I enjoy Tucholke's books very much. The Boneless Mercies was a good retelling of Beowulf and kept me going from start to finish. This one not so much. While I did enjoy the deep dive into the world of the previous book, this ones plot was more of a free for all and almost no there, The characters, while strong and independent seemed kind of stiff for some reason and the dialogue did not flow very well. But was still entertaining and I finished it satisfied with the ending.

A fast-paced adventure that provided an excellent escape into a wild world. When you think of fantastical quests full of humor, danger, action and magic, you should think of this book because it had it all. The story moved along just fast enough to keep my attention on the end goal but enough side information to make the journey meaningful. As a reader, I felt like I had accomplished an incredible journey along a memorable crew of characters.

April Genevieve Tucholke excels at using beautiful language, world building and spinning a good fantasy story. Seven Endless Forests is an offshoot of The Boneless Mercies and is a King Arthur retelling of sorts. I enjoyed the book and will definitely read more of her writing.

I have elected not to read and review this book due to time constraints. Thank you for the opportunity.

I started reading this book and found that it was not for me. I didn't want to review a book that I didn't finish.

Ever since I read one of Tucholke’s short stories I was incredibly taken by her, and this book did not let me down. Her writing style is so artful, and I was very captivated!

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

Seven Endless Forests perfectly weaves magic and world building to the point that you just need a minute to absorb and relish what you just read.

First off I have to say that Tucholke is EXCELLENT at building worlds. Seriously, the details that she puts into creating vivid images is impressive. The story follows many characters and it was a little hard to keep them all straight, that being said I think it would have worked better if the book was longer and there was more of a chance to really understand each character. The writing was gorgeous, it just didn't get deep enough for a story like this.

A great companion novel to The Boneless Mercies, can also be read alone. A good blend of friendship, romance, and quests.

<i>*Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*</i>   
Let's be honest, Tulchoke could write the phone book and I'd read it. Her writing just feels like an epic fairytale. Reading her books is something you experience and you come out of it holding your breath. Though this has some Arthurian elements, it felt new to me. Lush, atmospheric writing filled with sisterhood, friendships, dark magic, and bards! Calgon, take me away!
Can I just live in these worlds she creates? Be friends/lovers with these characters?! I don't think any of my avid fantasy readers haven't heard me booktalk The Boneless Mercies, now they will have this to add to their TBR.

I really enjoyed this book and the many places that they ended up traveling to and trying to help each other out and finding love along the way. I enjoyed the many different met along the way.

Seven Endless Forests was equally whimsical and frustrating.

I thought I would really enjoy a King Arthur retelling, but the hard to pronounce and unfamiliar settings and characters, mixed with the long winded dialogue left me more drained than entertained.

There was too many character to keep up with. The pacing was too fast for me. It didn’t feel right. But I was invested in Torvi’s character development. But at times I found my self bored and losing interest.

Seven Endless Forrests was just what I needed after a dit of Thrillers, and Hard Boiled Crime. A quest that contained imagination and fully drawn characters.
Visual writing made it a pleasurable journey.

This book gave me a great fantasy escape! I love when writers can build amazing worlds like this. Bringing us deep into their world.

Seven Endless Forests was such a great read! My usual complaint has to do with the lack of world building - but here the world building was amazing! I felt like I was IN the world! I longed for this world to be something I could really visit! There were so many characters in this book - it was kind of hard to keep track of all the characters, I definitely had to up my note taking skills for this one!

The writing in this book is completely stunning, giving off an old world fantasy vibe without feeling boring or like it's dragging on. There is a ton of lore throughout the story, and there was something great to be discovered around every corner!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It’s been 84 years since my last review and post—not really, but kinda—so I’m happy to emerge for the positive experience I had with Seven Endless Forests by April Genevieve Tucholke. I am sorry I didn’t get this posted before the book officially released, but to be honest, the coronavirus and the general state of my country left me without much drive or desire to read much of anything. Fortunately, I caught a second wind from somewhere, and a big contribution was how quickly Seven Endless Forests was to read.

This is a companion novel to Tucholke’s previous release, The Boneless Mercies, which I haven’t read but have now immediately bought to do so because Seven Endless Forests was such an enjoyable, atmospheric experience. Not to mention, it was accessible. I quickly picked up on how The Boneless Mercies informed some of the world-building without feeling lost or like I was missing anything, and that’s a testament to how much Tucholke understands the world she’s created, allowing her to easily share it with readers.

Here we follow Torvi, who is in the thick of tragedy. A deadly plague has swept through her home, killing her shepherd lover Viggo and her mother, leaving Torvi and her younger sister Morgunn alone in the world. Before they can figure out how to move on, Morgunn is stolen away by Uther, a wolf-priest who leads her band of feral, flame-loving girls to terrorize the countryside. To get her back, Torvi joins a band of blade-wielding bards and a druid monk who are also hunting Uther’s wolf-priests. For Butcher Bards Madoc, Stefan, and Ink, it’s a quest of revenge, but for druid monk Gyda, she is after information that leads to a legendary sword no one has been able to pull from a tree.

Before anyone jumps to say Seven Endless Forests is a King Arthur retelling—and there have been many—I will say instead that the book is influenced by Arthurian legends but stands quite independently with its own focus and flair. Tucholke weaves words like her bard characters spin tales: lyrical, full of wonder, and with trained, effortless skill. This is a rare book where I was thrown proper nouns all over the place, and I didn’t get annoyed once and followed along with no trouble. The world-building is baked into the story from the start, making you instantly in the thick of the setting and inside Torvi’s viewpoint. In fact, storytelling is a prominent part of the book, and coming from bards, it’s a nice and easy way to learn organically about this rich world.

That isn’t to say that these characters themselves are particularly deep. Aside from Torvi, this isn’t a massive character study or feature with an ensemble cast to dig further into. Rather, it’s like experiencing a very quick DnD campaign where you are playing a character you know but are still learning a ton about and the other players are all guest stars in your quest. However, I didn’t mind this in the slightest because Torvi and her interactions with others were interesting enough for me, the world-building was strong, and the story’s tone and content were the right shade of dark and mysterious. Seven Endless Forests made me feel the exact way that A24’s The Green Knight trailer did: delighted by its darkness, intrigued by its magic, and appreciative of its spectacle.

Its the book’s shallowness into characterization that does ultimately detract a star from me, however. It reads very much like old school fantasy, which isn’t as in vogue anymore with readers who want multiple viewpoints or deep dives into characters. I didn’t mind it as much, but there were still some things I wish I had more of from the short book. For instance, though I loved Torvi and Gyda’s sisterhood, I could have used more exploration concerning Torvi and Madoc’s progression from friends to lovers. I believed their interest in each other and Torvi’s hesitation; I knew they would be together in the end. I just wish I could’ve seen how it happened because I’m a sap. The major ending decision between Gyda and Torvi also needed a bit more page time to understand Torvi’s abrupt change of mind, but I do ultimately like how the book ended. I love the idea that the story may continue or that it might remain a standalone, letting the reader wonder about the next grand quest.

Speaking of the next grand quest, I have The Boneless Mercies still to read and an overall anticipation at seeing what this author will do next.

I was not as impressed with SEVEN ENDLESS FORESTS has I was with its successor, THE BONELESS MERCIES. I adore books with Arthurian blood pumping through their veins. However, I wasn't feeling it with this story. The pacing was way too fast. There were too many characters to keep up with. Not much devotion was lent to the action scenes. With that being said, the world-building and the book's tone was atmospheric. In addition, I was extremely invested in Torvi's character development and journey.

3/5 stars

What I Loved: the strong, independent female characters at the center of Tucbolke’s novels are amazing and very reminiscent of other favorite novels like Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrabd and Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner. There is some thing so cozy and warm about the female freindships, even as their band of misfits is splintered by tragedy and opposition.

What I Didn’t Love: My complaints about this book are the same complaints I had about Boneless Mercies, which is funny because in theory I should love these books. On paper, they tick all my boxes: strong female leads, atmospheric, strong sense of place where the setting is very much its own character. But ultimately my struggle with this book deals with the fact that the plot is as meandering and slow as the journey the characters take. It kind of feels like playing an epic open world video game and spending hours going on side quests. It’s fun , but it’s not as interesting as the overall storyline.