I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill Published by Orbit on February 25 2025
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A delightfully unique fantasy tale, Greenteeth combines richly developed folkloric world-building with lovable, flawed characters. A delight from start to finish.
“‘There is some hope then?’ I asked.
‘You remember what I said the first time we met, Jenny? There is always hope.'”
I came very close to not requesting Greenteeth, and I’m so glad that didn’t happen. What a wonderful surprise this was! Greenteeth might seem like your typical quest fantasy on the surface, but it’s much, much more. Molly O’Neill infuses her story with folklore, mythology and Arthurian legend, adds in quirky, lovable characters, and includes tropes like found family and the aforementioned quest story. Before I even finished the first page, I was in love with Jenny Greenteeth, a monstrous lake-dwelling creature with very sharp teeth who loves everything to be neat and tidy, collects lost objects that fall into her lake, and considers a large pike living in the lake to be her friend. Jenny tells the story in first person with a no nonsense voice, snarky and abrupt at times, but underneath the bluster is a heart of gold. Fans of T. Kingfisher and the Emily Wilde series take note: this book is for you!
Jenny Greenteeth lives in a lake in the small village of Chipping Appleby, and she’s been there for over a thousand years. She takes great care to keep the lake clean, and she’s proud of the cozy underwater cave she’s made, where she sleeps at night and stores the many artifacts she’s found over the years: coins, glass bottles and the bones of small animals. Jenny’s content existence is shattered one day, though, when a woman is tossed into the lake and left to drown. Jenny decides to rescue her (although she’s tempted at first to eat her!) and brings her to the cave, where the woman, whose name is Temperance Crump, tells Jenny she’s been accused of witchcraft by the new Parson. And as it turns out, Temperance is indeed a witch, but perhaps not the kind of witch that needs to be drowned in the lake. She explains to Jenny that she performs practical magic, like healing potions, and she has a husband and two children back home that she loves dearly.
Together, the two women devise a plan to cast a forgetting spell over the town, so that Temperance can return to her old life. But things go wrong with the spell, and in the process, Jenny discovers that a malevolent being has infiltrated Chipping Appleby.
Although Jenny has powers of her own, it’s not enough to stand against the creature—the Erl King—and so she seeks help from her friend Brackus Marsh, a goblin who trades in magical objects. Together, the three embark on a dangerous quest to destroy the Erl King once and for all. Along the way, they discover the importance of friendship and working together, although there will be bumps in the road.
From visits to the Fae Court to searches for a wild boar with poison in its fur, the story is infused with magic and British folklore, and each new element is more interesting than the last. At one point, Jenny, Temperance and Brackus are joined by a large dog named Cavall, sent from the fairy realm to protect them, and Cavall becomes a fourth member of their group. Along the way, O’Neill drops little hints about the legend of King Arthur, and these elements end up playing an important part in the story.
We also learn about Jenny Greenteeth, who is also referred to as a river hag (Jenny is a Jenny Greenteeth, one of many scattered all over England, although their numbers are dwindling). All are called “Jenny,” and Jennys have the ability to make other Jennys. In one poignant section, we learn about Jenny’s daughter and how she came to be. I wasn’t familiar at all with this myth, so it was refreshing to read a story about such a fascinating creature. This Jenny Greenteeth, while considered a monster, is a fully fleshed out character with human emotions and desires, and I liked her immensely. Once Jenny joins up with Brackus and Temperance, the story gets even better, and the dynamic among these three was so much fun. If you love found family stories, this is a great one!
And of course, there’s plenty of danger as they prepare to face the Erl King, and not everything goes according to plan. The author throws in a few twists that had me questioning whether the story was going to have a happy ending or not, but I decided to trust her, and I’m glad I did. I absolutely loved the way everything wrapped up, surprises and all, which made all the trials of their journey worth it.
Magical, heartwarming and emotional, Greenteeth is a must read for anyone who loves fantasy.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Great review, Tammy. It sounds like a really great fantasy book and I love T. Kingfisher’s quote on the cover!
I’m not surprised she blurbed the book, it’s right in line with the kind of stories she writes:-)
I’ve always loved stuff related to the King Arthur legend. This one sounds really good and great review!
Thanks Barb, so much fun:-)
Tammy that review makes me SO HAPPYYYYY! Greenteeth was one of my best books last year and an amazing surprise! Excellent review where I totally share everything you said!
Thanks Sophie! Your review made me so excited to read it, and I’m so glad I did:-)
I’m so glad I read your review! I’ve been really tempted by this book, and decided to hold off because there are just TOO MANY books to keep up with… but after reading this, I need to go for it. Sounds right up my alley.
The characters are wonderful:-)
Excellent review! I’ll have to see if I can fit this in or snag an audio copy. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Anne!
This one’s caught my eye a couple of times but I wasn’t ready to make it a priority. Now I’m definitely going to have to though, it sounds fantastic (especially after the recommendations for fans of Emily Wilde). It’s not a myth that I’m familiar with either but I adore discovering mythology in general and it sounds like an interesting mix of characters too. Lovely review.
There are a lot of different myths and legends woven into the story, so much fun:-)
Jenny Greenteeth sounds like a uniquely fun character. One of my reading goals this year is to read more fantasy, so I’m definitely putting this one on my list.
I hope you get to read it, it’s definitely worth checking out:-)
This is such a beautiful review!! I can’t believe I haven’t already read this one, but lately I am in a strange moos, reading wise. But I think its turn will come soon!!
Thanks Susy! I’m curious to see what you think:-)
I’m really heartened by your excellent review, Tammy. I’ve already requested this one and am waiting with fingers crossed to see if I get a copy as I think this one is an ideal match for me reading tastes:)).
I hope you get a copy and enjoy it as much as I did:-)
It’s funny, my first thought when you mentioned Arthurian legend and a creature in a lake that likes to collect things was that she was the actual Lady of the Lake and had Excalibur stored in her cave.
Ummm are you sure you haven’t read this, Todd?
So happy to see your rating. Started this one today and I’m already loving the style and tone!
I can’t wait to see what you think!
On the whole, I’m not a fantasy fan, but I love the find family + monster vibes…
I don’t read a lot of fantasy either, so it says a lot that this was a 5 star book for me.
This sounds like a really interesting way of taking folklore and fleshing it out into a full story, using something a bit less well known! I’m very curious.
It was so well done!
I read a couple pages of this one and for some reason it wasn’t working for me so I temporarily put it down, but your review is making me want to give it another shot! T. Kingfisher and the Emily Wilde books are ones I love so I think that sells me on trying again, haha. Great review!
Between the title and the cover I was extremely eager to read your review of this one. Now I’m going to have to add it to my TBR. Great review!
https://lisalovesliterature.bookblog.io/2025/01/23/e-galley-review-wedding-dashers-by-heather-mcbreen/
I’m so glad you loved this…I finished it a few days ago and really enjoyed it. I hope the author writes more books!
I think this one slipped by me. It shall have to go onto the wishlist.
Lynn