This was an entertaining tale rooted in classic fairytales. When the small town by the Forest Grimm gets cursed, the villagers try to break the curse. Clara, Axel and Henni have all been affected by the curse so they decide to take it into their hands to save their town. It's an adventurous and entertaining tale.

This was an enjoyable read! There were parts of this book that did flow as well I would have liked but it was still a fun read!

I really wanted to love this book. Sadly, a 2.5. Possibly 3 stars for the premise alone.

Pros
Liked the world itself. And the incorporation of different fairytales.
The characters felt distinct from each other.

Cons
Too much telling, not enough showing. We are told too much about past events, but because we never see them play out it makes the characters and especially their changing relationship dynamics, lack any sort of resonance.

Repetitive statements.

Characters move on too quickly from moments that should have some lasting emotional impact.

We are specifically told in chapter 1 that something is impossible, only for that EXACT thing to happen towards the end of the book. With zero explanation as to why it was suddenly possible.

This novel is half adventure story and half Grimm's Fairy tale characters come to life. I like how the author incorporates the Grimm's fairy tale characters into her storyline, but at the same time I felt that it was an easy way to develop characters into a story, instead of making them up.

In this novel we find a young woman who is quite at a loss. Her mother left long ago into the "Forest Grimm" to try to find her father who had gone missing. Her mother and various people from the village who have seemingly been called or lured into the forest have never been seen again once they enter.

This used to be a happy village, once a year,( when you become of age), you could go to this massive book that was on a pedestal at the entrance to the forest speak a saying, ask one question, and the book would open to the answer. Sadly, it was used to murder someone which was totally against the rules and the book disappeared into the forest and the village has fallen into ruin. The forest also rejects anyone who attempts to enter it to search. The main character Clara and her friends Axel and Henni find a way to enter the forest to search for Henni's sister, Clara's mother and many others lost to the forest. This is a part "Alice Through The Looking Glass", part Grimm's Fairy Tales and part fantasy adventure. This was released as an ARC in anticipation of the second novel, "The Deathly Grimm".

All in all it was an Okay novel for me. I would rate it teen to very young adult reading.

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are strictly my own.

I love a good fairytale mashup in the grandma and the wolf was great it was just the first half of the book that you had to get through to get to that. I love the whole thing with Claire and Axel… But there were things in the book that didn’t make sense to me and although I am not going to say with those were because I know some people love this book and as I enjoyed the second half of it I don’t want to ruin it for anyone. I also don’t enjoy it when books end in cliff hangers and sometimes I am down to read the second book but don’t think I am in the case of the forest Grimm. It has every aspect of a great fairytale but I didn’t feel attached to the characters nor did I care how it ended. Having said that though I still do recommend it because if you love the fairytail mash ups then you definitely love this book! I want to thank Wednesday books and net galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

The Forest Grimm is a good book for young adults and adults alike. The story was a dark fairytale and would appeal to fans of Grimm’s fairytales. I really liked Clara as a character and thought she made a great heroine. The story darker side with a lot of twists and turns. If you are a fan of thrillers or spooky books, this would be a great book. While I thought the story was good, it was not quite as entertaining as I had hoped. Overall, it was a good read with promise for future books in the series.

While this book didn’t particularly appeal to me, I think this is a great book for a teen. I found it interesting, and well written, just not up my alley.

This delivered exactly what it promises, and does the dark, magical fairytale so well. There were twisted versions of many characters that we know from fairy tales and a forest that is its own character. Everything was well done and executed, and while the characters were teenagers this never felt overly YA.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a perfect book for preteens and even teenagers. It has everything a parent or guardian could want for an age appropriate read. And the story itself is great for those individuals. However, I don’t think this novel translates across that age barrier to older readers.

This book has a lot going for it for the YA genre. While reading this book, I couldn’t help but constantly think about how if I was a preteen, I would enjoy this book. It’s got the darker Grimm fairytale aspect, which I didn’t learn about till I was older. It has some romance that is all very age appropriate. And it has magic. And it’s incredibly atmospheric. All of those aspects of this story were great.

But as an older reader, I just wasn’t into this book as much. Everything felt repetitive. The characters were pretty immature. And I, as just a personal preference thing, do only really enjoy magical realism as a genre, and this had it in spades. And in some of the same issues over and over and a formulaic storyline and I had a hard time enjoying the book. I don’t think this is a novel that translates beyond the YA genre to older readers, and that is ok. It’s not meant for me as a reader.

Overall, this is a great book for preteens and younger readers who love fairytale retellings, might not know Grimm fairytales, who love romance, and action. But if you’re older, this one might not be for you.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

So I love dark fairytales and everything about this book appealed to me. While I still enjoyed the book, it fell flat for me in a lot of ways. The writing felt too simplistic at times while at the same time the plot was all over with the mixing of different fairytales. I felt like it was hard to connect with the characters, which for me is important, but may be fine for others. The characters just weren’t very dynamic to me. I did like the general dark fairytales vibes though.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC ebook. This book was absolutely amazing. The twists and turns were not obvious and it was so magical. I loved the story and how the author weaved the Grimm's fairy tales into the story. Everything was rational yet unexpected. I am honored to have read such a book.

The Forest Grimm

3/5 Stars

Summary from Goodreads: Where fairy tales come to life with dark, deadly twists…

“Tell me again, Grandmère, the story of how I die.”

The Midnight Forest. The Fanged Creature. Two fortune-telling cards that spell an untimely death for 17-year-old Clara. Despite the ever-present warning from her fortune-teller grandmother, Clara embarks on a dangerous journey into the deadly Forest Grimm to procure a magical book – Sortes Fortunae , the Book of Fortunes – with the power to reverse the curse on her village and save her mother.

Years ago, when the villagers whispered their deepest desires to the book, its pages revealed how to obtain them. All was well until someone used the book for an evil purpose―to kill another person. Afterward, the branches of the Forest Grimm snatched the book away, the well water in Grimm’s Hollow turned rancid, and the crops died from disease. The villagers tried to make amends with the forest, but every time someone crossed its border, they never returned.

Now, left with no alternative, Clara and her close friend, Axel―who is fated never to be with her―have set their minds to defying fate and daring to accomplish what no one else has been able to before. But the forest―alive with dark, deadly twists on some of our most well-known fairy tales―has a mind of its own.

This book had so much promise. The premise was so cool and there were so many cool elements to it- the putting together of multiple fairy tales, the cursed forest, the fortune telling, the book- but it was written in such a one note, single level way. There were some things at the end that were supposed to be twists, but they didn’t feel like twists, so I wasn’t a huge fan of the way they were thrown in. Character wise, I liked Axel and the towns people of Grimm’s Hollow who were taken by forest. Clara was not my favorite character, but I could understand where she was coming from most of the time, so that made it easier to understand why she did things (even if I didn’t agree with them). Overall, I don’t know if I would tell y’all to read this one, but I’m going to read book 2, and if I really enjoy that one, then y’all should for sure read both of them.

Clara and her fortune telling grandmother live next to the Forest Grimm where their village lived peacefully for many years. Until not too long ago when the villagers abused the fortunes of the Forest and it turned against them. Now those who enter do not return and the Forest’s pull is sinister. When Clara’s mother is lost to Grimm she makes a decision to go in, as she is fated to an untimely death anyway according to her grandmother’s cards. With nothing to lose, she along with Axel, who has also lost someone to Grimm, venture into the forest where not all fairy tales have a happy ending.

This was an interesting remix of the classic Grimm fairy tales in a new darker light. The novel explores the uglier side of human nature and what our desires lead to when they go astray. It’s also a novel of Clara’s growth as she becomes her own woman and explores what the means for both her family and herself. A good read. 3 stars.

Based on a digital Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an honest review.

The eerie forest lore was hauntingly beautiful. I enjoyed it enough to pickup the second book.

I love a good story tale retelling. The dark incorporation of characters like Cinderella & and Repunzal was delightful. The readers who wanted more connected stories between all of the “lost” characters were setting themselves up for failure in reading this book. Grimm stories are not connected anyway. If you want a connected Grimm story retelling, go watch Hoodwinked.

Thank you NetGalley for the ebook copy. I loved this book the mfc goes into the cursed woods that her mother has disappeared into year prior, but the Forrest slowly turns people into story book character and the forget who the were before. After going into the woods she runs into axel who is looking for his fiancé that has disappeared as well. They run into a variety of cursed character while on the search for her mother and trying to break the curse that is plaguing the woods.

This retelling was intriguing. There are a few more sprinkled in, but Little Red Riding Hood is the main inspiration. Even with the lengthy trip sections, the story held my interest the entire time, even though it went on a bit longer than I felt was required. All in all, an enjoyable YA romance!

ARC Copy...that was actually one of the more darker retellings of fairytales, I have read so far and interesting to see which tale (the protagonists has encountered) has been twisted by the forest's curse.

Thank you to NetGalley for this review copy. This book was fine. The main character is focused to the point of almost being annoying but she was pretty motivated to solve the issue. The epilogue hinted at a new adventure which may answer a huge plot hole in the story. Overall, it was an enjoyable read.

Clara has one wish, to find her mother who went missing after entering the Forest Grimm. Unfortunately, her mother was not the last person to go missing after entering the forest. Clara wants to save her mother even if it costs Clara her life. Clara and her friends, Axel and Henni, each enter the forest hoping to be able to save someone who has become one of the Lost, but the forest has a way of tricking them, making this more than a simple rescue. They must also save themselves. This novel is a combination of many classic Grimm's fairy tales with a dark edge.

I liked the premise and the inclusion of dark fairytales but didn’t connect to the characters. The plot didn’t flow seamlessly and wasn’t engaging.