The Forest Grimm: Review

About the Book:

Title: The Forest Grimm (The Forest Grimm #1)

Author: Kathryn Purdie

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Release Date: September 19, 2023

Pages: 336

Genre: YA Fantasy, YA Fairytale Retelling

Synopsis:

Where fairy tales come to life with dark, deadly twists…

“Tell me again, Grandmère, the story of how I die.”

The Midnight Forest. The Fanged Creature. Two fortune-telling cards that spell an untimely death for 17-year-old Clara. Despite the ever-present warning from her fortune-teller grandmother, Clara embarks on a dangerous journey into the deadly Forest Grimm to procure a magical book – Sortes Fortunae , the Book of Fortunes – with the power to reverse the curse on her village and save her mother.

Years ago, when the villagers whispered their deepest desires to the book, its pages revealed how to obtain them. All was well until someone used the book for an evil purpose―to kill another person. Afterward, the branches of the Forest Grimm snatched the book away, the well water in Grimm’s Hollow turned rancid, and the crops died from disease. The villagers tried to make amends with the forest, but every time someone crossed its border, they never returned.

Now, left with no alternative, Clara and her close friend, Axel―who is fated never to be with her―have set their minds to defying fate and daring to accomplish what no one else has been able to before. But the forest―alive with dark, deadly twists on some of our most well-known fairy tales―has a mind of its own.

Review:

*I received an e-arc via Netgalley and Wednesday Books for review. Thank you! All thoughts are my own*

The Forest Grimm is a YA Fantasy/Fairytale retelling with a dark and mysterious sentient forest, fairytale characters with a twist, romance, strong friendships, family and more. I really enjoyed how Kathryn Purdie turned characters we know and love into something really different and creepy. I will definitely not think of Rapunzel or Cinderella in the same way again!

Clara Thurn is a seventeen-year-old girl who lives in the village of Grimm’s Hollow with her fortune telling Grand’Mere. Clara knows her cards, The Midnight Forest and The Fanged Creature, which spell her untimely death. Despite her grandmother’s warning, Clara heads into the deadly Forest Grimm on a quest to find Sortes Fortunae, The Book of Fortunes, to reverse the curse on her village and save her mother.

Before the curse, the pages of Sortes Fortunae would reveal to the villagers how to obtain their deepest desires. All was well, until someone used the book for an evil purpose, to kill another. As punishment, the branches of The Forest Grimm took the book away, the well water in Grimm’s Hollow turned rancid, and the crops began to die from disease. The villagers tried to make amends with the forest, but anytime someone crossed the border, they were never seen or heard from again.

Now, Clara and her closest friend Axel, who she is fated never to be with, are determined to get into the forest, rescue the villagers, and find Sortes Fortunae. The forest has a mind of its own though and the lost are not the same, and Clara and Axel will face more than they bargained for.

I definitely recommend this one, which is out now, and I look forward to the sequel!

About the Author:

Kathryn is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the BURNING GLASS series, the BONE CRIER’S MOON duology, and the forthcoming THE FOREST GRIMM duology (Sept 19, 2023). Her love of storytelling began as a young girl when her dad told her about someone named Boo Radley while they listened to the film score of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. Kathryn is a trained classical actress who studied at the Oxford School of Drama. She also writes songs on her guitar for each of her stories and shares them on her website. Kathryn lives in the Rocky Mountains with her husband and three children. Headshot-Crop