I read this book while on a six hour plane ride. It was a very cute fairytale retelling that will undoubtedly please a lot of readers once it is released. That being said, I thought that the book was predictable and I don’t think the author was particularly successful when it came to turning common fairy tale tropes on their head. However I enjoyed it while I was reading

With romance, mystery, and an atmospheric forest setting, THE FOREST GRIMM is perfect for readers who love mixed-up fairy tales and characters determined to change their destinies.

[NOTE: Unless otherwise stated, my NetGalley feedback is not a blurb or endorsement. If a publisher wishes to use any part of my comments for promotional purposes, please contact me or my agent via email. I would prefer not to include star ratings but NetGalley won't let me post without one, so all will be 5 stars.]

I absolutely loved this book!! I couldn’t put it down.
I just loved all the characters. I highly recommend this book.

For fans of Margaret Rogerson’s “A Sorcery of Thorns,” Mara Rutherford’s, “The Poison Season,” and the general bright curiosity and sweet hopefulness that lore-driven YA Fantasy brings, this is your book! Imagine if someone made a sandwich and the bread was dark rye Bavarian fairytale vibes and the meat, cheese and vegetables were twisty little quasi Gothic versions of Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel; doesn’t that sound like a delicious sandwich? Add in some mustard made of a plucky FMC told in a first person narrative. Pardon the overkill metaphor. Purdie gives us a lovely and determined heroine, brave and earnest, in Clara. Clara also has what is clearly scoliosis and needs a special shoe, but never lets this get in the way of what she believes she needs to do. She is automatically likable and winsome, a devoted daughter, and granddaughter, always thinking about her community, a small village on the edge of a dangerous forest, the Forest Grimm. I’m Over time, members of this village have gone missing in this forest. Determined to seek out her mother, missing for the last three years, she and some companions embark on a nearly impossible mission to find lost loved ones, encountering various perils, like an ever-shifting landscape, mysterious curses, animated trees, barely humanoid creatures and more.

I don’t think this book necessarily reinvents the wheel and it doesn’t have to; it’s not groundbreaking stuff, and a lot of these tropes have been done again and again, but I couldn’t put it down! This book is what it is: a delightful young adult dip into European folklore.

Also, the hero is truly adorable.

This was a super quick and easy read. The Forest Grimm is a ya retelling that involves multiple classic fairytales from Grimm. Kathryn took those fairytales and turned them into a dark and twisted story.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very entertaining from the start and the pacing of the story itself moved quickly. The atmosphere was lovely and I really enjoyed the characters. I knew going into this one that it was a ya novel but for some reason, it just felt a little to ya for me. But then again, I am almost 27 so there’s that! I think this would be a perfect read for the ages of 12-15. I’m looking forward to seeing where this series goes.

If you’re looking for a good spooky read to add to your tbr then I highly recommend picking this one up on September 19th!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the e-arc!

Perfect adaption of Grimms Fairytales. Clara takes you on a journey through the forest that is unlike any other story told. Is she really destined to die? What happened to the lost? The mysteries are all more complicated than what they appear.

I love a good fairy tale retelling / fractured fairy tale story so The Forest Grimm easily pulled me in with its twists on various Grimm fairy tales. I like the idea of a cursed forest that flips people’s desires and motives around, and I enjoyed following Clara and her friends as they journeyed through the forest to find their lost loved ones. The twists were clever and interesting and just the right amount of bizarre and spooky. This book has a lot of atmospheric elements that lend itself well to the darker side of fairy tales.

I wish, however, that each encounter with a fairytale character would have tied together in the end. Most of this story is journey-based as Clara and her friends travel from one encounter to the next, and while there were a few elements that continued to tie back to other things, I was a little disappointed that each encounter didn’t have any significance for the ultimate showdown. It was a lot less seamless than I wanted it to be, and the ending left me a little confused with how certain characters’ stories were suddenly resolved.

I also wish this had been written as a standalone and everything tied up in the end with the opportunity for a companion novel set in the same world/village with a completely separate conflict. It didn’t seem necessary to drag out the curse into a second book, so I have high expectations for the sequel to see how the author connects everything.

But overall, this had the right balance of magic, romance, and horror for a dark, fractured fairy tale story.

"The Forest Grimm" by Kathryn Purdie is a captivating novel that enchants fairy tale enthusiasts with its intricate twists and turns, keeping readers engaged in unexpected moments throughout. The story follows 17-year-old Clara, who defies the ominous warnings of her fortune-teller grandmother and embarks on a perilous quest into the deadly Forest Grimm. Her mission to secure the magical book, Sortes Fortunae, holds the key to reversing a village curse and saving her mother. The book masterfully weaves together themes of destiny, friendship, and bravery against the backdrop of a forest alive with dark, twisted versions of beloved fairy tales. Purdie's writing takes readers on a journey filled with suspense, courage, and a touch of magic. With its seamless blend of fantasy and adventure, "The Forest Grimm" is a delightful read that promises to keep you eagerly anticipating its sequel. I rate it 4.5 stars out of 5.

If this wasn't an ARC, I would've DNF'd it at 7%.

This read incredibly young, but most annoyingly it was really repetitious. The author didn't trust the reader to remember anything, even if it was just said. Each concept is repeated three times when it's first introduced, then usually they use the same exact language when introducing the concept again (like "Take my luck" from the beginning and then chapter 39, though it didn't repeat the why 2 chapters later in the epilogue so that was something).

And for things like the murder that keep getting mentioned (the thing to set off the curse) we really don't seem to care at all about who was murdered, who murdered them, or how.

But it was honestly the repetition that killed me. Everything was fairly obvious <spoiler>though I did think the wolf would be her mom and it turned out to be her grandma, so I was slightly off</spoiler> and was randomly tied to the classic Grimm tales-- Cinderella, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty. Concepts given huge weight and significance were abandoned at the drop of a hat (like her map or Henni's modesty of being in her chemise). And all in all it just felt really messy and unsure of what it wanted to be.

I hope between the ARC and the final copy, they're able to edit out the noise of just repeating the same info over and over, which was especially heavy-handed in the first ten chapters. In its current form there's just nothing in this I can recommend.

<i>I was granted an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.</i>

This book was so cute!!
To be honest I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did! I don't know why the fairytale retellings have been drawing to me lately but this book was a pleasure to read!!
You follow the story of Clara and the story of her inevitable death. She must cast a selfless wish to save her mother and in turn save the entire town.
If you've read any of my reviews you know that I LOVE a good conscious-inanimate-object story, and in this one the forest is alive and the forest fights back. I very much enjoyed the many fairytales that @kathrynpurdie intertwined into this story, red ridinghood, Cinderella, Rapunzel and many more!

BUT OMG I DID NOT EXPECT THE CLIFFHANGER! I'll definitely be picking up the second one!

Thank you to @wednesdaybooks for the arc!!

#theforestgrimm #forest #bookstagram #netgalley #arc #arcreview #bookreview #flowers #littleredridinghood #fairytale

I enjoyed this one, and with so many interesting fairy tales thrown in, it had me on the edge of my seat! I liked the mystery at the center, and the ending left me wanting more. I also liked that it was characters trying to defy their 'fate' - always a good trope!

I thoroughly enjoyed this fun fantasy tale! When Clara embarks on a journey to find her missing mother in the magical forest, Purdie introduces us to other missing townspeople who have been enchanted by the forest. This new take on classic fairytales will keep you guessing through the end. Can't wait for the next installment!

I was initially very sucked into this one. I loved the focus on fate and fortune telling, though I found Clara's shortsightedness frustrating, but understandable. Clara becomes obsessed with the forest and finding the ones that have been lost and returning them to their home. The Hunger Games style lottery was well done, especially since the forest still had the opportunity to reject the "winner".

Once in the forest, because you know going into this they will enter it somehow, the fairytales start to show up and are woven together randomly and each one has a unique take on the characters and their backstories. The blending wasn't quite as seamless as I was hoping. However, this was kind of a ya horror take on Once Upon a Time, where each thing was familiar but still original and I did enjoy that quite a bit.

I am looking forward to the next book to wrap up some of the big mystery questions we are left with at the end. I felt like the middle felt repetitive moving from one tale to the next, each with their own dramatics, but still enjoyable. This was a solid start to a new series.

Hands down, this book is a phenomenal retelling full of twists, turns, and astounding imagery. I would definitely recommend this book to every lover of fantasy out there--adult and young. The writing style flows so naturally which is why I finished this book in three days during a busy schedule. It was comforting to know I would return back to it once I took a break. Kudos to the author!

My overall rating for this book is three stars. I LOVED how the story was like a dark remix of all kinds of different fairytales, from Cinderella to Hansel and Gretel. There were some references to the different stories when the similar characters appeared, so you have to have a knowledge of the fairytales mentioned to pick up on them. I was intrigued by the way the different fairytales came together and was always wondering what story would be mentioned next while reading. Another thing that I found interesting was the setting, which gave off the feeling of being something dark and dreadful. I also enjoyed the magical elements of the story, which very were easy to understand.

While there were things I liked about The Forest Grimm, there were also things I was not a fan of. For one, there is very little worldbuilding in this story. Worldbuilding helps to immerse a reader into the world of the book, and when a story is lacking/weak in that element, it makes it hard for the reader to feel fully engaged with the world of the story. Without the good worldbuilding, it felt like there was just a story being told and nothing was being shown.

Another thing I was not a fan of was how some of the scenes felt a little repetitive throughout the story while the characters were in the Forest Grimm, in addition to how sudden the romance felt to me. I also thought that the descriptions in the story were very basic; however, this book seemed like it was written more toward younger YA readers who may just be starting out in the young adult genre. I did think that Clara's (the main character) arc was not very strong either.

Overall, while there were things I liked and disliked about the story, I think that there is an audience that would enjoy this story. If you are just starting to read the young adult genre as a younger reader and enjoy fairytale retellings, fantasy, and a little romance, then you might The Forest Grimm!

I would like to say THANK YOU to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC copy of The Forest Grimm! I enjoyed the opportunity to read this book and giving my honest review on it.

I always love a good fairy-tale-reimagining, so I suspected I'd enjoy this book and I was not wrong. The way that traditional tales were rethought for this was quite original and enjoyable. It did take a little effort to really get into it, which I partially blame on the repetitive refrains about fate and fortune telling cards. The main protagonist OBSESSED about it, which I guess is a logical reaction if you're convinced your fated doom is at hand, but made for cringey reading after a while. All of the main characters were well-developed and the romantic notes well-paced. I appreciate the value placed on friendship and familial love, which play just as important a role (or moreso) in the story as romantic affection. I was surprised by the way the ending left an opening for a sequel. For most of the book I assumed it would be stand-alone - but that will not stop me from watching for the sequel's release!

I loved this authors previous work and was really excited about the premise of this story. I love retellings of fairytales so my opinion is definitely bias. I really like how the author spinners a more darker retelling like Grim brothers would have written. I felt like the book read like an old storybook with tons of discussion about good luck and omens.
I loved that the main character had a physical disability that was mentioned but not the main focus of the book. The way the author always weaved the fortune telling cards was a fun mystery with parts being obvious while others was a twist. It’s a young adult book so no spice but definitely a cute romance.

This book was okay. Not great and not terrible. I loved the mash up of fairytales and the twist of the main characters being the opposite of what we were told. The pacing was good and easy to follow with a decent amount of action to keep me invested. I did feel the story was a bit disjointed at parts and I wasn't a huge fan of how the slow burn romance in this story played out. Some parts felt a little more middle grade in writting than YA.

I cannot get into the story, no matter how hard I tried. This just was not for me. Somethings were repeated over and over.

In The Forest Grimm, we follow Clara granddaughter of a French fortune tell, and cursed daughter of a cursed mother as she tries to rescue her mother. We learn early on that sense she was a child every time he grandmother reads her fortune she draws the same ominous cards that for tell her death at a young age. When the town is cursed after a person uses magic to kill another Clara’s mother disappears into the forest. Years later Clara and he childhood friend Axel venture into the forest to save the ones they love.

The Forest Grimm is a mash up retelling of several of Grimm’s fairytales with a twist. While I think the book is fine it wasn’t the strongest retelling I’ve ever read. If you’re looking for a nice quick fairly fun read this is a safe choice.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!