As a lover of fairytale retellings, I had high hopes for this young adult novel. Unfortunately, this ended up not being the novel for me.

Although this book is rated as young adult, the mostly juvenile writing and dialogue could easily have it straddle between an older middle grade book and young adult. I think for me, that was one of the biggest problems that I had. I felt like the main character Clara was extremely immature and continued to make very questionable decisions throughout the book that I don't think a character of her purported age would have continued to make, even to save her mother. The disability card also appeared to be overplayed. I joked with my husband while reading it that I should take a drink every time Clara mentions her scoliosis or "S curve". I quickly realized I would not survive reading the book had I played that game. As someone who had severe scoliosis that required corrective surgery, I don't think I've ever ruminated about it even half in my entire life as much as Clara does in the course of her few days in the forest.

The plot itself was confusing and seemed to throw in every major fairytale character without rhyme or reason. I love a good twisty retelling, but this was not it. I think for someone younger than me who has not been exposed to really well executed retellings such as The Lunar Chronicles or even the works by Christina Henry which take a very adult and very horrific turn, they would enjoy this book far more than I did.

Overall, a cozy fantasy read for pre-teens or younger teens with a sweet and extremely chaste romance. Older readers are going to probably be as frustrated with the plot and dialogue as I was.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kathryn Purdie, and Wednesday Books for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5
I love Katheryn Purdue and when I found out that she was writing a Red Riding Hood retelling, I knew I had to check this book out. This follows Clara who goes on a journey in the Forest Grimm to get the Book of Fortunes. I have to say that in the beginning of the book, it was a tad hard to get into but once the pacing picked up I was enjoying it. The world-building was okay for this book but I believe a more complex one would have been better for this fantasy story especially as it’s going to have another book. I still enjoyed the fantasy element to it and the way it was a soft retelling. This book is told from Clara’s perspective which I know many readers will her.

Clara is a great character and I love the way she’s written. She’s soft but powerful in a way that if she wants something, she won’t stop until she gets it. I loved her development and I can’t wait to see more of it. Axel is the main side character and I liked his character. I would do anything to read his pov but what I got, I’m also happy with. There are also many other side characters in this book as you will meet them throughout the book. The romance is a cute friends-to-lovers but there’s something about it that I’m nervous will happen.

The ending is a cliffhanger and Kathryn Purdie does an amazing job with cliffhangers. This happened before with Bone Crier’s Moon and I immediately just want to read the next book to know what happens next. I totally recommend checking this book out especially if you love a more character-driven book with fantasy because this one will be it.
*this arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

While I enjoyed this book, it was a bit difficult for me to get through.

I was intruiged by the promise of multiple fairy tales woven together in a dark forest, but the individual tales felt really disjointed from one another and didn't mesh together like I wanted them to. It almost felt like a collection of short stories that were connected by a theme? I don't know if I'm explaining it right.

The romance was also lacking for me. I never rooted for the couple because I didn't ever feel like we got to see any development beyond physical attraction. There was no emotional development on the page and I struggled with that.

However I did enjoy the overarching story and the atmosphere of the dark forest. And I enjoyed it enough to check out the sequel when it publishes.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

This book took a few well known fairy tales (Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Hansel and Gretel) and mixed them together along with (as far as I can tell) her original ideas. But that’s not all—Purdie also altered the stories into more twisted versions of themselves. I think the brothers Grimm would be satisfied. It all fit together well, and I would have been content had this been a standalone book. I can see the small opening of unfinished business that the author stuck a wedge in for a sequel, and I might read it. I’ve read another of her series and enjoyed it.

Clara (17) may have been blinded by love for her mother, preventing her from really seeing risks and danger; however, that’s not always a bad thing. Her self-inflicted martyr status bothered me, though—she can’t love because she’s going to die, she has to help other people live and be happy at the expense of her own life, etc. And she may as well have walked around with a sign that said, “Hi, I have scoliosis.” Her spine is curved, and it affects her life—I get that. But any time her back or spine were ever mentioned, it was “my S curve” or “my crooked spine,” and it wasn’t always relevant. That being said, I did like her. She was caring and clever. Axel (19) was clearly in love with her, despite his engagement to Ella. What’s never clear is how and why he became involved with Ella in the first place when she’s not the person he wanted. Or maybe I have an idea related to a wish . . . Anyway, I liked him. Henni (15) irritated me more than anything.

Note: I can’t recall anything bad.

So this had such potential and ended up being kind of a disappointment. The writing is fine don't get me wrong, but the pacing was just sort of off. If I had to give praise somewhere, I would say that I enjoyed the characters and the Grimm Brothers' fairytales are certainly incorporated, but the storytelling was rather average. I kept holding out for the ending to maybe bump it up to four stars, but it was ultimately disappointing.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was really good! I was pulled in from the very beginning. I couldn't put this down. I love the development of the story and characters. I have been reading a lot of fantasy recently, so this was right in line. I thoroughly enjoyed the way this played out and I can't wait to see what comes next from Kathryn!

3.5/5 Stars

The Book of Fortunes grants each villager of Hollow's Grimm one wish when they come of age at 16. Clara never got her wish, as the year before, a villager used their wish to commit murder causing a curse to be unleashed, and the book along with several villagers to go missing. Now, the villagers turn to Clara's psychic Grandmere, for guidance. Clara and her friend Axel have both lost someone close to them to the Grimm Forest. Clara is determined to rescue her Mother and break the curse, but her fortune tells of an untimely death. Determined to change her fate, she and Axel set off to save The Lost Ones.

This is definitely geared more towards the younger side of YA, but I loved the inclusion of all the different Grimm Fairytales! I thought it was so unique and fun and probably my favourite part of the story. I loved the forest and how alive it felt. I thought the different villagers they met along the way were so intriguing. I do think it dragged a bit, but I was invested enough to want to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. It was also rather repetitive, which got a tad annoying after awhile. I was able to predict a few of the major plot points, but I still had fun reading this. I wasn't the biggest fan of the romance either, I think I would have enjoyed it more if they were just childhood best friends.

I'm intrigued to see where the story goes, so I want to pick up the next in the duology at some point!

The Forest Grim, by Kathryn Purdue, is the first installment in the authors The Forest Grimm series which is said to be a duology, and the authors homage to her lifelong obsession with fairy tales and folklore. Despite the ever-present warning from her fortune-teller grandmother, 16-year-old Clara Thurn 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. As Clara and Axel investigate the Forest, interesting twists happen. Like a girl who was supposed to be marrying Axel now calling herself Cinderella. Like Henrietta, Clara's best friend, running off on a tangent after losing her own sister to the forest.

Then there's twins Hansel and Gretel who are cannibals. And, a woman who has long hair, lives in a castle, and calls herself Rapunzel. There's also a character who is said to be Sleeping Beauty, while Clara herself wears a red cape similiar to Little Red Riding Hood. Nearly the entire book is set in a cursed forest; stuff moves around and there are creepy cottages and towers with even creepier folks living in them. Throw in a pretty intimidating wolf running around chasing after folks in the woods, and you have a really dark story with a pretty curious ending after Clara has to make a choice about her path forward.

*Thoughts*

This wasn't a bad story by any means. I liked the determination of Clara to ignore previous warnings about how she is supposed to die. Clara's attitude seemed to be, well, if I am going to go, then I am going to go and try to find my mother and others before fate takes me. Clara's friendship with Henni is a bit odd in that it is said that Henni is a bit on the childish side. Clara's relationship with Axel was more than expected since they had already spent so much time together before he was supposed to marry another girl. The book ends on a cliffhanger ending which will once again send Clara on yet another mission. Will be patiently waiting for The Deadly Grimm.

I really enjoyed the twisted take on various fairy tale characters. Rapunzel was my favorite! It’s a good solid fantasy adventure. I thought there would be more romance, but it is subtly threaded throughout the story before the “big kiss”. If you are looking for romance I wouldn’t expect much; but the fantasy itself is beautifully written.

I really enjoyed reading The Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie. It was a perfect read for the spooky season. I enjoyed the concept of our main character Clara living in a village next to the Forest Grimm. The village has been a magical place to live. At the age of sixteen villagers are granted a magical wish. A villager wished to kill another villager which caused villagers to disappear. Overall, this book was an amazing read following the magical concepts and the journey. I will definitely continue to support Kathryn Purdie’s work. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC. I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy.

The Forest Grimm follows our main character as she tries to stop a curse put on her town by entering the dangerous forest surrounding her village in this Red Riding Hood retelling.

What I liked: Look, I will always compliment when an author attempts with disability representation, and the main character’s disability is not necessarily looked at as a bad thing, just something that was there. I also appreciated this new take on Red Riding Hood where it is not just a little girl going to visit her grandmother, but an entire adventure with high stakes.

To be improved: To be honest, if this was not an ARC I would have stopped reading this book much earlier. I found the writing repetitive and disjointed. I thought the inclusion of other fairytales was a smart idea, but unfortunately it came off as a random side quest than part of the greater story. This book felt very monotonous and nothing truly happened for the first 30% of the book.

Rating: I think this book had a TON of potential, but unfortunately it fell flat. For the next book, I would recommend more connectivity between the fairytales and a variety of words so we do not get bored reading the same phrases again and again.

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

I. Tried. So. Hard. To. Like. This. Book.
When I started reading this, I was prepared to get out of my comfort zone, but nothing could have prepared me for this.
I don't even know where to begin. According to the blurb, one could imagine this is some sort of fairy tale retelling. It is not. It's a mashup of some elements and titles of completely unrelated fairy tales.
While I was reading it, I was just wanting for it to end—this would have been a much more pleasant experience if it had a hundred pages less. And, when I finally reached the end, I was stunned to find out that this is not the end, this is going to have a sequel!
Most of the characters are forgettable, and the plot was quite repetitive, as if it didn't know where to get to.
On the bright side, the premise really had a lot of potential, it just didn't get quite there on the actual book. The setting and the atmosphere of the story is something I really liked.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy of The Forest Grimm from Netgalley and St Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.
Have you ever wanted Into the Woods to be a fantasy novel with slightly different origins for all the fairy tale characters? The Forest Grimm is a retelling-lover’s dream. Clara enters the woods knowing that she will die, but hopes to save her mother and her village before she does. In her quest to retrieve the wishing book and her people, she discovers a great many things about her friends, magic, and herself.
I adore this book. I’ll be buying a copy to put on my shelf, without a doubt. I have always loved fairy tale retellings and this one has unique twists on many of them. Reading this novel was fun and exciting.

First and foremost I for sure love a fairytale story retelling. This book I wasn’t too sure of from the start but it for sure has grown on me.
We meet Clara, a girl who is foretold to die sometime soon by her fortune telling grandmother.
But when her village of is cursed by the forest that lies near. She must team up with her, not so secret crush, Axel and her best friend to venture into the forest to save Clara’s mother, Axel’s fiancé and this that have become ‘Lost’ in it with death shadowing Clara unknown to her companions.
This story for sure reads like a fairytale, obviously and it for sure is cute to see little Easter eggs of well known fairytales woven into it. I found myself being sucked in by this story. It flows smoothly and naturally even at times I wanna smack Clara on the back of her head at times.
The only complaint that I have is the pacing at times, it was pretty slow and seeping into boring between run in events in the forest. I found myself skimming to get further in to get to the conflicts within the group/forest.
Overall this was a pretty easy read. Cute moments of fairytale inspired mayhem. The love story was pretty paint by the numbers romance. Nothing too exciting . Kind of fell in the middle for me at a 3 star rating.
Would I recommend it? It would vary, there’s a 50/50 chance I would.




Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this book. My review is a honest reflection of my feelings towards this book.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

I struggled with this one. I felt the voice was younger than YA so when it came to the romance it just didn't click for me. I wanted more on the page romance, or falling for each other, instead of getting snippets from their past to portray why they love each other. I also felt there was almost too much going on and too many fairytales in one book. I am curious to see what direction the next book will go and I hope we dive deeper into existing characters.

I did enjoy the darker elements such as Ella's attempted murder plots and the spider web of Rapunzel's bright rampion colored hair. Even the moment when Hansel tries gnawing off Axel's finger got to me. I do appreciate those moments.

I love Kathryn's books and will continue to read them. I just wasn't all in on this one.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of THE FOREST GRIMM.

What if you could change your fate? Clara is predestined to die young. She does not think she will live to see her sixteenth birthday. Clara asks her grandmother to describe how she will die. Her grandmother reads tarot cards.

This is another novel where a girl gets to go off on a journey too. I liked the story.

I truly love a fun, Grimm retelling. It's the right level of twisty to get fall season going especially with a super fast pacing and the way it weaves multiple stories together.

I'm a big fan of twisted fairy tales. When I selected "The Forest Grimm" I was prepared to love it. Unfortunately, this didn't end up being the case; quite the opposite. The first 20%, or so, I found riveting, but after the arrival of Henni and the first encounter with one of the lost, they were lost and so was I. I definitely would have preferred the plot to have been driven by the characters' investigations and agency. They always seemed to be led through the forest with no rhyme or reason and, though this was initially entertaining it became very stale.
The romance was lackluster and guilty of telling us what should have been shown. I appreciated the disability rep as someone with scoliosis but, honestly, I wish that it felt like more of an obstacle to her journey.

This book would have been much better if written as a standalone. I don't believe there is enough entertaining plot for two novels worth. The resolution of the mystery set up for the sequel may have strengthened this one and enhanced my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC. This review contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

THE FOREST GRIMM, as in Grimm fairy tales....the real ones.....was an interesting retelling/mixed up version of many of the tales. It begins with Red Riding Hood who must find the way to break the curse on her home, family and community. The beginning sets the tone and then she travels.....to the forest. At this point, it seemed as if the writer had every intention of including a scene from as many of the tales as she could. It wasn't bad, just not necessary. The synopsis doesn't say so, but the ending paves the way for another book. This was a good, not great read but I'd read the next one to see if it gets better.

Book Review: The Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie

The Forest Grimm is a young adult fantasy novel about a girl who enters a cursed forest to rescue her mother.
Clara’s town of Grimm’s Hollow has been cursed for three years and villagers keep disappearing in the nearby forest never to return. Clara’s mother was one of the first to go and she believes it’s her destiny to save her mother by sacrificing her own life as the fortune telling cards have always predicted. After discovering a red cape that will allow her to cross into the forest without triggering its murderous defenses Clara embarks on a perilous journey along with childhood friends Henni and Axel. But the three will risk starvation, disorientation in a forest that keeps moving and attacks by twisted fairy tale creatures.
I really enjoyed this fantasy journey. Clara was a resourceful and driven main character that risks everything to save someone she loves. Because she always believed she would die young she never considered romance and her angsty relationship with Axel is so swoony. The dark spin the author took on the popular fairy tale characters makes it a creepy and thrilling read that is never boring. The author leaves the ending open to a sequel and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️