Review: The Faerie Tree by Jane Cable

How can a memory so vivid be wrong?

I tried to remember the first time I’d been here and to see the tree through Izzie’s eyes. The oak stood on a rise just above the path; not too tall or wide but graceful and straight, its trunk covered in what I can only describe as offerings – pieces of ribbon, daisy chains, a shell necklace, a tiny doll or two and even an old cuckoo clock.
"Why do people do this?" Izzie asked.
I winked at her. "To say thank you to the fairies."
In the summer of 1986 Robin and Izzie hold hands under The Faerie Tree and wish for a future together. Within hours tragedy rips their dreams apart.

In the winter of 2006, each carrying their own burden of grief, they stumble back into each other’s lives and try to create a second chance. But why are their memories of 1986 so different? And which one of them is right?

With strong themes of paganism, love and grief, The Faerie Tree is a novel as gripping and unputdownable as Jane Cable’s first book, The Cheesemaker’s House, which won the Suspense & Crime category of The Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist competition. It is a story that will resonate with fans of romance, suspense, and folklore.

Shona's review 4 of 5 stars

When I first saw this on Netgalley I was drawn to the last few lines of the blurb... But why are their memories of 1986 so different? And which one of them is right? It was this that spurred me on to request a copy for review.

The book itself was easy enough to get into and I found that I couldn't put it down. I needed to continue reading. The book begins in 2006 and we get glimpses of their past from both POVs, slowly learning snippets of their lives in 1986 whilst they rediscover each other in the present.
At its core this book is about loss, grief, depression, love, family and starting over. And the effects all that has on our lives, even to the point where it can affect our memories.

Poor Robin seems to be suffering loss after loss and each time he seems unable to keep things together long enough to keep a roof over his head. At one point I thought the poor man was destined to live out his days on the street. I liked Robin, even right from the start when he runs away after the death of his mother. Even when he didn't like himself very much because he knew... he knew what he was doing wasn't the right thing to do but he physically and emotionally couldn't bring himself to fix it.
At the beginning of the book I quite liked Izzie, I didn't like the way she kept referring to her "oldest friend" as a tramp (despite the fact that yes he was living on the streets), I did like that despite her memories of their past she was still willing to give him the chance to make up for it...
And then somewhere around the middle of the book I began to dislike Izzie because of her actions, it took me a while to realise that she wasn't any more in control of her actions than Robin was when he first ran off.

Without a doubt, throughout the book I was rooting for them to find a way to be happy. Whether that was together or separately I didn't particularly mind. As long as they were both happy.