Clara reveals a deep, dark secret as she is helping Axel and herself to navigate through the forest. A variety of adventures sets them to conquer different spells throughout the forest. Many truths are discovered on their adventure.

"The Deathly Grimm" by Kathryn Purdie is a spellbinding journey that reimagines fairytales in a way that's neither Disney-sweet nor Grimm-dark, but a captivating blend of both. This YA fantasy had me hooked from the first page, and I couldn't put it down until I'd devoured every last word.

At the heart of the story is a race against time to break a curse, with our heroes navigating the treacherous Forest Grimm. This sentient woodland setting adds an extra layer of challenge and intrigue to their quest.

The characters are what truly bring this tale to life. Each one feels fully realized, with their own burdens and trials to overcome. I found myself rooting for them all, but especially for Clara, our main character. Her struggle with scoliosis adds a layer of authenticity to her journey, and her determination is truly inspiring. The bond between Clara and her grandmother is particularly touching, adding warmth to the often perilous adventure.

What sets "The Deathly Grimm" apart is how it weaves familiar fairytale elements into a fresh narrative. You'll spot beloved characters, but they're not quite as you remember them. This twist on the classic tales keeps you guessing and adds depth to the story's exploration of truth and lies.

I was surprised by how easily I fell into this world, considering I hadn't read the first book in the series. While your mileage may vary, I found it stood well on its own, pulling me into its enchanting narrative without missing a beat.

It's a must-read for anyone who loves their fairytales with a dash of danger and a sprinkle of heart.

Thank you, Wednesday Books and NetGalley, for my free E-book.

I was surprised with how much I enjoyed the first book in this series, so I was looking forward to the second one. However, this book lacked the mystery that the first book had, and this book read significantly younger to me. The angst from the love interest got annoying enough that I couldn't finish the book - as a 32 year old, I can only handle YA to an extent. This book missed the creepiness of the first book, and there was little compelling me to want to know what would happen next. Sadly a miss for me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Deathly Grimm   
Author: Kathryn Purdie        
Genre: YA, Fantasy   
Rating: 4.0 out of 5

The story hasn't ended yet.

After surviving the Forest Grimm and defeating the Wolf, Clara and Axel have made it back to their village, the one place they can be safe behind the forest's borders. But when the forest itself begins luring in more villagers, it's clear that Clara and Axel have only treated the symptoms of the forest's curse, not the cause—and it's getting worse.

Burdened with visions of the past and learning to navigate her fragile new relationship with Axel, Clara finds herself entering the forest with Axel yet again to discover the truth once and for all: the identity of the murderer who caused the curse. As they fight murderous woodsmen with incomprehensible riddles, ladies who will drag you into an eternal dance, and ghosts with the power to wield the forest against them, Clara and Axel realize the stakes are higher than ever. If they don't survive the dark, deadly twists of the forest once more, not only will they never escape, they may also no longer have a home to escape to.

I enjoyed this second book in The Forest Grimm duology. It was good seeing more of these familiar characters, and the quaint village they call home. I like the creepy fairy tale characters, too. The answer to who the murderer really was didn’t really come as a surprise to me, but I still enjoyed the story a lot and read the whole thing in one day.

Kathryn Purdie is a bestselling author. The Deathly Grimm is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 3/31.)

I thoroughly enjoyed this follow-up to The Forest Grimm. New fairytales were used in equally interesting ways, and everything was wrapped up with a perfect bow at the end. The characters were just as fun, and the love between Clara and Axel felt well deserved. It was a bit of a slower read than I'd have liked, but the audio made the book fly by, and the narrator did a wonderful job of differentiating between the different character's voices and making them all feel like distinct characters.

In The Forest Grimm Clara Thorn travels into the Grimm forest to find her mother and the other Lost Ones, and meets up with her friends Axel and Henni on her mission. The Deathly Grimm does an excellent job of wrapping up this duology. It kept me on my toes, and I think I actually enjoyed it more than the first book, which I often find unusual in a duology. I enjoyed the suspense of not knowing who started the curse, and as Clara continued to have visions it got more and more complicated. I really enjoyed Harlan's character throughout the book. I'd give this 3.5 stars, but rounding up to 4.

Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced reader copy for my honest review.

** spoiler alert ** Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars better then first book

To start of this is a second book that requires the first book to be read before or things just wont make sense. The book starts off where the first one ended with only half of the problem solved and just the surface scratched on what is really going on/ has gone on in this town.

Or characters must go back into the Forest Grimm this time knowing a bit more on whats is required to surviving not just the forest itself but also the Lost Ones inside it that have become living Grimm fairy tales. We got in a way less dangerous fairy tales this time.

I must admit the reminding of the "S-curve" of the characters spine mentioned multiple chapters in a row to get a break of like 6 chapters to only get reminded yet again for chapters in a row to then get a break again (repeat) very annoying like i did in the first book. The readers really dont need to be reminded over and over like it is the only thing about the character and we will forget it. The over use of it could have been replaced with just a mentioning of aching back or anything else just to make it seem like the character is more then just her disability during those chapters.

I liked the way things got wrapped up in the end almost too quickly in a way when it took so long to get there. I did how every love the ending very much since the whole first books and this one i was always thinking of Ollie's pennies.

This is the second book in Kathryn Purdie’s The Forest Grimm duology, and the books should be read in order since this book answers all the remaining questions posed in the first book. I loved the way Purdie combines different fairy tales in this young adult romantic fantasy. She did a great job creating a spooky atmosphere and a suspenseful plot that held my interest and kept me guessing.

Our main character Clara is stubborn and sometimes makes foolish decisions, but she means well, and her actions are consistent with her personality and values. I was rooting for her as she tried to solve the mystery of who murdered Bren Zimmer and triggered the curse. This book has more emphasis on Clara’s visions and efforts to solve the mystery and reverse the curse, but we also see Clara’s relationship with Axel change and grow, as well as her relationships with various villagers. The book can be quite dark at times, and not everyone gets a happy ending, but Clara’s story reaches a satisfying conclusion.

Readers who enjoyed The Forest Grimm should enjoy this sequel too.

I received a free advanced review copy of the ebook through NetGalley. I volunteered to provide an honest review.

This was a great book! I definitely liked it more than the first boo. The setting would be perfect for the fall time and the world building was great!

A gripping second installment in the Forest Grimm series. Kathryn Purdie has a knack for twisting old fairytale lore into eerie, fast pace forest core fantasy.

This story dives into the source of the forest’s curse over Grimm’s Hollow. Clara Thurn must do all she can to find the answers and help determine the fate of all around her.

Kathryn Purdie does it again in this fairy tale sequel, it had that element that I was hoping for and was engaged with what was happening. The characters were everything that I was looking for and was hooked from the first page. It had that dark fairy tale element and continued the story in a way that worked overall. I'm glad this series continued and enjoyed the way Kathryn Purdie wrote this.

I enjoyed the first book in the Grimm duology, The Forest Grimm, so much! I love dark, fairytale reimaginings, so this was right up my alley. While the second installment, The Deathly Grimm, held up and was enjoyable, it didn’t have the same dreamy, immersive effect as book one.

In the end of book one, our FMC, Clara, breaks part of the curse holding her small town hostage, and is given a task to break the rest of the curse. Book two picks up at shortly after with a town hall meeting to determine if Clara and her friends who escaped the Forest Grimm in the last book are guilty of keeping the curse alive, even though they broke part of it. So, Clara and Axel flee to the Forest Grimm to solve the curse once and for all.

One of the major selling points in book one was the romance between Clara and Axel which was a slow and sweet burn that was brought closer by the darkness of the forest. This time around, their relationship is put to the test as Clara begins to have visions of the Lost and a new person enters the forest. With Clara’s visions guiding them, and her own internal battle over actions from book one, Clara doubts herself and pulls away from those she loves. I understood this change, but it was very frustrating at times and I found myself wishing Clara would just communicate more! However, Axel was being quite unfair to Clara and expecting her to solve everything, so again, I can see why Clara held back. The Forest Grimm is known to mess with your mind, and this is portrayed very well through Clara’s and Axel’s struggles, both personal and internal.

I read this in one sitting. So while there was a sense of something missing, I was still fully engaged and invested in the story. There were twists and turns and the dark, shifty feel of the forest’s magic and Clara’s visions really kept me from completely figuring everything out. Overall, this was a satisfying end to Clara’s story!

I definitely recommend this duology for anyone that enjoys a dark, fairytale inspired adventure fantasy with a dash of romance!

Thanks to the publisher for the complimentary arc. All opinions are my own.

A beautiful conclusion to The Forest Grimm duology, but not quite the story I was expecting.

I absolutely loved The Forest Grimm, and while I did enjoy The Deathly Grimm, I have to say I preferred the first book. The atmosphere in The Forest Grimm was dark, haunting, and beautifully woven with fairytale elements, which really made the setting feel alive. However, in the second book, the forest itself didn’t quite live up to the same expectations—it felt like it was lacking some of that eerie, immersive quality that made the first book so enchanting.

At the start, it felt a little difficult to keep up with everything. That being said, I loved the incorporation of different fairytales in The Deathly Grimm. I know that’s the whole premise of the book, but still—every time a new fairytale character appeared, I had a moment of excitement, like, OMG, I know that story!

One part I struggled with was Clara’s visions. They were a bit confusing, and I’m still not entirely sure how they worked. Maybe I missed something, but it felt like she went from barely being able to get visions at all to suddenly having them every day and even being able to speak to people through them. I think I would have liked to see her struggle a bit more with this ability instead of mastering it so quickly.

Axel also frustrated me at times—especially when he kept pushing Clara, I mean I get you want answers, but maybe prioritizing survival would have been a better idea before demanding answers?

On the other hand, Ollie was hands down my favorite character. His final moment, finally getting to rest , honestly made me teary. After everything he went through, he deserved that peace. It was such a bittersweet but beautiful moment and probably my favorite part of the book.

The beginning and ending were a bit confusing and hard to follow, but the middle was really strong.

Overall, The Deathly Grimm was an intriguing and creative finale, even if it wasn’t quite what I expected. The fairytale elements were woven in beautifully, and while I wish the atmosphere had matched the first book a bit more, it was still a unique and enjoyable read!

I found this to be entertaining. The conclusion to the duology was well written and came together perfectly. My favorite thing about a story with a curse is learning how it all started, this did not disappoint.

THE DEATHLY GRIMM was a perfect follow up and perfect ending to this duology. While still having the parts that made the first book great for YA readers, it added in this mix of murder mystery and more magic. It’s a tough balance, but I think the author does a great job of blending these aspects together. And, truly, I appreciated the character growth within the FMC, Clara. I enjoyed seeing her grow into herself. As with The Forest Grimm, the author does a good job blending magic, romance, and fairytales into a story that is cohesive for its target audience: preteens and YA readers.

As with my previous review on this duology, I do not think that this novel translate well to older readers. What is great for those readers is a bit repetitive for older readers. And again, that is ok.

This novel is a great read for younger readers, following an age appropriate story for those who love angst, character development, romance, mystery, fairytale retellings, and magic.

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

The Deathly Grimm is the second book in Kathryn Purdie's The Forest Grimm Duology. It's one of my most anticipated books of this year, and let me tell you, this book was freaking epic!


Once again Purdie has astounded me with her world of Grimm’s Hollow. I'm still a believer that this duology is a Grim's Fairytales origin story. I got up to a count of six different curses turned fairytales. I won’t mention them, because where's the fun in that? I will say that this book was more character-based, whereas the previous book was more magical forest, trying to eat the main characters alive-based. Clara and Axel thought that they were ready to go back into the forest, but they had no idea. They each had their own shocking truths and challenges. At least they had each other.


I loved how Purdie twisted well-known fairytales into these torturous curses. Besides the fairytales coming to life, there was the murder mystery subplot, which I really enjoyed. Who killed Bren Zimmer? What happened to the missing pages? What about the other Lost Ones? The best part had to be Clara's visions. They become so intricate to the story. The visions are shown in only little snippets, from different perspectives and possibly different timelines, revealing things we didn't know. By the end, it was a mind-fudge, if you get my drift.


There are so many great questions, and we get the answers in the most magical and darkest way possible. It was amazing how everything connected. I couldn't help but picture one of those murder boards posted with clues, arrows, and red string forming connections and making timelines. When everything was revealed, I was completely shocked. It was so worth the read. The Forest Grimm duology is now one of my favorite fairytales. Absolutely stunning!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Wednesday Books for this advanced copy! You can pick up The Deathly Grimm on March 25, 2025.

While I really enjoyed the first entry in Kathryn Purdie's Forest Grimm duology, I found getting swept away in this story a bit more difficult. The plot was slower than I would've liked, despite the hunt for a murderer and the new fairytale creatures and characters Clara and Axel encountered. The romance wasn't bad, but I didn't connect with them quite as much as I would've liked. If you enjoy dark fairytales and cursebreaking, though, I think you'll really enjoy this one!

4/5 ⭐️
This reiterates how much this series would be perfect for fans of the show Once Upon A Time. It had the same vibes of everyone having a secret second fairytale identity and being evil and curses and etc. I was reminded of the show a lot while reading while still feeling wholly like its own thing.
This was a very enjoyable ending to this duology. It made me appreciate how the first book solved a big part of the mystery but reminded you at the end that there’s still a few more. The mystery aspect of this was very entertaining. Definitely had me on my toes guessing. And my guesses would switch and be wild and crazy as we steadily learned more.
My only complaints is that it felt like we were sort of rushing. We never stayed in a scene long enough to truly feel emotions. While I enjoyed myself, I didn’t feel the fear or romance like I did in the first one. My other complaint is in regard to the main characters “s shaped spine.” It was meaningless. It never did anything for the plot or the character. It could’ve been really cool if it affected the character or made aspects challenging and frustrating. Instead it was just thrown in. And it was thrown in so often that it threw me out of the story with frustration. Constantly, oh no my back hurts. But nothing else. This really could’ve done something amazing, instead it felt like half-assing checking a box.
In the end, I would still recommend this duology. I think I liked the first book more. But compared to other YA fantasies I’ve read in the last year, this was definitely very enjoyable. Minus my two complaints, I had a great time. I really think if you’re a fan of Once Upon a Time, you’ll like this.
Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

"The Deathly Grimm" is the conclusion to Purdie's The Deathly Grimm duology, a riff off of the Brothers' Grimm stories. I adored the first novel in this series, which felt like a darker "Into the Woods" and was quite looking forward to seeing how this story ended. Unfortunately, "The Deathly Grimm" was a disappointment. It felt like the characters were just rehashing the same thing over and over again, there becomes a trope/skill obtained in this second half which felt a little too forced and convenient to explain the backstory and what was happening. There were too many unreliable narrators and ultimately it felt sloppy and like we lost the plot.

Pub Date Mar 25 2025 | thank you to St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for the gifted copy.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

It was a good book for the ending of the duology. I think I liked the first book better but I had fun with this one too.

I really liked how Clara's powers were fleshed out. The multiple POV and trying to piece together the events ourselves was a nice touch. I'm glad to finally have the answer to who was the murder. I've been waiting for this since the first book.

The best part was still the characters who were Lost and became a twist of the fairytails. The pacing was a bit off and slow in the middle but it became better when it picked up.

The main villain was very interesting and seeing them slowly losing it in the end was entertaining.

I liked Clara here a lot better than the first book. Maybe because I already knew her? Axel was okay but he was putting so much pressure on her when she was already doing so much, it was maddening.

I really liked the duology. It was a very interesting read and I loved the magic.