This book wasn't bad; I just didn't care. There were so many elements that should have led to me enjoying it, but as a package I didn't.
Also, I realized near the end of the book that Sirscha has all these skills she picked up from training she did before the novel begins, and every time there was a paragraph mentioning a past thing she did in/for training, I was really interested. But we don't get to see any of her hard work and training. We just see her utilizing those skills, and I personally really enjoy seeing the training aspects in a book, and I think that's a large part of why this book was so disappointing for me.

Forest of Souls was a wild ride from the beginning! It definitely pulls you in right away and keeps you on your toes. It's dark, it's delightful and it's rich. The characters come to life off the pages and the details are vivid! Trees with souls trapped in them, a Spider King, Shamans, a deceiving villain and a friendship like a sisterhood

Worth all of the hype I’m seeing! A fantastic story with dynamic characters, well paced, and enjoyable. A quick read for me. Highly recommend for Leigh Bardugo fans

This is a fantasy I devoured in a few hours, the promising start of a duology. It's a fast-paced adventure through a rich world - and one very eerie forest

This book was referred to as "the spider book" before the deal was announced, and yeah there are some spiders (but not that many). I think creepy forest is a better descriptor, as that is a major component and so eerie. A growing forest of dead trees that absorbs souls and attacks people who enter? So, yeah, I'm not going near silver birch woods in winter anymore, as that's exactly how I imagined it!

I loved the central relationship between Sirscha and Saengo. It's the heart of the book, found-family sisters being the easiest shorthand for it. They're love and determination to protect one another leads to most of their actions, and becomes Sirscha's primary motivation once they arrive in the Dead Forest

It's so nice to see a YA place sisterly love first, particularly when its in place of any romantic subplots. There are two boys who looked like they had the potential to become Love Interests, but it never went that far. Perhaps in the second book, but I liked the fact the absence of a romance. As someone who went through my teens with no interest in a relationship, it's such a relief to begin seeing that normalised in fiction too.

The book starts with a glossary of the world-specific terms, from the types of dragon-like creatures to the different forms of magic. I'm in two minds about whether I liked it being there. On the one hand, it does make for a bit of a slow, info-dump of a pre-story, and it's a lot to take it all at once. However, having got a big chunk of world building out of the way before the story starts does mean the book doesn't need to faff about introducing the world but can just get into the story itself.

The ending promises an exciting second entry to the duology, as the consequences of Sircha's actions come back with a vengeance. She thought she was saving everyone but <em>oh no</em> - she's made it all so much worse!

firstly would like to say that you to netgallay and the publishers for this arc in exchange for a review.

What a awesome fantasy this was one was full to the brim with magic, political intrigue with the land on the brink of war and one Huge spider!!!
this was a great fantasy read that was very fast paced with a adventurous ride through the forest to get the world back to peace and living as one.

we have a strong minded main character followed by her best friend and people she meets along the way!!! I really enjoyed the world building with this one too and loved the exploration and descriptions of the building we see our main character visit.

very strong read and can't wait to see what the second one has in store

I really enjoyed this fast-paced fantasy. Beautifully plotted with intricate and rich worldbuilding, the story sucked me in and kept me engaged from start to finish. I loved the representation of friendship, especially female friendships, and loved that the story focused on that rather than on romance. I can’t wait to read the sequel.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Hear Our Voices Book Tours, Netgalley, and Page Street Kids for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

Clearly I am completely full of emotions all around because this book really just had me feeling all kinds of things. This is the first Lori M. Lee novel that I had the pleasure of reading – I did end up buying her first duology because I had been wanting to read it for a while now – and I am so glad to see that she is one of my newest favorite authors!

We start this novel with Sirscha trying to secure her position as the official apprentice to the current Queen’s Shadow, Kendara. The position of Shadow acts as the Queen’s spy and assassin, someone who does not have to abide by any sort of rules or regulations except from the Queen herself. Any kind of information the Queen needs to know, the Shadow will get it by any means necessary. Some of the tasks that Kendara has Sirscha do… well even if they don’t always have an end goal, they always have some sort of lesson involved. In hindsight, it may have given Sirscha the edge to handle everything that she had to endure in her life during the events of this novel.

One of the tasks that Kendara has Sirscha do is enlist in the Queen’s Company (think of it as a royal army), which leads her and her best friend Saengo on the adventure of their lives. Not only are there shamans involved and the world as they know it may wind up in a war between the surrounding empires, but the Dead Wood – home to countless souls that seems to be growing without provocation – is determined to be more than they bargained for, and Ronin, the Dead Wood’s Spider King is shrouded in mystery for our two best friends.

The distinctions of the shamanic crafts that Lee created was really unique, and including her glossary in the front of the book really helped me keep track of all of the ones that weren’t as easy to remember. Having five main shamanic crafts rather than just the four main elements was really interesting, and the fifth one is the most interesting and most intriguing if I do say so myself. The worldbuilding is absolutely stellar, and I was so enamored with everything in this novel that I’m pretty sure I forgot about my real life duties for a while there. I know a book is going to be amazing when that happens, and Lee did not disappoint whatsoever.

The dynamic between Sirscha and Saengo definitely changed after *the incident* and I really like how Lee explored that in this novel. I could only imagine how Sirscha must have felt harboring that much guilt for something that she didn’t realize that she did but couldn’t change, not to mention Saengo having to deal with the unexpected consequences that she didn’t ask for in the first place. If they weren’t close before, they were bonded for life now, and the kind of relationship that they had to have in order to stay alive and protect one another was flushed out really well. I could feel the angst between the two girls in the beginning after they had to come to terms with what happened, and I could feel them trying to pull the pieces back together to make it seem like things were back to normal, even if they couldn’t be. Lee mentioned in an interview that sometimes friendships can be stronger than other kinds of relationships, and the friendship between Sirscha and Saengo really defined their survival and strength in this novel. I almost felt like in a way, they were almost like soulmates. I don’t think soulmates always have to be romantic – I feel like my best friend is my soulmate – and my relationship with my best friend is reminiscent of Sircha and Saengo… well without the life or death situation. It was a beautiful friendship and felt so real, and it was just wonderful to read about.

The politics in this world were also interesting, and I like that there were moments where Sirscha’s narration would give some background on what happened in the past for the benefit of the reader. It made me feel more up to speed on what was happening, and why certain situations were the way they were. Of course, she wasn’t omniscient, so she didn’t know everything, but at least knowing everything that she knew helped to be informed and see things from her perspective. I really enjoyed seeing this world through Sirscha’s eyes – oh her beautiful, beautiful eyes – and watching her grow from a potential spy and assassin to something else entirely. Her interactions with Ronin (The Spider King) and Theyen were great as well, and I like that there was no unnecessary romance that didn’t come out of nowhere or seemed to move too fast or anything like that. I also liked how Sirscha described Theyen as insufferable to his face because he was being a know-it-all.

Long story short – since this review is super long! – and as you can tell, I really loved this book, and I am absolutely dying to read the sequel. I imagine that Lee is going to blow it out of the water yet again, and I am officially a huge fan. I look forward to reading everything that Lee has to offer, both past, present and future.

Let me start off with W O W. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The story has great action, great characters, and definitely kept me on my toes. It was complex and captivating. I truly felt like I was learning information along with Sirscha, making each revelation surprising and exciting. ⁣⁣
Sirscha is a tough, impressive, and caring lead. I do wish we had seen a little more development of her magic. Because there isn’t much exploration of her learning it, when she does use her magic it seems a bit convenient.⁣⁣
Saengo, Sirscha’s best friend was kind of bland to me, though I am curious to see her development in subsequent books. I’d have to say that Theyen was my favorite side character. He’s dark and snarky - just my cup of tea! Would like to have seen even more of him. Prince Meilik also grew on me as the story progresses. ⁣⁣
All in all, loved this one and am on the edge of my seat to know what happens next!⁣⁣

Forest of Souls is a YA fantasy filled with culture and magic inspired by Hmong shamanism. It follows Sirscha, whose life is suddenly disrupted after an attack kills her friend Saengo, and Sirscha accidentally brings her back to life. She’s taken under the Spider King and is tasked to attempt to control the Dead Wood, a creepy forest full of the souls of the dead, but more sinister forces are at play than she realizes.

While I unfortunately had more negative things to say about this book than positive, I still was able to enjoy it to some extent. I had issues with the actual craft of the story, but there were also some things that were just personally not for me, so they could possibly work for you!

WHAT I LIKED

After trudging through the first third of the book, I flew through the rest really quickly! I’m not sure why or how I was able to read so much in so little time, but the writing was simple for me to read and get into (after a rough beginning). There are lots of plot events to keep you on your toes during the middle and end,

I really loved that there wasn’t a romance. So many YA fantasies are focused on romance, and while I love reading it, I’d like to see other types of relationships written about as well. This one is definitely more focused on Sirscha’s friendship with Saengo, as well as Sirscha’s own individual journey, and not having a romance was so refreshing. (Especially when there are two male characters, who I feel like would have been a part of a love triangle in any other book!)

Sirscha’s story is one of worth, and how we often tie our own self-worth to other people. She thought her value as a person was based on what she could offer as a spy to the queen, or a soulguide for the Spider King, but by the end she learns to be more independent and do things for herself, and I appreciated that.

The worldbuilding was interesting to me, and I thought it was decently done! There are a few info-dumpy parts, and I wished certain aspects had been more expanded upon, but there’s a very helpful and descriptive glossary. It draws on Hmong culture, and I loved reading about the inclusion of shamanism and magic.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

The beginning is so slow. I first started reading it a month ago and I read about 100 pages. But I genuinely thought I’d only read 50 pages because it had moved so slowly, and I couldn’t believe that I’d read so much while so little had happened.

This book is absolutely more plot-driven than character-driven, meaning that Sirscha didn’t have that much of an active role in the story. As someone who really cares about characters and their arcs, I wasn’t the right audience for a plot-driven book, and I just wanted to see a lot more from the characters.

Honestly, there was just so much potential with Sirscha that wasn’t tapped into. I wish we could have seen more of the skills she’d picked up while training to be a spy, or her shamanic soul magic craft. (Her magic was the one thing I didn’t really understand from the worldbuilding.) There were also hints of her being scarily indifferent to killing others or having power over them, and I was so sad that that kind of darkness wasn’t developed more!

On top of that, Sirscha “declared” certain things that were supposed to be empowering to support her character growth, and I feel like that’s a kind of common thing in YA that I’ve outgrown. I just personally like my character development to be more subtle, so seeing that kind of mental announcement made her growth feel cheap to me.

I said before that I liked that there was no romance, but I wanted to see more from their friendship before Saengo was killed. I didn’t care about their close bond enough to feel something about how their relationship was disrupted by her death and subsequent reviving, so their friendship didn’t have as much of an impact on me. Overall, actually, a lot of the book was built up on little twists or reveals, but they fell flat because they hadn’t been developed, so it was just like “okay cool… why does this matter.”

My last complaint is that there was a very “detached” feeling with the book in general. I can’t tell if it’s me who couldn’t connect to Sirscha, or if the writing was at fault and didn’t portray Sirscha’s emotions well, but was frustrating to read because I never felt like I was transported to this world. I feel like I could have enjoyed this book so much more had I been able to immerse myself in it.

(Also, I’m going to be real honest: There’s a sassy side character named Theyen and he provided all the entertainment. If only there could have been more from him, or just… less dryness from the other characters.)

CONCLUSION

I’m conflicted on how I should feel about this. Because on one hand, lots of things were just so eh to me that I didn’t care, but on the other hand, I genuinely was interested to see where the story went at one point and flew through the book. But unfortunately overall, this book fell flat.

I think things end on an intriguing cliffhanger, so I’m actually, cautiously interested in reading the sequel (especially to see if Sirscha’s character arc becomes darker), if that is any reassurance? This might not be for you if you’re a fan of books that focus more on characters, like me, but if a plot-driven fantasy with captivating worldbuilding and magic sounds up your alley, I’d recommend checking this out.

"If I’m not to be the Shadow, then I am nothing. I am tired of being nothing."

All her life Sirscha has been a nothing. Until she is one of the chosen to be a contender for the Shadow, a spy for the Queen. If Sirscha would be chosen as Shadow then she would finally be something other than an orphan and a nobody. In the meantime she bides her time as a soldier in the Queens army alongside her best friend, Saengo. One day on a routine journey to another town, tragedy strikes. A fight between some Shamanborn and Sirscha and Saengo results in a fatal wound to Saengo. Sirscha is absolutely devastated and in her sorrow, she does something to heal Saengo. When Sirscha comes to, she discovers that not only did she heal her but brought her back from the dead. And that Sirscha now had the distinct glowing eyes of a Shamanborn.  

"Threat of retribution silenced those who remembered their shamanborn friends and relatives, but for everyone else? The ignorance bred fear."

Shamanborn are outlawed in Sirachas country. Most have been imprisoned or killed and because of this reason, Sirscha and Saengo are sent to The Spider King, a Shamanborn who lives in The Dead Wood and claims he can possibly help Sirscha learn to use her powers as the only living Soulguide if she helps him with controlling The Dead Wood and its souls. Because apparently they are evil and out of control and he can longer control them like he used to. Yeah, its as creepy as it sounds. AND their is a clock on Sirscha to learn how to wield her powers as Saengos life is once more in danger.

"The crush of so many expectations is matched only by the fear of not measuring up. I press my palms to my temples. Fear is not a wall. It is a whip at my back, driving me onward."

Forest of Souls was an eerie, action packed, and fast paced story that digs its hooks into you and doesn't let go. As soon as I started it I couldn't put it down. I loved the plot and all its world building. I'd say my only real complaints revolved around Sirscha. While being impulsive and tough, I did not really feel like we got to know her as much as we could have. I'm hopeful that the next book in the series will flesh her out a bit more. The relationship between her and Saengo is a main point of the story and at times it felt like it was just forgotten? Besides these two things, I did get very into the story and its world.

"Although I’m still coming to terms with what my abilities might mean, I have proven to myself the measure of my worth. Someday, I will prove it to them as well."

I am eagerly waiting for news on book two and what comes next for Sirscha and Saengo! I'm giving Forest of Souls and 4 out of 5 stars. Keep an eye out for its release on the 23rd!

Forest of Souls surprised me in terms of how much I really liked it. As a book I had heard nothing about previously, I really didn’t know what to expect. One aspect I really liked was how Sirscha and Saengo were so close and how they really cared about each other. They would do anything for each other which is the main factor that drives Sirascha to destroy the dead woods. Saengo is also really supportive of Sirscha even though she is dying of the rot because she is her familiar. I also liked the magic and how there were ground rules yet there were so many different possibilities you could use magic and bend the rules. Sirscha a long time to learn how to use her magic and it wasn’t as easy as it might seem, it showed she still had a lot to learn. Throughout the book Sirscha grows more experienced and she becomes more moral and understanding. Her character growth was what drove the story forward and made it so compelling. It’s not just Sirscha who changes other characters changed too. I think that Prince Meilek probably changed the most, besides Sirscha, as he goes against his sister to free the “shaman born” she imprisoned, and the fact that he thinks more about the welfare of his kingdom than his own personal problems. The one thing that confused me was the magic system. The more powerful a character got, the less the rules applied for them which made it seem like anything was possible when it fact it shouldn’t be. Overall, I would give it four out of five stars because I liked the plot, it was very interesting, and I loved all the character development. The only thing stopping it from getting five stars is that the magic is unclear and doesn’t make that much sense

More often than not, when I pick a YA fantasy up, I am not expecting to be surprised. Entertained, maybe, and possibly charmed, but not surprised. Never surprised. I feel like if I do, I am setting myself up for disappointment on purpose.

Because rare are the YA fantasy books that are so original they don’t immediately remind you of previous fantasy books you’ve read. This is why it’s extremely easy for readers and professionals to market those stories as ‘‘said book’’ meets ‘‘said book’’.

It’s when you’re unable to do that when you review a book that you realize that what you hold in your hands is completely fresh. And isn’t that an amazing feeling? To know that you may have just read a new classic that will allow for more stories about Vikings to be published in the future?

To my surprise, it is more character-driven than action-driven. It is interesting because there is strong, intense action in the beginning and for the last one hundred and so pages of the story, but what is in-between is relatively calm and measured. Sirscha is a fully fleshed out heroine. She may be out for blood and not progressive-thinking, but I understood where she came from. In her culture, honour goes above everything. I really enjoyed learning about her. Her motives are justified. But I also liked that she found it in her to see the world through her enemy’s eyes.

Overall, this was the biggest surprise i have had from a book in a very long time. and the moral of this review - i should never write off books without giving them a chance first.

𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: 5/5 STARS⁣⁣
⁣⁣
𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦: Sirscha, Saengo, Theyen and Prince Meilek.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗔𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗦: This book was a complete rollercoaster from the minute it starts. You’re thrown into the thick of the action from the beginning; I found myself loving Sirscha and Saengo instantly. Sirscha in particular was such an interesting MC; she’s very vulnerable and powerful—with human motivations. My heart bled for Saengo, I won’t say why, but it definitely rips into your soul (could I manage not having one soul reference?) ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
The mythology and the intensity of the interwoven stories pulled me in from the beginning. The writing is lush and fast-paced, it’s a wonderful story to read to pull you out of a slump. There’s a dark and creepy forest, a species that I had never read about before, a magic system of shadows and light; the whole book is gorgeously written. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣𝗦: There’s a mortal prince and a shadow prince, both of whom I thought would be love interests but I was pleasantly surprised by the exploration of platonic love! Do I still have a possible ship I’m rooting for in book 2, if romantic love is explored? Yes.⁣⁣
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𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗢𝗥: readers looking for their next fantasy spy story.

After training for the last few years to be a royal spy, Sirscha's life is upended when she discovers her own magical powers. Now she must struggle to contain her power and hopefully prevent all-out war, all while trying to keep her personal relationships with her friends intact.

The fantasy world Lee brings to life is complex. Parts of the magic were hard to follow for me, but overall this is a strong book for previous fans of Lee's other works.

Loved it! It is adventurous and full of life. I loved everything about it and can’t wait to share this one with students!

Forest of Souls is deftly written, with rich world-building and (eek) spiders, so there's that. But don't let that deter you! Sirscha is a survivor, an orphan who has been abused by some pretty awful people and built her fierceness into armor. She's as complex as she is focused and badass, and I love her friendship with Saengo.

The magic system is interesting too, and I'm glad for the glossary at the front, letting me geek out on the world-building. Also, I need a drake to ride immediately. Who do I need to call?

Pick up Forest of Souls if you love powerful girls, dangerous secondary-worlds, and dark, dark fantasy.

This is a lovely, twisty, dark, coming of age sort of fantasy with strong themes of friendship and loyalty and coming-of-age. The world of this book is a not a pleasant one one - all the shaman-born (magic users) are interned in prison camps at the order of the Queen, and it's fairly ugly. There is a lot of violence and death, and some fairly visceral horror - the Dead Forest really is one of the creepier things I've encountered in fiction, and if the idea of giant malevolent magical spiders gives you the heebie-jeebies, you will definitely want to avoid this book.

I really enjoyed the friendship between Sirscha and Saengo, and I loved the unsufferable and prickly Theyen, who becomes an ambiguous and insulting sort of ally to Sirscha. Prince Mialek is also an appealing and interesting character, who is in some ways Theyen's opposite - he is kind and well-intentioned and courteous, but for much of the book, he appears to be fairly ineffectual in ways that feel familiar to anyone who has tried to be an ally and not done a very good job of it. (Theyen, meanwhile, is obnoxious to everyone in sight, but also quite useful when he chooses to be).

This book is the first in a series; while it resolves the main action of the story, it does so in a way that creates an absolutely MASSIVE cliffhanger setup for the second book, so be warned.

It's hard to judge this book objectively, because it was WAY too dark for my tastes, and also because I'm really in the mood for happy ever afters right now, so my brain kept on trying to construct romances between Sirscha and either Mialek or Theyen (the evidence for either was thin, but not actually non-existent - I'll be curious to see if such a thread does develop in later books). But this did kind of mean I was hiding from what was happening in the book because it was too dark and scary, which makes it hard to assess usefully. Also, I get really cranky when a book ends on an unexpected cliffhanger, so that's probably colouring my feelings too.

I do think that readers of dark, political, slightly horror-inflected fantasy will enjoy this book, and that it is a promising start to the series. But personally, I won't be reading further.

Although this book moves a bit slowly, it has an expansive world with magic, politics, and cool creatures. It also has a killer main character, Sirscha, who has a distinct voice, and I really liked her from the first chapter. She has great drive and shows how even though she came from nothing, she worked hard to become strong and important. I do wish the book moved a little more quickly in the middle, and I wish it had some romance. But it sets up what I think will be an impressive series. I'm hoping the next book will have romance, more magic, and more of her past.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 4
Plot/Movement: 3
Character Development: 4
Overall: 4

Thank you, Page Street Publishing and NetGalley, for the review copy!

It was impressive, and genuinely, fantastically creepy. Never has a forest spooked me so much since Uprooted, and I thought it never would again. Throw in some spider monsters and a castle tucked in the middle of all this mess and you've got yourself quite the atmosphere. The unapologetic dragons and wyverns and all the lizard-things in between was also great; I can hardly remember the last dragon I read about and I loved it.


The imagination and the characters were fantastic, though. Theyen was outstanding in particular, and the turn Saengo and Sirscha's bond takes early on made me sure that I was in for something great.

[3.5 stars rounded up!]

Thanks Page Street Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was fun, but I think a YA fantasy (just because there are so many) has to be AMAZING to really stick out for me. I think people whose fave genre is YA fantasy and can read it all day will think it's a solid pick, though. Also good for people who don't like romance in their fantasy (alas, I need some romance in most of my books, which is why maybe I wasn't as invested.)

Anyway, this is a very "it's not you, it's me" kind of review, so totally check it out if the summary seems like something you're interested in!