Venture through a dangerous forest to unweave the mysteries of a curse in “The Forest Grimm.” This darker fairytale retelling features an isolated village surrounded by woods with similar concepts to “The Hazel Wood” and “Small Favors.” Clara seeks to find her mother and break the curse that is bound to the town, expecting to fulfill her fated death along the way. The intrigue compelled me to continue reading each time a chapter ended. I’ll be anticipating the next book in the series for the conclusion of this story!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

A magic forest that granted wishes becomes a fearsome place after an unthinkable wish, resulting in a curse upon the people and land of Grimm’s Hollow that a tempter of fate is determined to break in Kathryn Purdie’s The Forest Grimm.
At the age of sixteen, residents of Grimm’s Hollow can choose to make a wish upon the Book of Fortune that came from the Forest Grimm. Having grown up knowing that her fate is to die from the numerous card readings her Grandmére had done over the years, Clara has decided to use her wish to save her mother from the same fate of death; however, by the time Clara is of age to make her wish the Book has been gone, along with her mother, for three years and the forest has been cursed as the result of someone using their wish for the murder of another, corrupting the magic. Determined to find and save her mother from being one of the Lost in the Forest Grimm, Clara has mapped the forest from the stories of those left in the Hollow and makes plans to enter the forest to find her. With her good friend, Axel, in tow, Clara enters the forest with the red cape her mother made that was dyed with red rampion, which seems to protect from the forest’s wrath. They try their best to follow Clara’s map, but quickly find it virtually useless as the forest moves around them. Encountering a few of the Lost along the way it becomes evident that they’ve been changed by their time in the forest and they’re not who they once were, but Clara doesn’t lose her determination to save her mother or the other Lost Ones despite the dangers to be faced.
With a handful of classic fairy tale characters and their stories incorporated within this story’s world a young woman’s journey to tempt and defy fate unfolds. For the fairy tale characters included within the story there were some clues offered in bits and pieces before a more dramatic reveal confirmed suspicion of who someone was meant to represent but the main characters didn’t feel as developed as they could have been. Though there are entertaining moments and exchanges between characters, there’s quite a lot of seemingly aimless journeying that takes place, which, while providing an opportunity to show aspects of the forest and the stories of those within it as well as time for Clara to reflect on her fate and her choices, slowed the pace down, especially when placed in contrast with the rapid action during encounters with the Grimm wolf, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, and Briar Rose. While presenting a protagonist with a misshapen spine, the pain she endures throughout her travels and trials, and a compensatory aid to ease her mobility is an appreciated inclusion, there was significant repetition to mention or describe her S-shaped spine or the heel in her left shoe that became distractingly redundant. With the introduction of Clara’s magical gift coming in the latter portion of this novel, there’s plenty yet to elaborate upon to flesh it out to something more substantial, which, given the ending of this, may be likely to occur in a follow-up adventure.
Overall, I’d give it a 3 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Our story is set in the fictional village of Grimm's Hollow where everyone lives in relative peace and happiness. Everyone who turns 16 gets to make a wish on a magical book. But when someone makes a forbidden wish, the forest curses everyone and people go missing.

The story is sweet, spooky, and action packed.

Likes: Grimm Brother's fairy tales being blended with our protagonist's challenges and adventures , an example is that Clara is basically Little Red Riding Hood.
Friends to lovers trope
Spooky and suspenseful.
Strong FMC


Critiques:
Too many mentions of the FMC's S-curved spine, it is overly mentioned and repetitive.
The lead characters never seem to learn from mistakes and continuously make the same bad decisions and end up in similar bad situations. It creates a dragged out story line with repetitive scenarios which is a little boring after the first couple of times.

Overall, the story was enjoyable and the journey with Clara and her friends is definitely worth joining. I am excited to see the story continue in another book and experience more retellings of The Grimm Brother's fairy tales.

I received an e-arc through NetGalley. This my honest opinion of the book.

A grand adventure of an combination of Grimm brother fairy tales. If you enjoy the show Once Upon a Time this book is for you. Purdie combines multiple fairytales to create this eery, dark adventure for 3 friends to help their town. It keeps you on your toes and is very captivating. There is disability representation with the FMC having a curved spine which gives her uneven footing and limp. It's a great book on friendship. Would absolutely recommend to everyone and cannot wait for what happens next.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a fairytale retelling, and an even longer time since I read one that I felt held its own. I’m glad to say The Forest Grimm is a twisted fairytale that kept me interested from beginning to end. It brought beloved characters to life in a new, creepy way. I especially loved Cinderella and her “menagerie.” The twists didn’t always go the way I thought they would either, which was a nice surprise. Every time I tried to put the book down, I ended up coming back a few minutes later. Very excited to see what happens next in this world.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the opportunity to read,rate and review this arc which will be available on Sept 19,2023.

A Grimm’s fairy tale ya story. I struggled so badly to even finish this. And the story was good. Sweet. fast paced. Well written but my god it was clique after clique. Trope after trope and it feels like this was intentional to just sell the book.

That being said it is somewhat original and quite a fun read. Definitely recommend it to younger audiences as they won’t get the urge to strangle the characters for acting like teenagers.

Well-written YA fantasy referencing stories we all know by heart and giving the familiar fresh life while also being wholly original. Good pacing, an intriguing plot. I do with the character development had been a bit more robust but overall solid read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

Overall thoughts, kind of meh. Not a ton of world or character building. It also didn't really feel like there was much in the way of plot? I think if it was combined with whatever is coming next it could have been a really solid story.

This was okaaaaay.

I’ve read other Kathryn Purdie books and I’m sad to say they have never really done it for me. There’s always something missing in the story and for this I felt that very same way.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie is an amazing YA fantasy with fairy-tale elements. The story revolves around Clara, a 17 year-old living in a forest with her fortune-telling grandmother. Her grandmother has always refused to tell Clara her fortune, but one day, Clara decides to take her future into her hands. She enters the dark Forest Grimm with her handsome friend Axel in order to find a magical book that can change her destiny. Along the way, she encounters terrifying monsters based on fairy tale characters. Will the forest be the death of her, or will she be able to find her destiny?

Here is an enchanting excerpt from Chapter 1:

"“Tell me again, Grandmère, the story of how I die.”
The girl had waited until twilight to approach her grandmother, when the work of the day was done and the old woman sat close to the warmth of the hearth, her violet eyes half-closed and the valerian tincture bottle propped on the small table beside her, its cork removed.
The girl stepped closer. Clara was a rarity in Grimm’s Hollow to dwell on death instead of life, and all that life could become for her. The other children in the village dreamed of the happiness that awaited them when they came of age at sixteen. But with a fortune such as Clara’s, she doubted she would even live another seven years."

Overall, The Forest Grimm is a YA fantasy that is like Once Upon a Time meets The Hunger Games. One highlight is the super exciting scene in the forest, which had my heart pounding. Another highlight of this book are the scary, creepy scenes. Even though this is definitely YA, I definitely felt chills down my spine at several points. If I had to complain about 1 thing, I would have to say that I am not a fan of flashbacks after an exciting scene, especially when the exciting scenes are done so well. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA fantasy in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in September!

The Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie
FIVE STARS

Listen, I have ZERO excuses for why it took me so long to read this book. It was SO good, I just...my headspace was not good.

The Forest Grimm follows Clara whose one mission is to break the curse and bring her mother home. In the village lives The Book of Fortunes and it brings an incredible amount of luck to the village. When each villager turns 16 they may make one wish and The Book of Fortunes assigns them a task to make their wish come true. Good crops, healthy babies, love, etc. It's all great until one person wishes death on another and The Book decides that's the end of it. It disappears and The Forest Grimm hides it but also lures people in without letting them out. Once you're lost, you're lost. Now the town is in ruins with poor crops and no rain and it won't let a soul into the forest it doesn't take and make disappear. Clara finds a way in though and takes her friend Axel with her, another friend also sneaks in and they start on a journey to find The Book of Fortunes and break the curse.

My description does this story no justice. I just highly recommend that you read it for yourself. It is a YA story with mild romance. A fairy tale retelling that is wonderful for all ages!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review.

#Fantasy #YAFantasy #ReTelling #YAFantasyRomance
#KathrynPurdie #NetGalley #StMartinsPress #ARCReview

This was a struggle to get through the first few chapters, and I didn’t really begin to feel engaged with the story until about halfway through. So much info dumping in the beginning, it’s overwhelming and extremely hard to follow. After reading all that exposition, I still felt lost after chapter 2, but I kept reading, hoping the rest of the book wouldn’t be like that. Then I realized that might be intentional, throwing facts and lore—some of them relevant, some of them not—does contribute to the fairy tale aesthetic.

Overall, I enjoyed this. But it feels like a book that tries too hard. The inner monologue often feels convoluted and scattered, and I think this would have been better if it was written in past tense.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

I loved this story and did not want to put it down. I found the characters easy to love and found myself rooting for them early on. I enjoyed the twists and turns and for me, the pacing was perfect. I didn’t feel there was too much action all the time but there was enough that I didn’t get bored. I thought I knew how it was going to end and I was completely wrong. My favorite part of this book is how fairytales were included in a way that they were familiar but also unique to the story. This is one of those books for me that I wish I could experience for the first time again. Highly recommend for fans of fairytales and fairytale retellings.

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC OF The Forest Grim by Kathryn Purdie. This is not my first book by Kathryn Purdie. I enjoy this author’s writing style, she always does a fantastic job at world building. The world building is easy to understand, and the imagery that the author uses is quite beautiful. AS you’re reading it’s very easy to imagine the setting of The Forest Grim. The characters were well developed, and the pacing was of the story was good.

I thought the romance between Axel and Clara was very sweet. They had good chemistry, and it was clear how they felt about each other. I think there will be a second book with the way the story ended. Overall, a very good read, and start to a new series.

‘“Tell me again, Grandmère, the story of how I die.”’

Hooked from the first sentence.

I’m on vacation at the moment, but spent the whole morning and night reading this book. It only took me a day to finish, I just couldn’t put it down!

I love dark fairytale retellings and this definitely did not disappoint. The main character, Clara, is basically little red riding hood. I really liked her character and how strong and determined she was. She references tarot cards, luck, and destiny a lot. But how can you expect her not to when her grandmother has the magical ability to read tarot cards. It was actually one of the things I liked about her character.

I really enjoyed the love story. It didn’t feel rushed, or forced. And I could really tell that they truly loved each other. I don’t want to say too much and spoilt it. But I do think any helpless romantic will love this aspect.

This book reminds me of Small Favors by Erin A. Craig. I loved that book, it’s not exactly a retelling. But it’s still dark and has some magical elements. The Forrest Grimm won by a tad because the love story is superior (in my opinion) and I do like that it feels like magic plays a bigger role. Talks about destiny and the tarot cards were also fun.

There were some parts that were a little confusing. For example, when explained how the curse has forbidden the townspeople from entering the forrest. And the initial explanation of how Devotion Day works. I had to reread it a few times and finally understood as the story progressed. It wasn’t a huge issue to me since I eventually understood, but I do see how this could bother others.

I’ll be not patiently waiting for the next book. I’m 100% continuing with this series.

I received an arc from NetGalley for an honest review

2 stars

I received a feee eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I'll admit, I had higher hopes for this book. The premise is soooo interesting but it really didn't deliver. While this book was entertaining and even fun in some parts, it was a mess. The plot didn't make a lot of sense a lot of times and it just seemed like an excuse to throw as many fairytales in one book as possible.
I'm also really peeved this ended on a cliffhanger, showing that it'll either be a duology at best or, god forbid, a series. This isn't strong enough for that. If this hook had been slowed down a little more and the pacing tightened up, the entire story could have been told, no sequel(s) needed.
This might be someone else's cup of tea but it wasn't mine, and I hate that it wasn't because there was a lot of potential!

As someone who loves fantasy books, this book was incredible. It was fast paced and I became so attached to the characters. I wish i could read this over and over. It was atmospheric and sucked me in front the first few pages. I loved every second of this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. A retelling of Red Riding hood, the Grimm brothers version. It’s a twisted and haunting take on it and a little creepy, it seems like it it was a little slow burn for me but I enjoyed it.

This YA Fantasy novel was very good, it is a play on some of our beloved and favorite fairy tales. This was very good and it kept me spellbound and wanting to see what happened. I can't wait for the next book!
I just reviewed The Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie. #NetGalley
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