Hello! I aten’t dead!
I have moved across states, sold a house, got a new job, and have been going through a hell of a depressive episode on top of all of it. So, sorry for my absence, but reading has been… difficult of late. However, I had to come and tell you about this book that I read that made me smile!
Aeris, a shapeshifter of the Wild, steals children from unloving homes and raises them as his own in an enchanted grove deep in the Woods. Under the protective eye of their new guardian, the children absorb the forest’s magic and grow more fey-like than human: some of them sprout mushrooms or flowers while others develop scales or wings.
But the reserve of magic that keeps Aeris and his forest home alive is inexplicably running dry. With his life waning and the dangers of the Wild creeping closer and closer, Aeris will do anything to protect his family, even set his hopes on an unlikely new arrival in the Woods: a human stranger.
This is the story of Aeris, who is Fae, for lack of a better term for it. He’s… Of the Wild. He steals unloved children and brings them to his woods to raise as his own. His children are numerous and all quite different in shape, but Aeris loves every single one of them with all of his heart, and protects them from the evil Tall Ones who come to prey on them.
Aeris is steadily running out of magic to keep his family safe though, and so when a strange human appears in the woods, Aeris decides to trust him, and decides that William should care for his children when he can’t anymore.
This was a lovely book from start to finish. I loved the prose, and felt like the forest came alive a little bit. Aeris is a great character who I couldn’t help but cheer for, and so this was a quick and easy read. I loved the Ace and Trans representation that this one brought to the table as well. Most of all though, I love love love a good found family story, and this is the foundest family ever, and Aeris is the best Foster-Fae-Shapeshifter-Person that an unloved child could have.
Absolutely adorable, and if you need a nice short read to make you smile, I recommend Of the Wild! 5/5 stars!~
superstardrifter 
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