Tag Archives: forest

Review: The Deathly Grimm by Kathryn Purdie

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The Deathly Grimm by Kathryn Purdie

The Deathly Grimm (The Forest Grimm #2)
Kathryn Purdie
Wednesday Books
Published March 25, 2025

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About The Deathly Grimm

The spellbinding sequel to Kathryn Purdie’s bestselling dark fairytale, where our main characters must return to the forest—and its monsters.

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.

Romantic, eerie, and beautiful, The Deathly Grimm is the triumphant conclusion to Kathryn Purdie’s bestselling Forest Grimm duology.

My Review

More twisted fairytales! More Scary forest! And more romantic tension! This book delivered all of the things I wanted more of after reading the first one in the duology. One of my favorite things about the first book was the appearance of familiar fairytales twisted into something new and more like a curse rather than a sweet story that promises a happily-ever-after.

The only thing that I struggled with was the miscommunication between Axel and Clara. Like, I understood that his fixation with finding his dad didn’t mesh well with Clara’s mission to undo the curse on the village. I found it frustrating that the divergent goals went on for so much of the story. However, I can see how that tension worked to isolate Clara and make space for some of the story’s other elements.

I also appreciated the disability representation. Clara describes a spine issue that sounds a bit like scoliosis. She wears a lift in one shoe to make it easier to walk, and someone gives her a corset that operates like a back brace. I love Clara as a character, and I appreciate the representation even more after reading Disfigured: On Fairytales, Disability, and Making Space by Amanda LeDuc, which examines how disabled characters appear in classic fairytales.

Even despite the miscommunication between Clara and Axel, I devoured this book. I think I read two-thirds of it in one evening. It’s a wild ride of a story that cleverly weaves together scenes featuring familiar fairytales. The satisfying conclusion made me want to go back and start the duology all over again.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 13 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. The characters discuss having sex, but decide to wait.

Spiritual Content
A curse draws people into a dangerous magical forest, where they may die or become Lost. The Lost forget their identities and become fairytale characters, acting out twisted stories in a loop. Clara’s grandmother can use magic to appear as a powerful wolf. A spell book offered each villager one wish until a page was stolen.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Brief battle violence. Scenes include brief descriptions of poisoning, manipulation, and torture.

Drug Content
A potion puts others under a spell that makes them act out of character.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride

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We Are All So Good at Smiling
Amber McBride
Feiwel & Friends
Published January 10, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About We Are All So Good at Smiling

They Both Die at the End meets The Bell Jar in this haunting, beautiful young adult novel-in-verse about clinical depression and healing from trauma, from National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride.

Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of clinical depression. When she meets a boy named Faerry, she recognizes they both have magic in the marrow of their bones. And when Faerry and his family move to the same street, the two start to realize that their lifelines may have twined and untwined many times before.

They are both terrified of the forest at the end of Marsh Creek Lane.

The Forest whispers to Whimsy. The Forest might hold the answers to the part of Faerry he feels is missing. They discover the Forest holds monsters, fairy tales, and pain that they have both been running from for 11 years.

My Review

I don’t know if there’s anyone else in the world who writes quite like Amber McBride. We Are All So Good at Smiling came out at a time when I was bogged down with other reading projects, but it’s been high on my reading list since it was released, and my expectations were high.

They were met, if not exceeded. How often does that happen?

This is a weird book. It mixes fairytales and a magical landscape into a contemporary setting, almost like Rochelle Hassan does in “The Buried and the Bound” series. Somehow, telling the story in verse seems to make it even more ethereal. It reminded me a little bit of The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R. M. Romero.

Some of the references feel pretty on the nose, such as a fairy boy named Faerry. There are so many layers to the story, though, so don’t be tempted to take things too much at face value.

I loved the creepy forest and the way that Whimsy and Faerry’s journey unfolded in connection with it. The way the fairytale characters appeared and how they changed depending on what was happening was really fascinating. I also thought exploring fairytales alongside mental health made for an interesting juxtaposition. It made me think of some of the moments in the book Disfigured: On Fairytales, Disability, and Making Space by Amanda Leduc.

All that to say that I very much got swept away in this remarkable, immersive story. Amber McBride is quickly climbing my list of auto-buy authors because she always delivers such rich, thought-provoking stories. If you haven’t read any of her books, this is a great one to start with. If you like fairytales and/or novels in verse, definitely put this one on your list!

Content Notes

Depression, suicidal thoughts, loss of a close family member, bullying.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Whimsy and Faerry are Black and have depression.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Whimsy practices Hoodoo, as passed down to her by her grandmother. Her family are conjures. Faerry is a fairy with wings few people can see. The story contains magic as well as fairytale and folktale references and characters.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Bullies call Whimsy names and hold her underwater. Other characters harm Whimsy and Faerry, causing cuts to open on their bodies. References to Whimsy being suicidal at the beginning of the story and in the past.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

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The Wild Robot (The Wild Robot #1)
Peter Brown
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published April 5, 2016

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Wild Robot

When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is all alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is—but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a violent storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island’s unwelcoming animal inhabitants.

As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home—until, one day, the robot’s mysterious past comes back to haunt her.

From bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown comes a heartwarming and action-packed novel about what happens when nature and technology collide.

My Review

Okay, so I’m probably one of the last people to read this book, especially now that it’s been made into a movie. The good news is that making something into a movie usually helps to motivate me to read the book if I haven’t already. I like to read the book first so that my first experience with the story is in the author’s words.

I picked up a copy of The Wild Robot while shopping for my birthday last year. Near Christmas, I found myself in a pretty fierce reading slump, and an illustrated book with short chapters seemed very appealing to me at that moment, so I started reading.

And from the first few chapters, I was hooked on the story. Really, once we got to the animals and their reactions to Roz, I began to deeply invest in what was happening. I love the way that the simple illustrations convey emotion. My heart squeezed at the image of the robot standing at the top of a tree. The robot holding a gosling while he fell asleep was so sweet.

I love the way the book balances an open look at natural order with a more anthropomorphic one about the value of community, familial love, and relationships. The animal characters include predators and prey, and while nobody gets eaten on scene, it’s referenced around the story’s edges. Roz adopts a gosling and raises him until he can join the other geese. She explores what it means to be a mother and what it means to raise someone well.

I enjoyed the different characters and the way they pull together when faced with an unknown threat or pull together to help one of their own community members. This is a sweet story and a pretty quick read. If you haven’t read it yet, definitely check out The Wild Robot.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
The main character is Roz, a robot. Most other characters are animals.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A hurricane sinks a ship carrying boxes of robots. Some robots get destroyed before they reach the island. Roz accidentally kills a family of geese. The story references predator animals eating other animals. At one point, robots fight the island’s inhabitants. One uses a gun to subdue others.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Wild Huntress by Emily Lloyd-Jones

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The Wild Huntress
Emily Lloyd-Jones
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published October 8, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Wild Huntress

Dive into a lush, standalone fantasy, set in the same world as The Drowned Woods and The Bone Houses, about a deadly competition—perfect for fans of Holly Black and Erin A. Craig.

Every five years, two kingdoms take part in a Wild Hunt. Joining is a bloody risk and even the most qualified hunters can suffer the deadliest fates. Still, hundreds gamble their lives to participate—all vying for the Hunt’s life-changing prize: a magical wish granted by the Otherking.

BRANWEN possesses a gift no other human has: the ability to see and slay monsters. She’s desperate to cure her mother’s sickness, and the Wild Hunt is her only option.

GWYDION is the least impressive of his magically-talented family, but with his ability to control plants and his sleight of hand, he’ll do whatever it takes to keep his cruel older brother from becoming a tyrant.

PRYDERI is prince-born and monster-raised. Deep down, the royal crown doesn’t interest him—all he wants is to know is where he belongs.

If they band together against the monstrous creatures within the woods, they have a chance to win. But, then again, nothing is guaranteed when all is fair in love and the Hunt.

My Review

Well, this is one of those stories where my favorite character definitely got the short straw. That was hard.

However.

This is the first book by Emily Lloyd-Jones that I’ve read. I used to own at least one of her other books, but I haven’t gotten to it yet. I think it came in an OwlCrate box several years ago. Anyway. The writing and the lush, dangerous forest with its otherworldly creatures drew me into the story. There are monsters and other dangers. There’s a cat who is not a cat– my second-favorite character!

As I read, I knew I was heavily invested in the story. When I had about 100 pages left, I hoped it was a duology because I really didn’t want to be coming to the end of the story and the really imaginative world. As I got closer to the end, I dreaded learning it was going to be a duology because I didn’t want to have to wait a year or more to find out what happens to the characters who make it to the last page. (It’s a standalone, so no worries there.)

Even though my favorite character met with disaster, I wasn’t unhappy to follow the rest of the cast to the end of the book. It definitely takes you on an emotional ride. It’s one of those books that draws you close and quietly slips a knife between your ribs. It was really great, though? I feel like I’ll be thinking of those one for a long time, and may even have to go back and reread it.

If you liked The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert or Deep is the Fen by Lili Wilkinson, definitely check out The Wild Huntress.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Branwen has visible scars and an eye that can see magic and would make her a target or outcast depending on who discovers this. Pryderi survived kidnapping and abuse.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild swearing used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have magical ability. Some monsters have supernatural abilities. Characters participate in the Wild Hunt, which has magical rules and is governed by two kings, one human and one immortal/magical.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Graphic descriptions of monster attacks against people and animals. Attacks between humans.

Drug Content
Branwen spots enchanted food and drink while at a feast and avoids consuming any of it. She and her allies share a bottle of mead.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Wicked Nix by Lena Coakley

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

Wicked Nix
Lena Coakley
Abrams
Published October 9, 2018

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About WICKED NIX

Mischievous woodland fairy Nix is up to no good. His beloved fairy queen has gone away, leaving him with a very important job: He must protect the forest from a most dangerous enemy—humans.

When a determined invader trespasses on his territory, Nix’s skills are put to the test as he invents several wicked tricks to chase the sorry fellow away. But when his efforts don’t go quite according to plan, it becomes clear that this intruder—and this sprite—may not be at all what they seem.

My Review

WICKED NIX is the kind of book you can read in an hour. It’s short and the plot moves pretty quickly. I love the way Nix’s perspective differs so much from the human perspective, and yet both come through clearly in the story, even if Nix doesn’t understand. The reader can see beyond what he sees, but the story still stays true to only recording things that he knows and sees from his perspective.

I also enjoyed Nix as a character. He wants more than anything to please the fairy queen, and everything he does to rid the forest of a pesky human comes from that place of wanting to fulfill his job as a fairy. I loved how creative he was with his tricks. It created this back-and-forth with the man in the house that made the story really interesting. I wanted to know what would happen next.

The twist in the story didn’t totally surprise me. I kind of saw it coming, but the emotional parts of the reveal kept it engaging, and I didn’t mind that I wasn’t surprised.

Over all, a quick read and a sweet dip into a memorable fantasy world.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Wicked Nix lives in a forest where the fairies visit each year. They play tricks and sometimes lure children away from their families. Nix doesn’t understand the human perspective on fairies. He believes the fairy queen has left him behind in charge of the forest to keep the humans away. The humans use methods to keep fairies away, too– a ring of salt on the ground around a home, a chain of daisies.

Violent Content
Wicked Nix plays tricks on the human in the forest, but nothing that harms him personally. His arm is bent where it was broken and not set properly after he fell out of a tree.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links which cost you nothing but help support my blog.