What a surprising read this was! Brilynn transports us into a dystopian world that is on the brink of extinction, humanity is dwindling and all plants have vanished. From the very first chapter I was drawn in and incredibly immersed the whole time.

I adored the beautiful references to plants and their uses, I definitely learnt something. The pacing of this story is fast and easy to follow although I wouldn’t mind if it were slower so I could spend more time with these wonderful characters and feel more depth to their journey/past experiences.

I have had 24hours to sit with this book before writing my review and I have so many questions!! (Book 2, please!!)

As I mentioned earlier in regards to the pacing of the story, it was extremely fast but that is not a bad thing as not all books need intense depth but I desperately wanted more, I could have read 600+ pages of this. I have so many questions about our main characters, the world itself but in hindsight I realise Brilynn has done a wonderful job setting up a universe that has captivated me and is definitely going to make me pick up book 2.

The Forgotten Earth releases on February 5th, 2025 and I want to thank NetGalley and Brilynn O’Neal for the opportunity to read this ARC

This is a unique and well written dystopian fantasy, with some dark and heavy themes throughout. For a debut novel, the world building is done well, but slowly throughout the story. I felt at times the book could have been a little faster paced but it held my interest the whole way and I am excited for the next book in the series!📚
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In a world where the dwindling human race is broken into a hierarchy and guarded against the Claeg, a nomadic group of monsters that arrived around the time plant life and vegetation died out across the world, Willow devotes her life to finding a way to bring back the greenery that once covered the earth providing food and medicine. Willow is driven by a thirst for knowledge and a desire to help those around her, even going so far as to evade the military and sneak out of the city and into the abandoned library of banned books in search of answers. However, when she is discovered by the military, the soldier sent to kill her finds himself fighting with her to bring back the rich green world she reads about setting them off on a journey in which they must trust and rely on one another to survive.
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Liam found himself a soldier in a regime that caused him to burry his morals deep down in order to carry out his orders and survive in their troubling world. When he and Willow are thrown together, he is surprised to find an intelligent, brave, and empathetic person who hasn’t been broken by their world of her desire to help others any way she can, even if it means risking her life or her safety to do so. Willow leads him to begin to hope for a different world. The characters are compelling and each have their own trauma and flaws they bring into the story. I enjoyed Willow and Liam’s character development and look forward to reading where O’Neal takes them with this series!!
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🌿Debut novel
✨Dystopian romantasy
🌿Dual POV
✨Open-door
🌿Trigger warnings
✨Banned books
🌿Green thumb
✨Opposing sides to partners/friends to lovers
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Thank you Brilynn O’Neal and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review!
Publishers release date 2/5/2025📚
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“It’s easy to take the things you value for granted and forget how easily they can be taken away. Humans are notoriously forgetful, and we’ve forgotten what we’ve lost.”
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“Books are dangerous. They give you ideas. They give you possibilities. They open doors. They allow you to see what the world could be. And most dangerous of all, they give you hope.”📚
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“I will fight for the world you dream of. I will fight with all I have to make sure you get the chance to live in that world.” 💐

Willow lives her life as a food scientist in a walled city - doing what she can to feed the less fortunate and trying to get as much information as she can from books. But when she attracts the attention of a soldier, Liam, her life changes...and the two must work together to survive what's next.

The book is a really interesting and unusual mix of fantasy and urban dystopian. The Claeg are interesting zombie-like antagonists, and the mix of the fantasy like elements of the plants the Fae and the urban dystopia (with a Mad Max style villain). I think some of the messages of the book, about the importance of caring for each other and our world, is incredibly timely.

Willow and Liam are both very three dimensional characters - Willow is compassionate, but a bit reckless, struggling with long term planning, while Liam is incredibly broody. I wish the rest of the characters had been given such depth. Almost every soldier is a one note character, threatening intimidation and rape, while there is a throwaway line about how Elites mistreat each other which is never really expounded on. What is really the benefit of being an Elite? How does the city of Tarraco survive without crops and by excluding much of the potential workforce? I wish these questions had been answered, and we'd gotten a bit more of a sense of a well-developed, nuanced world.

Set in the future. The earth is barren and food is created in labs. Willow sneaks around stealing books, which are forbidden, and Liam is a solider who is supposed to kill her. Then things in the city fall apart, and they end up having to work together to survive. They both have some kind of unexplained powers with Liam being something of a super soldier and Willow being able to grow plants by will alone. That is never really explained. The book marches on somewhat mechanically and quickly, the romance was unrealistic, and the ending was too abrupt. 2 stars because somehow I was engaged while reading it, but it was overall disappointing.

This book drew me in with its interesting and unique dystopian concept. The beginning started well and the plot moved along quickly enough. Also I liked that the FMC was intellectually inclined, which was refreshing to read.

While its evident that the author is a talented writer, i think the writing style was little too simple for a fantasy genre. There was not enough description as I was unable to picture this dystopian world. Everything felt a little too vague in my opinion. I also felt like the characters were a bit flat and cliched, for Olivia specifically. It was difficult to connect to these characters and want to read their story.

The romance however made no sense to me. In Chapter 21, we see the beginning of Liam and Willow getting closer. But it feels like a chunk of the story was missing from Chapter 21 to 22, where they are suddenly being intimate with each other. Willow had been consistently wary and a little intimidated by Liam until then, so it felt off character for Willow to desire him so suddenly.

From there, the rest of the story kind of dragged for me unfortunately.

Thank-you for the opportunity to read this book!

I did not actually finish this book, I only made it 17% or about 80 pages, and unfortunately ... it just isn't working for me.

I'm giving it three stars because the premise is interesting and there is definitely promise to it and I could see why other people might love it. The idea of a wasteland of a world and an FMC with magic to heal it? Sounds perfect! The worldbuilding and characters just felt lacking to me. I thought it was more of a fantasy world, and then there was the mention of guns and technology and I realized that no, it's just our world. Which maybe that soured the book for me, but I think it was really the fact that nothing was explained. There are the Elite and they .... are elite? And then the Forgotten who ... are forgotten? And soldiers who seem to exist mostly just to terrorize and kill people? Maybe if I read more things would be explained, but seeing as at this point in the book they've already started their adventure, I find it unlikely.

As for the characters, Liam intrigues me. I always love a tortured hero and he is definitely feeling tortured about the things he's done in his employment, but I wasn't really clicking with Willow or Olive and since this is an adventure story following the three of them ... I have to actually want to read about them and I just don't. I do think the potential for romance between Liam and Willow is there, and the journey might give them a good chance to develop actual feelings, but I'm not feeling their chemistry yet.

So while the book didn't work for me, I can see how it would for others. If you like post-apocalypse and adventure stories and character focused books then this might just be the book for you.

I finished this mere hours ago, and I already wish I could re-read it again for the first time. I was captivated by this story from the beginning, and I cried several times throughout. I fell in love with Willow & Liam (as well as Olivia & some other very incredible side characters) I was fully immersed in their world. This has dystopian vibes and is also a romantasy with plant/earth magic involved - need I say more? There are some heavy elements involved, such as SA (nothing on-page, mostly implied) so check trigger warnings if needed. This is an amazing debut novel with profound character growth, lessons of love, strength, resilience, and the importance of nature & books. Book 2 can't come soon enough. Huge thank you to Netgalley and publishers for the ARC!

The Forgotten Earth is a dystopian adventure that blends botany, Earth magic, and an enemies-to-lovers romance, all set in a world on the brink of extinction. The premise is original and well-developed, and the unique magic system centered around Willow’s ability to grow life from dirt, adds a nice touch to the grim setting.

Willow is a well-developed character whose passion for books and deep yearning for knowledge shine through despite the world’s decay. Her optimism, paired with her magic, creates a sense of beauty and hope in an otherwise bleak environment. Liam is a soldier who transitions from loyal enforcer to questioning rebel and has a complex character arc that adds significant depth to the story. His internal struggle between duty and morality is one of the book’s strongest elements.

The dynamic between Willow and Liam is one of the highlights with their banter providing both humor and tension. Their slow-burn romance feels earned as they grow from wary allies to something more while navigating a world filled with danger, monsters, and political oppression. The character of Olivia, Willow’s best friend, is a great addition, bringing lightheartedness and humor to balance the darker aspects of the story.

While the book offers an engaging plot, it can be somewhat predictable at times. Some of the twists feel foreseeable, though the foreshadowing throughout the novel does help build suspense and anticipation. The pacing is brisk and the tension mounts as the story heads toward its climax, but at times it could have benefited from more world-building and explanation, especially regarding the origins of the magic and the Elites' rise to power.

The Forgotten Earth is an enjoyable read with a strong premise and well-rounded characters. While some aspects of the plot may feel familiar or predictable, the emotional depth of the characters and the unique magic system keep the story fresh and interesting. If you’re a fan of dystopian tales with strong character development and an element of romance, this is worth checking out.

This was an interesting take on a dystopian Earth sci-fi fantasy book, and This would have been an amazing read had it not been for the swiss cheese level of plot holes.

There is so much that is never explained, expanded on, or hinted at that this book just really fell flat for me. The relationship between Willow and Liam really needed more angst and development before they were end game. Olivia's character was not needed, though fun at times, held no real value in the book over all. Wasn't even like the loveable side character, she was like an after thought.
The Claeg creatures were confusing and still kind of are. What are they? Where did they come from?

Willows Earth powers are never deeply explained or expanded on. Liam is apparently super human and his eyes glow with blue fire, but we never find out why or what either of their histories are, they just both have powers.

If this book didn't have any open door spice, and that was all cut out, this would be probably a great YA book for young people entering the world of sci-fi fantasy.

I believe this is a debut novel for this author and it was an ok read, sometimes really enjoyable and then sometime frustrating, I gave it three stars.

The premise of the novel is unique: The humans have stopped caring, the Earth is dying, society has collapsed and nature is basically at its end. We have our state of Coria where books and knowledge are essentially banned, including anything and everything related to plant life and Earth’s various ecosystems and oh, a group called the Elite serves as the core leaders in the place of an Emperor? More to follow on that. We then meet our main leads, Willow and Liam. Willow is a scientist who secretly has access to forbidden books about Earth with hopes of being able to revive them. Liam is essentially a soldier in the Elite force and slowly, becomes an ally to Willow after crossing paths with her.

The world-building and writing was almost there for me. I feel like we needed a bit more. I needed to know how the Earth came to be, and why the Elites were the powerhouse apart from others; and while we do get a little bit of the political stances it wasn’t until much much later that we get a glimpse of it. The monsters, the Claeg were also another key point that I enjoyed but again, what created them? We get some of these answered in conversations between characters but not to the extent that I would have liked. So I even think that adding a prologue with this information would be an amazing addition to a better understanding of this world.

The writing had its hits and misses. Some paragraphs felt like it was done well, but others felt inconsistent, clunky, and almost juvenile.

Oh, and the magic? Let’s not forget about that. Now I do like that the magic was very much rooted in the Earth, but I had a very difficult time understanding what its key purpose was for being incorporated into this novel. Has it always existed and it disappeared so therefore non-existent in current humans? Or is there a long line of descendants of humans being able to use this “magic” but died out? I'm thinking of it in terms of Final Fantasy VII and the Cetra. Anyway, it was entirely dystopian, with very few aspects of fantasy. I would love more lore on this and maybe I wouldn’t have had a difficult time wrapping my head around it.

I liked that our main characters were flawed. Willow is no one-trick warrior and she had to learn to wield the weapons given to her. Liam does his best to own up to the mistakes and the duality of morality vs duty is very much shown in this novel. However, the romance between Willow and Liam felt sudden to me even though I could tell while reading, it was meant to be a slow-burn romance. Maybe that's just how it is though… Two individuals in a desolate world yearning for affection and that's how it came about. I do wish the other cast had more important roles versus being solely there for plot purposes and comedic relief.

Overall solid 3 stars. Well suited for the people who enjoy dystopian themes and have a love for nature.

Thank you to Brilynn O’Neal for welcoming me to read and NetGalley for the e-ARC! I wish you the best for future releases and look forward to what comes next because well, I need answers.

There were a lot of things that were well done in this novel. This story was rich with elemental magic, relatable characters, a challenging political environment, and a fast-paced plot. The spicy scenes were tasteful and not overly-clinical, and I generally felt that the dialogue and characters were relatable and realistic.

A few things that I thought could’ve been better: I did feel like the writing was a bit clunky at times, and there were a couple of odd exchanges or actions in various scenes that felt out of place. The language was a bit juvenile for me at times as well. However, overall I thought it was a really great debut novel and I’d definitely read another book by this author!

This was a great read! Watching the two characters paths cross and become so intertwined was a really fun experience.

❁ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 ❁
by Brilynn O'Neal

In 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡, readers are transported to a dystopian world where society has collapsed, and nature is nearly extinct.
The story unfolds within Coria, a tightly controlled city run by the Elite, an authoritarian regime that bans books and knowledge, especially anything related to plants and Earth's lost ecosystems.

The central character, Willow, is a young woman who braves the regime's control by secretly accessing forbidden books and learning about Earth’s ecosystems in hopes of reviving them.

Liam, initially a soldier and enforcer of the Elite’s rules, crosses paths with Willow and slowly becomes her ally. Their bond grows as Liam starts questioning the Elite’s motives and Willow’s determination to restore life on Earth resonates with him.

The romance between Willow and Liam in is a beautiful slow burn—it’s grounded in a world where survival takes priority, making every moment they get feel more intense.
Throughout their journey, their bond builds through mutual respect and shared goals, even as Liam battles his past mistakes and Willow grapples with the responsibility of her mission.

What I loved most about 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 is how it balances the tension and action with a genuine sense of purpose and optimism. Even in a dying world, there’s still the spark of hope that Earth can heal, if people are willing to fight for it.🌎

If you’re looking for a story that’s equal parts thrilling and inspiring, definitely check this one out! It’s perfect for anyone who loves dystopias with a big heart and a love for nature. 🌱📚

A huge thank you to the author for welcoming me onto the street team and providing an ARC!
Mark your calendars for the release on February 5, 2025.

The book is set on Earth, years after all the plants have died out. In the story we follow Willow, a scientist whose dreams is to return vegetation to the planet and Liam, a soldier who wants to stop being a soldier.

I found the idea of the book very fascinating. It had potential. However, that is the only thing going for it. This book reads as if written by a novice writer with a great idea but no clue on how to bring it to life.

The writing is very dry, mechanical. Author tries to express characters' emotions mostly through facial expressions, but you can write that someone "grinned"/"smiled"/"cried"/"smirked" only so many times before it becomes repetitive and loses its meaning. You can use as many grand, big and impactful phrases but if they don't fit in context, it's just wasteful and cheap and feels even more out of place.

The pacing could use some work. When I was reading, it felt like author set a schedule for what should happen at what % of the story and worked around it. And yes, while most of the genres have such standardized schedule, it should not feel forced. I, as a reader, should not feel it.

Worldbuilding is also neglected. Who are Forgotten? Why is Liam so special? Why is there so much dust? Why isn't oxygen discussed at all? How did two entire classes of society manage to gather their belongings for evacuation without rumors spreading?

The characters feel like dolls in a child's play. They cry when the story needs it, they smile, grin and joke when there is nothing else to do.

I'm not sure if author was going for creating questionable characters but that's what happened. Liam was a captain and his soldiers often raped women which Liam knew about and did nothing to stop them. Somehow Willow brushes this over, acts like it doesn't matter. There is a whole plot line in the book dedicated to oppressed and violated women and their rescue which instead of being empowering feels hypocritical.

The only likeable character was Olivia who shone through once Willow left temporarily. Until then her only function was that of a comedic relief (which mostly consisted of her bugging Willow about Liam, smirking and grinning and winking and smiling), and whose existence revolved around Willow. This is especially vivid in one scene where Willow, Liam and Olivia are dining and we hear stories about their childhood but nothing of Olivia's because when it's time for her to speak, we are instead told how it makes Willow feel. I understand that she's a side character but there is no reason why we couldn't read about her childhood too. She also falls under frequently utilized best friend "event" which further shows how she's here just to be Willow's sidekick.

The romance was also dry and came out of nowhere. There was no chemistry, no build up. It happened only because this is a fantasy romance book and Liam and Willow are our main characters.

Overall, I don't recommend this book. It's full of cliches, bad writing, cringey moments and grand speeches that fall flat.

The Forgotten Earth has a very interesting premise. Humans stopped caring for the world and looking after it and it died. Humans were able to stay alive by manufacturing food and staying inside big walled cities to stay safe from horrible creatures that were created when the Earth died.

The plot was interesting at first, but I did grow tired of it after a while. The story is told from the first person point of view of the two main characters, Willow and Liam. This was interesting but I do think the story would have been better if it had been told from the third person POV.

I feel like this book had an interesting premise I just did not care for the two main characters or their love story. Everything that happened just seemed very predictable and when things went their way it was in the most convenient of ways at all times and even when "surprising" things happened I wasn't surprised.

I wish there was more about how the world came to be like this, and more about the Claeg. Unfortunately what we information we get usually happens in conversation between characters. More background about the world, as dystopian as it has become, would be interesting!

I thought the last quarter of the book seemed rushed, it was all this slow build up and then everything came together very quickly in a convenient way and then the book was over.

I personally did not really enjoy this book but I do think that others would. By no means was it a bad book, just was not my cup of tea! Due to this I rate it a 2.5/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this novel!

The Forgotten Earth is a fun dystopian romantic fantasy, with characters that are so easy to fall in love with.

There were so many elements of this unputdownable novel that I really enjoyed- the pacing was wonderful and engaging throughout, the use of elemental magic and in depth knowledge of plants and their properties was very well done. The characters were all individually interesting and I especially loved Circe! I live for a female led rebellion trope and I adored that while O'Neal's characters display deep emotion, it is never to their detriment. The woman-centric approach of coming together to overthrow an oppressor was both empowering and beautiful

The world building and descriptive writing was truly captivating but I did feel like I needed more back story. How did the world come to be in it's current state? Why were the Elite in power? What separated them from everyone else? We find out a little about the governmental structure but other than a brief mention of the emperor in chapter 3 there is nothing else to build fear/disdain/hatred toward him until halfway through the book.

The Claeg were fantastically written monsters, definitely fear invoking and creepy! But again I have questions of their origins and how they came to be!

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and O'Neal's writing style, if this is their first book I'm so excited to see what else comes from them!

Thankyou Netgalley and Brilynn O'Neal for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own and based entirely on my reading experience.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

In a crumbling world, Willow holds forbidden knowledge that could revive the food system but is hunted by The Elite, a mysterious ruling class. Liam, a disillusioned soldier assigned to kill her, decides to ally with her instead. Together, they search for safety while facing danger along the way. Ultimately, they must choose between the harsh reality they know and the seemingly impossible possibility of a new world.

I really loved the premise behind the novel, a dystopian world that has been wrecked and unfit for human habitation. The ideas the author introduces are somewhat novel but the development of these ideas are somewhat generic.

Both Willow and Liam are likeable and relatable characters but their relationship was sudden in a way that makes me think their story was heavily edited. They weren't "insta-love" but their romance was not developed in the detail I think it deserved.

The world building was initially good. I really wanted more information and details though. Towards the end of the novel it felt like the story could be happening anywhere not in the unique space that the author had initially created. I needed more about The Elite and The Emperor. They are shadowy hidden figures throughout much of the story.

Overall a nice but unmemorable story. Fantastic ideas with initially good world building which ultimately fell a bit flat. Enough to keep me going to the end without wanting another instalment.

For an author's first novel it holds promise.

Thank you so much for an early copy. This was a great dystopia read. It kept it on your toes and overall was very intriguing.

Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read “The Forgotten Earth” by Brilynn O’Neal. I thought this book was like Fahrenheit 451 meets The Hunger Games with a medieval vibe and a romance. I got confused in the first 14 chapters because of the character switching. I would be confused on who Liam and Willow were talking to. I would have liked to look more into the backstory of some of the other characters like Olivia, Kat, and Marvin. I also would have liked to dive more into whether Liam was human or not. As well as learning more about the plants. I did enjoy the suspense in the begin and end chapters.

The Forgotten Earth is a gripping dystopian novel that blends suspense, adventure, and heart, delivering a story that feels both urgent and intimate. Set in a bleak world teetering on the brink of extinction, the story follows two compelling individuals, Willow and Liam, who are thrown together under dire circumstances despite their contrasting backgrounds.

Willow is a captivating character, brimming with curiosity and a sense of wonder despite the grim reality surrounding her. Her obsession with stealing books from the Elites provides a touching glimpse into her yearning for knowledge and hope—a sharp contrast to the shattered world she inhabits. Liam, on the other hand, offers a more complex arc. As a soldier loyal to the oppressive Elites, his internal conflict between duty and morality adds depth to the story. His transformation from a reluctant follower to someone willing to question authority is one of the book’s highlights.

The dynamic between Willow and Liam is electric and layered. Their relationship starts with suspicion, grows into trust, and eventually blossoms into something more profound, all while the stakes continue to rise.

what I loved most abput this story was the unique magic system. Willow’s ability to make life grow from dirt was a fun idea . It brought moments of beauty and hope into an otherwise grim setting, making her power feel both symbolic and essential to the plot.

If the book has any drawbacks, it’s that certain plot twists feel somewhat predictable. However, the emotional depth of the characters and their journey more than compensates for any narrative clichés. The pacing is brisk, with tension mounting as the story hurtles toward a climactic conclusion.

In the end, The Forgotten Earth is more than just a dystopian adventure. It's a story about finding light in the darkest places and the power of unlikely alliances.