I am a huge fan of Joanna Ruth Meyer, but this one fell a little flat for me. It was atmospheric, beautiful, lyrical, all the things I've come to expect from her writing. I just couldn't quite connect with the story and the pacing. The first half was a bit slow for me, and then the second half felt very rushed. I wanted to know so much more about the world and the backstory for the Soul Eater and Gywdden. I loved the characters, I just wanted more!

Into the Heartless Wood was a maddening blend of heart-warming and heart-wrenching. Meyer created such original characters and settings, I feel I could read them again and again. Beautifully crafted, this tale is perfect for lovers of the old stories.

ECHO NORTH solidified Joanna Ruth Meyer as one of my favorite authors. It doesn't help that she's super sweet on social media. So when this book was announced, you bet your bum bum I was refreshing Edelweiss and Netgalley for the arc.

So here's a HUGE thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

Meyer has a way of pulling me into her books and never letting go. Just like the heartless trees in INTO THE HEARTLESS WOOD. This gender-swapped retelling of Beauty and the Beast follows star gazer Owen and siren daughter, Seren as they meet amidst their own stories of heartbreak and sadness.

The setting is welsh inspired and does not disappoint in its creepiness and lore. Gwydden's Wood is run by the sirens who lure people into their wood to feed off their souls and fuel the heartless trees into doing their bidding. The woods have been destroying more and more of Tarian, wrecking railroads and attacking trains.

Owen Merrick lives on the edge of the woods with his father and toddler sister. After the death of his mother, Owen's father built a wall around their home, vowing no family will ever become prey to its evil. But when his little sister wanders into the woods, he has no choice but to go after her. He meets a tree siren who subsequently saves his life and the life of his sister.

Seren is different from her sisters. She sees something in Owen and soon her curiosity of the human boy becomes dangerous not only to herself but for Owen's family. She battles with the monster she thinks she is and the person she wishes to be. She falls for Owen, and that propels her into a situation of life or death.

I loved Owen. My little cinnamon roll who loves his little sister and wants nothing more to protect his family. I mean, it takes a lot for a boy to fall for a monster (as it does for a girl). He loves the stars and music and chasing his little sister around and it warms my cold dead heart to read about a boy who cares so deeply. Owen and Seren together form a star-crossed relationship that is so deep, one overlooks the outer shell of the other, instead, falling for their heart and what lies deep inside

.Atmosheric, brutal and poetic, Meyer completes yet another masterpiece of spellbinding beauty. I cannot stress this enough, if you are not reading her books, you are missing out.

I absolutely adored the cover on this but I couldn’t get into the story. The writing felt a bit heavy but I did really like the mc!

Beautifully lyrical prose, entirely monstrous sirens, and a love story that will take your breath away.

The tree sirens were once trees, but they were created by the Gwydden to steal souls to feed the heartwood tree. Her youngest daughter, has slaughtered many when she first saves Owen and then his little sister Awela. Owen knows he shouldn’t trust a siren, but he can’t help going back to the woods. No matter how dangerous.

A gender-swapped beauty and the beast retelling, Meyer creates something new out of familiar fantasy elements. From character development, to pacing, to romance, readers will be like Owen... unable to keep from going INTO THE HEARTLESS WOOD.

From the stunning cover to the beautiful blurb, I knew I had to request this book and I was thrilled to be approved. Look at that green, the font--just wow. I quickly dove in.

Owen has always lived at the edge of the woods where the sirens prey. Gwydden and her eight daughters have no mercy, luring townspeople into the woods, stealing souls in a wake of blood. Owen lost his own mother to the woods, and when his two year old sister Awela is lured away, he doesn't hesitate to go after her. Because of this, Owen meets the youngest daughter, a monster both terrifying and beautiful, and their meeting will change the course of their lives and everyone's lives around them.

Wow. I loved this book so much.

I didn't know where this would go at first. Siren songs have been done countless times, and it's hard to transform a classic into something that doesn't feel like a trope. Here, Meyer succeeds. The relationship between Owen and Seren is wonderfully developed. From their first meeting to the very last page, I was invested in their story and couldn't wait to see how it would unfold.

Several times as I read, I was struck by the lyrical prose. Meyer's writing is exquisite, her storytelling full of imagery and music, and I couldn't get enough. The story itself blended oral tradition, fairy tales, and myth. I got some serious Moana vibes at times, but a more mature rendition--and in the best possible way. It is an effortless read, but that should not be mistaken for simple. Seren's struggle with her mother is wrought with metaphor and symbolism. Obligation versus free will. Family versus love. Duty versus morality. Owen, too, deals with all of these things, and their parallel struggles reflect the symmetry of their love.

This is a story you will fall in love with. The words bleed off the page. I could see this becoming a shelf staple in my house because it is that beautiful and complex.

This is a story that will make you question your own heart. What does it mean to have a soul? What does it mean to have a heart? Can one exist without the other? Are we bound to be only what others expect of us? Accessible enough for a YA audience, but definitely profound and lyrical to stand on its own legs with an adult audience, too.

Overall, Into the Heartless Wood is a lyrical, powerful examination of love and obligation that will take your breath away. If you're a fan of fairy tale narratives, ethereal mysticism, or you love epic battles of good versus evil, this will be the book for you. I highly recommend adding this one to your 2021 TBRs now.

Huge thanks to Page Street Kids and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

This book was absolutely stunning. Atmospheric, poetic, haunting. The descriptions were positively gorgeous and I was just blown away. I was captured from the first few pages and couldn't stop reading this strange and bittersweet love story between a gentle boy and a monster tree siren. This was a dark and mysterious fairy tale (everything I love!) and I think my own heart has officially been stolen by the heartless wood. Five stars doesn't seem enough.

**4.5 but rounding up**

“Into the Heartless Wood” weaves together a tale about a boy living on the edge of the forest which holds deadly sirens eager to do the bidding of their creator by collecting the souls of their victims except for the the youngest daughter who wishes to be more than a monster.

I really loved the pacing of this book and how it managed to give us so much and not weigh the story down. We get a good amount of the mythology and setting up the antagonists in a way that feels organic and it only continues from there as we watch a bloodthirsty siren tear apart villagers but then slowly understand that there could be more to her life that just death and watching the growth between herself and Owen was everything.

The story itself is a bit like The Little Mermaid meets Maleficent and I think those two worked together nicely so you had some of the familiar beats but the way the setting expanded from the sea to the woods was a lot of fun as the threat appeared to be growing closer to its ultimate goal with each new sapling.

I think this was a really great book and I’m glad it lived up to the praises I’ve seen so far from other readers and it’s definitely one I think is best read on a cozy night outside where you could let yourself be surrounded by the trees and the creatures that might be lurking amongst them.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

Into the Heartless Wood is derivative of the wonderful Disney modern stories Maleficent and So This is Love, but unfortunately does not possess their magic.
Despite passionate characters and a creative plot, the gore and grim fates overpower.
The book reads as a middle grade novel but contains adult content.

Thanks for the ARC

I really did not think I was going to like this book because I can never connect to books with male main characters. I really enjoyed this book despite that and I will definitely read it again. I love books with romance so if you like that this book is great for you!