A very finely written little fairy-tale. Extremely anxiety-inducing (in a good way!). I thought that the ending would be sadder than it was, and I was relieved not to have the ending I was anticipating, haha. The actual ending is quite good, and I appreciate the almost-but-not-quite uplifting note, which I feel is a hallmark of Mohamed's work.

I did feel like there were a few seeds planted that ended up not being seeds: namely the reasons why Eleonor, Aram, and earlier Ingrahid went into the Elmever in the first place. (There was a reason given for Eleonor and Aram, but I found it so unsatisfying that I assumed there was another, realer reason further on.)

I read this in half a day! I liked it a lot! I would recommend it!

This review was made possible via an ARC through NetGalley.

Butcher in the Forest by Premee Mohamed has a dark atmosphere, gorgeous prose, vivid descriptions, and a real sense of being a fairy tale for adults.

Veris is a forty-ish year old woman who doesn’t have much but she has done the impossible: brought a child back from the dark forest that nobody else has ever escaped from. This leads the Tyrant to send her after his two children after they went into the forest themselves.

It reads a lot like a longer, more fleshed out Grimm’s fairy tale but it’s also its own thing. I very much recommend this novella to fans of fairy tales and darker fantasy.

This fast paced story blends fantasy and horror. Veris has been forced by a tyrannical ruler to rescue his kids from the Elmever forest, which all locals know to stay far away from. Veris knows this better than anyone, having been the only person to enter and escape the forest alive. Veris has to use her knowledge of the forest, and her cunning to do the impossible once more.

I was interested in this book because I love the premise of a sinister, dark fairy tale forest with creepy creatures and ancient magic, and it was everything I could have asked for.

The writing style is unique and immersive, and a bit disorienting at times. It's written to seem like Veris' train-of-thought as she embarks on her quest, which wonderfully captures the fear and mystery of the whole situation.

I liked that Veris described the horrors of the forest from the perspective of having seen and dealt with them before. She knows the dangers lurking and knows to walk on eggshells around them, and one wrong move can end her journey. It lent an ominous and fragile feeling to the atmosphere. Adding the children to the peril only increased that, with their undisciplined tendency to act on their own whims. This, combined with a 24 time limit on their lives, and the disturbing and otherworldly descriptions of the guardians of the forest all made for a dark and anxiety-inducing reading experience.

I also liked the world-weary attitude of Veris. She can take on these nightmarish creatures because she's already lived through the worst nightmare imaginable. Nothing in the forest can harm her more than the events of her past. It doesn't make her careless or eager to throw her own life away, she only has a sense of duty and redemption to carry out this task successfully.

The story is short and I found the ending to be a little abrupt. We also start the story in the middle of the main character's life. Veris already has gone through so much prior to this novel. I'd have liked to get a clearer picture of her life. I'm left with many questions about both the background and future of the characters and setting. I really think the author could have expanded on the world a little more. I can see this becoming a series. I can't complain about a quick read though, and it was impressive how much was included in so little pages.

I am impressed 👏🏻

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this short story, which can be hard to accomplish a meaningful and thought provoking story in limited pages but this delivered. I really enjoyed the way Premee story told, it was so easy to follow and made me feel invested in these characters with minimal backstory. Honestly, I would read an entire novel/series about this story. It was so creative, and dark in ways I wasn’t expecting.

I like when books/movies/shows don’t follow the traditional “everyone lives happily ever after” because those stories leave you feeling haunted when not everything works out the way it “should” and keeps you thinking about it for days after.

Highly recommend this short and will definitely be purchasing the physical when it releases! Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this ARC ❤️

A dark fairytale that blends fantasy and horror, The Butcher of the Forest follows a woman who is forced into a harrowing journey into dangerously magical woods to rescue the children of a ruler. While inside (for the second time in her life) she encounters strange and disturbing creatures, tricksters, and things that want to kill her and the children or keep them there forever. It's evocative and a really effective, contained story that will never let you think about unicorns the same way. Content warnings include body horror, gore, violence, peril, references to child sex abuse (past). I received a copy of this book for review via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Brisk and atmospheric, it does a wonderfully creepy job of reimagining the trope of fairy woods and fae creatures. My only complaint was that I'd like to read more honestly; the worldbuilding was great and could definitely flesh out more stories. The cover is also stunning.

Premee Mohamed excels at creating an atmosphere of cosmic horror: inescapable, malicious, all-consuming foes that can only be survived, never defeated. Instead of near-future sci-fi like her Beneath the Rising novel series, The Butcher of the Forest is a fairy-tale fantasy novella, and this genre change only increases the suffocating powerlessness.

Veris is a middle-aged woman who lives with the remains of her family in a village under the rule of the Tyrant. She is the only person who has entered the the forest within the forest, the Elemever, and returned. She is ordered to do it again. She must rescue the Tyrant's children, or her own family is forfeit.

The Elmever is a place of magic, not logic. Its inhabitants are willing to lie and trick and steal to get their way, which darkens their interactions beyond the typical rule-bounded stories of fae. Every time Mohamed lulls the reader into a false sense of security, which I fell for constantly despite myself, danger is not far behind (and sometimes is a unicorn).

The Butcher of the Forest was fast-paced and left me a little bit unsatisfied at the end, but in a way that felt right for the story. There are heavy thematic parallels between tyranny and imperalism and borders from the outside world and to the Elmever, and Veris struggles with the innocence and responsibility of children throughout.

I did have one plot question (big spoiler): Since the day limit has elapsed by months by the end of the book, shouldn't Eleonor know that Aram is unrescuable? Why does Veris think she can rescue the other captured children? Is it only the rescuer who must leave by the end of the day?

Recommended for fans of Nettle & Bone (but this is much less cozy), Beneath the Rising, and dark fantasy retellings.

A quickly paced dark fairytale, but one that is not without hope.

A woman named Veris Thorn is summoned to the castle of the Tyrant, a cruel and merciless ruler, and told that she must save his children from the forest into which they have wandered, or her life, the lives of her remaining family, and the lives of everyone in her village are forfeit. The reason that Veris has been summoned: she is the only person known to have entered that forest and left with her life. And so, of course, she must go.

This is a briskly paced novella – it is exactly as long as it needs to be to tell the story it wishes to tell. It wastes no time in getting the story going, instead slowly giving us the pertinent details of the past as the story goes on, when those details matter, be they worldbuilding or character building. We learn about Veris and her family, and the history of the area that lead to the Tyrant being in the position that he’s in, but only when it’s needed.

I particularly enjoyed that this story is from the perspective of an older character – Veris is in her forties, and is unmarried with no wish to be, but still, she has people she loves, and a life she does not wish to lose to the whims of a heartless king. I also enjoyed the writing, and the setting – the forest is horrifying, but beautifully written, in its details sweeping and small.

I wasn’t as keen on the strong conclusion – it felt too resolute in its ending for my taste, as the rest of the novella had left a little more mystery to the story. As I’d rather enjoyed that mystery. I expected far less certainty in its ending.

Thanks to Tor, NetGalley, and Premee Mohamed for the early access to this story!

A macabre novella for fans of dark fantasy. It's dark and beautiful and strange. Since it's so short, the action starts immediately and I was invested until the end! I love a quick spooky read.

I went into this book blind, not having read any previous titles from the author, but was intrigued by its description. The Butcher of the Forest is labeled as a fantasy novel, but I would argue this book is equal parts horror.

The plot is quite straightforward - a woman enters a magic forest to find two lost children. The titular forest is both setting and main character. It's labyrinthine depths hide every new trial that must be faced, and it is populated with fairy tale creatures portrayed as disturbing eldritch beings. It is governed by laws separate from the human realm, and the author does a great job of revealing the rules of the forest without explicitly listing them. Every encounter is wrought with tension, as the narrator - Veris - tries to barter with creatures that function in a world beyond human understanding. I rarely scare easily when reading, but the oppressive nature of the forest and its inhabitants had me feeling uneasy more than a few times.

Veris is a very reasonable narrator who weighs her options in a fair and intelligent manner, while still realistically second guessing the choices she makes over the course of the story. Despite there being very few additional characters, the author manages to create an interesting dynamic between them as Veris is both the child’s savior and a victim of their tyrant father. This presents an interesting dilemma - are the children truly innocent of their father's sins, or are they inherently complicit? What is she risking her life for?

I really enjoyed The Butcher of the Forest. I think it would be great for both fantasy readers and fans of horror and speculative fiction. I don't often like to draw comparisons to other novels in reviews, but this book managed to evoke the same feelings in me as when I first read Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer, and that is one of my all-time favorites.

Hansel & Gretel meets Natalie Portman’s Annihilation with a seasoned 40 year-old heroine on a high stakes quest into a grim and unsettling wood. Her mission: to save the missing children of a tyrant king.

What ensues is a haunting and dreamlike narrative of her journey, which felt like a sprint as I raced to find out what happened next.

Thrilling, beautiful, and sad — The Butcher of the Forest will stay with the reader long after the final page.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the advanced reader copy.

This was an absolutely perfect novella. It has the most wonderful lyrical voice and is so deeply unsettling. The author really gets how to develop a simmering sense of unease and creeping horror. The images are so memorable in their devastation.

I had zero expectations going into this book bc I’d not read from this author or seen any reviews but I am pleasantly surprised!

This book is a dark fairytale dream. I enjoyed the setting of this book, with the dreamy writing, it was so easy to picture everything that was going on. The author did a really great job incorporating beautiful writing, vivid enough to still follow the story. I also enjoyed varis as a main character. She was just a normal woman sent to do an impossible task. The atmosphere was just top notch and there was just high enough stakes that you knew she was gonna have to do everything and anything to save the children. Plus the little twist toward the end just got me!

Also, this ended just how I wanted, open enough to make your own guesses at what happens next but enough closure to be satisfied! Overall I enjoyed my time with this book and will keep my eye out for what the author does next!

Thank you Net Galley and Tor Publishing group for this opportunity to read rate and review this arc which is available February 27,2024!

This was pure freaking magic, adventure and suspense in a ver short very quick read. I am absolutely buying it and adding it to my shelf. I want to reread it and live with Veris. Loved this book

The Butcher of the Forest was a fantastic, fast-paced little fantasy story. I loved this take on the forest filled with monsters. Despite being short (~160 pages) I felt able to follow the main character’s motivations. The pacing builds to a heart-pounding crescendo towards the end, and then there’s a reveal which took me by surprise. This could totally be a longer book, but it’s just right as is. I absolutely love the cover as well.

The writing and the setting are so incredibly rich. I could feel the darkness of the woods, the oddness of the creatures within. The secret keeping and reveals felt too pat for me toward the end, but I didn't mind because the rest kept me utterly rapt.

An atmospheric fantasy novella where a dark creepy forest is one of the main characters.
We follow Veris into her deadly journey to save the children of a tyrant lost within the deadly place. This book is very well written and you get lulled into its flow, into the gloom world of the author, from the reality which is harsh and terrible, to this fantastical place which is just as deadly.
While I am sure people who liked The Wolf and the Woodsman or Uprooted will enjoy this book, it strongly reminded me of the movie Pan's Labyrinth on many different levels.
Great characterisation, very lyrical writing, a good book all around.

A sad, strange, and wonderfully macabre story. The Butcher of the Forest is everything you could want if you're a fan of dark fairytales. It's rich in magic and atmosphere, unsettling in the best ways. We as readers are left to machinations of a grim and ancient wood, as Veris Thorn, the only person to ever venture into the Elmever and back out, goes back in to find the children of the ruling Tyrant.

Despite this being a very short read at only 160 pages I did find myself invested closely invested in Veris’ journey. You hit the ground running with the action, and it just keeps coming. Veris is pragmatic, wise, and very human. I also liked the fact that she was 40 and not a spritely 18 year old.

If you enjoy dark fairytales, you’ll like this a lot. The writing was beautiful and greatly complimented the work. It was spooky and I was glad to read it.

Thank you so much to Tordotcom and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title early via eARC, for my honest opinion.

Award winning author Premee Mohamed strikes again in The Butcher of the Forest, a new thrilling tale of magic, monsters, and survival. There is nothing Veris can do when the Tyrant’s men come to her door one morning, demanding she have an audience with the Tyrant. He demands that she enter the forest once more to find the tyrant’s children, and allows her only one day to do so. Veris is the only one to have ever entered the forest and survived, and the Tyrant assures her that she must do so again, and emerge with his children, or he will see her dead. The forest is sinister and dangerous, a place where monsters lurk in the shadows, and traps lie around every corner. Veris had her own reasons for entering the forest the first time, and she has no desire to do so a second, but she refuses to jeopardize her family and must attempt the journey.

This book had my nose about an inch from the page from start to finish, desperately hoping Veris would prevail. This is exactly the kind of late night read that will raise the hair on the back of your neck and keep you entertained. It’s fast paced and wild, and the lore of the Forest and the Tyrant’s land is fascinating in its originality. I hadn’t previously read any books from Premee Mohamed, but The Butcher of the Forest definitely made an excellent impression and I’ll be sure to read more of her work in the future.

If you’re in the mood for a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat, this is definitely the one for you!

This was very interesting! It was nice to read something short.
This tale was certainly dark.
I absolutely loved Premee’s writing style. It’s lush, unique, and intricate. Slightly disorienting- but in a good way that adds to the atmosphere and vibe to the story. I hope that this book is the start to an eventually expanded full length book or series set within this world. I look forward to reading more of Premee’s work.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor for the ARC.