Sunday, December 8, 2024

YA Fantasy, Dark and Grimm

 

Image copied from Goodreads

So, before starting off with the book review can I just say that this cover gives teen romance fantasy vibes that remind me of the old 80s romance book covers. The artwork and colors are gorgeous though and I think the artist captured the romantic lead, Axel, very well based on his description in the story. Just saying. 

Anyhow, on to the review! 

What did I think of The Forest Grimm? Well, I really enjoyed it! From the first line I was drawn into the story. Who wouldn't be intrigued when the book begins with:

Tell me again, Grandmére, the story of how I die.

From there we learn the Clara and her family live in a village that has a magical book that can grant each villager one wish. The village was gifted this book by the magical forest that borders it. We also learn that Clara's grandmother is able to read someone's future with a special tarot deck and that it foretells an early death for Clara in the magical forest. Years later we discover that things have taken a turn for the worse for Grimm's Hollow. Someone used their one wish in a nefarious way and the forest retaliated by cursing the entire village and taking away the Book of Fortunes. Not only that, but since then several villagers have disappeared after venturing into the Forest Grimm to either find their magical book and break the curse, or to seek those who have gone into the forest and become one of the Lost. 

Sadly, the first to become one of the Lost after the curse was Clara's mother. Since then, she's been determined to find her. A task that has been made nearly impossible by the forest, who repels any villager who tries to enter it, sometimes in a deadly way. But clever heroine that she is, Clara figures out a way to circumvent the forest's magic. Her quest begins from there to save her mother, accompanied by her best friend, Axel. It seems Axel's fiancé Ella is also one of the Lost. She was seen entering the forest in her wedding gown and veil on the eve of their wedding day and has been missing for over a year. 

The setting of this whole novel is rich, dark and yes, magical. Once Clara and Axel enter the forest, even with their protection that Clara has devised for them, we don't know what to expect. The Forest Grimm is ancient and full of life and vegetation, something neither Axel or Clara has seen in their drought riddled village in a long time. But it is not welcoming to those under its curse and finds ways to still put Clara and her companions in peril at every turn. It also becomes obvious early on why no one can navigate their way through it and return home again. It's very hard to know where you are heading when trees and landmarks can literally change overnight. 

As promised in the book blurb they also encounter fairy tale characters. But oh, are these characters different from what you might expect. They are subversions of the original tropes, but in a way that completely fits with the original versions of any Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Let's face it, those stories were full of devious and monstrous beings who were often out to kill and murder any unwary traveler or hero that came across their path. The way that Kathryn Purdie accounts for the madness of these fairy tale beings fits in so well with the overall plot of the story as well. When the rules of gifted magic are broken, these are the consequences and as always, in order for a curse to be lifted a price must be paid. 

I found main character, Clara, very easy to empathize with and her love interest, Axel, was funny, kind and brave. I liked Clara's best friend, Henni, as well, though she seemed a little less fully developed to me. I also liked that Clara has a disability we don't often see portrayed in stories. But she perseveres in spite of it. The friends-to-lovers trope is also one I often enjoy and it was done very well in this case. 

The main reason I gave this a 4/5 stars though was that there were a few plot points throughout that I didn't quite feel were ever fully explained. For instance, how did the people who ventured into the forest and become lost not get instantly repelled like so many other villagers have who've tried to enter the forest? In one part of the story one of the characters they encounter implies that she's able to live there because she and the forest have made their peace. But it is never fully explained how this came about and why this seems to lead to the characters in question then being able to tap into and control some of the forest's magic for themselves. How is this possible and why? These were questions I didn't feel I got clear answers to. However, this did not deter me from enjoying the story overall. 

If you enjoy dark fantasy with some strong horror elements to it, you will likely enjoy The Forest Grimm. But be warned, entering the forest is definitely not for the faint of heart and you do so at your own peril.

As for what's up next, I am switching gears in a couple of weeks. After reading and reviewing two dark fantasy novels in a row, I will be switching to contemporary YA dramedy for my next review of Stefany Valentine's debut novel, First Love Language. It is a NetGalley read and is set to come out in mid-January of 2025. Check out the cover and blurb, both copied from NetGalley below.


For fans of Frankly in Love and Tokyo Ever After comes a romantic dramedy about finding love and reconnecting with your culture in the most surprising ways.

Taiwanese American Catie Carlson has never fit in with her white family. As much as she loves her stepmom and stepsister, she yearns to understand more about her culture and find her biological mother. 

So Catie is shocked when an opportunity comes knocking on her door: Her summer spa coworker, Toby, says he’ll teach her Mandarin. In exchange, she needs to teach him how to date so he can finally work up the courage to ask out his crush. The only problem is that Catie doesn’t actually have any dating experience. But she can fake it.

With her late father’s copy of The Five Love Languages and all his annotated notes, Catie becomes the perfect dating coach. Or so she thinks. As she gets dangerously close to Toby and to finding out what really happened to her biological mom, she realizes that learning the language of love might be tougher than she thought.

Stefany Valentine’s debut novel is both a fresh, fun romance as well as a profound, luminous story about grief, family, transracial adoption, and what it means to truly follow your heart.


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