While A Girl Walks Into the Forest is marketed as a blend of horror and fairytale/folklore, I’d argue it leans almost entirely into the latter. The horror element is so minimal it felt more like a whisper in the trees than a real presence. I spent much of the book waiting for it to ramp up—only to find it never really did, which definitely impacted my overall reading experience.

That said, the Slavic folklore woven throughout is rich, atmospheric, and genuinely enjoyable. I appreciated the main character and found the author’s writing style beautiful and engaging, even if the plot meandered a bit and lost me in places.

What stood out most was the thread of women’s empowerment and the nuanced exploration of the abuse women endure—those elements were handled with care and depth.

I do recommend this for fans of fairytales and folklore-infused fantasy—just don’t expect it to deliver on the horror front. Go in for the myth, the magic, and the message, and you’ll find plenty to appreciate.

This dark, folkloric tale draws you in with its haunting atmosphere and doesn't let go. Valla, a young woman chosen to be the bride of a mysterious count, journeys through a forest rumored to be cursed—one that’s devoured countless travelers. What begins as a hopeful escape quickly twists into something far more harrowing and transformative.

Roux’s prose is rich and evocative, weaving a world where beauty is both weapon and burden, and where its loss opens the door to a far more profound kind of freedom. The novel pulses with Slavic-inspired lore, eerie forest magic, and the sharp edge of vengeance. Readers who enjoy dark fairytales, "good for her" arcs, and gothic revenge stories will find much to love here.

This is not a tale of helplessness but of reclamation—bloody, beautiful, and utterly spellbinding.

I uploaded my review to Goodreads. I will upload it to Amazon on release day.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Madeleine Roux for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for A Girl Walks into the Forest coming out June 10, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really love this author. She writes a lot of different genres, which is fun. I love the mystery and creepiness of her stories. This was a really interesting plot. I thought it felt like old fairy tales. I really enjoyed the characters. I would definitely read more books by this author.

I did ask the publisher if I could get an advanced review copy of this because I have enjoyed this author’s books in the past. I also was in the mood for a good horror story, and the books I’ve read by her in the past worked for me in that way. This is basically a Baba Yaga story, and I guess if I’d realized that, I might not have requested it, with my past experiences with that type of story. I did finish it in the end, so yay me for pushing through instead of DNFing like normally I would.

It definitely has some horror in it, the woods, the Count and the castle she ends up living in. There the family is keeping their father’s corpse sitting in the dining room until a magician/magical person that lives with them can supposedly bring him back to life. The people in the family that Valla thinks might actually be on her side may not be, and those she is unsure of trusting in the end may come through. There are all kinds of creatures as well that are grotesque and horrifying. Not to mention things the Count does as a “gift” for his bride, and even things we learn later when she is fighting back that were done, definitely all count as horror.

For me there was so much of the fantasy world in it, all the long descriptions, the things that take me out of the story. I get it, those are what you get in this type of story. But it makes it so slow for me to get through. Very slow for me to read, so much so that I was ready to take a nap after forcing myself to get through to the very end.

All that said, if you enjoy that kind of fantasy world, that kind of descriptive horror story, this is probably a book for you. And you might enjoy it so much more than I did!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

I really enjoyed this book. A beautiful horror fantasy with a strong protagonist who is struggling with self imagine and worth and how she comes to term with it. I also really enjoy anything with some feminist horror. This is my first book by this author but I’m excited for more!

I honestly enjoyed this book. I wish it didn't have the "Midsommar meets The Shadows Between Us" Not everyone that reads horror enjoyed Midsommar- IMO. Madeline Roux delivered such an incredible and well crafter story of folk-horror and fantasy that took me by surprise. The world building is incredible. I felt like I was reading an old fable. Im excited for anyone that loves fantasy, dystopian and horror to get their hands on this. You're in for a wild ride.

I’m a fan of fairy tales, so I loved how this book twisted those familiar elements with dark, horror themes. It was a gripping read that delivered an unsettling tale of survival and transformation, all beautifully intertwined with folklore.

I think this feminist Baba Yaga retelling had a lot of promise and will resonate with a lot of people, but I personally found it to be a mixed bag. I found the main character kind of insufferable, especially at first--not always a dealbreaker by any means, but it didn’t work for me here since the book clearly wanted me to root for her against the other characters. I also didn’t feel strong emotional bonds between the characters or feel especially invested in them, which made it hard to fully enjoy the other aspects of this book which were really well done. In particular, the worldbuilding and setting both worked well. The forest and the castle were both delightfully creepy and dark, and there were some genuinely horrifying and original details that really threw me (in a good way). I also found the scene where Valla is attacked and her first thought is terror that she’s no longer beautiful to be really impactful. The pacing, especially in the middle, was another issue--I think the scenes set in the castle could have been cut down considerably. The ending was the strongest section of the book, but it took too long to get there, and I still didn’t really feel connected to the characters by the end. In particular, I wanted a stronger sense of who Valla was as a character than I got--she never felt especially distinct from other YA heroines to me. I think part of the issue there was that the book did a lot of telling vs showing, and it felt like Valla was mostly being directed around by others rather than making choices, even through the end of the book. A LOT was attributed to “fate,” which is always a pet peeve of mine, and many of the plot points as the book progressed didn’t feel very “earned” as a result.

I was hooked from the beginning!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

A gothic story about a girl sent to be a bride to a count only to be attacked by wolves... and find out that her new home is filled with other wolves and predators she could never imagine. A mixture of gothic and horror fairytale, the story follows a girl who is known for her beauty who is sent off to be married to a mysterious Count... only on the way there she is attacked by wolves and left with scars on her face.. yet in her new home there are more monsters than she could ever imagine. She'll have to depend on her own wits and strength to survive and see just how far she's willing to go to save her own life. This was definitely a unique gothic fairytale and I did enjoy the vibes of it. I do think other YA readers will have a fun time reading this and I would absolutely recommend it as a autumnal gothic read!

Release Date: June 10,2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | Quill Tree Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A tale that blends gothic, horror, fantasy, and folklore together in a story you cannot put down. I wasn’t sure what I was going to read from the cover, but from the first page to the last, the story was riveting. Highly recommend this book from a storyteller who knows how to weave a story and the best part, the ending was perfection. Thanks to NetGalley for the early release. This is more for a YA audience but still a fun read. (Posted review over a month ago. And for some reason they never stick in the post in NetGalley.)

Valla has spent her life as an outcast in her own village. As a child all girls had a small portrait painted of themselve and sent to The Count. The one he chose would be his bride when she became of age and her going to him would save their village. However as soon as she was picked even her family withdrew from her. After all she wasn't meant to live the life of the rest of them, she was meant for grander purposes and all that mattered was keeping her beautiful.

To get to the Count she would have to travel through the Gottyar, a dark foreboding place filled with otherwordly creatures that are known to kill you as soon as they can. Valla's brother Garret and his wife Maksi choose to take her to The Count but on the way Maksi leaves the path. When she returns she is no longer the woman she was when she left the path, Valla jumps in the path of danger to protect her brother and in the process a creature claws her face infecting her with its poison. Mercifully she survives and is delivered to The Count and swiftly after while she is recovering her brother and sister in law leave without saying goodbye.

Valla's life is nothing life what she thought it was supposed to be. The Castle is dark and rundown and her Count is a mean middle aged man who is disguested by the fact that his bride is not what she was supposed to be. So staring for Valla a true nightmare has begun. She finds heself placed in a room with a cage over the bed, a young woman who calls her dolly and has a bedroom full of dolls in different styles that resemble herself, The Counts brother who seems to be the only kind one, and an odd mystic that believes he can bring the dead back to life but horrifyingly they all still eat dinner with the corpse of the previous Count believing that he will be returned to life.

This place that was meant to be her safehaven has become her own personal hell.

After the poison from her infection has faded Valla begins to feel and hear changes. The Woods are reaching out to her, the children of the forest are also reaching out to her. Urging her to destroy The Count, to wet the sharp with his blood. Strange quakes in the castle lead Valla to the story of BonyLegs a witch that lives and protects the woods. Can BonyLegs save Valla from the horrific life she is being forced into?

BonyLegs or as she is also known as Baba Yaga is not always the savior that some think she is. She may give but she also takes and in Valla's case Baba Yaga has plans for her that Valla will either except or be forced to live and end her life the same as The Counts previous brides.

#AGirlWalksIntoTheForest by #MadeleinRoux is a marvelous mix of folktale and horror. I adore the story of Baba Yaga, couldn't tell you why she just fascinates me. So a story such as this makes my heart so happy and the idea that the forest chooses its witch is even better.

I want to thank #Netgalley for the chance to read an eArc of #AGirlWalksIntoTheWoods by #MadeleineRoux in return for a fair and honest review.

It starts like a fairytale and the path leads to a gothic castle, filled with lies and experiments and unspeakable cruelty. Roux’s gorgeous prose and devious intrigue leaves me breathless.

A Girl Walks Into the Forest is a haunting, fairy tale-infused horror that follows Valla, a heroine who starts off as a naive beauty and transforms into something far fiercer. Her journey is brutal, raw, and unflinchingly feminist, pushing her beyond the expectations placed on her appearance and into a fight for her autonomy and survival. Valla’s character arc is the heart of this story: watching her shed the roles others forced on her and reclaim her power through sheer grit and rage is as satisfying as it is unsettling. Dark, eerie, and enchantingly vicious, this book leaves bite marks in all the right places.

Valla is the prettiest girl in Arylik, a poor village on the edge of a dangerous forest in what appears to be pre-Christian Russia. Her beauty is a very mixed blessing because while it spares her the grubbier chores and gives her more education than her less-attractive playmates, it robs her of friends and closeness to her family. It also means that she will be traded for food and other supplies to the wealthy Count Leonid who lives in a castle on the other side of the forest.
Valla's journey to her betrothed's home is fraught with danger and leaves her dreadfully scarred. The Count is not the courtly lover she expected and her treatment at his hands is worse than disappointing. She is somewhat comforted by friendship with his spoiled and romantic older sister and his handsome younger brother, but they can do little to improve her life.
A Girl Walks into the Forest is a horror story disguised as a fairy tale. I was fascinated by the details of Russian mythology and the conflict between Valla's pagan beliefs with those of her new family.
That said, I found some of the scenes in this book too brutal and the final battle, which involved Baba Yaga and the children of the forest, a bit over the top. Still, Valla is a good heroine and her story should interest those who enjoyed Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver or Katherine Arden's Winternight Trilogy,
I am grateful to NetGalley and Quill Tree Books for the opportunity to read a free advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book had all the ingredients for a creepy, atmospheric read—haunted woods, dark secrets, a protagonist with *issues*—but somewhere between the trees, it lost me.


The beginning? Intriguing. I was ready for something eerie and unsettling. But once I got into the thick of it… it just felt boring. Not in a “slow burn” kind of way, but in a “why am I still reading this?” kind of way. The plot meandered, the tension faded, and I never really connected with any of the characters. They felt flat, more like archetypes than people I could root for (or even hate, which sometimes helps).


The writing style is haunting, sure, but when the atmosphere is doing all the heavy lifting and the story isn’t delivering the emotional stakes—it’s hard to stay invested.


If you’re really into forest-core and slow pacing, you might still enjoy it. But personally? I walked into the forest… and got kinda bored.

i’ve said it many times in many reviews but there is nothing i love more than seeing men get what they deserve!!! start to finish this book was so intriguing and hard to put down once i picked it up. it’s so fun and refreshing seeing a different set of monsters with the use of folklore. the world building in this was so well done. the plot was amazing. the characters (even the ones i hated) were so well done and believable. all in all, the perfect mix of horror and fantasy with women getting their much overdue revenge.

DNF at 33%. I just didn’t care for this one. It was too vague and slow moving, plus the characters failed to engage me.

This was a pretty decent Gothic fantasy with an enjoyable climax and ending.

But sadly, it took way too long (imo) for the story to really escalate and get moving. This is the only reason why it's a 3-star read and not a 4-star read for me. The first 65% was so damn slow.

Despite its very slow beginning and middle, the dark and Gothic vibes were so deliciously creepy that I couldn't stop reading this for days on end. The FMC marries into a family who keeps their father's dead corpse at the dinner table in the hopes that he'll be reanimated? Revived? And then the FMC's sister-in-law casually tells her one day that her own family built a cage over her bed to stop her from sleepwalking.

This is the kind of Gothic vibes that I really dig. I couldn't say no to this weirdness.

After around the 65% mark, things really take on a wild ride. Human torture, creepy undead children, and everything in between. So, if you're into that, you might like this book.

While I didn't love this, I still had a good time reading it. I just wish that it could've hooked me in much earlier and that most of it wasn't so slow going.

Thank you to Quill Tree Books and NetGalley for this arc

The first half of this was very good; atmospheric, original, and intriguing. Somewhere along the way though it fell off a little bit. The pacing changed and the twists ended up being a little predictable.