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.

The butcher of the forest is a dark fairytale like novella, with a stunningly beautiful writing, and an immersive atmosphere.

This book has everything needed for a spooky season read:
- Enchanted forest where kids disappear
- Creepy and mythical creatures
- Difficult decisions
- Magic
- High stakes
- 24-hour limit to the saving operation

This was much darker than I was expecting and I was anxious the whole time, but I really liked it!

Despite the short size and limited knowledge of the past, I was able to connect and care about the characters deeply. I believe that knowing they live under a tyrant played a significant role on this.

The story is very fast paced, and we are thrown into the action immediately, with no time to adjust. This kept me at the edge of my sit the whole time, and the only reason why I didn’t read it in one sitting was because I needed to take some breaks from the dark atmosphere.

Premee Mohamed is a fantastic writer and was able to create an enticing world that captured my attention, and that I wanted to know more about, even while recoiling from its darker theme. I am sure going to read more by her!

If you are looking for something light-hearted, this is not it, this is the absolute opposite of a cosy fantasy reading… But if you enjoy dark fairytales, or even if you don’t, you enjoy well written fantasy, do pick up this book upon its release in February 2024.

<i>I would like to thanks TOR and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

While I found The Butcher of the Forest a pleasant read, there was also not much that stuck out to me, so overall this was a bit of a forgettable story.

If you like high fantasy and/or dark fairytale vibes, this novella is for you! This type of story can be hit or miss for me, but I thought this was well done and appropriately eerie for spooky season.

I did notice feeling like the reader is held at an arm's length with this one—I wasn't totally immersed in the world because the book simply wasn't long enough to answer all of the questions I had about it. That's not to say that the high stakes weren't there, and I was definitely invested in the characters by the end, but I struggled in the first 25-50% with how aloof everything felt.

Thank you Tor and NetGalley for the advance copy!

This novella was closer to a 3.5, but I’ve given it a 4 because the extra half star has to do with my reading preferences and not the worth of the piece. This writing was dense dense DENSE and took twenty or so pages to hit its stride. I think I may have enjoyed it more if it had been longer and had a more fleshed out history. The twists were good but the reveals were very heavy and sad, but not in a way that necessarily leant to the story. This being said, I like a happy ever after. I like satisfying stories tied up with a bow and this was not that. It needed to end the way it did to hold true to the work. Worth the read, but I don’t think I would reread it.

Would you go into a haunted/murderous/dark magical forest to rescue the children of the cruelest ruler taking hostage your people? Veris will. This dark novella is filled with detailed descriptions of action, fighting surreal monsters, introspection, and courage. Veris never gives up although she gambles each step for survival.
I couldn't connect with the main character when in the middle of an eerie mood some of her comments took me out of the eerie narrative vibe, but it is a minor detail and more of personal taste.
The cover is amazing and the readers will keep turning the page to know if she saves Aram and Eleanor (also learn more about Veris too).

I will post on my platforms closer to February

This novella was a bit of a gamble: I’m not familiar with Premee Mohamed’s work, and I can’t really say I’m much of a fan of enchanted forests of any kind - and yet, I found myself racing against the clock alongside the protagonist, Veris, thoroughly engrossed in her reluctant rescue mission.

The story is definitely on the darker side: the forest is magical, true, but also extremely dangerous and beyond strange in all its manifestations, and Mohamed paints that picture with the confidence of someone who knows her world very well and deliberately gives us only a glimpse of it. It would be interesting to explore it further and learn, for example, how and why the Tyrant came to be, and whether he has any connection whatsoever to the other realm. But the genre has its own restrictions, so Veris is the only character whose (admittedly also tragic) story we discover in any real depth, and the other characters we see through her eyes and assumptions.

As I was reading, I kept wondering how dark the ending of this dark fairytale might get and caught myself thinking I’d probably appreciate a “traditional” happy ending, but it would be unlikely. Personally, I feel that Mohamed wrapped it up in quite a satisfying way, leaving an opening to maybe go back and tell more stories in the same setting.

Overall, quite an enjoyable read - especially recommended to those who appreciate an element of creepy/horror-like magic in their fiction.

Thanks to Netgally and Tor Dot Com for an advance copy of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC of The Butcher of the Forest! This can be a very quick read, perfect to enjoy one dark, chilly night. I found this to be a fast paced and intriguingly frightening fairytale that had me pretty much on the edge of my seat. There were some good twists for such a short story. The world building was a little lacking but Premee Mohamed did really well creating the creepy and dangerous atmosphere of the forest our hero Veris’ quest takes place in!

Butcher of the Forest is a quick read that has a lot of promise, but ultimately shoots itself in the foot with an abrupt and unsatisfying ending.
The atmosphere and setting of this magical and dangerous forest was captivating and intriguing. It often felt like reading about fey/faeries but without naming them as such. There are tricksters and creatures galore that crave whimsy and human flesh alike. The main character, while not entirely original or engaging, was still enjoyable to follow. There are a few 'twists' that aren't hard to see and feel underdeveloped.
The ending comes along quickly and abruptly, causing me to flip several times between pages to make sure I didn't accidentally fat finger my way through the last bit of the story some how. A lot of Butcher of the Forest feels polished and entertaining, but the. ending had it feeling like a rough draft that needed a little more time and attention.

I was already excited for this when Ms. Mohamed pitched this as "Escape from New York" but with an evil fantasy forest. The cover feeling like a William Morris painting but with some very interesting friends (who you WILL get acquainted with) was icing on the cake. And the story itself, which I raced through in a few nights, was tightly and fantastically wound. The ticking clock here is two children of the local tyrant who have wandered into an evil forest that will swallow them unless our middle aged, world weary protagonist can get them out. There's always something terrifying around the next corner, and there's a not insignificant chance that it might be something that fucks you over further. There's a fantastic twist at the end that leaves an opening for a continuation if Ms. Mohamed chooses, but if she decides not to, this is still a hell of a read that you're going to want to pick up when it comes out next Feb.

A really good little dark fairytale novella! I liked how truly dangerous the journey through the forest was. The ending felt a tad rushed but overall made sense with the story.