The Deathly Grimm (The Forest Grimm, #2): Review

About the Book:

Title: The Deathly Grimm

Author: Kathryn Purdie

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Release Date: March 25, 2025

Pages: 400

Genre: YA Fantasy, YA Retelling

Synopsis:

The spellbinding sequel to Kathryn Purdie’s bestselling dark fairytale, where our main characters must return to the forest—and its monsters.

The story hasn’t ended yet.

After surviving the Forest Grimm and defeating the Wolf, Clara and Axel have made it back to their village, the one place they can be safe behind the forest’s borders. But when the forest itself begins luring in more villagers, it’s clear that Clara and Axel have only treated the symptoms of the forest’s curse, not the cause—and it’s getting worse.

Burdened with visions of the past and learning to navigate her fragile new relationship with Axel, Clara finds herself entering the forest with Axel yet again to discover the truth once and for all: the identity of the murderer who caused the curse. As they fight murderous woodsmen with incomprehensible riddles, ladies who will drag you into an eternal dance, and ghosts with the power to wield the forest against them, Clara and Axel realize the stakes are higher than ever. If they don’t survive the dark, deadly twists of the forest once more, not only will they never escape, they may also no longer have a home to escape to.

Romantic, eerie, and beautiful, The Deathly Grimm is the triumphant conclusion to Kathryn Purdie’s bestselling Forest Grimm duology.

Review:

*I received an e-arc via Netgalley and the publisher. Thank you for the opportunity to review. All thoughts are my own*

I thought this was a great conclusion to The Forest Grimm duology! With a murder mystery, fairytale magic and heart pounding twists and turns, it kept me turning the pages. The story begins where The Forest Grimm ended. Clara and Axel have made it back to their village, where they are safe behind the forest’s borders. To their dismay, the forest begins luring in more villagers and they realize that they have only treated the symptoms and not the cause of the forest’s curse.

Clara and Axel find themselves in the forest again after Clara keeps having visions of the past. They need to find who the murderer was that caused the curse. Much is at stake as Clara and Axel are on their journey. Will they be able to make it out of the forest a second time?

I definitely recommend!

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 THE FOREST GRIMM duology. 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.