This was fun to dive into and so easy to get lost in the story. It's set up so you meet the inhabitants of a small village over the course of decades. The timeline in non-linear, so it bounces from now to years ago to a week ago and back to now. I thought it was a cool way to see everything come together and kept my interest throughout the book.

The world has some magic, death incarnate, and a community coming together to save themselves. There isn't really a main character, as so many villagers play an important role in all that's happening. The writing is atmospheric and engaging and made me want to walk down the road and visit the magical tailor.

I was hoping for an epilogue, showing us how the villagers were doing years later. I also didn't really know which fairy tales were being shown, but still enjoyed the book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to HarperCollin's Children's Books and NetGalley for the copy.

Retelling some of the lesser-known fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm, Greymist Fair by Francesca Zappia is a YA fantasy/horror novel that tells the story of a murder mystery in a series of related short stories. The people in Greymist Fair are safe from Death’s wargs as long as they stay on the path…that is until young Heike finds what’s left of Tomas directly on the trail. Told from alternating perspectives, we learn that Tomas’s death is not as simple as it seems, and Death is closer to Greymist Fair than anyone thought.

Although short stories are always a hit or a miss for me, the stories in Greymist Fair were captivating! Each one progressively reveals more about the town and its secrets, while also tying into one another seamlessly. I enjoyed the fact that the stories took place at different times in the town’s history, and the different points of view added a compelling twist to the events of the novel. Many of the characters were interesting, but Dr. Death and Death were absolutely riveting. They were certainly the most complex characters, with mysterious backgrounds and motivations. Their character arcs were wonderfully written as well!

Furthermore, I’ve sometimes found that the world-building in short stories is not always strong, but the world-building in this novel was great. The way Zappia used each story to add a new layer onto the world was fascinating and led to a rich world with its own unique culture, traditions, and beliefs. The people of Greymist Fair share a sense of community with a dash of mistrust that shows their collective story from an exciting angle.

Finally, I think this book would appeal to people who enjoy many different genres; fantasy, horror, mystery, retellings, young adult, etc. There’s truly something for everyone to enjoy!

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In all honesty, I had no idea what I was getting into when I first started reading Greymist Fair. I knew I would be getting a haunting, fairytale-like novel but I didn't expect it to like it as much as I did.

I read Made You Up a few years ago so I was already familiar with Francesca Zappia's writing. I haven't read any other books but knew she went down a darker, more spookier path in recent years. Greymist Fair, just like the aforementioned book is well-written and draws you in from the first page. I was hooked and as the book progressed, I got more and more sucked into the story and it didn't let me go.

The book is separated into 7 (??) stories. They all seem different but interconnected in some way. The overarching story is discovering what is lurking in the woods and why people disappear there. My favourite stories had to be about the Prince who granted wishes, Katrina, Fritz and Doctor Death. All the stories were so interesting and fascinating to read. If this book was a TV show I think I would definitely watch it because it was that gripping and atmospheric.

When I first opened the book and saw the huge list of villagers (or characters), I immediately felt a little overwhelmed and worried this book might introduce too many people for me to keep track of. I thought the way the author tackled this throughout the book was perfect. At the end of the book you're introduced to everyone however, the characters are all introduced bit by bit so it doesn't seem too overwhelming. I loved how every villager had a personality, a story and depth. They all felt so alive and real and that really showed on the page. Even Death had a deep backstory and a unique character perspective.

All in all, this book was very enchanting, atmospheric and true to the nature of Grimm's original tales. It comes out tomorrow so be sure to check it out.

ACTUAL RATING: 4.3 STARS

My first thoughts on the book was based on the cover. It has spooky vibes, very ominous, but childish. An easy read with an eye-catching cover, perfect for middle schools. HOWEVER, the cover is deceiving because once inside you are smacked in the face by plot twist after glorious, horrifying plot twist. In the end, you feel slightly confused, and slightly spooked of the woods. Overall, its giving "Nightmare Before Christmas" vibes, the most halloween-y Christmas book I have read. Absolutely gripping read.

I loved this unique story about a mystical town out in the middle of the woods, guarded by monsters and Death himself.

Broken into several short stories, the town and the townspeople are present in each story but the POV's change and the non-linear timeline changes as well. As each new story is presented, you learn more about the town, the people and events that have come before, which have direct impact on events that take place later.

I was blown away at the end when some of the MC's became so important to me and surprised that I had tears in my eyes towards the end.

A wonderful tale for Fantasy lovers. Highly recommend!

A big thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fairy-tales? A murder mystery? All set against the backdrop of a dark forest? Sign me up!

Greymist Fair by Francesca Zappia is YA fantasy novel that combines the elements of lesser known, but bloodier Brothers Grimm fairy tales, and a classic murder mystery. Greymist Fair is a village tucked in the folds of a dark forest, where magic and trouble run rampant. When young tailor, Heike finds a body on the road, she follows the trail back. But things only grow stranger from there.

I absolutely loved this book, as it kept me guessing as to who did it. Not to mention had just the perfect blend of the classic fairy tales elements and the horrifying murder mystery bits. I also loved how Zappia went above and beyond to pick stories that hadn't been overdone in the genre of fairy tale retellings.

Greymist Fair is a breath of fresh air between the confines of retellings and murder.

This book was incredibly atmospheric. From the start you really feel like you are in the forest and the woods. You feel like you're a part of this village.

What was really interesting about this book? Is that instead of it being a full-length novel, it's more like vignettes. It's written more in the style of short stories. Where each section each new part, you get a new person from the village. You get their perspective and their story.

This was a really fun, interesting and new concept for this type of story. I really loved and enjoyed the versatility you get in the characters when it's written this way.


Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really unique take on fairy tales! I am not exactly a fairy tale scholar (and by that I mean I literally don't know any), so I am not really sure what exactly they are based on (though I have seen some lists on Goodreads reviews, those guys can help you if you need someone with actual knowledge) but it really doesn't dampen the enjoyment of this spinoff. For me, the atmosphere of the story absolutely nailed the creepy old fairytale vibe, which I loved.

It is told somewhat in short story style, but all the stories are certainly connected. So the points of view change, and even the time periods and settings to some extent, but they all are a cohesive story as well. It's dark, certainly, but it also has tons of very witty and funny moments that made the book very enjoyable to read. I loved the story, and definitely was intrigued by the mystery. While I definitely had favorites among the characters, I enjoyed getting multiple perspectives from key players. And since this is a mystery, I shall keep this brief, but if you dig those old school dark tales with a fresh twist, this is absolutely the book for you!

Bottom Line: Bringing Francesca Zappia's usual wit and heart to this unique and dark tale makes for a big win.

This has an interesting format, and it's one that I think really works for this particular book. It's split up into different stories that are all connected by virtue of being set in Greymist Fair, but also because the events are mostly sequential, with a couple of stories that are set in the past and give us more background about the characters. I don't think I've ever read the original Grimm's fairy tales these are based on, but some of them definitely felt like a classic fairy tale, while others had a looser structure.

Overall, I really enjoyed the way the author managed to tie everything together and made it feel like a cohesive whole. However, I don't think I really connected with the characters. Each section comes with a new POV, so we get a little bit of all these different people living in Greymist Fair, but nobody to really latch onto. I did end up liking quite a few of them, though, so it's not necessarily a bad thing, just something to be aware of when you start this book. I would also argue that the characters read fairly young.

If you like creepy forests and mysterious happenings in a small village, I can absolutely recommend this for the spooky vibes.

It took me a bit in the beginning to get into it, but I found I really enjoyed the different stories. They were all great by themselves, but they all worked together perfectly to help build the back stories for each character and help us learn about the town of Greymist Fair.

I don't think I had any one favorite character, all though I most certainly know which one was my least favorite, but he was meant to be the annoying antagonist anyway. The ending did feel like a fairytale where they main characters presumably have a happy ever after, and yet there is a lesson that was learned by the characters and the reader.

As I already said, the method of storytelling she used worked perfectly with the story she wanted to tell and I kind of hope some of her other works are in a similar fashion, because I would love to experience it again! If it's not, then I hope she chooses to do another book like this in the future.

I have read books by Francesca Zappia that I have loved in the past, but this one actually took me by surprise.

This is partly because we're told this story in sections. Each section is its own story and resembles a fairytale. Some of these were very easy to see the inspiration, Hasel and Gretel and The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids. I loved even the fairytales that I couldn't find a parallel to right away. But I'm not the biggest short story person. And at first, this is what it felt like.

They are also told out of order. I went in expecting the story to be told on one timeline, but I ended up loving that each time we started a new section/story I didn't know if it would be in the past or directly following the previous tale.

And I think that is because these stories eventually all come together to create a whole that is more than the sum of their parts. I loved being able to see those connections as each story/part unfolded.
This book got me in my feels and made me remember just how much I love Francesca Zappia's storytelling.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- i quite enjoy fairytale stories, especially from the brothers grimm, so finding a collection of stories of the lesser known kind of stories was right up my alley. however, the author tries to connect the different stories into one plot line, and it doesn’t execute well, as when you get connected to one character, the story moves on without them. it would fit better if the characters were connected earlier on in the story, without having to cut one off to lead to the other.

- if you like fairytales and murder mystery, this will be for you!

I did mostly enjoy this. I loved the setting of Greymist Fair, and I thought the stories within were unique. a bit dark, and entertaining. It is fast-paced and I flew through it. However, there are quite a few time jumps that took me out of the flow of the story. I would have enjoyed it more if the different POVs were more linear instead of jumping all over the place. Heiki's POVs were my favorite and I wish we could have gotten more with her as the main character. I did enjoy the different stories that were told, although wish they were all from Heiki's POV.

This book was such a twisted fairytale. It was so extremely atmospheric. Greymist Fair felt like a village in any original Grimm's fairy tale or something. It was creepy, it was isolated, it was everything a stereotypical fairy tale village should be.
First of all, I'm going to talk about the format of the book. It completely threw me off the first time it happened and it was kind of hard to wrap my head around what was going on and get into how it was written. So it was written as basically a bunch of short stories, each about a specific character, that connect in some way. That 100% threw me off when I was thinking I was reading with Heike as the main character and then all of the sudden we get thrown into a story about a prince that doesn't even live in Greymist Fair. It did all come together to make sense and I liked getting to have all these different character's perspectives of their parts of the whole story, but it did throw me off at first. It was kind of like getting the whole story out of order.
Like I said, I did like getting so many character's perspectives because they all had separate parts of the story to tell. The characters were likeable for the most part (besides the ones that were supposed to be unlikeable). I loved Heike and Wenzel's friendship from the beginning and then loved learning about Wenzel's backstory. The little community is just great.
The plot itself was kind of all over the place because of the mismatched timeline so it wasn't really obvious what the end goal was. By the end it all came around though.
Pick this one up if you are looking for something reminiscent of a Grimm's Fairy Tale!

Somehow, I was left wanting to cry at the end of this one. A perfect blend of bloody, earnest, sweet, dark, and biting, it's a fantastic twist on fairytales and magic. There is so much heart behind each story, behind each character, that it left my heart aching for them. It is not an even story, or linear one, but it twists in such a way that makes it all the more special. At it's heart is family, love, and home, and it shows in the beauty that continues even amongst the blood that spills.

I really loved the uniqueness of Greymist Fair.
Zappia was inspired by lesser known Grimm's Fairy Tales. She was able to take several and weave them into one story all taking place in a magical little town called Greymist Fair. It is told in multiple POVs, and the timeline bounces around a bit, but the stories generally revolve around Heike and her mother. By connecting to these known characters, it gives us context as to when each story is taking place.
I felt it left you with a beautiful message about death as well.
I would recommend this to any lover of fairy tales.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for an early copy for review.

What originally drew me to this book was it being based on lesser-known Grimms' Fairy Tales and the fact that each of these tales would come together. I was interested to see how the author dealt with each tale in its own right and how she brought them together. I enjoyed each section of the book and the characters that went with them. As you go along, you can see how each story connects to the others, with small details being revealed along the way. These details are enough to be intriguing without spoiling the book as a whole and keep you wanting more.

What actually made me love this book was the final message about death. The way it is brought up and explained is easy enough for a younger audience to understand, but well-written to appeal to adults. And it's a message that I think more people need to hear and understand. Death is inescapable; it is something we must all live with and deal with. None of us want to confront our mortality, or the mortality of those we love, but by denying its existence we do ourselves a disfavor. By learning to understand, accept, and prepare for death, we are better equipped for when it actually happens. By teaching children from a young age about the concepts of life and death, they can grow up with a better understanding of it and can deal with it easier. And while I think this book is a great starting point or accompaniment for those conversations with kids, I think it is one that is also written to be enjoyed by adults.

I really enjoyed this book of interwoven tales centered around the mysteries of Greymist Fair. Each chapter is a different POV, with varying timelines, not always in chronological order. I thought it was fun and interesting. It’s reminiscent of Grimm’s fairy tales.

I would purchase this one for the cover alone. It’s a book you might want to read more than once in case you miss something on the first go round.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, Greenwillow Books for this ARC.

This book was definitely different from what I’d expected, but I really enjoyed it! All the different tales were woven together masterfully and the picture they painted in my mind was beautifully dark!

I was not sure about this book and how it would go. I am so glad that I read it! I love how the stories are from different perspectives of the neighbors in the village and how the characters developed. I highly enjoyed reading about the secrets of Greymist Fair and some of those secrets were shocking. The Wargs were definitely creepy to read about and how Wargs are created. The magic system used was creative and it was interesting to see how different neighbors would use the magic in different ways. Definitely a good book to read around Halloween and I would absolutely recommend this book to everyone.