I appreciate having had an opportunity to read and review this book. The appeal of this particular book was not evident to me, and if I cannot file a generally positive review I prefer simply to advise the publisher to that effect and file no review at all.

I was hoping for a lot from this book, but it fell flat for me. The writing style was typical of other YA fantasy tell not show style. I think the bones of the book was very promising, but the writer's prose need to mature some. I'll try more from her in the future.

The Waking Forest by Alyssa Wees is a fantasy YA novel that is beautifully written in description and world-building. I liked the characters of Rhea and the Witch. Slow-pace, but interesting enough to keep you going.

This one did not turn out the way I’d hope for. It was way too long and drawn out. It had beautiful writing, but that’s all it was. Too lyrical for my liking unfortunately. It’s a hard pass for me.

I could not have asked for a better book to read! The Waking Forest was so beautifully written that I could not put it down. It was creepy and gorgeous and did I mention I loved the writing?! It was marketed as Pan's Labyrinth meets The Hazel Wood and while I never really could get into The Hazel Wood, I loved Pan's Labyrinth and the comparison was spot on.

What didn't work for me:

1) Narrative distance: I didn't feel connected with the characters. I knew what was taking place in the physical world, but I felt like I didn't get the emotions.

2) Chapter One set up an interesting premise with the Witch and a magical setting only for Chapter Two set up what feels like a completely different story. By Chapter Five, I wasn't invested enough in either story to continue reading to see how they intersect.

DNFed @20%

This book had the potential right there. I think the plot tried to do too much and the writing was having a solid go at that wonderfully eerie vibe but all of it just didn't pull together. I was there for the story for the first half but the second half completely lost it for me. And the story itself wasn't really anything new or presented in an interesting way so it ended up falling flat all around.

I really wanted to be able to say that I loved this book, but sadly I didn't. For me it was very slow moving and there were definitely passages where I was confused, which lead to some re-reading and slowing of my pace.

The writing of this book is so beautiful and lyrical, but at some points it seems that it could almost be too lyrical. Still, this writing style does lend immensely to the dark, twisting story of the book. We follow two different perspectives, one being Rhea and one being the witch in the woods. I did love the feel of this book and how like a traditional fairy tale parts of it were written.

While this book wasn't exactly for me, I could definitely see a lot of people loving it. The writing is beautiful and the story dark and constantly evolving and shifting.

I really enjoyed this book and found it very interesting with this take on this romance. I enjoyed the description of the romance interests and the different point of views . Overall I enjoyed this book and loved the cover. I can't to read other books by this author.

Holy moly. This book was surprisingly amazing. I am not one for spoilers, so I will not be spilling any super juicy tea with this review.


In the very beginning, it started off as dark and very twisted. We get the read from the Witch of the woods perspective. She is very intense. I actually loved her character from page one. She was great. The witch has children that visit her in their dreams. When they visit her, she always asks the child what their wish is and then she grants them. I can’t really go into much more on her without giving anything away. Then we move onto the character Rhea Ravenna. She was a pretty great character too. She loves with her three sisters, her mom, her dad, and her pet fox, Gabrielle. She has visions and has some pretty intense dreams.

I feel like this review isn’t really giving anyone too much of anything as far as what is going on with the book. However, it is extremely confusing in part one. If I’m being honest, it doesn’t start to really get good and start making sense until the end of part one and beginning of part two. This book threw me through so many loops it was ridiculous. I thought that I wasn’t going to finish at some moments. But you HAVE to read this book. If you truly give the book a chance, then you will love where it ends up. Just get through the beginning. It will probably confuse the hell out of a lot of people but it is definitely worth the read. Even though I won’t say what happens, I really loved the end of this book.

I wish they would let you do half stars on here but since you can’t I rated it 4 stars but really it’s 4.5.

Love. LOVE. LOVEEE!

The story idea was interesting and I loved the concept of the book, but the alternating chapters eventually made it rather difficult to follow what was going on. The writing is beautiful though, and worth the read if you can keep up. It's a slow burn to the end though. Worth recommending if lyrical books are enjoyed.

I just wasn't impressed by this one. There isn't anything necessarily wrong with it other than the fact that it's very forgettable. I put this one down over a dozen times and had no real desire to pick it back up.

It has been a long time since I have rated a 2 star book, but I really feel like that’s where I’m at for this one. Firstly, it was soo confusing. I couldn’t figure out what was happening half the time. I realize that this is part of the story and a plot point, but it was taking away from my enjoyment of the story. Random things with no explanation kept happening and it would get more random before any explanations started happening. Then about half way through the book there was a dramatic shift that basically changed everything you knew and were used to so far. It felt like an entirely different book which as just jarring. After seeing where the author was going I did find that I liked the concept but just couldn’t follow along with how it played out. Even by the end of the story I was still confused and glad it was done.

While I did not enjoy this book, I could definitely see its appeal to some others. The mystique is very intense. I also think it may be better as a reread.

The beginning so similar to the story of Hansel and Gretel, and yet very different. The scene starts with a pair of teenaged siblings who are asked what they wish for by the witch. The girl asks to remain in a dream, but the boy only asks questions and thus wastes his wish. Huh? I was slightly disgusted by the witch and her magic.
Rhea is a strange girl who has nightmares every night. Not only that, but her sister also dreams and seems a bit crazy as well. I’m not loving the story so far. Her family is strange and everything feels off. The synopsis says there’s a touch of horror to this novel, but I would say it’s the main genre. Nothing really makes sense, there’s a feeling of being out of control, and none of the characters are particularly fascinating.
The world building for the Woods is beautiful and lush. However, beautiful writing can’t always make a story good. The human world is patchy, and character development is not well done. Readers are dumped into a story and given no context. While other writers are able to make this work, that’s not the case with this book.

Reading "The Waking Forest" felt like having an itch on your back just beyond the reach of your fingernails. It came so close, and if you could just get there it would be so good, but it remains frustratingly out of reach. In other words, promising plot with poor execution. I only liked one character and can't say anything about him without spoiling something. I can't recommend this one.

Spooky Season is upon us my friends, and The Waking Forest is a beautifully written fantasy debut that is sure to get you in the mood! Wees weaved fairy tales, dreams, and nightmares into a lyrical tale that flows on the page and takes on a life of its own.

“What waits for a kiss that does not come? What dreams and dreams until it comes undone?”

This is one of the most atmospheric books I have read in awhile. Wees’ writing is beautiful and descriptive, and I almost feel like I am in a fever dream while reading it (much like when I read Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton – another witchy book I recommend).

This book is beautiful but requires some patience. The book has dual points-of-view and stylistically are night and day from one another. The Witch’s narrative is more lyrical and is in third person, whereas Rhea’s perspective is in first person and the prose is less purple (but still beautiful). There are two very different stories being told and I didn’t really settle into the narrative until things started weaving together around the halfway point. I have a lot of “wtf is going on?” notes; I encourage you to just read the book and trust things will slide into focus.

“I can think of nothing more terrifying than a dream like this, which is only in your heart and cannot hurt you, until it suddenly reaches out and touches you.”

There’s a lot I would like to say about the plot itself and how much I enjoyed it once it came together, but I really think it is best for you to go in as blind as possible on this one. As someone who oftentimes struggles with multiple POVs, I found the alternating perspectives to work here and the pacing of the story is done well.

The story is beautiful and reads like a lucid dream but none of the characters never really felt real to me. There are moments of sisterhood and just daily life with the family that was heartwarming, but they never felt like real people to me. The story itself was what I was invested in and drove the narrative forward for me. I loved the anxiety rep in this book and how supportive the family is of their mental struggles. It was also refreshing to have a young adult fantasy story where the parents are present for once, and there is a f/f side relationship mentioned near the end.

“All things end, eventually. Even the very best stories. And the worst of them too.”

This is a book that I think will get better with re-reads. I spent the first half of this book utterly confused and wonder how much more I will enjoy it now that I know the ending. The story is beautiful and Wees is definitely an author to watch as I am sure she will continue to write atmospheric and lyrical stories. I don’t think the writing style will be for everyone, but for those of you who love poetic writing, this debut is a great fall read to get you in the spooky mood.

Content warnings: anxiety, dead body, death, gore, grief, hallucinations
Representation: anxiety, f/f relationship

Many thanks to Delacorte for sending me an eARC via Netgalley for my honest review (I read my pre-ordered hardback)!

I unfortunately did not finish this book, and made it to about 60% through before making this decision.

The writing is absolutely beautiful, almost hauntingly lyrical, and I loved the book at the start. The atmosphere was creepy and woodsy, which is always appealing to my tastes.

However, I found the story to be slow and couldn't connect with Rhea, the main character, in a way that made me care about her journey. When the two plots came together towards the end, I lost interest completely and felt I couldn't continue.

This book was really not for me. It was really slow-paced and I could never really follow the writing. It was too flowery to the point where I was confused with what was happening. The premise sounded really appealing but unfortunately, the execution was not.

First and foremost, I would like to thank the very nice people at Netgalley for providing this book to read and review.

The Waking Forest is a beautiful book. The way Wees writes is very descriptive, evoking emotion with even the smallest turn of phrase. The characters of Rhea and her family are portrayed in a very realistic manner thanks to this. Rhea and her sisters squabble one minute then help each other out the next, something someone with siblings of their own will easily recognize.

The drawback though is that sometimes Wees’ descriptions become too much. The narrative becomes bogged down with descriptive words and phrases and the story itself slows to a crawl.

For the first half of the book, the story is told from two separate point of views – Rhea’s and the Witch’s. As each story is unique with its own set of characters, it’s easy to keep track of who goes where. It is only during the second half when the two stories are combined that things become a little more difficult to follow. Individuals who were sisters in one part now have no relation and the same but different.

Sadly, it is almost impossible to accurately describe the goings on without giving away massive spoilers, so I shall refrain from going further.

In writing The Waking Forest, Wees has created a unique story line. While there are some flaws, overall I enjoyed reading the book and would recommend it to my readers.

I will start this review by saying that I did not finish this book. I had many problems with the way it was written. First, Wees has written the characters in such a way that you cannot connect with them at all. We see everyone through the eyes of the main character Rhea, her mom and dad barely known to us, and her sisters either mean, insane, or just plain boring, and all for no reason.

Second, there was literally no point to the story, no premise. Wees introduces the story of a family who possibly deals with dreams, maybe magic, but also does not seem totally accepting of Rhea's "visions" (which I think are, personally, just dreams, though I couldn't say because Wees never actually describes them). Then there are the chapters involving a witch, whom I am assuming is supposed to be a past life of Rhea. However, I am halfway through the book and the plot seems to not be moving forward very much.

Suffice to say, I am quite disappointed. Wees had a good idea for this book but did not execute it well. She could have done so much more. And I understand that this is a first novel (and honestly it's not bad for a first novel), but she can do much better.
There will be people who like this book, especially younger people. This book, however, is not at all for me.