I am honestly not sure how I feel about this book. It flowed strangely with characters that dove into relationships headfirst with no knowledge of each other and with a story that was very fast. I think that is my main issue with the book. It was TOO fast.

You start by meeting the main character who immediately meets the "love interest" who then gets her a new job on the fly. Its all twisted and intertwined with her strange dreams and then a new player comes into it. All in all, I think it just moves too fast with no depth behind any of the characters and with an ending that just seems to be unfitting of the rest of it.

I did read the book in one fast setting and it did keep me interested so a solid point in its favor but it was mostly because I was so curious as to what was going on as I could hardly make heads or tails of it all. The main character never acted in a way that a normal person would act.

iI have completely forgotten about this book and realized it was just this must have been a re-release because I got this in like 2019. Honestly I don’t really even care much and don’t remember what interested me in this book

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Very quick read, almost too short- novellas are nice sometimes but this felt a little bit too everything at once. Nice twist at the end though!

Big thanks to Brigid Dean and Netgalley for for the eARC in exchange for a review.

Jolie is new in a town, trying to escape from her past. She meets new people who very quickly take to her. She immerses herself into their world of banking and fortune telling. Until pasts catch up.

This was a short read, only 91 pages. I think the story overall was a decent storyline but there was a lot of missing or assumed information and back ground.

I'm giving 3 stars, but I think I will be looking at this authors other published works before deciding not to go with her again.

The story is okay and offers a lot of mystery. The beginning had a lot of suspense, especially with Jolie's nightmares and the suspense around Jamie and Greta. Jolie is a young girl who is drawn into the world of tarot with her new friends Jamie and Greta. Jolie has dreams about a cottage in a forest and has the dreams become stronger so does the mystery revolving around her new friends .I feel like the characters were rushed just jumping into relationships, but from there the plot never really evolves and the ending was unsatisfactory and confusing.

Have you ever watched those straight to tv horror movies. You know the ones I’m talking about….. they hook you in and you’re so involved that by the end all you can do is stare at the credits and whisper what the what under your breath. This book had me hooked from the first few pages til the very end, it never even for a minute let up. And then BAM slap to the face fade to black. I loved it. The characters, the mystery and intrigue, the love interest. The folklore weaved in and out was fascinating. The only thing I wish is that this has been a full length novel because I definitely want more.

This novella is a fast read. It brings the reader in quick but then I feel like the characters are rushed just jumping into relationships and the story line but you get that with a novella. The ending was a bit confusing but I think others may enjoy it but this one was not quite for me.

Quick and fun read that will keep you turning the page and you'll be at the end before you know it - and yea, there are witches! A great vacation or beach read.

This book was a great little read. The characters were introduced in a way that I felt connected. The storyline kept me hooked. I’ll admit that the ending was a little unsatisfying because I was left with a confused feeling. But other than that, this was a great little book that I was able to just read for fun.

Bridged Dean writes a interesting short story that made me long for Halloween. The world building was very descriptive and make you imagine it.

The story follows Jolie, Jamie and Greta who all have a jaded past. Greta is running from Horace because he believes she is a witch. Jamie has a past in drugs and bad decisions and is about to catch up with him. Jolies past is one of heartbreak and abandonment. Their running from there pasts and this brings them together. Jolie is attracted to Jamie, but she knows he is hiding something, but she just does not know what. Greta and Jamie see to have secret and want Jolie help, but do not want to tell her everything. Will the secret bring them together or pull them apart?

Thanks in advance to NetGalley for giving me this opportunity to read an ARC - all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book started off with a normal premise and then the pacing gave me a HUGE whiplash. It's a novella, small enough to read in one sitting. I didn't hate it, but then I didn't adore it either. It's a quick short read, which is perfect when you're in for something different, spooky and eerily creepy. I did enjoy the world building, the characters weren't easy to attach to, I didn't care for them. Again, as it was a novella, there wasn't much time to develop them. At times, the three characters didn't make any sense at all, especially towards the end.

Recommended if you want a quirky and unique read.

Thanks in advance to NetGalley for giving me this opportunity to read an ARC - all thoughts and opinions are my own.


I felt like this one started of good- but became sort of repetitive and just not enough. I wasn’t a major fan- I think the authors writing style was nice but maybe this book just didn’t do it for me- maybe the next will!

I found the book description interesting and was excited to start reading.
The book tells the story of a young woman who moves to a new town after her mothers death and the magic that follows her there.

Unfortunately I don't think this book is for me. I'm personally not a fan of the writing style and I wasn't able to easily fall into the book.

Undeveloped and unrealistic characters, poor plot development, and the ending was utter nonsense that made zero sense. I realize that with a novella the author isn't always able to fully cook a storyline or show character development but this story was lacking in all deliverable areas. The basic idea of the storyline and the very sporadic, but beautiful prose that was sprinkled throughout is the only reason I was able to finish this story at all.

The Girl in the Forest follows Jolie as she heals from her mothers death and comes to know a few strange characters in her town. On paper the synopsis had me rather excited but the execution fell flat for me. Both the characters and world building felt incredibly under cooked leading me to feel zero emotional connections within these pages. The story itself develops so quickly and unbelievably that at times I scrolled back to make sure I wasn't missing huge swaths of the story. Occasionally I stumbles across some really beautiful descriptions but finding those bits sadly wasn't enough to make this story enjoyable.

I wouldn't recommend this unless you are looking for a quick mindless read.

I really enjoyed this novella. It was a great story premise. Would love to see this expanded on, in more depth as a full novel.