But for the Mountains by Erin Riha | ARC Review

Not a Favorable First Impression

First impressions are everything and my first impression of But for the Mountains was that I was reading the 2020 version of The Selection. Which might appeal to certain readers but the whole Bachelor-esque aspect of the story in both books never appealed to me. I had hope that this book would turn that on its head but unfortunately I didn’t find that to be the case.

In this mostly fantasy but dystopian feeling world (yeah I was a bit confused too about all that), young women are raised and entered to compete for a limited number of spots at the National Women’s Institute where they get to learn to be proper young ladies who will make a different in the world… by being someone’s wife.

I am so over these stories where women have no power. While I get that this world gives the protagonist (Arden) a chance to overcome the restrictions on her as a young woman, it doesn’t make me want to read the book. I’m not looking for a utopia here but I’d like to see more from stories than women competing for a man unless that story is subverted somehow. I actually really liked how Grace and Fury did it. But here it wasn’t working.

For most of the book I watched Arden ignore why she was at the Institute which, okay, fine, then two love interests are introduced and she becomes one of those “not like other girls” where her being different and defiant of the pretty dresses and the makeup and everything makes her real. And nearly every other girl in the story is cast in a bad light for either part of or the whole book. Not all, but many. I’m tired of this. What makes those girls playing the game any less real? I don’t know, I just really struggled with seeing the women competing against other women narrative yet again and nothing really done with it to make it different.

The one thing that I think did work really well in But for the Mountains was Arden overcoming the trauma she had undergone prior to coming to the Institute. She’s been physically and emotionally abused for years and throughout the narrative starts to heal. I still cringed at some of her interactions with Declan, the young man she was supposed to be competing for, but overall I thought it was presented well.

That aspect defined Arden’s character with good reason, but beyond that she fell flat for me, immediately giving me the “not like other girls” vibe as I mentioned and just generally not a character I felt strongly about in any regard. Declan was a nice guy sometimes but I was never really on board. And Beck, her other man of interest, was great. I’d read more about him even if his character felt like it was there more to support Arden’s growth than stand on his own with his own motivations (which I still never understood? I had questions at the end).

Ultimately, this book was a quick read but I didn’t find the ending satisfactory, everything wrapping up so quickly after such a long build. I can’t put my finger on it but it was missing something for me, a loose end that hadn’t been closed? Too many unanswered questions? I’m not sure. And despite my more critical review, I don’t think But for the Mountains is a bad book but it wasn’t a great fit for me with my history reading stories like this. But if you loved The Selection then I think you’ll really enjoy this book. I would read more by this author in the future, I think, but this story in particular just didn’t suit.