Dark, mysterious YA fantasy about a girl that has been chosen by an unknown but powerful count to become his wife after seeing her portrait. To get to his castle, she has to venture through a very dangerous forest, and once she gets to the count it is not the wonderland that she was sold before arriving. A love triangle, monstrous creatures and a FMC that has to learn fast and get strong and smart even faster, this is a great dark fantasy for readers 12 and up.

A Girl Walks into the Forest is like reading a novelization of a Paris Paloma song.

^If that sentence means anything to you or intrigues you, stop reading and pick this up.

Overall, a beautiful, feminist, empowering twisted fairy tale. It did take me a minute to feel like I was immersed in the world - the bit with her brother on the road didn't grab me, and the writing felt a little cold. Once Valla is attacked and makes it to the castle, however, the narrative really fell into itself. The comparison to Midsommar is an apt one - the haunting, creeping sense of dread is very familiar. This is also perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, particularly Nettle & Bone.

A Girl Walks into the Forest features, but is not limited to,

- A minimum of 200 creepy ass dolls
- Catfishing in a folklore setting
- Chosen one? No, literally just a girl
- Terrible dinner (thin broth) and even more terrible company (literally a corpse)
- Baba Yaga herself 🫡
- A nightmarish forest with nightmarish inhabitants and men that manage to be even worse
- Violence being perpetuated toward violent men as a treat

Okay but seriously, I finished this book in one sitting because I literally could not put it down. I loved absolutely everything about this story and it’s one I definitely plan on revisiting in the future.

Thank you so much @netgalley for the eARC ❤️

definitely very dark fairy tale in vibes. very well-written protagonist and Yulnia, although some of the other characters are more flat. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

I thoroughly enjoyed this! The writing was stellar, and the plot was amazing! This book was super fast paced and kept me locked in!

A gorgeous, grotesque fairytale that sucks you in and refuses to let you go. Roux manages to craft a story that wonderfully weaves folklore with character journey.

This was better than expected for YA! More mature in themes and in style than I expected. Excited to see more!

I enjoyed this one! I thought it was going to be more about her journey through the woods but I actually liked more of what it actually turned out to be instead. I liked the twists and I loved the folklore elements that were incorporated into the book. Recommended.

I loved everything about this book! It is just wild and vicious and everything that I wanted it to be. The villains of the story are just truly utterly awful people who do actual truly utterly awful villainous things. There is such a hard line between how it feels to be in the castle and how magical it feels to be in the forest, like day and night and I just loved how well the shift is written and how well I can really picture everything that is going on. Adding Madeleine Roux to my list of must read authors!!

This started off so strong, was highly atmospheric, and captured my attention.

However, once Valla reached her destination the story lost its momentum for me - the new characters introduced were so one dimensional that I was unable to recapture my original interest in the story.



Thank you to Quill Tree Books and NetGalley for the DRC

*4.5 stars*

A Girl Walks into the Forest reminded me of our oldest fairytales, the ancient ones that were more bloody cautionary tales than princesses and happily-ever-afters. I believe that fantasy & horror are two sides of the same coin, and in A Girl Walks into the Forest, the author masterfully blended the two to make a truly unique story. This book was darker than I expected, especially from a YA novel; but it is so well-done. Come for the gorgeous cover, creepy forest, and enticing premise; and stay for the female rage. I loved this twisted horror fantasy, and I'm sure it will be a best-seller when it publishes this summer!

Thank you to NetGalley & HarperCollins for the arc! All thoughts & opinions in the review are my own.

I wanted to read this one so badly, the cover is absolutely stunning and the premise sounds right up my alley. But for some reason I struggled with it. I’m not sure if I just didn’t vibe with the writing style? I may try again on audio once it releases but it definitely sounds like a book that I should love.

This is a nicely atmospheric folk horror with the classic dark and foreboding woods, the crazy family in the gothic, crumbling abode, the young and naive bride confused and tormented by her new husband, and the dead patriarch mummified at the head of the table. While this is a four star book, it’s also a four star “meh” of a book, for me. To start with, I loved the writing. It felt very much inspired by classic gothic romances with the lush descriptions, the atmospheric and vibe heavy moments … but the characters didn’t quite do it for me.

To start with, Valla’s personality — especially at the beginning of the book — is cold and proud. There’s no softness to her, no wanting to fall in love, no missing home, no regard for anything. She’s isolated from her family, knowing her beauty is the only thing she has that gives her worth. And then it’s gone, her face ruined by a creature in the woods … and she has almost no reaction to it. It becomes something other people remember for her, but Valla just goes on with her life.

The other characters, her husband, her brother in law, her sister in law, the mad doctor, they’re all caricatures with little nuance — and that’s fine. This is Valla’s story; this is a horror story, and I enjoyed how both the evil husband and the charming brother in law revealed the secrets of the house. Valla’s friendship with Yulnia felt so very flat, though. Yulnia seemed to feel it, but from Valla’s point of view, it was never there. Because Valla never seemed to feel anything. She was there to witness the madness, to comment on it, but never a part of it.

The plot happened to Valla, pushing her this way and that but she always lacked agency. Even in the end, when she comes to avenge herself, it’s still someone else doing the moving and Valla is nothing more than a slightly peeved puppet. And yet … I still enjoyed the book. The writing almost makes up for the lack of character, and the world building is rich. And I do like that Valla isn’t just a black slate, or even a “nice, good girl.” I just wish she’d been more of a person and had a little more agency.

However, that’s just me. I read this in one sitting and did enjoy it, and if you pick this up I hope you enjoy it, too. Thank you so much to Net Galley and the publisher for the arc.

I'm just not getting into this for some reason. The premise intrigues me, but I find myself not wanting to pick it up. I love the cover! I'm going to keep trying because I think it's going to be good.

I absolutely love this read. It was so good.
Thank you so much NetGalley for letting me read this in advance

A Girl Walks into the Forest by Madeleine Roux is a dark and gripping tale that masterfully blends horror, fairy tales, and folklore. Roux’s vivid prose brings the perilous Gottyar Wood to life, immersing readers in a world teeming with danger and supernatural intrigue. Valla’s journey from a naive beauty to a hardened survivor is compelling, offering a fresh, female-forward take on the classic "fair maiden" archetype.

The story’s atmospheric tension is palpable, and the grotesque creatures and chilling villain add to the book’s sinister allure. While some plot points feel rushed, the relentless pacing and richly drawn world more than compensate. Roux weaves themes of resilience, identity, and revenge into a haunting narrative that keeps readers hooked until the final page.

A thrilling read for fans of dark fairy tales and survival horror, A Girl Walks into the Forest is as brutal as it is empowering.

Thanks to Quill Tree Books & NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, I DNF'ed at 20%.

Wasn't a fan of the plot, ridiculous characters, and writing. Nothing really made sense either.

I find it somewhat tricky to summarize my thoughts on this book because I found the pacing kind of strange. The first half of the book was very slow, from 50%-90% the pacing was solid, and then the last 10% was very rushed. I like this concept and overall, I do think it was executed well, but it doesn’t necessarily feel revolutionary enough to counteract my experience with the pacing. I supported Valla throughout and wanted her to succeed, but the rushed ending made it feel like her whole journey was unfortunately almost moot. Depending on the plot, I would definitely check out Roux’s next title.

This was a straightforward, enjoyable book. It won’t leave you contemplating complicated themes. But if you’re looking to root for the aggrieved women against the patriarchy, or nature against exploitive industry this book will do plenty to scratch that itch. And it does it with a protagonist in Valla who’s generally easy to root for, an appropriately dark and moody environment, and prose that has some wonderful moments.

The one main complaint I’d have about the story would be the antagonists. They’re a bit one-note, without much in the way of depth or anything in the way of redeeming features. They kind of felt more as though they were just obstacles for Valla to overcome than living, breathing characters. And that makes them less interesting to me.

But if you want a good, straightforward revenge story with the themes I mentioned earlier this book should do it for you. And I think a lot of people will have plenty of desire to read that kind of story in this day and age.

THE COVER. THE SYNOPSIS. HORROR FOLKLORE. Not to mention dark, bleak villages, a deadly forest, and a magical villain in a palace. And it’s a BABA YAGA retelling aka one of the SCARIEST FOLKTALES OUT THERE? I internally ran through the hills screaming when I saw that I got approved to read this book a whole 6 months early!

The worldbuilding is my favorite part of the book, as it usually is in books like these. There is nothing appealing about the village of Arylik where Valla is from, where the ice never melts and the trees look withered. Depressing. But the Count’s castle is so much worse than Arylik I cannot even begin to tell you…..You don’t get much info about the country/kingdom itself, and life outside of the vicinity of the Gottyar Wood is only mentioned. Though, you do find out that the whole kingdom/country (or whatever it is) isn’t bleak like this, since the book hints towards brighter more populated territories such as the Capital and the central territories where life is filled with sunshine and swans, unlike the poor, bleak villages. It does make the book feel less bleak knowing there are people in this book world living better lives, you just don’t get to see it, which sucks for our characters!

As for us, our bleak setting begins near the village of Arylik is the Gottyar Wood and despite the dangers of the cursed and haunted wood, there actually is civilization inside the wood (but only a handful of families who manage to survive there though idk why anyone would choose to stay there), and even trading posts and watchtowers inside. But, all remain close to the single road that goes through it, and staying close to the road is the only safe way to travel through it. The most renowned danger of the forest are the Yiliskii, the cursed children of the forest, but there are also haunting toneless songs that carry in the wind, trees that bleed red sap, and false deer paths that become spirals. Most notably, the mysterious Count, the future husband of Valla, who lives in a castle within the Gottyar Wood. It appears that this place is a fictional version of some sort of Slavic country, as I was googling some of the cultural terms in this book to find that they’re not from any existing language, so they must’ve been made up words to resemble Russian or Polish.

This book is DARK. It’s dark and brutal and however evil you think the Count will be, he’s worse. It’s bleak and hopeless and makes you wish you were back in that little village at the beginning of the book that seems far less undesirable after you experience the Count’s castle. There’s also a massive twist near the middle that I genuinely didn’t see coming. The thing is, the book starts really strong. When the book is setting everything up and you experience all the dark ambience and you’re learning the world building and you feel so much anticipation for it all. But that’s the thing, the anticipation of what you think it’ll be like is better than the actual thing. The beginning is GREAT. But once you end up in the Count’s castle, it kind of drags. It picks up after a while but the beginning parts of her life at the castle are kind of just filler. It feels like, strong beginning and set up, filler middle, then action packed end. I kind of wish the middle had more going for it aside from her being miserable in that castle and not other plot aside from little things that are setting the stage for the ending. I still enjoyed this a lot, it just wasn’t as creepy as I’d hoped it would be. The villains were way worse than I was expecting though. It’s more so a story of brutality and human evil, than a creepy horror story about a dangerous wood and a haunted castle, which was more of what I was expecting and hoping for. I still enjoyed this though, and the amazing worldbuilding and the incredible setting are where this book truly shines. 3.5/5 but I’ll round it up to 4 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quill Tree for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.