Liz Kerin's creativity flows off the pages and right to the heart. Not to mention she gives you characters that you desperately wish only the best for but as all good authors tend to do, she doesn't leave your heart in one complete piece. Haben shows great growth and development and Seycia is my favorite, a true strong personality and stubbornness that runs in not only her but her brother Miko.

The storyline is wonderfully paced and the world-building astounded me. The imagery that she describes is breathtaking and at times I just closed my eyes to drink in the descriptions I had read.

I would recommend this book to any fans of the fantasy genre.

Did not finish at 20%. Unfortunately this book isn't for me. At times the writing is excellent and I'll look forward to reading more from this author in the future, there's the potential there for her to tell some interesting stories. I just found that after such an amazing opening line (one of the best I've read in a novel) I just found that I didn't care for the plot or the characters. Maybe I will pick it up one day in the future.

Thank you Netgalley for an Advanced digital copy of this book.

Seycia had grown up with tales of the Forest of Laida as a child, but the old religion had been banned by the Coalition. General Simeon killed her parents and continues to sacrifice villagers to the demons like the old religion calls for, and he had marked Seycia for death as well. When she's sacrificed, however, she doesn't die. She now has to work with the demon Haben to journey to the Forest of Laida, the place where souls will regenerate. There are dangers above and below, and it won't be an easy task.

It's fascinating to see the world around the village of Khronasa. This is a post-apocalyptic world, with flashes of our own in pieces left behind, but it's not the focus of the story. Instead, there's Seycia's story thread, as she tries to protect her brother Miko in this harsh reality of the world they live in, and then Miko's thread as he struggles to survive without her. Because he's the only one to have escaped the sacrificial pit, the inevitable resistance that exists underground takes him in and hopes he can be a symbol for them. Seycia is more than human but not quite demon in the Underworld, and learns how the world had ended when mortals breached the divide between the Underworld and the land of the living.

The villains of the novel, General Simeon and the god Dohv, aren't simply cardboard cutouts of evil. While they may seem that way at first, there are other motivations at play and we get a chance to see them in action. I don't feel sorry for them in the slightest, and eagerly followed the action in both story threads. They interwove in places so that Seycia's love for her brother could literally help protect him because he's still a boy and not quite ready to be a leader. They're all capable of making mistakes as well as their great heroics so that they felt like real people. Seycia and Haben work better as a friendship, even though as the story progresses it seems like the narrative was trying to force a romantic relationship. That part didn't ring true to me at all, but I loved the rest of the novel.

This is Liz Kerin's first novel, but it's very finely crafted and flows pretty well. I hope this is the start of a series because it definitely feels like there are more stories to be told in this world.

Beautiful idea.
It was really interesting book still not free from cliche tropes of YA fantasy.
I like main idea of mixing mythical fantasy and light dystopian elements to build this world. I really captured my attention at the point when it was explained and I enjoyed idea of telling the story "What if we knew..." still it could be executed much better.
How this knowledge was affecting human mentality? I don't know. And that would be really interesting.
Instead we focus on, of course, heroine and her love interest. She is basically Katnis Everdeen but with no trauma at all, so it makes her unrealistic and well... not interesting.
He's story is more captivating: about responsibility, paying for Your actions and redemption. And that is something I don't see often in YA book. What is more, it is pretty well executed and moved me at some points.
There is also POV of little brother of main heroine which left me with questions about his motivations. I think I don't understand them and that is why I do not believe in them. I couldn't shake off the feeling that his character building as rebellious is forced.
Just as the romance, btw.

Nevertheless.
There are lots of cliche things that bothered me but I wouldn't mind them (and forget about the book right after I'd finished it) if the idea for world building wouldn't be so promising.
Therefore I will pick up next book when it comes out.
And for this one it's 3,75. Because it is typical YA based on beautiful idea with a promise for more. And I want that "more" soon.

A solid 4 out of 5 stars for The Phantom Forest, a debut novel by Liz Kerin. I’m going to get real. I decided a few years back that if I didn’t love a book I wasn’t finishing it. My time means a great deal to me and I refused to waste it finishing books that weren’t "worth it." When I first received The Phantom Forest I had trouble starting it. The very beginning with Haben threw me off so I struggled to make it even halfway through the first chapter! FOUR attempts later and two chapters in I was engrossed. I finished the whole book (300 pages) in less than two days. Those were work days too so I worked eight hours each day which means I read in the morning, during lunch, and at night because I HAD to know what would happen next. For me, that means I #CouldNotPutItDown.

I won’t bore you with a synopsis and I do my best to avoid spoilers so let me just say that the story of Seycia and Haben was beyond refreshing. The different worlds Kerin built for us were brilliant, of course, but the characters and their story arcs left me feeling hopeful and happy. I needed them to succeed so I could love the story but more than that I needed them to be more words on a page. I’ve always been one to form strong attachments to characters, I’m sure many of you can relate. It is so vital for a good story and often characters fall flat. Liz Kerin did not disappoint me and she won’t disappoint you. Also I ship Seycia and Haben to hell and back BUT don't worry guy I am very VERY picky about #LoveStories in books. Especially #YABooks. I hate it when they take over the plot. This loveI WOULD FIGHT ANYONE OVER. I won’t spoil it anymore than that so just go read it!

I genuinely recommend this book. I would say any fantasy reader would enjoy it as much as I did and most readers invested in good, solid writing, world building & character design would as well.

~LetRachelRead

I was provided an ARC of The Phantom Forest through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you as well to the publisher Inkshares.

I enjoyed the premise of this book, and I believe there is a fairly decent story. There were good parts and interesting secondary characters. The split in the world and the Forest of Laida (go soul trees!) were particular favorites of mine.

However, none of the characters appeared real to me, and I had difficulty believing some of their actions and the developments that happened throughout the story. Seycia, Haben, and Miko all made unexplained leaps or had out of character moments throughout the book. The secondary characters held promise though and provided some of my favorite moments of the books. General Simeon as the villain added to the story and gave a solid central figure for the protagonists to oppose (as did Dohv). The main romance did little to convince me that it was true feelings and not desperation or adrenaline.

There were odd jumps in the story-telling, and the pacing seemed all over the place. In some instances of information was repeated unnecessarily, and the principle of "show not tell" was completely ignored in terms of storytelling.

Overall, not a bad book, but I would be unlikely to suggest it to friends as it is now. I could see it as a possibility for older middle-school readers, but again - not quite something I would feel comfortable recommending as a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

2.5

With a fantastic premise and a gorgeous cover, I had high expectations for The Phantom Forest. Unfortunately, the confusing opening, flat characters, and dragging plot made the novel a struggle to read. Seycia and Haben had lacking personalities which led to much of the attention shifting to Miko. He made for a decent main character, but there was nothing extraordinary about him. Kerin had some great ideas, and I appreciated the Underworld plot, however, her ideas were not executed as well as they could have been.

Wow what a debut! I really enjoyed this book. I've never read anything about the underworld before but I wouldn't hesitate to read more if they were written like this.
The book follows the lives of seycia and her brother miko after the deaths of their parents. They have found themselves in hiding from Simone the man who killed their parents and the community he has continued to created during his rule over there country. Simone is leading the people whilst worshiping the leader of the underworld Dov and to keep him happy he sends human sacrifices to The Savage. Seycia ends up being a sacrifice to the Savage and gets taken to the underworld where she meets Haben who's been trapped there for ages and his punishment for the crimes he committed on earth is to become the Savage.
I loved the different creatures in the underworld and all the elements of it.
The story swaps from following Seycia in the underworld to Miko back on earth as he tries to live his life following the loss of his sister by avenging her captor.
Over all I really enjoyed the book but I found it a bit rushed at times and the love element was very predictable and came out of no where without much of a build up.
I can't believe the ending! I'm hoping there will be a second book as I need to know what happens next!

I received a free advance reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

This was an unique story based in a fascinating world. I thought it would be a horror which it was not but it was still a captivating tale.

The Phantom Forest tells the story of Seycia and Miko, two siblings orphaned by a villainous General Simeon of the Coalition. Before dying, their father gruesomely disfigured the general’s face. For this reason, they are despised by him and are living hidden in the outskirts of the town he rules, Khronasa. However, he catches up to them and Seycia disfigures him even further and is marked for sacrifice to the Savage, an underworld demon. However, something goes wrong during the sacrifice and, oddly enough, Seycia and the Savage, also known as Haben, team up to head to the Forest of Laida. All trees in the forest house souls, good and bad, and Seycia intends to destroy the general’s own before more innocents are sacrificed. However, the leader of the underworld, Dohv, was not in favor of that plan and is intent on stopping them anyway he could. Meanwhile, we also follow Miko and the band of rebels who have finally decided to fight back against the Coalition.

The thing I liked the most in this book was the description of the underworld. I felt as if I was flying along with Seycia and Haben on Norryn’s back looking down at the sights below. Liz Kerrin has a knack for making you feel as if you’re actually part of whichever scene she is describing. I suspect that may be due to her background in film.

Haben was the typical antihero. He was paying a heavy price for something he did in his mortal life, although in my opinion, it was not that bad. He was a demon but Seycia and others saw the good within him nearly instantly. However, Dohv is in control of him, and the Savage as a result, and he knows he will pay a terrible price for helping Seycia.

I actually preferred the underworld more. I did not like the fact that Miko took credit for something that he knew his sister did. And honestly, even though they stressed it repeatedly during the book, I am still to see why the Khronasans were so intent on making him the symbol of their rebellion. I did not think he was so special.

On that note, I am still to see why Seycia was the only one to look like her in the underworld or why the weapon she used only worked for her. At the end of the book, I was still confused as to what exactly ‘went wrong’ for her. Maybe these unanswered questions will be answered in a sequel *hint hint*.

This book was a haunting story and can be the beginning of a beautiful series. I truly enjoyed the story and would love to know what is in store for these characters.

I read this book because a good friend of mine recommended it and I will never doubt her recommendations again. While I'm usually not a huge fan of books with multiple POVs, I found myself interested in all three stories, probably because there were two different storylines - all working towards the same ending. Kerins writing pulled me in from the start and I just couldn't stop. I hád to know how the story ended, what happened to everyone, what the significance of some things were.

I'm a huge sucker for worldbuilding, and this book had plenty. I was on cloud nine with all the descriptions, and they continued all through the book, which was perfect. It wasn't too much so it started to get boring, but somehow Kerin made it all worthwhile!

This book is perfect for those who love the original Grimm stories, it's dark and gruesome and bloody and amazingly written. I loved the added references to resurrection and what seemed like the river Styx for me (kinda, not entirely). I loved the book and I really really hope this story is continued in some way. Definitely adding this writer to my auto-buy list!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was one of my favorite books of 2019. Loved the unique storyline. Loved the flow of the story. Will recommend to everyone I know.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

*Actual rating 2.5/5, rounded up for Goodreads*

Phantom Forest had so much potential to be incredible, but it fell quite flat to me unfortunately. I wanted a lot more emotional involvement, and ultimately I didn’t hugely care what happened to most of the characters.

Seycia is killed as a sacrifice to the God of the Underworld, but something goes wrong and she turns up alive in the underworld. Haben, the monster enslaved to kill her, chooses not to and ultimately assists Seycia as she tries to influence the mortal world from the underworld. The concept? Sounds amazing! The execution? A bit lacklustre.

Let’s start with what I liked - HABEN. I do have such a thing for tortured villains forced into villainy, and so of course I liked Haben. He was enslaved by the god of the underworld as punishment for his mortal ‘sins’, and so turns into a monster that eats the mortal sacrifice offered up. Again, sounds amazing! Whilst Haben was my favourite of all the characters, there was still some emotional lack in his characterisation. His tortured soul felt a little superficial. There’s a moment when he manages to be in complete control of the monster despite the entire book up until that point saying he was uncontrollable when faced with that hunger. And actually when it comes to it, I really didn’t think his ‘sins’ were actually that bad.. He seems to be moping about forgiveness for…reasons that don’t actually seem valid? He did something to impress his father; father then took control and actually did all the bad things so Haben mopes for eternity? It just didn’t make a lot of sense to me. In saying that, I did enjoy Haben and his slow descent back to humanity, from learning to speak again to falling for Seycia.

Seycia herself was a bit meh for me - she was by no means terrible, there just wasn’t anything that stood out about her. She’s another fantasy girl who’s amazing at everything and special (though why she’s special isn’t ever actually explained). She’s part alive in the underworld, and it’s hinted it may be because of the weapon her father left her, or because something went wrong during the process, but never actually revealed why she is so special.

Zane was another character I did enjoy - creepy, dead, demon child! I wish we’d had a bit more of his creepy, gleeful demon hysteria, because I found him quite captivating for the moments he was on page.

All three of these characters spend most of their time in the underworld so it is no surprise that was the part of the story I enjoyed the most. I wish the story had just been set there entirely, as I didn’t care at all for what was happening in the mortal world. The underworld had some really cool creatures like the scarab beetles and the Soulless, and the action was much more involving in these sections.

Sadly, that’s where the positives end. I really didn’t care at all for any of the characters in the mortal world - Miko is your typical annoying young boy who thinks he’s so special because
his sister (Seycia) is doing all these cool things from the underworld, and he thinks he’s doing it (despite hearing and seeing his sister at these moments in time…)

I also thought the worldbuilding was very undercooked. I didn’t know until about 70% through the book that the big war everyone kept talking about was actually a human war, NOT humans vs demons. I also still haven’t a clue who the people in control of the mortal world are, where they came from and why they are bad.

I really expected great things from this book because it had such a fantastic concept, but unfortunately the lack of worldbuilding and emotional attachment I felt to any of the characters meant this book just didn’t work for me.

Review will go live on my blog Saturday 6 July.

Unfortunately this book was a "DNF" for me. I couldn't get into it although it was chilling and suspenseful it was hard for me to follow along and I got distracted easily.

Unfortunately, that was not for me. I felt that the book was full of cliches and it feel a ripoff of  “The 100” and so many others. I even started to try to guess what would happen next and I was right 100% of the times, until the game became boring and I just decided to leave the book. I did not finish reading. Maybe it's get better, who knows.

So, I've decided to DNF this book at about 30%. The writing is strong enough, and I think it's got a great premise, but I just can't.

The problem I'm having is the use of "The Savage" to describe Haben's evil alter-ego, or whatever it is, he's possessed by. I suppose other readers won't have this issue, but as a Cree (Indigenous) reader, I just can't do it anymore. It's a slur and I've just decided that despite the strengths of the book, there's no reason to expose myself further to language that has been used to dehumanize me and my people. Other native readers, be aware.

As for other readers, I saw on the Goodreads page that there is a list of content warnings that that author posted, you'd do well to consult that list.

Thanks anyway for the chance to view an eARC of this book. Since, I can't not rate the book, I'm giving it three stars based on what I saw otherwise.

The Phantom Forest is a chilling book with an interesting plotline and intriguing world. Be prepared for an adventure, torture and a lot of death.

I was given a digital ARC of this book by Net Galley (thank you!).

Since the first chapter of this book I was "in love" with Haben and this strange forest.
The Phantom Forest (or Forest of Laida) is situated in the Underworld and is where souls go when they die on the Earth and wait for their next life.
Here we find Haben, a demon who's "haunted" by the misterious Savage.
We are aware that the two are actually the same person.

On Earth, after a war, we find the siblings Seycia and Miko. They lost their parents when the Coalition - more specifically by hand of General Simeon, which has been attacked by Seycia's father with a special fang. Since then the two had to live hidden from the Coalition. These last one have the tradition of doing sacrifice for the Savage, in honor of the god of the Underworld Dohv.
Unfortunately Simeon want Seycia as the next meal of the Savage and capturing her brother, setting a trap for her.

During the sacrifice Seycia fell in the Underworld and Miko is saved by a mysterious girl.

From now on, Seycia will take part in a mission together with Haben to get revenge on Simeon and to go against the not-so-godly Dohv. They will go for the whole underworld in search of the Forest of Laida to find the tree of Simeon's soul.

On the other hand, Miko take part in the rebellion against the Coalition. He has a great courage and is part of a strange prophecy.

The book have multiple POV, mostly of Seycia and Haben's view. I found that the style is intriguing and animated, the story is easy to read and there are a lot of plot-twist.

I love the world building: the Underworld is a very dark and fearful place but at the same time intriguing. The monsters that populate it seem to come out of a nightmare.

The finals chapters are amazing! The reader never lose interest and the cliffhanger in the last pages make me excited. (For a moment I feared the worst)

I can't wait for the sequel, and hope that it'll be amazing like this first book

The Phantom Forest features the kind of imaginative, otherworldly writing that always gripped me as a young reader — and still does as an adult.

Liz Kerin has written a book I would gladly share with young readers, and one that I am sure would capture their interest.

Vivid, mind-grabbing, end-of-the-world entertainment.

I got about 30% in before I had to DNF it. The writing and pacing were good and theoretically, I enjoyed the subject. However, the characters did nothing for me and I found my attention drifting while I read and couldn't really follow whatever was going on.

I think this was an unfortunate case of this being a good book just not for me. I really respect authors and all the hard work that goes into books so I hope that this doesn't dissuade anyone from trying this book.

Wow! Wow! Wow! I could not put this down. This book most definitely falls into the fantasy category, but with a little of a dystopian twist. The religion of Kronasa has been “abolished” by those who won the war. There is no one who believes in the Great Forest or worships Dhov, so the government thinks. The world building in this story is perfection. Part of the story takes place in the world and part takes place in the underworld and both are fully fleshed out. The struggle between good and evil as well as emotions is very real throughout the book. I cannot write more about this book without giving a million spoilers. Suffice to say, this one will be going on my purchase list and I can’t wait to put it on the shelf. Thanks to Netgalley for the arc. #netgalley #yareads #yafantasy