The Creaking Tree

by Kristen Marquette

Nestled in a little riverside cabin in northern Michigan, food-writer and newlywed Louisa is working on her first cookbook, a collection of delectable recipes inspired by the foods found in fairy tales. The only nuisance to disrupt her work is a creaking tree across the river. All summer long it grows louder and more persistent. By the end of the summer, Louisa can no longer take it; she splashes across the river to silence the tree once and for all. But little does she know that the creaking tree is more than just a tree; it’s a door to an ensorcelled forest of kings and queens, huntsmen and witches.

Hopelessly lost in this strange and wonderful sylvan land, Louisa crosses paths with licentious dwarfs, follows a breadcrumb trail, and encounters a rogue huntsman, Roan. Roan explains that the Other Side is ruled by the nefarious King Lyall, who is more concerned with the state of his cock than his kingdom. He has imprisoned the mysterious Queen Anora in the enchanted Apple Grove. In order to return home, Louisa must travel deep into the forest and save the Queen . . . as well as herself.

Genres: Fantasy

180 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 2014

About the author

Kristen Marquette was born in Wayne, Michigan in 1981. She studied English at Michigan State University, focusing on creative writing and women's literature. She has worked as a tutor, retail slave, receptionist, and internet content writer to support her fiction writing habit.

Marquette is the author of five novels, which include: The Creaking Tree, Shakespeare's Sister, and The Vampiric Housewife trilogy. In no particular order, she is also an animal lover, a baker, an avid reader of everything and anything, a taker of pictures, a nature lover, and a hot chocolate addict. She currently lives in Michigan with her husband and shelter dog, Arya.

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Creaking Tree really tells two stories in one. The first story is a fun, easy read.

Upon returning home from her elopement, Louisa discovers that her newspaper has folded and she no longer has a job as a food writer. Her new husband, Jason, suggests that she stay at his family cabin in northern Michigan to write that cookbook she’s always talked about, and he’ll come visit her on the weekends. Even though Louisa finds inspiration for her cookbook, falls in love with nature, and befriends the wildlife, she misses her husband, and the distance strains their new marriage. As the summer goes on, Jason stops coming up every weekend and they begin arguing.

Across the river, a tree creaks, growing louder all summer.

Near the end of summer, the creaking of the tree is driving Louisa nuts. She crosses the river, finds it, and ends up crossing over to an enchanted forest, simply referred to as The Other Side

All summer long, Louisa has been immersed in food, nature, and fairy tales. All three are mashed together on The Other Side. Popular fairy tales play out, yet different from their original version and bits and pieces of different fairy tales are blended together; food is more than nourishment for the body—it’s both survival and symbolic. She is surrounded by a dense forest, which is both beautiful and frightening. She is harassed by lecherous dwarfs, aided by a taciturn huntsman, befriended by ducks, and attacked by a witch. In order to get home, she must save The Queen of the Forest from the evil King.

Story two is about a woman working through her denial that her marriage is falling apart and that her husband may not be who she thought he was. The creaking tree is that nagging thought in the back of her mind that won’t let up. All her fears and suspicions and dreams for the future manifest themselves in the characters she meets on The Other Side as well as the forest itself. And when she saves the Queen, she is really breaking through her denial and saving herself.

The language in the book is beautiful. Marquette has gift for describing nature. And it’s a rare to find a book that is a light read but with a lot of substance.

[Eric H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am from Michigan, where this book takes place, and it’s always cool to read about your home state. If you spent your childhood/adulthood “going up north,” then this book is going to hold a lot of nostalgia for you. The lakes and rivers, the trails, Mackinac Island, the fudge . . . This book is Pure Michigan. If you’ve driven up I-75, you’ll recognize the names of the towns mentioned in the book.

Anyway, about the book. I liked Louisa. She’s humorous, humble, and a survivor. Her husband Jason starts out likeably but his charm quickly disintegrates. Dale, Louisa’s father-in-law, might be my favorite character. He’s stoic, but both his depression and affection for Louisa are palpable as is his dislike for his own son. There are a bazillion recipe ideas that will seriously make your stomach growl.

I also liked how The Other Side is both very real and very surreal, kind of like the way information gets jumbled in your brain during a dream. For example, the scene with the witch Ada is a blend of Hansel and Gretel, The Gingerbread Man, and Beauty and the Beast. Ada looks like a kind old lady and her cottage isn’t made of gingerbread but smells of it because she’s cooking gingerbread cookies (like the old lady in The Gingerbread Man). She tries to force feed Louisa food (like the witch from H&G trying to plump up the kids). But when Louisa refuses to eat, the witch accuses her of taking advantage of her hospitality (like the Beast accuses Belle’s father) and Ada goes from kind old lady to witch/Beast. There is also rose wall paper on the walls which invokes B&B.

There are a number of surprises in the book, but I don’t want to spoil them for you. There is also one part where I did laugh out loud (when the ducks come to Louisa’s rescue).

Overall, The Creaking Tree is a light, enjoyable read, perfect for summer (especially if you’re going up north, wink-wink). I love that there is a fairy tale that takes place in Michigan.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Creaking Tree by Kristen Marquette was an easy read at only 176 pages long. It was an "okay" book. When you read the description on the back, you get the impression that it's going to have a lot of fantasy elements to it-not so. The main character, Louisa, doesn't even get to the fantasy world til nearly halfway through the book. The fantasy part is really not the main part of the story. The main story is about Louisa's her relationship with her husband, Jason & cooking. One thing I really don't care for in books is real lengthy descriptions to set the scene. The author did a lot of unnecessary describing in the first part of the book. Even though it was an easy read, I almost stopped cause of that, but I did not..I read the whole thing.

Louisa comes off sounding like a naive spoiled brat-more naive than spoiled. And Jason, well he seemed a bit artificial. The fantasy part wasn't all that original & I'm sorry to say that the ending wasn't a surprise. Once the story enters into the fantasy part, the plot took turns as one chapter dealt with reality; then the next chapter would switch back to fantasy, then switch back again to reality, etc. The cooking took up a large portion of the book-listing various ingredients for various dishes..if you're not a cook, that'll just add to the endless pointless descriptions throughout the story. The idea of the book wasn't a bad concept-I just don't think it was presented really well. It's just not a well cooked up story-I only give it 2 stars.

[Danyelle Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so lovely! fantasy is not really a genre I look for, but I'm so lucky to have received this in a first reads giveaway.
The main character is very relate-able and fun, the story is magical and sweet.
I enjoyed this book so much, and the end was perfect!
Plus, I hope this fairy tale cookbook is a real thing. sounds delicious.
definitely give this book a chance if you're looking for a fun, sunny read.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

With all the great reviews, I was excited for this book. I was not impressed. The writing was very amateur, the chapters really did not flow, and you could see the ending coming from a mile away. Had it been better developed, it could have been an interesting idea for a story. I found myself glad the book was over. It just never really sucked me in.