I didn't post this review on GoodReads, because I didn't want to give it any negative commentary or reviews. I love Kathryn Purdie's other books, which is why I requested this book.
I feel like it started as a retelling, but then sort of borrowed from all sorts of fairytales. The characters weren't near as likable as the other duology Kathryn wrote. I couldn't finish this book, but maybe I'll pick it up again later.

Fascinating and lyrical, this story pulled me in with all the vibes of a fairytale both old and new.

Familiar fairy tales take a dark spin in a read with many layers and action until the very end.

Clara's life in the village once was wonderful as a magical book granted each person a wish, and the magic surrounding them made everything thrive. Then, things changed. After a murderous wish, the book had gone missing and a curse has settled in its place. Villagers, along with Clara's mother, have disappeared into the forest, one by one, never to return again. Many villagers want to find a way to change the fate, but the forest keeps anyone who tries out. When Clara discovers a red cape from her mother and finds that it allows her access into the forest, she's determined to make everything right. Besides, she's long known that her fate is tied to the darkness beyond the trees and knows she's destined to die.

This one hails from the darker side of fairy tale retellings and builds in several well-known characters, while only loosely reminding of the originals. Each direction takes cruel turns in a magical and vicious forest. The author lets imagination flow, while weaving in many layers and meanings. There are quite a few symbols, sub-sub-plots, and meaning-meant nods piled in, and a few of these lost me a time or two, but with the action at such a rapid speed, there isn't much time to worry about these because the next one arrives even before the last ones end. One dangerous situation after the next keeps those pages turning and creates a tangled whirlwind of sub-plots and strings. Action fans won't catch a breath of boredom.

I did read through this in one sitting and was held in the pages until the end. It was impossible to guess what would happen next (although the romance side was more predictable), and while some connections or purposes remained a bit blurred, it was exciting until the end. The variety of characters slide into the retellings smoothly and carried variety. There were a couple, which I would have enjoyed getting to know better and, again, found some frayed ends, but it was rich enough on this end to make Clara and those around her easy to root for.

This is the first in a series/duology (?), which caught be a little off-guard, since this book wraps up well on its own, and I can't really see where another book would even want to go from here. A lot happened (too much, maybe), and these pages did hit fast and furious...and a little all over the place. But it is fun and entertaining, cruel but not gruesome, and has heart without diving overly deep.

[This review is for the ARC of The Forest Grimm.]
Be careful what you wish for. The wish granter might judge you for it.

While I enjoy reading YA, I am no longer the age of the main characters, so I usually find it difficult to fit into their shoes. In the case of The Forest Grimm, I didn’t find this to be a big problem. The stakes were high enough that even as an older adult, I was as invested as the leads. I love reading retellings of Grimm’s fairy tales, and I found this book to be a refreshing take on the genre. Kathryn Purdie managed to keep the heart of these dark and often gory tales, but write a new story. I had a lot of fun speculating while I was reading. I highly recommend this book in general, but specifically to readers who enjoy Grimm’s fairy tales, dark stories, and stories about determinedly selfless older teenagers.

The villagers of Grimm’s Hollow were granted one wish each any time after they turned sixteen. Instead of simply giving someone what they wished for, the Sortes Fortunae, or Book of Fortunes, gave instructions on what to do to get what they desired. As with all tales centered on magic wishes, nothing is straightforward. After a villager takes advantage of the magic forest and Book of Fortunes to murder a someone, the forest takes its book back and punishes the village. Crops die, water becomes rancid, and everyone slowly starves in general. This is the condition the village is in when people begin becoming Lost. Villagers enter the forest and are never seen again. Enough people disappear that the village begins to send in people after them to both save the Lost and retrieve the Sortes Fortunae so the village can be saved with a new wish.

Three years after the murder incident, the Forest Grimm has been violently rejecting most villagers that attempt to enter it. If someone does get far enough into the forest to be considered successful, they are never seen again. Clara’s mother was the first to become Lost and Clara’s finally ready to enter the forest, save her mother and the village, and then die. That’s what she believes the cards are telling her, anyway.

Clara is seventeen, never had a chance to make a wish because the book was already missing by that point, and has known all her life that she will die unexpectedly. Her grandmother can read fortunes and is always correct. This is partially why Clara is such a fatalistic character. She believes in fate so much that it’s difficult for her to interpret her own card reading of a forbidden decision and death to mean anything but the obvious. She is overly kind and values her own life below everyone else’s. She is also clever and able to change her strategies quickly when her initial plans aren’t a success. While she has untreated scoliosis and constant back pain as well as a limp, she never lets this become a true hindrance.

One of her best friends is Axel, the village heart throb. He is as kind as Clara, charming, and as physically fit as a circus performer. Unlike her, he doesn’t believe in fate. They end up journeying through the forest together and make a great team. They also help each other grow as characters. He also Lost someone, the sister of Henni.

Henni is Clara’s other best friend. She is nice, timid, and a big pushover. Because she’s an artist and makes her own paints, she has vast botanical knowledge. She’s just as determined as Clara, but not for the same reasons. I found I didn’t really like her as a character, but I did appreciate her character growth.

As for the romance, I liked the natural pacing of it and how it was tied to the plot’s various revelations. I felt like the level of steam was appropriate for a YA novel with mostly underage characters and did not slip into New Adult territory.

In conclusion, this book was fantastic. Purdie put obvious care and attention into even the smallest details, and it really gives the book a strong foundation. The ending is a satisfying HFN, and I’m already looking forward to a sequel.

The Forest Grimm is a spectacular fantasy story. I really loved everything about this one. The story is about a girl named Clara who goes on a journey into the deadly Forest Grimm to find a magical book called Sortes Fortunae. She takes a local boy named Alex with her and they run into several characters that you will be familiar with, like Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, and Rapunzel. However, those characters are super dark and not at all like the old Grimm stories I remember. There are twists and turns and plenty of action. I enjoyed the Grimm Wolf storyline and really liked the romance between the two mains. They had me totally rooting for them. The ending leaves the door open for another book so I am thrilled. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy novel.

I had high hopes for this after falling in love with Kathryn Purdie’s series THE BURNING GLASS. And yet, THE FOREST GRIMM proved to be a very different — somewhat underwhelming — reading experience. It’s just one of those books where you try and try to engage with the plot but for some unidentifiable reason, face little success.

Although the end result isn’t compelling enough to stick around to see the story through to fruition, Purdie gives it her best shot with THE FOREST GRIMM, which aims to give new life and meaning to age-old fairytales.

This is a decent YA spin on a well known fairy tale. Purdie builds an intricate forest setting in which magic (both beautiful and dark) and illusion thrive. Although the story setting is whimsical and enjoyable to imagine, the adventures the protagonists take on as the main plot thread seemed a little scattered. Some parts of their journey felt a little dragged out and others felt as though they jumped around and the pace was confusing. There was almost an overload of details to the point where wild and whimsical became slightly chaotic and difficult to stay invested in.

I did enjoy the love story between the two (an ultimately satisfying slow burn), the dreamy characteristics of the nature and animal creatures, and the blurred line between illusion and reality. The story as a whole read a bit like a blend of Little Red Riding Hood and Alice in Wonderland. It was an interesting plot and enough to make me look forward to what’s next from the author!

loved this romance and finding oneself and the how the couple worked out their problems . loved all of the side characters and the friendships. Good book.

Sorta reminds me of the Into The Woods musical. Not that it takes the story of Into The Woods (far from it since there is murder and mystery involved in this book) but rather that it leads one to believe that it is a Little Red Riding hood story when it actually is a hodgepodge of other characters..

I do like the bits of Grimm stories that were mentioned in this book, from Rapunzel to Little Red Riding hood , Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel and Briar Rose and how they were twisted by that curse from the book but I grew very tired of Clara's S-curve. Yes, I get that she has scoliosis, but it does not need to keep being mentioned. It kept pulling me out of the story every time it was mentioned. As one who also is afflicted with this, I can assure you I do not go, "ow my s-curve". It is silly.

I do feel that this should have only been one book and I don't really care enough about Clara and the rest of the folks in that cursed town to continue.

If you like YA stories, fairytale mashups, curses, creepy magical forests, and long adventures this is for you.
The plot moves quickly. I enjoyed seeing which fairytale twists were going to be incorporated.
There were times that information was repeated too much. It took me out of the story a little to be reading the same details over and over. I also did not realize when I signed up for the arc that it was going to be a series. That said, this book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.
Overall, it was a fun read. I was invested.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love me a Grimm fairytale in any way and this was perfect. I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

First of all, super excited that this will be a duology. The epilogue left me wanting more, and I’m glad that Purdie is planning to give that to us.

I wouldn’t say that The Forest Grimm is necessarily a fairytale retelling, it’s more of a dark original version mash up. It has all of the same ingredients that a normal fairytale would have. It has magic, conflict, an evil force that is wreaking havoc, a rescue of sorts, and love (chivalric, familial, or romantic—this has all three). If mainstream fairytales were a birthday cake, this one is far more of a black forest. A deep decadent chocolate with tart bursts of cherry. If you find that mouth watering, sink your teeth into this one.

Fate and magic are woven deeply into the village of Grimm’s Hallow, a cursed place that was once full of light and magic…until someone took advantage of that magic to kill. Now, the forest surrounding Grimm’s Hallow has pulled back the roots of its magic that once nourished it, sometimes stealing villagers in the night and killing or maiming those who try to enter it to find the Lost. Every few months, there is a lottery that determines the next person who may try to enter the forest to save the lost villagers and find the magic book that was once used as a weapon, and reverse the curse.

Clara’s mother was the first to be Lost three years before. Her grandmother, a seer, has already foreseen Clara’s early death in her cards. She’s prepared to die if it means she can get into the forest and trade her life for her mother’s. When she tries to cheat at the next lottery and her friend, Axel, is chosen instead, Clara is determined to go with him into the forest. But the forest is forbidding and foreboding, and Clara only finds a way into it through happenstance. Axel and Clara steal into the forest to find both Clara’s mother and Axel’s Lost fiancée, Ella. When they are joined by Clara’s best friend and Ella’s sister, Henni, the three travel deeper into the vicious woods protected only thinly by a loophole in the forest’s magic in the shape of a red rampion flower.

As they travel through, they find that the very forest moves in the night when they are asleep, and the Lost have become much more than just Lost—the magic has had a very profound affect over their bodies and minds, dangerous shadows of who they once were. They have been twisted into dark versions of the fairytales that we as the audience know well (Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Hansel & Gretel, a bit of Little Red Riding Hood), becoming people and creatures that make you look sideways at some of the Disney movies or fairytale books we grew up with.

What’s more, there are secrets amongst the group that will have a profound effect on the outcome of their journey. The heavy hint here is romance, but whether that romance will manifest or is doomed from the beginning is yet to seen—to you, because you haven’t read it. But also to me, because I can see this story completely changing with a second book on the way.

Overall, I thought this book was a fantastic dark survival fantasy, which I’m all about. Have you even READ my reviews before? If not, hint: survival thrillers/fantasy are my jam. I can’t wait to see what Purdie has in store for us in the second book. I’ll need a special edition of this one on my shelf.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Kathryn Purdie for the advanced copy in exchange for this early and honest review. Blog post scheduled for 9/5/23

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

DNF. It wasn't that it was bad, hence my three star rating, I just wasn't intrigued. I couldn't get into the story or the characters. The cover really put me off (I personally thing that the cover is a really important aspect of the book) and then I just wasn't drawn into the plot or the world. I might give it another chance if my library gets a physical copy, but for now I just can't get through it. I won't force myself through something I'm not really enjoying—there are too many books to read.

I really enjoyed the Forest Grimm! I loved how the Kathryn Purdie wove together several of the classic fairy tales and gave them an interesting and dark twist in her book. This book is well written and very intriguing. I couldn’t put it down! A twisted fairy tale indeed!
The people of Grimm’s Hollow have been cursed, and it is up the main characters to figure out what they can do to end the curse while living with all the tragedy they have endured because of it. The main characters Clara and Axel embark on a journey to the Forest Grimm that will change their lives, and the lives of the people of Grimm’s Hollow forever. My favorite quote- “You should not tempt fate.”

Eh…
Classic ya retelling.
Kinda cringey with the female character ogling the male character love interest.
Not my thing.
I didn’t hate though. It was surprisingly easy to read and flow.
I don’t know my entire thoughts on this book but I recommend to those who are in their ya retelling era. I’m not in that era so…

A village is cursed by the forest when a wish is made to end someone's life. For years, the village has suffered at the hand of one of their own, but will they ever know who wished for murder? Who has made them suffer? Fore those that make a wish are never to speak of it or it will be undone.

Since the curse has befallen upon them, the village attempted to make amends with the forest, but their offerings have been denied. Until one day, Clara discovers the mystery on how to enter the forest.

The forest reminds me so much of Into the Woods, and I love it! The author weaves a twist into each of the darker tales within the forest that make the story unique.

If anything, my one complaint would be not knowing who cursed the village. But, apparently, it's not Clara's story to discover the murderer and there will be a sequel, so my unanswered question may be answered later on.

DNF at 66%
Here is my feedback based upon what was read.

A mashup of fairytale retellings with the center character being Red Riding Hood. RRH is one of my favorite tales and I just like The Brother's Grimm in general so I was very excited to read this. I even found Purdie's Bone Criers duology to be very enjoyable.

However, I just found this to be entirely cringe-worthy. From the objectification of the young man by the female protagonist's constant ogling whilst simultaneously denying she was into him, to the very juvenile dialogue, motives, and third-wheel tag-along... I don't enjoy juvenile storytelling and pandering to a young crowd is no excuse.

Overall disappointing and annoying.

Content: What I read was clean of sexual content and cussing, so there's that at any rate. But there is thinly veiled drug use.

Thank you St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn’t put this down! There’s so many fairy tale retellings regarding a forest, but this one really stands out amongst the crowd. It had that perfect level of darkness - not to dark that it becomes scary, but dark enough that you feel those creepy chills. I loved the innocence in the love story; it’s pureness brought a nice light counterbalance. I wish we could have explored more of the forest, more of the fates of the lost villagers, but I guess that’s where the sequel comes in! I’ll definitely be picking it up when it comes out.

I had high hopes for this and was completely disappointed. I truly wished it had been a Red Riding Hood retelling, but…it didn’t feel like that. More a mish-mash of other fairy tales.

And the story just never took off. It felt far too long (with not much taking place) with a cliffhanger to entice potential readers.

It just didn’t work for me.