If you liked Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher, you'll love this one too, although it's a little darker. This was a quick novella that I devoured! It's unsettling and gloomy, everything is against the MC. The chances of success are close to none but she keeps going.

The story is told in one long block, there are no chapters. I thought this alone would annoy me but the story was so captivating that I just kept reading and turning the pages.

Veris is the only person that ever went into the Northern woods and came back. No one ever came back and the Woods have kept numerous trespassers throughout the years. Their village is ruled by a Tyrant that's not from here and never learned about the Woods or to avoid it.

His children left for it in the middle of the night and he now needs Veris to go in and get them back... or he'll just burn her village. Veris knows she has less than 24 hours from the moment the children entered the woods to get them out. She has no hope of succeeding but she has to try for her village.

This book weaves in elements of horror, grimdark, and supernatural genres into a short fairytale novella. It is a dark story about a mysterious woods called Elmever. No one in history has ever entered the woods and returns alive, but Veris has done the impossible and survived. Due to this, the Tyrant orders her back into the tricky forest to find his two children.

I liked a lot of things about this novella, the setting, tone, and its dose of spooky yet whimsical nature. The thing I could not get past though was the writing style. I found it tedious to read because of the frequent run-on sentences. I would have to re-read entire sections to understand what the author really meant. I felt like the flow was off for me, which was a bummer.

I also don't understand why Veris lies. When truth is such a major theme, why dare? Seeing is believing in Elmever, but nothing is as it seems. To lie is to die. And I just found that contrary to her character and past experience.

If you love spooky fairytales then I highly recommend checking this book out. It was a super quick read and very immersive.

Veris is tasked with going into the forest to retrieve the Tyrant’s children. If she fails, her family will die as well as herself.

From the beginning, this novella kicks off with a bang. It doesn’t let up until the end and will keep you hooked. I really enjoyed the writing style and the details were beautifully done! I would definitely check trigger warnings before reading this one though. It has a lot of dark themes.

Premee Mohammed is no stranger to those who enjoy short speculative fiction, being one of the foremost voices in her field. Butcher of the Forest is one of her latest longform works, a dark fantasy novella that strikes all the notes of an ancient fairy tale. A land ruled by a tyrant, an enchanted forest of danger and monsters, and our heroine is Veris Thorn-the only person to ever rescue a child from the dark forest of Elmever and return alive.

Unfortunately for Veris, the tyrant’s children have gone missing in Elmever and she is faced with the impossible task to fetch them back, with her life forfeit if she fails. Forcing her to brave the dark woods and risk the horrors that lie within.

Mohammed’s prose is as lush as any dark wood. She chooses each word with delicate precision and builds tension and dread like an absolute master, evoking some of the most primal of emotions throughout her writing. Mohammed spends time on building Veris as a character- an older woman with no time for nonsense which is a refreshing rarity in fantasy.

This is no safe fairytale, though. “Butcher of the Forest” is full of horror of all sorts to go along with the dark atmosphere. The forest is full of mythical monsters and Mohammed writes them with an utter glee in the horror. If there is a flaw, it’s that the story is very fast paced with so much information to absorb for the reader.

An absolutely haunting and atmospheric tale, and a sure sign more greatness is in store from the writer.

Summary:

Veris is the only person known to walk into the northern forest and survive. Naturally, she's ordered to repeat the process when the cruel overlord, the Tyrant, realizes his children have gone missing into those very woods.

Unfortunately, Veris understands those woods – and the poor odds those children face. Yet she has no choice in the matter. She must face her nightmares once again or see her village burn.

Review:

The Butcher of the Forest is an ethereal and haunting story. Veris' tale has a way of getting under your skin. This is true, even before you know the truth of her history. Likewise, the woods are dark and fascinating – in equal measure.

To be clear, The Butcher of the Forest leans into the gothic fairy tale world. The creatures in the woods may very well be fae, but they're not the type you want to meet (nor would you likely survive the encounter). Personally, I love these darker takes, so I was happy to see it here.

The subtle realization and character development elevated The Butcher of the Forest's point. While I wish there was more of a conclusion on the Tyrant side of the story, I can't complain about how the rest of this story wrapped up.

I would love nothing more than another half dozen stories set in this world. But I'd settle for one more! Is anyone else curious about whether or not another venture happened and how it went?

Highlights:
Fantasy Horror
Fae & Creatures of the Forest
Complex Characters

Trigger Warnings:
War-torn village
Missing children

This was a very unique and whimsically dark tale. I found the story to be pretty fast paced and overall enjoyed the characters and the world.

This is a dark, atmospheric, fast-paced story-- which is right up my alley. It was an engaging read with rich storytelling and relatable characters.

The Butcher of the Forest
by Premee Mohamed
Publication Date: February 27, 2024

Thank you TOR and Netgalley for sending me this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this novella was good. It was a story about a woman that gets woken from bed to come search for two missing children from the forbidden forest. She is the only one who has gone in and out successfully and the king wants his children back.

I thought this was dark, eerie and to the point.

I want to know who kept sending her food to her back door?!

I feel like this could be made into a creepy fairytale movie by Tim Burton.

3.5 Stars

Premee Mohamed's The Butcher of the Forest reminds me a little of The Jasad Heir. The protagonist in both books end up unwillingly working for their families killers and spend quite a bit of time in the forest. I'm also getting slight The Chronicles of Narnia vibes.

I liked that we have an older heroine without a complicated enemies to lovers love interest. The book had a decent amount of action from beginning to end and gets straight to the point.

Veris is strong willed yet sensible and it serves her well throughout the book. The woods of Elmever are enchanting, where nothing is as it really seems. Its creatures are in most cases creepy tricksters with unlikely bodies that helped keep my interest.

🌲🌲🌲🌲/5

I understand what this book wanted to be, I just don't think it reached it's full potential.

For the first hundred pages I was loving the vibe of this dark fairytale, but as it progressed I got more and more confused. When it ended I was still lost - there were loose ends that weren't tied up and I wasn't quite sure what the point of this story even was. This wasn't for me.

This was great. 4.5 stars. Very dark which could turn some people off, but so well-written. I loved the descriptions of the woods throughout, and I kept wanting to find out how it would end.

An enchanting novella that fully enthralls with its eerie yet magical ambiance. Think of Annihilation but make it more fantasy.

A dark, twisting, warped fairy tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I really loved Veris, and even with the novella-length of this story, it was more than enough time for the character to be well developed and to get attached. Stunningly written, the balance is struck so wel between horror and fantasy.

This novella may be small, but it feels so big! Veris lives in a small town with her aunt and grandfather and one morning she is dragged out of her house and thrown before the Tyrant. His children have gone missing and were tracked to the north woods, the deadly enchanted north woods.

The Tyrant demands Veris go and retrieve his children as she is the only known person to ever come out of the woods alive. He even threatens the life of her family and village if she doesn't return in one day. One day!

From there Veris goes on to the wods with the little she has come to Know how to navigate the Elmever, the enchanted wood inside the woods, another world really, and every turn has a trick or danger lurking.

It really does feel like a fever dream reading this book and I really enjoyed the world that was created. I got invested right away and couldn't put the book down!

"The rules were vague but should not be broken: don't cut living wood; don't shed any animal's blood; trade if you must, but do not negotiate. And certainly never accept any 'gifts.'"

The deep, dark forest, home to magical creatures both good and evil, is a staple of many fairy tales, and in this story that involves a quest to rescue two missing children, it looms larger than life; it becomes a character almost. Veris has ventured into these woods once before, and managed to bring home the lost child. She barely survived the experience. Now she is ordered, by the tyrant who killed both her parents, no less, to retrieve his heirs . . . or he will kill her only living relatives, and burn their village. What follows is a tense adventure fraught with peril and more creepy foes than you can shake a walking stick at. It's an enjoyable, mesmerizing read that ends with the promise of more terrors to come.

I'll be tagging along on that next walk in the woods.

Gulp!

It’s a beautifully written, yet dark and twisted novella that made me shudder quite a few times. I’m normally not a big fan of novellas - only few manage to deliver a well-rounded story without leaving me feeling like something was missing. This novella definitely didn’t leave me missing anything other than maybe sleep. Both because I was so wrapped up into reading it that I forgot I am an adult who needs to be up early and also because of the level of suspense. It wasn’t gory or terrifying, but it definitely was dark. The only thing I was not a huge fan of was the ending. Thank you to the author and Netgalley for providing me with an early copy.

This is a fun, though disturbing, romp through a very scary forest. This reads like a dark, twisted fairytale and kept me hooked until the last page.

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed - ebook ARC

This was a super fun read. I would describe this as a darky fairytale, with high stakes and fun creatures. Our main female character is forced into a crazy forest to save children from a tyrant of a ruler. Oh and if you remain in the forest for more than a day, you are trapped forever. We have traps, riddles, and really dark monsters. This was way more dark than I anticipated but I was here for it! This is a Novella so it’s a quick short read, but packs a real punch! I’m not sure I how I feel about unicorns anymore because of this book! lol. Veris Thorn is our main female character, is unique and I find myself really cheering for her and loving her development in this gothic horror story.

I loved the mystery, the riddles, the creatures and the plot. Highly recommend!

3/5 stars!

This was a beautifully written novella...that was also super unnerving at parts. The Butcher of the Forest is a dark fairytale with an extra dash of horror and macabre; it's set in the Elmever woods and focuses on Veris whose main job is to retrieve lost children from the aforementioned forest. From the get go this novella had a dark overtone and pretty much the entire story has a huge sense of dread and foreboding.

I'm usually a fan of horror novels but this one was a bit to gore-ish for me and left me rather unsettled. I did read it in one setting (relatively short) and the writing is fantastic, but the actual content wasn't for me.

Trigger warnings: body horror, gore, child abuse, death.
Shout out to NetGalley, Tor, and Premee Mohamed for the ARC in exchange for a review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this e-ARC. I am anticipating reading this soon and reviewing on my socials.