Member Reviews

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗸𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 follows Zelda and Morgan on a paranormal investigation to find out the secrets lying amidst them.

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Unfortunately this one fell flat for me. No it crashed lol.

The first book was a thousand times better. The magical aspect here was rather dense and there was almost no romance and of what was there isn't much to talk about. Morgan as a protagonist was very confusing and a little too immature for his age.

The plotline was a little choppy and the sequence of the timelines did not make sense. Overall, not my favourite book.

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3.42 / 5 ★

Thanks to Putnam Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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I loved going back to Moonbilled and seeing a differwnt Tempest sister get their story. Zelda and Morgan have a rocky start and as their characters grow feelings might too. The story doesn't quite have tropes to it and it was a gun read.

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A perfect cozy, witchy read!

I really enjoyed Old Flames and New Fortunes, so it was a delight to return to Moonville. However, I think you could absolutely enjoy this book without having read OF, NF first! The cozy town magical vibes are the same, but I loved that Zelda's story had a darker magical vibe to it!

Z is a witch who doesn't believe in magic, but writes about it, and she's tangled up with a non-magical man who's obsessed with magical things. And hijinks ensue. This is a fun read, although it is a little chaotic at times. There's a part in the middle where I surely felt that I must have had some funny mushrooms without realizing it - you'll know when you read it.

But overall if you want magical vibes with a side of spice and fun - you'll want to read this and the whole Moonville series!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

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I don’t like to say it but I did not enjoy this book at all. When I read the description of this book on NetGalley I was so excited. A paranormal skeptic that entire family believes in magic stuck in Ohio? I was in, but I was wrong. Both Zelda and Morgan are so unlikable, with the latter being a creep that you don’t know the majority of the book if he even likes her. There were so many random side characters and little plots thrown in that I thought it was too much and unnecessary. Also, Zelda always talking down to her niece was INFURIATING. This book also took me forever to read. If it wasn’t an ARC I would have DNFed.

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Thanks to Netgalley & PENGUIN GROUP- Putnam for the E-ARC! Really enjoyed this! Liked all the cozy vibes & the characters. So glad I gave this author another chance!

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Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book. This is book two and in the Moonville series but not necessary to have read book one. The male lead did NOT do it for me. The romance felt blah and not worth my time. I did enjoy the magic part but overall not a big fan of this book. 2/5 stars

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The Folklore of Forever is another easy 5 star read from Sarah Hogle.

At first glance, this book is about Zelda Tempest managing her creativity/writer's block and coming to terms with the fact that she can't run from her witchy ways and Moonville's magic forever. But this book is so much more. It is a sonnet to stories. It is a love letter to reclaiming yourself, owning your magic and the parts of you that have been hidden. It is an ode to the weird girls and a shining example of how when you stop running and hiding away the things you desire, the universe rewards you.

This story is a romance, but in my opinion it is not romance first like a lot of her other books. Zelda truly has to "find herself" before she is open to the MMC love interest. BUT, the romance in this is one of my favorites from Sarah Hogle. Morgan is truly crafted in a lab for Zelda. He is funny and charismatic. I ADORE a story where the girl is an odd duck and the man is in love with it. He just gets her. Truly, to be loved is to be seen.

The whole book is enchanting from the beginning, but once they got into the woods I could not put it down. I was laughing out loud in every chapter, and literally crying during the arc of finding Hither again.

Word association: when I hear the word Magic, I will think of this book.
No one does magical realism & whimsy rom-coms like Sarah.
I am on pins and needles waiting for the announcement of Luna Tempest's book.

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It is with a heavy, heavy heart that I DNF this book. I absolutely LOVE Sarah Hogle - she's my favorite romance author and she hasn't let me down once. Until now. I am putting this one down BUT I will be purchasing a final copy and giving it another go because I can't give up on Sarah that easily!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

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Such a cute and whimsical read! I finished this book in one sitting, I am a sucker for witchy rom coms and this one is pretty high on the list!

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I have been a Sarah Hogle fan since "You Deserve Each Other" left me laughing, crying, and rooting for Naomi and Nicholas to find their way back to each other. I have enjoyed every one of Sarah's books and won't let this novel deter me from picking up Luna's book but I really didn't enjoy this one. Morgan was immediately unlikeable and wasn't written in a way where I felt like he had earned any redemption. It was a slow burn, but we really didn't get much insight into what made Zelda begin to trust him and what actually made them fall in love. While the story was chock-full of Sarah's signature silliness and wit, at times it felt over the top to the point of making the story difficult to follow. This was especially true as the story dove deeper into the magical subplot and with the forest scenes til the end.

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📖 Book Review 📖 Do you believe in magic and ghosts? What if you are an author who writes paranormal without actually believing in it? While Moonville is rich in legend and lore, Zelda just cannot wrap her mind around the possibility that it is all real. Sarah Fogle delivers a deep dive into what happens when the unexplainable becomes all too real…

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Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for providing me an early ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book, I really did. But unfortunately, I just could not get into it and DNFed it at about 50% of the way through.

WHAT I LOVED:
- Weirdness - This book has very eccentric characters and I loved how odd the whole town was and how each character had their own eccentricities. Their unique personalities, dress, and oddities helped the book have a more charming, relatable tone and added a layer of coziness to the story.
- Zelda - Zelda was such an interesting character and I really loved her. She’s a bit macabre, sarcastic, witty, and has a kind heart. I particularly loved the auction scene and how she just fully puts herself out there authentically, with her 1800s style dress and dark aesthetic. She’s quite brave and confident, which is awesome to read. She had an April Ludgate feel to her a bit, which I really loved, and it endeared me to her.
- Banter - The dialogue and back and forth between the characters felt realistic and I liked the sarcasm, particularly from Zelda in responses to other characters. Zelda and Morgan had some great back-and-forth moments, and I won’t lie, there were several scenes where I laughed out loud at Morgan’s dialogue because some of his responses were just ridiculous in a larger-than-life comedic way that endeared me to the character (in those moments, at least). I also appreciated Gilda, as much as she was kind of cast as a menace, because she just added some fun dialogue to the story and was well-written. She was also quite funny at times, if a bit insufferable lol.

WHAT I LIKED:
- The Town - The lore of the town, its layout, and its magical feel was pretty interesting to read about and I enjoyed how the town almost became another character in the story.
- The Sisters - I quite liked Romina and Luna. They don’t think the same way as Zelda, but they still love her a lot and show up for her in several ways that I appreciated. They check in on her, ask her opinion, and Luna always tries to remind Romina to be civil when arguing with Zelda and that they can have different opinions, but still love each other, which I like.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
- Morgan - I have to be honest. I wanted to like him. I really did. He’s a very childish, immature, chaotic MMC with ADHD tendencies and he had potential to be sweet and endearing. But I had some problems with him I just couldn’t put aside. First, when we first meet him in the story, he gives major creepy watcher-stalker vibes with the dialogue and the window scene. It’s just very off-putting and I immediately wanted to put the book down upon that introduction, but I kept going anyway. Had I not gotten this book from NetGalley, I probably wouldn’t have continued since that really creeped me out. I am glad I didn’t, since Morgan does grow on you after a time and you learn he’s not harmful. But it wasn’t the best introduction. As other reviewers mentioned, Morgan comes off as a user and doesn’t treat the FMC very well. He comes off as very selfish and even 50% of the way through the book, he’s still acting incredibly immaturely and his interactions with the FMC revolve around his goals. You have the feeling that he would drop her immediately if she didn’t have anything to offer to help him pursue his goals or interests. In other words, if she didn’t provide anything for his gain. He’s not interested in HER - he’s interested in himself and completely absorbed in what he wants to do, not in her or her needs. Not very romantic at all.
- Lack of Romance - This brings me to my next point, which is the romance. I was 50% of the way through the book when I DNFed and there is really no indication of the two main characters ever getting together. It’s more like he’s annoying her and she goes along with it, but is still pissed off at him for being a user. She likes him aesthetically, but other than that once he opens his mouth there is no attraction there because he doesn’t treat her well and he’s childish. For a romance book, I expected more romance to be built up or at least starting to build up at this point, but I’ve really got nothing to point to as a sign that they’re going to get together and if I’m honest, I don’t really want them to because I think she deserves a better partner.
- The Worldbuilding - As much as I loved the town and its little magical eccentricities, the worldbuilding was a bit all over the place. I never really fully grasped the magic system or how it worked - it seemed more haphazard than like an organized system - and that made the story really hard to follow. I also couldn’t see how the paranimals fit into the story. I mean, they’re a large chuck of the blurb but at 50% are a small feature in the story - we see them a handful of times and yes, the plot revolves around them in that the main characters are trying to learn about them, but it didn’t feel fully developed and the descriptions felt underbaked.
- Slow Pacing - I normally don’t mind slow pacing. I’ll admit I’m more of a mid-pacing girl. But the pacing on the story felt like a very, very slow-burn and I didn’t like how the main plot point with the animals took so long to develop and the romance is basically nonexistent at 50%.

Overall, I think this book was just not for me. I would give it a solid 2 stars out of 5. It had potential to be great, but the execution wasn’t as well developed as it could have been. This will not turn me off the other books Sarah Hogle has written because I’ve heard they’re very good. I still have Just Like Magic on my list and will look forward to reading it. If you’re someone who likes chaotic, immature MMCs/love interests as well as slow burn mysterious/paranormal romance, you might love this. It just wasn’t for me.

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I have to be honest I had a hard time finishing this book. It can’t keep my attention and at some point I was more interested in the chapter headers than the actual story. I wish there was more background and introductions so we can connect to the characters more but I think this would be a fun halloween read.

Thank you Netgalley and Putnam Books for this ARC.

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Was it cute, yes, was it my favorite no, did I enjoy it, yes. Thank you NetGalley for providing me this ARC to review!

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I loved this book! I power read the first in the series to get caught up for this ARC, and I really feel like this was the perfect sequel to a cozy, witchy story. I actually loved following Zelda’s POV, especially as she was working with Morgan to uncover the true source of magic in the woods. Morgan really grew on me as an MMC too- his quirkiness won me over in the end. I would absolutely recommend this book when it comes out and I can’t wait to purchase it for my shelves when it does!

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons, Sarah Hogle, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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The Folklore of Forever by Sarah Hogle is a whimsical and imaginative exploration of love, magic, and self-discovery, set in a world where folklore and reality intertwine. Hogle’s writing is lush and atmospheric, with a unique charm that brings the story’s enchanting elements to life. While the book's premise is intriguing, the pacing can sometimes feel uneven, with certain parts of the plot dragging while others race toward a resolution. The characters, though likable, occasionally fall into familiar romantic tropes, and their emotional arcs don’t always feel as fully developed as the world around them. Despite these minor drawbacks, The Folklore of Forever is a sweet, magical read, perfect for fans of light fantasy with a strong focus on romance and personal growth.

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2.5/5

Was immensely excited for another Moonville novel, but unfortunately, I don’t think this was at all comparable to Old Flames and New Fortunes. While OFNF had its faults, I still loved the chemistry between the main characters, dialogue, plot, and setting. This book, however, kind of missed the mark on that. I think Morgan wasn’t compelling enough for me as a love interest - especially the way he was portrayed in the first book. I found myself not really rooting for them as a couple. I also struggled to follow the magical/fantasy or just any world-building parts. I would have liked more focus on the romance between them rather than so much focus on the adventures.

Zelda is a really interesting character though and I’m glad we got to explore her story. Sarah Hogle writes extremely descriptive, imaginative, and thought-provoking prose. I do love her writing, but sadly, I think this particular work was not for me. Although I still look forward to the third one (as far out as that release will be).

Thank you to Sarah Hogle, Penguin Group Putnam, and NetGalley for the ARC.

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A whimsical cozy style fantasy! What a fun read with a magical twist. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to preview this book!

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This was my first book by this author and I LOVE her writing!! I’m very excited to explore more of her books. This did take me a bit to grasp the style of writing though but once I did I realized how creative and funny it was.
The MMC really flirted with the line of being charming and funny vs obnoxious but I did find him charming and funny instead. This book was just delightful and extremely different than anything I’ve read. I will for sure go back and read the other book in this series.

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I love everything Sarah writes! Ive been a big fan ever since i read You Deserve Each Other and I am loving this new paranormal/magical realism route that she is taking. A fantastic follow up to the first book!

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