A great read for long time fans of dark fairytales and also people who want to get into dark fairytales.

It's about a woman in her late 30s. Love an older main protagonist! She is taken on a near hopeless quest to find the children of a ruthless tyrant. She must brave a creepy magical forest with only a pocket full of trinkets to help her.

The writer is great at making you feel emersed in the story. I actually jumped with fright while reading.

It should be noted that this story has no romance and a few triggers.

It's a short one and definitely worth checking out.

There's something immediately gripping about this novella. If you're a fan of creepy forests, definitely pick this one up. I personally tend to prefer Mohamed's writing in shorter form—so far, her short stories and novellas have all worked very well for me, even though I get the feeling there are way more layers to her works than I can pick up. The way Veris's background is revealed to us slowly, with tantalizing hints dropped every so often, was fantastic. I don't think this novella is officially listed as horror, but it falls under that category for me. The author's take on unicorns is probably the most unique one I've ever read. This reminded me of old fairytales in all the best ways. The ending did feel a bit weak in comparison, and some things are left very open, but I would still highly recommend this.

I like the concept of this story, and the cover is gorgeous. I’m just not the right reader for it. I think it is well-written and that there are lots of readers who will enjoy this book - I’m just not that one.

The Butcher of the Forest takes you on a journey into a magical forest where the forest itself is the danger. It harkens back to the old folktales of others loving just out of sight, just on the other side of some invisible screen that we cannot, or maybe should not, penetrate. This was a beautifully creepy story of our main character, Varis, who is ordered to return into the Elmever wood, a magic, haunted wood set within the Northern Woods, to save the Tyrants children. Many years ago, Varis walked into the woods to save another child and has been the only person to walk back out again. Now, to save the Tyrants children... as well as her own family and village from the Tyrants wrath... she must traverse the Elmever once again.

Premee Mohamed's writing style took me a little bit to get use to, but once I did, her lyrical writing style flowed effervescently throughout the story and made the otherworldly nature of the Elmever Wood feel more real. My only real complaint about the writing/formatting of this story was that there were no chapters. This may have been something that was changed in later edits or it could have been the author's stylistic choice for this story, I am not sure. I just know that for my brain, it made it feel like a long slog without any breaks, which is saying something for a 160 page novella. That could also be the whole point, as this journey for Varis was definitely a long, brutal slog.

I did enjoy Varis as a character. As we are thrown into the story, we are told that she is a forty year old woman and lives with her aging aunt and grandfather. She has lost much to the Tyrants rule and we get more revelations about her life as we go through the story. It is refreshing to be in the point of view of a main character that has seen life, has seen tragedy, and is wizened by years instead of an ambitious youth. There is something to be said about the choices we make and how we make them different after years of experience versus in our youth and the book does a good job of showcasing that.

4.25/5 stars

Premee Mohamed has a novelette about Veris Thorn, a simple villager, who had managed to retrieve her daughter from the enchanted forest years before, When theTyrant calls on her o rescue his two children from the horrific place she is forced to face The Butcher of the Forest (paper from Tordotcom) the forest is properly eerie, with puzzling rules. Impossible to put down.

No one knows the strange and terrifying traps of the Elmever better than Veris Thorn, the only person to ever rescue a child from the forest many years ago. When the Tyrant’s two young children go missing, Veris is commanded to enter the forest once more and bring them home safe.
I loved this story, truly haunting and creepy and mysterious. I love stories where even the characters living the moment don't truly know what's happening. A perfect length.

A beautifully dark novella. I am such a huge fan of twisted and dark fantasy stories and Premee Mohamed really hit the mark with this story. At 160 pages it was a fun and quick read but it honestly had me hunger for more! I cannot wait to read more that this author puts out.

This is an imaginative, dark fantasy novella following an older woman named Veris who is given a task by the “Tyrant,” who is basically a king, to rescue his children who have gone missing in this evil/magical forest. And boy does Veris get herself into an adventure.

I’m not sure if it was just the arc version but I did not like how this was (or wasnt) broken up. For a novella it felt very long at times and I think that really affected my enjoyment. It might just be me but I needed more decisive chapters and breaks.

I think a lot of people will really like this novella. I definitely recommend giving it a try for yourself.

It's so refreshing to read a book where the main protagonist isn't basically a child. Veris is almost 40 and makes an awesome hero of the story, venturing into the forbidden forest ruled by powerful magic to rescue the tyrant king's children. I can't wait to see this book on shelves! I think older fantasy lovers are going to love it.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group, Tordotcom and NetGalley for an eARC of The Butcher of the Forest.

This haunting tale made me reminiscent of when I read T. Kingfisher's Nettle and Bone. A dark fairy tale that contains a gritty protagonist on a race against time to save the two children of the Tyrant that rules her land from a mysterious forest. The Butcher of the Forest is a fast paced novella that keeps you rooted in from start to finish. I really enjoyed this one.

A beautiful dark folktale of a novella with an immersive atmosphere and lovely writing. A slight twist on the classic 'missing children in the forest' tale.

Thank you Tor for the opportunity to read this novella, my opinions are my own.

It was bad to run; things would chase you.

This horror novella is fascinatedly creepy filled with things that haunt your nightmares. All those lessons about the woods of old (or the Appalachian woods), would come in handy. This reminds us that there are things out there that are beyond our immediate understanding.

Veris is summoned to the Tyrant and put under the task to rescue his errant children who wandered into the woods at night, now Veris has 24 hours to go in, find the kids, and get back out since she is the only known person to make it out alive with a missing child. This is a battle of wits from the get go and it is fabulous.

My only complaint would be that this could have been longer, but it leaves you wanting more.

Highly recommend for those who like creepy books, think Erin Craig's Little Favors, a scary Hansel and Gretel, or the original fairy tales about things in the woods.

This is my second book by the author and the writing goes so hard?

"Time was so precious, but life more precious still; they could not escape late but the must escape alive."

The Writing:
The first thing that stood out to me, right from page 1, was the beautiful writing. I think in the previous work I read from them the writing could lean quite prose-y, but also sparse. Here there was a much stronger sense of repetition (of concepts, of phrases, of individual words) that I think was used to excellent effect-- it's steeped in fairytales, after all, and what's more fairytale than things coming threes?

The Themes:
While the book itself is quite short, that doesn't mean it isn't heavy. The subject matter is very dark and readers may need to look at trigger warnings in advance. There is death and loss and grief, impassive and cold cruelty, a loss of innocence, and the inevitability of failure.

The Characters:
I admired both Veris and Eleonor in their own ways as they tried to do their best to make it through the world around them and maintain strength that could be leant on for Aram. But I especially liked the creatures that lived in the Forest like the fox-man. The writing will not let you forget how other they are, similar to the fae in Emily Wilde's, but always with a lingering darkness, a lingering hunger.

Overall:
If you enjoy dark fairytales, if you don't need a happy ending, and if you enjoy beautiful writing then I would recommend you pick this up. It's admirable to watch the way the characters persevere in the face of extreme adversity, but also sometimes a bit of a gut-punch to bear witness to what they go through.

This novella was dreamt and haunting, with incredible packing and world-building in such a short amount of pages! Sometimes I am a little iffy on dark fairytale type books, but this is really a triumph.

Like a sugar stiletto to the heart with every chapter. Loss, oppression, the terrifying dislocation of faerie lands from the real, and what we must sacrifice to save others. Already designated as my very favorite book of 2024.

Who doesn’t love a dark and gothic fairytale that’s akin to a novella? The author did a great job with weaving a sense of impending doom into the story and maintained an eerie atmosphere. I like that our main character is older who uses her past to help bring the tyrant’s children home. I thought this was a good, quick read.

In THE BUTCHER OF THE FOREST, Veris is forced to enter a deadly forest to save the children of the tyrant who rules over her home. She is the only person to ever enter the forest and survive, and her only saving grace is her knowledge from her last trip inside. Monsters, tricks and traps await her, and she has one day to save the children before the forest claims them for itself.

Premee Mohamed’s latest novella is an atmospheric and imaginative fairytale featuring a forty year old protagonist, creepy monsters, and discussions of colonialism and power. The tyrant’s wrath is quietly simmering in the background of the book—Veris knows that if she doesn’t return with the children then she dooms herself, her family and her village. The book explores power imbalances and discusses the injustice of life under tyranny, and the impact of tyranny on marginalized individuals. These themes are also explored through the monsters when they make bargains with Veris. Their prices are high and it made me think about how marginalized individuals are the ones who pay the cost of colonialism—we are the ones who bear the burden, and we are the ones who have to live with the injustices empires create.

Through all of her heartbreak and grief, Veris grounds herself with tokens that remind her of home. She thinks about her aunt and grandfather, and fights to survive for them. Veris has to make difficult choices in impossible situations, and she spends the novella trying to survive but never really gets to live. Is this not what people are doing in Palestine and worldwide? So many of us spend our lives fighting to survive instead of being allowed to simply exist. I couldn’t help but see the parallels to current global injustices while reading about the fictional ones in this book. This is what I couldn’t stop thinking about as Veris raced through the forest and constantly put her life on the line for someone who would never do the same for her.

Overall this is a great addition to Premee Mohamed’s body of work. If you enjoy this novella I highly recommend checking out her short story collection NO ONE WILL COME BACK FOR US. I haven’t read all of her books yet but the short story collection is my favourite, and I think it’s a must read for fans of speculative fiction.

This novella is out today! Thank you Tordotcom Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC to review.

Rating: 4.25/5

I love a dark fairytale, and this is such a good one! The writing is fantastic, and you easily get lost in the dark, spooky, fairytale.

The Butcher of the Forest
by Premee Mohamed
Dark Fantasy Novella
NetGalley ARC
Tor Publishing Group
Pub. Date: Feb. 27, 2024
Ages: 16+

Bordering the land on the north is a forest called Elmever and is where monsters live. To enter more than a few trees means you'll never find your way out. Veris Thorn once went beyond those first few trees to save a young child and is known to be the only person to go in and find their way out.

When the Tyrant's two children disappear, all tracks leading to Elmever, he orders Veris to find them and bring them out alive. If she does not, her entire village will pay.


The blurb caught my attention. A haunted scary forest that has monsters! The first few chapters were dark and I was caught, then the story flushed as it failed to include depth of this forest and the monsters. They weren't monsters, they didn't have enough monstrosity to them.

Sure one of the monsters was an interesting take on the 'species' but it was just a little lame, as were most of the other monsters and the human characters. Of them all, the Tyrant had the most personality.

The plot is based on the fairy myths, don't eat the food, etc, but as I said it lacks so much depth that a hundred or so pages of descriptions and back story would have brought this story to life. As is, it reads as if it was a bedtime story then hurriedly changed up for adults.

As to the title, ehhh. I saw no butchering, except for the Tyrant's rule but he didn't live in the forest, and the cover, the animals could've been 'a little more'.

It's not scary, not gory... It's mostly suitable for readers 16 and older, but I'm sure there are some 14-year-olds mature enough to read this. (At 14, I don't think would have been too impressed with this one, let alone scared.)

Had promise but didn't reach what it could have been.

2 Stars

Sometimes children go into the North Woods and they never come back. Only one person has ever gone into the North Woods and retrieved a child: Veris. Now, the tyrant's children have gone missing and he asks Veris to do the unthinkable - make that journey again to save his heirs. This book is a dark adventure into the eerie woods that also explores power, tyranny, and forces beyond our control. The forest itself is hauntingly beautiful and terrifying. It is a fast-paced, bite-sized read and totally worth the journey.