Single mom Birdie is doing the best she can to raise her daughter Emaleen in Alaska. When Emaleen gets lost in the woods, Arthur, the scarred local recluse, brings her home safely. Soon Birdie falls in love with Arthur, craving his existence in the isolated mountains. Moving in with him, Birdie soon learns that the Alaskan wilderness, and Arthur himself, have darker sides than she realized.

Black Woods, Blue Sky was an odd book. A naive and misguided Birdie makes careless decisions to move in with a man who barely talks. I understood Birdie's desire to be independent but the connection with Arthur wasn't there, mostly because he's barely present in the story. It wasn't until after I finished that I saw the book being marketed as a Beauty and the Beast retelling, which I don't see. Magical realism has never been my thing but, other than beautiful descriptions of the Alaska wilderness, I didn't see the appeal of this tale.