I am happy to have gotten to listen to this in audio format, but I do not know fully how I feel from it. I do want to try back and read it for myself because this book has so much potential that I want to even read book two.

I’ve always been a big fan of the brothers Grimm stories, so this story was great for me. I found the beginning slow compared to the rest of the book, so it didn’t pull me in instantly. However, once I was pulled in, I couldn’t put it down.

I switched back and forth between the audio version and the ereader. Both were great choices and made it easy to thoroughly enjoy the story.

This story is the first of two books in the series and does have a small cliffhanger ending.

Audiobook Review

I really enjoyed the audio version. It made it really easy to get immersed into the story. The narrators did a great job on bringing it to life.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

I enjoyed this one fantasy book, the story line was engaging and I enjoyed the characters and really had a good time listing to this one!

Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie is an intriguing fairytale mish-mash. It was clear from the beginning that we have a Red Riding Hood retelling complete with a creepy forest. And I am here for that... However the title inclusion of "Grimm" does illuminate the fact that many fairytales are represented in this tale. This becomes more and more evident as we spend increasing amounts of time in the forest. And this is also where the story starts to feel scattered as we are introduced to additional characters outside of the village. Once we encountered vampires, I was pretty much done with any hopes I had for really loving this tale.

I am keeping my Fairyloot version of this book solely for the gorgeous sprayed edges but not because the story is beloved.

I was disappointed in this one and ended up DNFing it. I just couldn't get into the story or the world which is a pity since I really liked Kathryn Purdie's other books.

"The Forest Grimm" by Kathryn Purdie was a book that I struggled to get through. I found myself almost DNF-ing the book multiple times, but I pushed through because I was already more than halfway finished. The book follows a retelling of a well-known fairy tale, but it took a different direction than what I was expecting.
The characters in the book felt flat and lacked depth, making it hard for me to connect with them and become invested in their story. The plot seemed to drag on at times, with unnecessary details and subplots that did not add much to the overall story. Additionally, the pacing was off, with certain moments feeling rushed while others dragged on.
Overall, "The Forest Grimm" was not the retelling I was hoping for. While the writing was descriptive and evocative, the lackluster characters and pacing issues left me feeling underwhelmed. I would recommend this book to fans of fairy tale retellings who are looking for a different take on a familiar story, but for me, it fell short of my expectations.

I always love a dark enchanted forest. This was a fun YA fantasy with Grimm’s fairytales woven throughout. I did enjoy seeing all the fairytales pop in during the journey. I didn’t quite feel the romance, though it is sweet. I did relate to our FMC cause her back was hurting.. all throughout the novel. A bit repetitive. It was a fun easy read.

3.5 ⭐️

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The Forest Grimm was creepy, atmospheric, and twisty turny in the best way.

I love a spooky forest, they’re just such a fantastic setting, and one that has turned upon the local village? Tell me more!

The way the magic and fairytales were woven into the narrative was very clever, and felt organic rather than shoehorned in. The characters sometimes irked me, but I’m significantly older than them and I think their naivety is probably fairly realistic!

I didn’t realise going in, or right until the last minute, that this was the beginning of a series, and I’m unsure where the story goes from here, so although I did enjoy the book I’m unlikely to continue the series.

This was a really fun twist on the Red Riding hood story, while also having so many other great fairytale characters mixed in.

The author did a good job tying in character stories and Weaving the meaning of the color red throughout. I really enjoyed all the quirky characters. They held my interest without being too over the top our out there.

I enjoyed this audiobook! The narrators were great! The plot was good and not too predictable! I liked the world building and the way the townspeople would disappear into the woods and become a Grimm character! The friend/younger sister got on my nerves the entire time. She was so annoying throughout the entire book. I do recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

The Forest Grimm is a Young Adult fantasy novel the first in the Forest Grimm series.

It's the retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale with a magical forest. There are also other fairy tale stories that are woven into the main story line. A better description of this book would be twisted fairy tales and the horror that befell the fairy tale main characters. They're all stuck within this magical forest until the end of their days. Each character used to live in the same village until they ventured into the forest and was trapped.

I thought the story was okay. It wasn't my favorite retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. There has been many fairy tale remakes this year and this one is no different.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read! I highly recommend this book and the audiobook!

An absolutely spellbinding twisted retelling of several classic Grimm tales. I devoured this story and I loved it's characters and easy to follow and fast paced plot.

The Forest Grimm was an entertaining story with fantasy and several fairytale characters I thought I knew. It is a twisted retelling of several well known fairytales. I ran into Rapunzel, Hansel & Gretel, Sleeping Beauty and Red Riding Hood, all in the same forest. 17-year-old Clara is desperate to save her village, Grimm’s Hollow, from the curse, and in turn, her mother. Her grandmother is a fortune-teller who read her cards, thinking they were for someone else. Clara knows she needs to go into the Forest Grim and find the magical book to complete the task. Clara and her dear friend Axel, set out, but with so many creatures and a forest that wants to prevent their success standing in the way, will they find the book, or even survive this quest.

I wasn't quite sure what to think about this book. The spin Kathryn Purdie put on some of the best loved fairytale characters was a bit macabre. Instead of being heroes and underdogs as in the original Grimm's Fairytales, they were evil and trying to stop Clara and Axel at every turn. The forest itself was a character in this story with it's darkness and malevolence. There is a bit of a romance with Axel and Clara, but that was not the interesting part of the story. I enjoyed seeing Clara figure out who each character was and how to defeat them and bring them back to themselves. I don't want to say anything more, but this is a very interesting story and if you enjoy retellings, I definitely recommend this one. I did a read/listen with this book and enjoyed both formats. I think I probably read more of this one as I couldn't be patient to see what would happen next. The narration by Sarah Ovens was well done and I will listen to other books that she narrates.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

This was such a unique and compelling concept with a lot of potential- I especially love the way the author used various tales to weave together one story. Unfortunately, the execution wasn't quite there for me. That said, this is not a bad book by any means. and I highly recommend picking it up for yourself. Thank you to netgalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5

This started off a bit slow, but it really won me over as it went. If you, like me, enjoyed the TV show ONCE UPON A TIME or the YA series The Lunar Chronicles and enjoy a pastiche of fairytales twisted and recreated into something else, then thrown together in unexpected ways, all set to the backdrop of a creepy magical forest, you may wish to give this a go.

This wasn’t my jam, but I did appreciative the retelling. I think I’m just too old for some fantasy YA novels now!

The Forest Grimm by @kathrynpurdie - For some reason, I always forget how much I love YA fantasy books. I was weary to start this one because of forgetting that very thing. I am soooo glad I made myself read this because I devoured it in less than 4 hours. When fairytales turn dark, count me in!

If you tell me a book is dark and whimsical, especially if it includes a creepy forest, just know I'm already seated and ready to read it. There were so many parts of this YA fairytale fantasy that I absolutely loved. My only real complaint is I wish the characters were more developed. That being said, I'm so happy to see this is book 1 and there will be more to follow. I'll be patiently waiting until then!

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.