she is incredible. She takes it all in, and yes she is sceptical and it takes her some time to come to terms with it but damn does she pull through. She absolutely owns her ability and her legacy. I just love her, I love everything about her. I didn't like the present tense used, the dialogue was stilted and the writing clunky. Too much time was spent in the house, and not enough time on the action scenes. This book is well written and well thought. Every characters, stories, the pace, the setting, and every detail are carefully weaved and knitted into one wonderful and magical story. I love this book SO MUCH! It gripped me from the very beginning and I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I really hope that Martha and her mum do end up moving to Norway. I think it's what's best for them and they will be able to look after the tree and fix their relationship at the same time.I can't really fault this story. It was an enjoyable read. It has interesting characters who are well worked. The pace/tension/spooky ness are very good. My rating of 4.5/5 I am more than happy to round up to 5. I'd like to read this author's next book. This was a NetGalley book that I was approved for. As with previous books, I was given a digital review copy of this in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is a book not to be missed. I read it in a couple of sittings as I didn’t want to put it down. Ms. Burge’s writing and her plot had me gripped the whole way through and whilst I love a good thriller even I felt uneasy in places – Just like the author wanted. The characters are wonderfully written and have wonderfully complex layers to them. Martha with her newly found talent for "reading" clothing and struggling to come to terms with her facial deformity that seems to have led to the ability forming. Stig, running from an unhappy home life and battling with a burgeoning addiction to alcohol (judging from the amount of Brandy he seems to drink). Both of them brought together by the shared grief of losing a family member - Martha's Mormor and Stig's father.I was SO impressed this was a debut and that when I chatted with the author on TheBookTrail, she told me she’s never been to Norway! How to get the tone and setting this right without going is genius. Imagine where she will take us next!

I bought this book after seeing the cover on my Facebook feed. I'm a big book cover fanatic and I just love abstract covers. This one is so beautiful and I'm so delighted to be able to say that the story matched it perfectly. This spooky, grim, story is dark and twisted with just the right amount of angst for a YA novel. Also, I was really uncomfortable with how Martha being blind in one eye was handled. Martha falling out of the tree and becoming blind in one eye was her destiny, and there's a purpose behind her half-blindness. Being half-blind is a tool that will help her (again, not fully explained to my satisfaction). It just doesn't seem right to me to purposely decide a character will be half-blind, she'll be half-blind for a reason, and there's something "magical" about her being half-blind. It just feels really insensitive to me, using people's disability as a magical means to an end. Martha isn't half-blind for purposes of representation or diversity, she's half-blind because it helps the plot. Martha is a young girl who is very mixed up. She is having a hard time not only being blind in one eye but that her eye is facing the wrong way so people stare at her. She is also having a hard time not understanding why she feels peoples emotions and memories when she touches their clothes. She heads off to Norway to get answers after discovering her mother was getting rid of the letter from her Grandmother. Martha has a rather strange ability which awakened after her accident and she has gone to her grandmother for answers. She also wants to know why ever since she was partially blinded she tell things about people by touching their clothes. Fed up with not getting the answers from her mum she sets off to travel to Norway and ask her Grandmother. Unfortunately, when she arrives she discovers her Grandmother is dead and a teenage boy called Stig in her house, which is in the woods.

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This is a Hot Key Books publication which means it is aimed at a Young Adult (I loathe that term SO much) audience. However, do not be misled this a creepy and tense novel that will give an inordinate amount of pleasure to anyone who enjoys a good old-fashioned tale of the supernatural. It has everything - ghosts, demons, ancient Gods and a promise made a millennia ago that cannot be broken - DELICIOUS! This is catogorised as a "Teens and Young Adult" book so I'm certainly not part of the intended demographic but nevertheless as someone who enjoys a well written spooky tale I must admit that I found this a most enjoyable read. Combining such diverse themes as romance, disability, Nordic mythology, ghosts, monsters and broken families the story ultimately is about redemption and coming to terms with the past and who you are. I just loved the strong female characters in this book. All of Martha's ancestors have looked after the tree to guard the world of the dead and stop things like the Draugr walking our earth. They have done this since Odin hung from the tree to gain wisdom from the Well of Urd. They have all been women and all of them have had the ability to read clothing, to see people's thoughts, feelings, motives and dreams. It's just such a magical concept and I love it. I know I'm not the target audience, but I love a ya fantasy, and was really looking forward to this! It felt very young ya/middle grade to me, and the writing was very immature.

Stig and Martha – I really liked both of these characters, I felt like the author went outside the box for them. They were different, unique, had an interesting story and it was nice to see someone who was slightly alternative without being ‘OMG THEY ARE A GOTH’ I think where this book really excels is in the creepy elements. Burge really has a gift for atmosphere and creating a scene which you can visualise so fully. I would love to see a pure horror novel from her actually, as few authors can scare and give me chills as much as this one did. I liked the incorporation of mythology, particularly aspects that I hadn't seen included in a book before. I enjoyed the character development that the main character went through, as she learned to be happy with herself, and I liked that a romance wasn't the reason that she did so. It was a cute little romance too, with a different love interest. I think that's overall what I can say about this-it was different. It's a YA book that feels set apart from a lot of the ones I've read lately. The insta-love was so cringey and unnecessary, but it's YA so has to have romance right?! Also, the love interest was called Stig, which just made me think of the book, Stig of the dump Every. Single. Time. 😂😂 The use of the Norwegian language. The way that it became natural in the story to have so many mentions of words and phrases was so well written. I actually feel like I learned something!I have been looking for a YA book that sets in Norway that is written in English, since my Norwegian is not advance yet. Then I came across this book, and have to request the ARC. Then I got it and I’m truly truly happy! Thank you so much to the author & publisher for sending me this book. And then there's the plot itself. As I said, there were elements to it that were pretty intriguing, but they just weren't developed enough. So there's more to this twisted tree in the garden that meets the eye. Ok, fine. But why? There's a link to Norse mythology, which was really fascinating, but it's just surface level stuff, and if you don't know Norse mythology, like me, then you'll be left with even more questions starting with "why?" And other questions like, what is the creature in the woods? Ok, it's X, but what is that? What does it mean? How and why did Mormor die? Because she seemed to know she would die, but there's no explanation as to why, or what happened. Why Martha's family, specifically? And what happened before they were given this task? There were just so many things that were underdeveloped, world building that wasn't fleshed out enough. I have read a lot of fantasy, and so I'm used to in depth explanations and world building that has an answer to every possible question. It feels to me that Burge didn't put enough effort into fleshing out her world building, and so I feel a little cheated. We begin by meeting Martha as she travels to visit her grandmother. Martha is blind in one eye after a terrible accident involving the tree at her grandmother's house. When Martha arrives at her Grandmother's she discovers a strange boy inside and that her grandmother has died.