Loved it! It is adventurous and full of life. I loved everything about it and can’t wait to share this one with students!

Forest of Souls is deftly written, with rich world-building and (eek) spiders, so there's that. But don't let that deter you! Sirscha is a survivor, an orphan who has been abused by some pretty awful people and built her fierceness into armor. She's as complex as she is focused and badass, and I love her friendship with Saengo.

The magic system is interesting too, and I'm glad for the glossary at the front, letting me geek out on the world-building. Also, I need a drake to ride immediately. Who do I need to call?

Pick up Forest of Souls if you love powerful girls, dangerous secondary-worlds, and dark, dark fantasy.

This is a lovely, twisty, dark, coming of age sort of fantasy with strong themes of friendship and loyalty and coming-of-age. The world of this book is a not a pleasant one one - all the shaman-born (magic users) are interned in prison camps at the order of the Queen, and it's fairly ugly. There is a lot of violence and death, and some fairly visceral horror - the Dead Forest really is one of the creepier things I've encountered in fiction, and if the idea of giant malevolent magical spiders gives you the heebie-jeebies, you will definitely want to avoid this book.

I really enjoyed the friendship between Sirscha and Saengo, and I loved the unsufferable and prickly Theyen, who becomes an ambiguous and insulting sort of ally to Sirscha. Prince Mialek is also an appealing and interesting character, who is in some ways Theyen's opposite - he is kind and well-intentioned and courteous, but for much of the book, he appears to be fairly ineffectual in ways that feel familiar to anyone who has tried to be an ally and not done a very good job of it. (Theyen, meanwhile, is obnoxious to everyone in sight, but also quite useful when he chooses to be).

This book is the first in a series; while it resolves the main action of the story, it does so in a way that creates an absolutely MASSIVE cliffhanger setup for the second book, so be warned.

It's hard to judge this book objectively, because it was WAY too dark for my tastes, and also because I'm really in the mood for happy ever afters right now, so my brain kept on trying to construct romances between Sirscha and either Mialek or Theyen (the evidence for either was thin, but not actually non-existent - I'll be curious to see if such a thread does develop in later books). But this did kind of mean I was hiding from what was happening in the book because it was too dark and scary, which makes it hard to assess usefully. Also, I get really cranky when a book ends on an unexpected cliffhanger, so that's probably colouring my feelings too.

I do think that readers of dark, political, slightly horror-inflected fantasy will enjoy this book, and that it is a promising start to the series. But personally, I won't be reading further.

Although this book moves a bit slowly, it has an expansive world with magic, politics, and cool creatures. It also has a killer main character, Sirscha, who has a distinct voice, and I really liked her from the first chapter. She has great drive and shows how even though she came from nothing, she worked hard to become strong and important. I do wish the book moved a little more quickly in the middle, and I wish it had some romance. But it sets up what I think will be an impressive series. I'm hoping the next book will have romance, more magic, and more of her past.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 4
Plot/Movement: 3
Character Development: 4
Overall: 4

Thank you, Page Street Publishing and NetGalley, for the review copy!

It was impressive, and genuinely, fantastically creepy. Never has a forest spooked me so much since Uprooted, and I thought it never would again. Throw in some spider monsters and a castle tucked in the middle of all this mess and you've got yourself quite the atmosphere. The unapologetic dragons and wyverns and all the lizard-things in between was also great; I can hardly remember the last dragon I read about and I loved it.


The imagination and the characters were fantastic, though. Theyen was outstanding in particular, and the turn Saengo and Sirscha's bond takes early on made me sure that I was in for something great.

[3.5 stars rounded up!]

Thanks Page Street Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was fun, but I think a YA fantasy (just because there are so many) has to be AMAZING to really stick out for me. I think people whose fave genre is YA fantasy and can read it all day will think it's a solid pick, though. Also good for people who don't like romance in their fantasy (alas, I need some romance in most of my books, which is why maybe I wasn't as invested.)

Anyway, this is a very "it's not you, it's me" kind of review, so totally check it out if the summary seems like something you're interested in!

Forest of Souls completely blew me away! I found the premise interesting from the synopsis, but I never expected to be drawn in so fully. I was hooked from the first few pages and the pace never let up. This book was consistently strong from start to finish with not even a hint of lag anywhere in the middle. I can’t recommend this title highly enough.

The characters are diverse, complex, and interesting. The world-building is lush and vivid but without overbearing amounts of detail. I also really enjoyed that this world clearly has deep, deep lore but Lee chooses to pepper it in here and there which prevents the history lessons from becoming overwhelming or difficult to remember. You get a sentence or two to provide context, but then she saves the rest for later. This method enticed my curiosity and helped draw me even further into the story, which is very clever on the author’s part.

The magic system is fascinating. It includes enough familiar elements that it is easy to grasp right from the beginning of the story but also features several unique bits that make it feel new, fresh, and unique to Lee’s story – another clever move by the author to generate reader interest while minimizing the amount of work the reader has to do in order to understand and follow the story.

This book was amazing. I tore through it at an alarming pace and could never get enough. I’m very eager for the sequel and plan to immediately seek out other works by Lee to hold me over in the meantime. A billion out of a billion stars.

My favorite part of this story is the mashup of medieval but asian. I think it will appeal to many teens in this sense, who are perhaps second or third generation immigrants, but also want to see themselves in these narratives. I've already recommended it to a few teens and they are excited for this to be a new quarantine read for them.

The story itself is charming and exciting. It doesn't rush the story but lets the world develop gradually on the page. The sense of narrative is strong throughout, I am looking forward to where this goes!

Rated 4.5 Stars

Forest of Souls was a unique experience. It was interesting and intriguing. The world building's superb. It's action packed and twisty with politics, treachery, lies and secrets. I loved the characters and their abilities. I loved this story and cannot wait to get my hands on the next book in the series. I very highly recommend it.

Gorgeous world building and strong characterisation. The story itself wasn't anything I hadn't seen before but Lee's eye for detail and style made is fresh and enjoyable. The magic system was based on shamanism and that was a bit different. Thoroughly enjoyable - definitely one to add to the Teen section of the library.

This is a big ol' fantasy world that is brand new, terribly unique, and holds just enough horror in the trees to have kept me riveted. And with that ending, how could I not be lying on the floor dying right now?

Lori M. Lee has crafted an epic and cobweb drenched fantasy with magic, mystery, and a forest I could not get enough. As the author herself said, it's not an Asian fantasy, but rather Asians in fantasy, and I am here for it either way. The world of Thiy is divided into three empires: the human race (at least as it presents here), the shadow wielders, and the shamans. None of them got on particularly well, and the only thing holding the peace is the hungry and dark forest the separates them. The Spider King holds the Dead Wood together, his magic preventing the souls trapped in the trees from spreading, but his efforts are failing. It is a gruesome forest and some scenes had me cringing in awe at how chilling it is. I did get a little confused by what is what, and I'm certain that that's on me. There's a glossary at the start of my e-arc copy, but trying to absorb it all without context does not work.

Sirscha is all I want in my main female characters. Truly. The fierceness that is on that cover is absolutely inside as well. She is possibly about to be picked to be the next spy for the Queen, and she is willing to do whatever it takes to prove herself a worthy apprentice. Stealthy and capable AF, Sirscha fights with swords in some really incredible fight scenes and holds her own well. But a new development in her life is her suddenly having golden eyes, meaning she's not mortal at all, but a shaman. And a soulguide to boot, a craft that has only been seen once in the past at the very start of this world. Much of this book follows Sirscha as she tries to figure out her powers and keep her best friend from dying, all while attempting to destroy the Dead Wood.

Even better, she doesn't get sidetracked by love interests. There are two boys--a shadow prince and a mortal prince--in here who are written like they might be something. And perhaps they will be in the sequels. But in this, I concede that I am wired to be trash and kept expecting every interaction to end in an out-of-nowhere kiss. But it never happened, and I'm thrilled. Sirscha uses their help, but not once does she let them dictate how she should move forward. She is wholly focused on her best friend, Saengo. Near inseparable after meeting in school, Sirscha discovers her magic when Saengo dies and she resurrects her. However, there are some unexpected consequences that are still trying to kill Saengo, and Sirscha won't have that. I have no choice but to stan.

The plot is well-paced, and towards the end things were getting super interesting, but I couldn't get into this the way I wanted to. For as much as I enjoyed it, I always wanted just a little more. Especially from Sirscha. Her magic, interactions with other characters, her spy skills, and a journey that was a tidier. I also don't think this was the right time of year for me to read this awesome book. As I'm part of the blog tour, I have no choice to read it now, but this is really a fall read. A book you curl up with under a blanket when it's raining outside and you're inhaling the steam from your hot chocolate. As it is, my attention wandered often, and that's not fair to this book.

I really enjoyed this book. World building, the magic, the characters, and especially fast-paced plot made it a very entertaining read for me.

Definitely recommended for fantasy lovers.

Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

I would like to start by saying that the cover for this book is absolutely gorgeous. The story itself is also fascinating and I was very excited about the premise.

That being said, I was not able to finish this book and I got halfway through before choosing to stop. I felt the book was telling a story that was very much for an older YA audience, however it was written in a much younger voice, more of a middle grades style. This might work for some people, and indeed would be excellent perhaps for teens who struggle with reading but still want to read older YA themes.

However, I found most of the sentences followed the same structure and after trying to maintain excitement for this book, it soon became repetitive and un-exciting for me. The concept is amazing and I very much enjoyed the story, the magical elements, and the world building. However I was unable to maintain that excitement and continue reading due to the formulaic writing style.

This was unfortunately just not the book for me. I loved the idea of it and the plot outlined in the synopsis, but that idea just seemed be lost under so many other things that were happening.

The characters were extremely transparent and I felt like I never really got to know them, Sirscha especially so. She’s our main character and her personality was extremely shallow and surface-level. The secondary characters didn’t fare much better unfortunately. I didn’t understand the relationship between Saengo and Sirscha, couldn’t tell you a thing about the Spider King and Phaut along with the other guards or maids just kind of faded into the background. The one character who did stick out to me was Theyen. He was sassy, snarky and I knew what his motives were and why. I wish he was in the story more and utilized to his full potential. Also something that really bugged me was we had a lack of character descriptions. I had no idea what Sirscha looked like until 30% of the way through the book. I knew what Theyen looked like before I knew how I should be picturing her.

The magic system was weak at best. There are 3 races specifically mentioned or called out; humans, shamans and shadowblessed. There was a distinction between those shamans born in one kingdom versus another (shaman and shamanborn) but only in title not in power. I think there were also necromancers and mediums but I have no clue where they fell into the race, magic or kingdom system. It wasn’t really explained how shamans/shaman typically have their powers revealed or how they train. Sirscha never really learns about her powers because of their uniqueness nor does she ever really train but suddenly she can summon it to try to save her best friend again after failing multiple times before. Her powers were just conveniently there when she needed them. No struggle.

The world-building was super confusing as well. I wish the first book had just focused on Spinner’s End, the Dark Wood and Evewyn. I was so overwhelmed by the entire world introduced to me while simultaneously being able to tell you nothing about the other Kingdoms. To be fair Sirscha didn’t seem to know either though. The Evewynian peoples are super cut off from the politics of the rest of the kingdoms, so Sirscha didn’t know how their governing powers were or what life was like elsewhere.

I really wish I understood what the actual plot of the book was but it was such a hot mess even now I feel like I’ve only grasped one of the plot lines because of how blatantly obvious it was at the end of the book. All these events or goals seemed so separate from each other and never really connected for me. It just didn’t work especially since Sirscha has no idea what the hell is going on either and never really
makes the connections for tou.

That being said there were things I enjoyed about this book. You could see some typical Asian folklore woven into the story along with cultural insights like food and weapons used in battle. Sirscha herself while a cocky show off was an extremely talented soldier and could back up her cockiness with actual skills. I loved Theyen and his snark. He was the highlight of this book for me and I’m really hoping he becomes a love interest or somewhat more important in the second book because that boy has major potential.

I’m honestly so sad I didn’t enjoy this book more. It was one of my most anticipated releases and I love learning about different cultures through books and unique magic systems are some of my favorite to explore. I think too much was attempted to be established in this first book which made it difficult to navigate. Or I’m just an idiot who can’t make connections which honestly could be a possibility. This will be a trilogy and I will be giving the next book a chance just to see if the world is better established and if I can make that connection with Sirscha.

This book reminds me of Avatar The Last Airbender somehow... there were some twists and turns on this book which I enjoyed it a lot. The world building was not so hard to get into however I feel like I could not connect to the characters at first halfway through the book, but in the end somehow they kind of attached to me. Overall, as a fantasy reader I enjoyed reading this book, it was refreshing to read it as the book & characters were quite different than any book I've read. I'd give it 3.5 stars for this book.

This is a solid fantasy with interesting world building. I liked how this first book in the series focused on friendships rather than having the main character find insta-love (as so many YA books tend to do) as that would have detracted from the overall story. Political intrigue, fun actions scenes, and a creepy villain along with that beautiful, fierce book cover will make this an easy book to recommend to fantasy loving teens.

Lori M. Lee once again brings us a truly unique fantasy world.

Forest of Souls will be enjoyed by both young adult and adult readers as it doesn't follow the typical, prescriptive format of current YA Fantasy.

I really wanted to love this, but sadly I didn't enjoy this as much as I wanted to. I felt like Sirscha was a very immature character, despite how she was being trained as the Shadow's apprentice. Yet, she thought she knew better and wouldn't listen to hardly anyone, especially when it came to her powers. Plus her friendship with Saengo felt very surface level and I didn't care for them very much. The plot also felt messy with focusing on one plot point, then switch to a different plot point a few different times. I never felt invested in the story, since things never dug deeper to know the truth with the villain. The ending was kinda frustrating with how easy it was for Sirscha to do what she wanted and another thing that I won't spoil. I will say that the world building was really good, with the different shaman powers, their crafts and some of the legends that were mentioned. I'm glad that I tried this but this wasn't for me. But I think that young teens that are starting to get into fantasy would like this.

Unusual and enjoyable. A bit of a rocky start with a six (!) page glossary and a lot of info-dump at the beginning - a difficult thing to avoid in fantasy - but the story is solid and intriguing. I'm still not completely clear on the internal politics, but I look forward to the sequel!

I ended up feeling pretty neutral about this book while reading it, as there were both things I liked and disliked.

While I liked the concepts in this book, the plot felt messy and scattered at times, and a lot of the plot was generic. The elements of the book that were unique felt barely expanded upon. I like tropes! But I usually like when they’re still written in a compelling way or offer something a little bit new.

I did like the focus on female friendship! Saengo and Sirscha truly have a deep bond, though I wish that Saengo would have more of a role than to be a friend. I liked Sirscha’s backstory, she comes from humble beginnings and is treated poorly for it (she gets punished for mistakes she and Saengo make together because Saengo is of higher status) but has to keep her head down because she has higher dreams and motivations. Her backstory and motivations are understandable and sympathetic as well as realistic. That being said, I never felt like I truly connected to any of the characters. I think that this series has potential so I will be continuing with book 2 once it is released.