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!

The cover gave me Little Red Riding Hood/Robin Hood vibes. The story reminded me of a YA season of Once Upon Time. I personally wasn't really into this one. But if you like fairytale(ish) retellings then definitely give it a try.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with a review copy.

The Forest Grimm was not what I was expecting. Somehow, I envisioned a seamless one story novel with all of the dots connected. What I got instead was a disjointed read that attempted to associate or bridge different narratives into a cohesive novel. To me, the novel came across as a conglomeration of reinvented fairytales that wasn't seamless -- merely band-aided together.

Stories like Rapunzel, Cinderella, Oliver Twist (?) were reimagined into borderline horror stories that transformed the characters into sinister versions of themselves. Like Rapunzel is portrayed as a murderous Medusa-like creature with crawling red hair. And the reimagined Cinderella isn't the nice girl next door either. But, perhaps that was the point. Though I would have preferred that totally different characters were used in the novel. As it stands, the novel just exuded an Invasion of the Body Snatchers-like vibe.

Needless to say, I just got put off on the novel's pathway. And at 45%, I threw in the towel. An unfortunate one star DNF.

I received a DRC from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

"A spellbinding YA fantasy from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kathryn Purdie, where fairy tales come to life with dark, deadly twists.

"Tell me again, Grandmère, the story of how I die."

The Midnight Forest. The Fanged Creature. Two fortune-telling cards that spell an untimely death for 17-year-old Clara. Despite the ever-present warning from her fortune-teller grandmother, Clara embarks on a dangerous journey into the deadly Forest Grimm to procure a magical book - Sortes Fortunae, the Book of Fortunes - with the power to reverse the curse on her village and save her mother.

Years ago, when the villagers whispered their deepest desires to the book, its pages revealed how to obtain them. All was well until someone used the book for an evil purpose - to kill another person. Afterward, the branches of the Forest Grimm snatched the book away, the well water in Grimm's Hollow turned rancid, and the crops died from disease. The villagers tried to make amends with the forest, but every time someone crossed its border, they never returned.

Now, left with no alternative, Clara and her close friend, Axel - who is fated never to be with her - have set their minds to defying fate and daring to accomplish what no one else has been able to before. But the forest - alive with dark, deadly twists on some of our most well-known fairy tales - has a mind of its own."

Like a fairy tale version of this season of Nancy Drew.

**Thank you to Wednesday Books and Libro.Fm for the eARC/ALC copy in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changed my opinion**

The Forest Grimm is the first in a duology that reinvents the classic stories we remember. It follows Clara Thurn, a girl who has known since she was young she would be destined to die early. The village Clara lives in, Grimm's Hollow, has been cursed and has lost many villagers to the surrounding woods. Clara ventures into the forest with her friends, Axel and Henni, to recover their lost and a magical book that will grant one wish to each villager upon their coming of age.

I loved this book. I'm going to call it's probably making my top 10 or this year. I can forgive that the love interest is blonde 😂

Joke's aside, I really liked the characterization and the relationship between the three characters. Without giving away too much, there's some tension there, but it was balanced. I will also say, despite the way the cover looks, the Romance elements weren't too much. There was a nice balance between the blossoming romance and the actual Adventure plot. As far as the forest goes, the author reinvents Rapunzel, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, and Sleeping Beauty and does all of them in such interesting ways. I especially love what she did with Sleeping Beauty and lowkey, I would've loved a full book of JUST that story. I was not expecting the twist for that one at all. Purdie does a nice job of balancing the sweet side and the gory original Grimm versions of these stories (Yes, I know Cinderella wasn't a Grimm fairy tale, but still...). There's just enough of a dark side that the fans of these original stories will be pleased, I think. I can't wait to see what she does with book two and which stories she chooses to include in that.

5/5. I would (and will) absolutely purchase this for both the library where I work and my own personal collection. I would especially recommend if you liked The Bone Spindle or any of Christina Henry's retellings.

When I saw this was a dark fairytale retelling with a magic forest and a cursed town, I got so excited because those are some of my favorite elements in books. It started off promising with the line “Tell me again, grandmere, the story of how I die.” Unfortunately for me it didn’t live up to the promise of the first line.

A quick synopsis:
The magic forest gave the town a wish granting book, but when someone used the book to murder someone else, the forest took back the book and cursed the town so no one could leave, their crops would fail and their water would dry up or go bad. It’s been several years, and people seem relatively fine despite that, other than those that go missing in the forest. Clara and Axel want to go into the forest to save her Lost mother and his Lost fiancee and to find the lost book. Clara knows she will meet an early death in the forest, but the two of them find a way in.

My thoughts:
I found the worldbuilding to be lacking. Clara and her grandmother speak French, despite France not seeming to exist. Her grandmother is also the only person in the whole town able to use magic, and it’s never explained why she has it and others don’t. The lore of the forest is nonexistent, and once they've entered it, the characters themselves seemed to forget that the forest is magic and can change on them, despite the fact that it physically barred the villagers from leaving it by throwing them back with roots and dirt.

The characters feel flat and don’t seem to follow any kind of logic. Even when everyone in the forest is actively trying to kill them, they repeatedly follow voices and try to find people insisting that this one will be different. Meanwhile, they seem to go days without food, water and sleep, then are fine to run through the forest for hours. Clara refuses to tell Axel her future that’s been foretold, even though he’s a part of it, and later we find out that he’s withholding big information too. In terms of the romance, there was very little chemistry between the main characters and the premise under which we see the romance play out made me cringe.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Wednesday books for providing me with this e-arc.

Mixing tarot and the Grimm tales, this is an ok mashup. There's a town formerly blessed (with a wishing book) and now cursed by the forest, and Our Heroine is convinced she can find the book and her mother, and fix the town. She teams up with Our Hero, who is looking for his long Lost love, Ella ("Lost" = someone who wandered into the forest and is, well, Lost) and Ella's younger sister.

The Grimm stories here are definitely darker and weirder than anticipated, but the plot is fairly predictable. And then there's the whole question of why this is mostly Germanic in feel... or perhaps that area of France-thats-sometimes-in-Germany? Editorial shears were needed to keep things moving along. And why is this going to be a series? No idea.

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book. It was so twisty and creepy. I thought I knew what was going to happen next but it kept surprising me. The world building was really great. I loved the mystery of the forest and the history of the town.

4.5/5⭐️

This YA fantasy was a spin on various dark folklore stories from the Brothers Grimm. It’s centered around the Forest Grimm, a magical forest that turned malevolent when a murder was committed in the neighboring village. The Book of Fortunes, which provided one wish to each 16-year-old, disappeared and so did various town members when they ventured into the forest to find the book that would save their desolate community.

Clara, a 17-year-old girl, is determined to enter the forest and rescue her mother who is among the missing. Along with her friend Axel (whose fiancé is also missing), they face mysterious creatures, a malicious forest and the desperation of finding the book that could return their loved ones (and save their souls) along with their town’s future.

I really enjoyed this book…terrific world-building, cheer-worthy characters, a sweet bit of romance and a bittersweet but hopeful ending. Very well done.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing the early arc of The Forest Grimm for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Well there was just a heck of a lot going on in this book. A lot of cliches, a lot of predictability. I feel like I’ve been moving away from fantasy a lot lately but this one intrigued me. Even though I say there were cliches and predictability the story line itself did have some originality. The outcome is not what you think it might be and I blame only myself to not see this was a first in a series. I don’t think I will feel compelled to read the next one.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was such a great read!! The plot was so full of adventure and intrigue that I devoured the book in one setting. The author did an amazing job developing relatable characters and keeping the story going without it lagging. It was such a great read that I will be recommending this book to everyone.