Legend of the Forest has a really intriguing world and an exciting magical premise that kept me curious throughout. Mia’s village and the mysterious forest are well imagined, and there’s definitely potential for a great story here.

That said, the pacing felt a bit rushed, and I wish there was more time to connect with the characters, especially Mia and Grey. Some parts were confusing or abrupt, but the story still held my interest. The writing style is unique and may not be for everyone, but if you enjoy fantasy with a mystical vibe and don’t mind a few rough edges, this could be a nice read.

Looking forward to seeing how the author grows this world in future books!

The Legend of the Forest gave me such dichotomous feelings as the premise is captivating. It offers a glimpse into a world brimming with magic, supernatural lore, and mystery. Our protagonist gets the opportunity to escape her restricting village and embark on an exciting adventure into the forbidden forest.
Unfortunately, despite the intriguing setting, the execution left me with some questions and commentary.

The first chapter was quite abrupt and lacked context to truly pull the reader in. The introduction of key elements, such as the Old Ones, the trials, and Mia's role in it, felt rushed and confusing. I was left wondering how everything would be pieced together, what the trials were about, and what purpose the characters mentioned were meant to serve in the grander narrative. I feel that what also contributed to this feeling was the frantic pacing.

But let me begin with the characters:

Mia, our FMC, didn’t resonate with me as much as I had hoped. We’re talking about a black sheep of a village who is willing to go against the grain of what everyone else is doing, and this is how she ends up on this adventure. However, the pacing of the story made it difficult to truly connect with her. Maybe, if the plot had allowed more time for her character to develop, I could have related a bit more.

Haddox/Grey:
The relationship with Haddox left me VERY uncomfortable at times, particularly due to the dubious nature of Mia’s consent in certain scenes. For that, I wish there had been a clearer warning about this at the beginning. I disliked him instantly, so the potential for a love triangle didn’t work for me, even though I think that was the intent.

Grey was the equalizer in this book, as the powerful yet gentle giant, he brought a sense of peace to the story. While I enjoyed his character immensely, I couldn’t help but feel that his development and the relationship between him and Mia were rushed. Their interactions, which I wanted to read the most, didn’t have enough space to develop naturally. It was a missed opportunity, unfortunately, as it felt forced and there wasn’t enough room for their interactions to develop naturally. And believe me, I am sad about that because I truly enjoyed his character and their exchanges the most.

These issues left me feeling disconnected, constantly chasing after the plot, which made it hard for me to fully invest in their journeys.

Side Characters:
Many of the side characters felt underdeveloped, and I found myself wondering what their motivations were. While I understand that this was likely meant to highlight Mia’s need to trust herself, it often left me feeling like I was waiting for a plot twist that never came.

Plot Warnings:
There are some disturbing moments throughout the book that made me feel like I was walking on eggshells. There were scenes that felt borderline violating for Mia, and I felt they could have been handled in a much better way. The insinuation of rape, in particular, used as a shocking factor, overshadowed certain chapters for me (I found myself dreading these moments, as I was hoping it wasn't explicitly described).

On the positive side, the worldbuilding around Mia’s village was solid and quickly established. Unfortunately, we were left to piece together information about the Old Ones, their lore, and other critical aspects of the story. It felt like we were focusing on atmospheric details that, while nice, didn’t address the more important aspects of the book, like those mentioned above.

Generally, despite these flaws, Legend of the Forest does have the potential to become a thrilling fantasy story. I hope the author and the team revisit certain elements and refine the pacing, character development, and plot structure, as the potential for something great is there.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Dark Storm LLC for the copy.

I gave it 3.5 stars personally, but im not one to hurt an authors chance of getting their story out into the world. The world needs more books! With that being said, I thought this was a nice read. I felt like quite a bit of the story felt rushed and I really wish there was some extra details and context. I can see where the author is going, or at least where they want to go, when it comes to the storyline itself. It has the makings to be really nice, I just personally think it needs a few tweaks. I think that at least a little more 'fluff' would've been a nice addition to the story. I also think it would help to get more people hooked. I like the storyline as well as the love triangle aspect. I do wish it was more of a show burn, but that might just be my own personal preference. Overall, I think this story has great potential.

As much as it pains me to give any book less than 4 stars because I know how much blood, sweat, and tears authors pour into their work - I could not bring myself to go above 3 on this book. I don't know if it's because after reading the description that I had high expectations, but this book felt like chaos to read. It drops you right into the story with little context and it was hard to follow along. This book could definitely use some more time in the writing cave because it does have a lot of potential to be amazing, but if felt like a lot was missed in some editing/review rounds.

This was a hard read, mostly due to the writing and editing choices to be frank. Emphasis was put on the weirdest things, describing things that don’t matter in great detail, but also with short and abrupt sentences.

The beginning was strange and jolting to read, I was definitely feeling left in the dark, but maybe that was the author’s intention?

Characters, dialogue, and plot choices all felt a little “off”, awkward, and annoying at times.

Definitely not a story I was able to immerse myself in and enjoy.

Thank you anyways to the author, NetGalley, and Dark Storm LLC for a copy.

This book has a fascinating premise and the potential for a rich, magical world. While the beginning felt a bit abrupt and left me wanting more context—especially around the Old Ones, the trials, and Mia’s role—I could still see the foundation for something engaging. Some character interactions felt a bit rushed, and I would’ve loved more time for the relationships and emotions to develop naturally.

That said, there were definite highlights. Grey was a standout character with real depth, and his connection with Mia showed promise. The story has all the ingredients for an immersive fantasy, and with a bit more development and clarity, it could really come to life. I’m hopeful for what this author does next.

I really like the cover of this book! The dark green is so fanciful and pretty. I was pretty captivated by the storyline and the characters are very distinctive!

i've never read anything by this author before and i'll be honest, i'm quite hesitant to pick another one by her.

mia was way too annoying as one of the main characters and i couldn't get on board with following her pov. the make out scene in the first 11% of the book came out of nowhere and threw me way off. i wasn't a fan of it.

the writing style was also too juvenile for me and i was bored most of the time because of that. unfortunately it wasn't engaging enough for me to wanna keep reading the book nonstop.

while i liked the idea itself, it wasn't executed in the best way. the atmosphere of the forest was there, but everything else sadly fell flat for me personally. i'm sad to say that i can't recommend this to anyone unless you wanna try out fantasy for the first time. you might enjoy it then!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dark Storm, LLC for allowing me to read this e-ARC.

The book begins quite abruptly and is kind of all over the place and hard to follow. I think more context was necessary for who the characters were when they were introduced, as well as more information provided to the reader about the background of the Old Ones, the tests, and what their true purpose was. The context and background of the trials/tests is not really fleshed out and I was left wondering what the point of them was and why Mia was necessary to endure them, or why she was the "chosen one" for these tests. The interactions between characters also seem forced and there is no time for the characters to naturally develop relationships with each other in the story. The dialogue between characters likewise does not come across as natural and organic between the characters. Further, the use and manipulation of Mia and her feelings for the characters just to be able to get through the trials really didn't sit right with me.

Additionally, a lot of sentences stop abruptly and there seems to be a lot of grammatical errors that had not yet been fixed at the time I read the ARC, which really distracted me. A few here and there are fine, editors are human, but this was really noticeable. The narration also switches between present tense and past tense, sometimes even within the same sentence which kept throwing me off. For a fantasy novel with a basis in magic, there isn't a whole lot of world-building here and the book lacks the ability to allow the reader to discern how the magic works outside of Mia's village or how/why the lore related to the Old Ones is important. I just don't think I resonated with the author's writing style and it made it a little hard to finish.

However, I did find Grey to be a redeeming character in this book. I think that he was the most well-developed character here. I enjoyed the chemistry between Grey and Mia, but I don't think that they were really given a chance to develop in the story.

Overall, I wasn't really able to immerse myself in the story and I was disappointed because I really wanted to buy into it. Ultimately, I just couldn't; I think the elements for a great story are there, the execution just wasn't complete.

I went into this book with high hopes, but I just didn’t end up being a fan. This was one of the oddest stories I’ve read to date and I spent much of the book wondering what in the world was happening. It kind of felt like a fever dream or a hallucination you have right after waking up from surgery… you know, the kind where you wake up and go…What in the world was that?! There were a lot of scenes that felt very violating, and were hard to read, and much of what was happening felt a bit disjointed and incoherent and we had no ideas why it was happening. The magical system wasn’t very flushed out and we were left flailing as the story flew from one thing to the next with minimal explanation as to what was occurring or why. The reactions from the main characters felt odd and inconsistent and even though we bounced from one character’s POV to another rather quickly, nothing felt like it was adequately explained or described or detailed for explanation or clarity. Unfortunately this one was a no for me.

Thank you for allowing me to read this arc.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. I found the story very hard to get into and follow. I stuck with it throughout hoping to get immersed into the world but it didn't happen for me. Although I do think some people may get into it.

I am sorry. I do t think this book is for me. I tried 3 times and I just couldn’t get into the story. The characters were good, the plot fine. Just couldn’t connect. Whoever I do believe other people will thoroughly enjoy. Unfortunately just not me.

Legend of the Forest hooked me with its premise, and while it isn't a bad book by any means, the author's writing style just wasn't for me.

I really enjoyed this book. The writing was a lot more flowery than I was used to but the chemistry throughout was amazing. I found myself trying to find time to read the book any chance I got to figure out what was gonna happen.

I found the main character very easy to empathize with with and the story flowed very smoothly. My biggest gripe was just not enjoying the very poetic style of writing, but if you liked When The Moon Hatched then this is for you. Overall it was a fun read and I look forward to reading more of this authors works.

This was a fun ride! Surviving in a world of monsters both good and bad, she must figure out who to trust and how she can best survive. However, he keeps distracting her and they're drawn together. Their chemistry was amazing !