This actually ended up being really enjoyable for me. I haven't been super interested in fantasy novels as of late but this one hooked me at the beginning and didn't let go. I really liked the characters and now everything ended up happening. It was sad and sweet and one I'll definitely recommend.

DNF at almost 50%. This was a hard book to get into, because the story was more simple than I was expecting while also being somewhat boring and devoid of depth and conflict. I realized that there was nothing keeping me invested.

Greymist Fair sits on a road that travels through misty woods. As a child, Heike's mother told her that as long as she didn't stray from that road, she'd be safe. Once a person wanders off, though, there's a witch and the wargs she controls to catch the unwary. Until her death four years ago, Heike's mother had an important job that kept her at arm's length from the other villagers. In addition to being the town's tailor, she alone ventured into the woods to speak to the witch and ensure everyone's protection. Though Heike learned one trade from her mother, she never thought she'd take up the other. When she finds what little remains of a village boy on the road, seemingly the result of a warg attack, this unprecedented lack of safety on the road spurs a panic. When no reasonable plan is put forward by anyone else, Heike offers to follow in her mother's footsteps and seek the witch in the woods.

What follows is multiple POVs explaining the magic of the village and the woods, not in rotation but in succession-- each with a specific revelation to impart to the reader. The book draws on Grimm fairy tale vibes in all their spiteful, lurking horror-- everyday and fantastical all at once. It's further reinforced by the arrangement of the stories, which could read like a volume of fairy tales built for a contemporary audience-- cohesive, queernorm, and built around complex people rather than the original archetypal caricatures. The stories aren't necessarily in chronological order, each bouncing to the most relevant timeframe. What results is a fascinating interconnectedness as strands of magic and shared experience weave between them all. And yet each still reads as a distinct fairy tale with some protagonists easier to like than others. While each story has its own ending, the other characters and tales show that it might not have been the true ending just yet.

Surprisingly, my timing couldn't have been better for picking this up because though the cover screams "Halloween," there's a Yuletide message within its pages. Think: warm fire, greenery, and gifts for the children to scare away Death's winter chill. Despite the aforementioned Grimm vibes, it's really a hopeful book that emphasizes community, welcome, and belonging. It's a group of stories about home. Basically, come for The Nightmare Before Christmas energy. Get your dangerous hot mess and your festive, cuddly feelings all in one place. Thanks to Greenwillow Books for my copy to read and review!

This was a nice collection of dark fairy tales linked by the town of Greymist Fair, a village in the middle of a vast forest ruled by Death. Now, as this takes inspiration from some of the tales by the Brothers Grimm, I knew it would be fairly dark. And I enjoyed it a lot as the tales ranged from the current time to the past (alternating) it was done in such a way as to keep it all connected and provide additional answers to why certain people died and why Death is so determined to make all the village victims and not just ones that stray off the path. I was sad to learn why certain people had to die (Heiki's mother for one) but it was also cool to see how some people (the prince) were able to learn from their unwise decisions and grow and not die. Though there was also satisfaction in the deaths of other despicable villagers.

This was a fun version of older fairy tales and I enjoyed reading it all and how it ended with hope, even in dark times with Death coming for all in the end and how you should be able to greet Death as an old friend when they come for you.

Sadly the story was disjointed and directionless, often making it hard to gage the reason or the point of the story, and this is a catastrophic flaw.

3.5/5 ⭐
An interesting and enjoyable read. Although I never felt overly surprised by the twists I still had a good time. The writing was simple and quick but transportive. The ending was well done, emotional even. While I'm not sure which Stories the book is based on I appreciate it, and the author, for staying away from the typical and creating something new and entertaining.

This was fairytale done right! Thoroughly enjoyed this one- the characters and plot were everything I expected.

I've been hearing about Francesca Zappia for a while, so I was excited to try out one of their novels, and Greymist Fair is a book written with all of my favorite things. It was eerie and magical, and the writing was a perfect blend of lyrical and accessible. I loved this book so much.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well this book was a trip and emotional to boot! Welcome to Greymist Fair the village in the middle of a wood full of villagers who refuse to go into it, that's full of secrets and intertwining stories that none of them expected.

Stars: 5 out of 5.

Now this is a fairy tale retelling done right! It doesn't try to outdo the original, just takes that inspiration and creates something new and very readable with it.

I loved the village of Greymist Fair and the atmosphere of mystery and even foreboding the author created for this place and the villagers. Imagine a village in the middle of a dense forest with only one road leading to it and back out. That's already claustrophobic enough. But now add to that the fact that there are rumored to be monsters in the forest, and those who wander under the trees rarely come back alive. Oh, and that road to the village? It can take hours, or it can take days to travel, and some travelers never find Greymist Fair at all.

The author managed to convey the magical feeling that I absolutely love in fairy tales, and she also understands the cardinal rule of those tales - no matter how fantastical the world or the events happening in it, there must be internal rules to that world that everything follows. And if those rules are broken, there must be an explanation as to why and how. Like the ever-flowering tree branch that protects the wearer from Death, or the shoes instilled with magic that allow the person to outrun Death and its wargs.

The characters are less important here than the story they are part of, but I still had fun following along with them. The story is also not told in chronological order, with subsequent stories often going back in time and shedding more light on events mentioned or implied in previous stories, but the whole paints a fascinating canvas of a village at war with Death, even if the villagers don't realize that. See, the forest around the village is Death's domain, and so was this village at one point, until something happened and Death was denied entrance.

I loved the fact that this conflict was resolved not with violence, but with forgiveness and acceptance. The main message of this story is that we are all social animals, and that even entities like Death can be lonely and long for companionship. And that it is always better to show acceptance and love to others instead of prejudice and violence. That's a message we should hear more often today.

It's a well written and heartfelt story with a beautiful message, and I would highly recommend it.

PS: I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My attention meandered in and out for this one. I loved the stuff with the prince turning into a fish and wanted more of that storyline, but it went in a direction that just didn't grip me to the point where I couldn't tell the characters apart. I'm bummed because I was really into this for around the first third of the book and then I just drifted off. Maybe it's one I'd try to read physically one day. Could be that my brain just rejected the audiobook after a while. Who knows.

If you are a fan of the original Grimms fairy tails...
You are absolutely going to love this. As a matter of fact, that is legitimately the only reason I picked up this title, and I ADORED it.

This is a type of modern re-telling of the originals, and it will bring you back and wish you could never leave.

The atmosphere of the town of Greymist Fair is so mysterious and original. My absolute favorite thing in a book is it's atmosphere, and this one hits the mark.

The changing storylines and interconnecting stories keep the plot line moving quickly and I never EVER felt like there was a dull moment.

Honestly, I have not one criticism about this book. Incredible.

I was really excited for this novel because it was focused on lesser known fairytales. However, I did not like how the author tried to connect all the stories. The story was told from multiple narrators. I think it would have been better if it focused on one or two narrators. I also think that it should have been just a collection of fairytale retellings. Nevertheless, it was an excellent idea but not executed well. Still, I recommend this for fairytale fans!

A creative take on folk tropes of the disappearing market/town Brigadoon style. Zappia always crafts their characters carefully and fits them seamlessly into complicated worlds.

ARC provided by NetGalley & HarperCollins Children's Books.


Ah, I can finally scratch this off my 'to-be read' list and it feels so good! This took me far too long to get to in reading, but I had such a marvelous time reading this book. It was interesting to see this book be broken up into stories happening in the same village that were all connected to each other. I've seen this happen with an anthology or two where all the stories connect to each other, but never inside one book by one author. It was very surprising and one I'm not disappointed by. I also loved how Death was their own character and the role they played throughout the entire book. It was just a fun enjoyable time and it gave so many feelings of Sleepy Hollow, and at times, Beauty and the Beast.


👻 The Girl Who Outran Death ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Content/Trigger Warnings: Death, loss of a parent (in the past), grief, blood, scene of emesis, brief mentions of dead animals

I loved this section so much! It was giving me all the Sleepy Hollow vibes and I was living for it. The detail we get surround the village, the cottage, and woods was beautifully executed. To top this all off, the ending was something I wasn't expecting. It was really atmospheric, very cozy haunting vibes. It was a good time! Plus, Doctor Death is very intriguing!

👻 The Prince's Riddle ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Content/Trigger Warnings: Very brief mentions of infertility, very brief mentions of miscarriages, child abuse, child abandonment, manipulation, blood, toxic obsession

Wow, okay, I loved the way this is written. The prince is a hundred percent a character that's designed for you not to like and to be honest, I wasn't really impressed by the story at all. However, seeing Hilda and the huge role she played in this story, and the way she talks about magic was everything. It really turned the story around for me and after the first story, it was so nice to see Hilda like this.

👻 Wolf Children ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Content/Trigger Warnings: Loss of parents recounted, grief, blood, murder, death, loneliness, imprisonment, implied child abductions/kidnappings, implied cannibalism, alcohol consumption

This was giving so many Little Red Riding Hood vibes! The way the atmosphere and storyline builds with dread was so well done. Not to mention the way Tomas plays a role in all of this was interesting to see. The little details really made the story for me and the ending has left me with wonderment, and questions.

👻 Katrina 3.5 ⭐
Content/Trigger Warnings: Dead animal, brief mentions of poisoning, blood, death

I honestly expected more from this section. Instead what I got was waiting for Hans to get killed of and I got very annoyed with Katrina. I will admit, I did get a few moments of Sleepy Hollow vibes especially as we got closer to the end, but those moments were very few. I did like that we got to see Hilda again and we get to see certain things be made more clear especially after the first section in this book, and we learned about Hilda's fate through her daughter. Overall, this was okay and enjoyable, but I just wanted a little more from it.

👻 The Secret of Grey Lake ⭐⭐⭐
Content/Trigger Warnings: Loss of a parent recounted, talk of death, very brief mentions of arson, implied slavery, scenes of physical and verbal abuse, scene of flogging and torture, blood, violence, mentions loneliness

"We all make mistakes. The good people try to fix them. Sometimes you can't fix them, and you have to live with what happens. Then you just pray to all the gods you know that you don't have to live with it alone."


This felt like if LeFou and Gaston from Beauty and the Beast ever got their own story because those are the vibes it was serving. However, I wasn't entirely live, laugh, loving this story and I think I just wanted more than we got. I think this is a great story to show why magic can't be placed in the wrong hands, but it was just a sad story to see Fritz be treated like he was incompetent and mindless the whole story. It was nice to see Altan come back into the picture and see more of him and his story. Plus, seeing Heike in action just solidifies her truly becoming a favorite character of mine in this whole book.


👻 Doctor Death ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Content/Trigger Warnings: Brief mentions of financial hardship, loneliness, medical talk, death, scene of childbirth

"He could not allow himself to be afraid of Death. This was his duty, now. He had a home to protect, and he would protect it."


I'm sobbing and not okay! I loved this story so much! I knew Doctor Death was going to be one of my favorite characters the minute the story was introduced to us. I'm also glad my theories were proven right. However, this story had no right to make me so soft and mushy over the Doctor and Death at the end. How dare! I truly think this is my favorite section of this whole book so far. It'll be interesting to watch how everything will unfold for the rest of the book with the way everything played out in this story.


👻 The Wargs of Greymist 3.5 ⭐
Content/Trigger Warnings: Very brief recounted physical abuse, murder recounted, death, underage drinking, alcohol, smoking, dead animal

"He was going on this journey to save those things. That would keep him brave. And when he returned, he'd have his own story to tell."


I was definitely expecting something different when it came to this section. While it makes sense to have a story from Wenzel, I just didn't think the majority of this section would be from Wenzel's view. Not to mention there was a character in this story that felt like they had already been killed off in a previous section. So it was really bothersome to see that character return in this. I was hoping we would have seen more of Heike and Death in this story than what we got. Taking everything into consideration, that felt like the direction this story should have gone or at least added an extra chapter or two to this section for that purpose alone. Overall, I just expected something different than what we got and the whole thing with that returned character felt unnecessary, and it felt like that character was taking the spotlight away from other important characters.

Overall, the introduction and the ending are both very short for this book, but they were both beautiful ways to introduce and conclude the book, as a whole. I really wish we would have gotten a story with Heike and Death sitting down with one another to have a more in depth conversation. However, I did appreciate the ending because it give that kind of nod that they had an off page conversation. The book as a whole, I really enjoyed this. I wish I could have loved every section of this book, but some sections just out shone others. I don't think this book will be for everyone especially due to this book feeling it's more of a middle grade read instead of young adult. I think if you're a lover of fairy tales and retellings, you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of this book like I have. As I've mentioned, the Sleepy Hollow and Beauty and the Beast vibes are very strong in this book.

This was a very atmospheric, interesting read. I liked how all the different stories intertwined and furthered the overarching plot while also remaining separate. Although, I do have to say there were a few too many terrible men for my tastes. I did love Heike and Wenzel the most, though!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my digital ARC.

I really enjoyed this book.

It reads just like a fairytale normally does, and the setting is a character in itself. I was a little surprised at the structure of multiple POV's, but I did not mind it, it gave the fairytale a more complexity.

This book reminded me of a creepy fairytale with a gothic but whimsical plot. I absolutely loved the atmosphere and thought it really delivered on the spooky vibes. I also think the lay out of the book was super interesting. It involves 8 different Grimm Fairy Tales that all connect with each other. Since there are so many plot lines, it was a little difficult for me to love all the characters and feel connected to them. I think if you like the musical or movie Into the Woods and enjoy murder mysteries, you will love this book!

3..5 stars!

I felt like this was a pretty standard YA fantasy. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it, hence why my review is right in the middle. There were a lot of POVs in this novel, and at times it meandered a lot in a way where I didn't know where the plot was going. I do, as always, enjoy the integration of fairytales into a book but unfortunately just didn't feel like this was the book for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I actually really loved this story. It felt short, but fast-paced. The different sections of character perspectives was such an interesting take that I have not encountered before, and I think it played well into unraveling the mystery.

The book is broken down into 7 sections and each section has about 5-6 chapters each. Each section is its own story in a way that also contributes to the main plot overall. You get a new perspective, and really period of time, with each one. I just loved how unique this experience was for me.

The story itself was also really well told to where I instantly wanted to go back and re-read the whole book again now that I had all the pieces.

I don't think the "mystery" ever really gripped me in the sense where I was biting my nails with anticipation of what was to come, but I did find the whole novel fun. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but really enjoyable nonetheless!