REVIEW: The Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie

I have received an Advance Reader's Copy of this book through the publisher. This has not affected my rating or review in any way.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for sending me an Advance Reader’s Copy of The Forest Grimm!

Kathryn Purdie’s The Forest Grimm had so much potential, but unfortunately fell short for trying to be too much all at once. I feel that it would've worked well as a middle grade fairytale retelling, but it forces itself into being a disappointing young-adult paranormal romance.

Our story follows Clara, alongside her best friend Axel, as they venture into the deadly Forest Grimm in hopes of finding the Sortes Fortunae (a book of spells that can reverse the curse on their village), saving Clara's mother, and returning alive. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy my reading experience with this one. All of the characters were bland and one-dimensional, some even annoying at all times, and I couldn’t find it in myself to like any of them. I had no interest in the love story, as it felt insta-lovey and came out of nowhere.

The plot, though, that’s the main part that had potential. A mass-fairytale retelling in a dark and magical world sounded amazing, but it just didn’t work. It felt like the characters just kept repeating their mistakes and not learning anything previously only to serve the next “fairytale” character Purdie introduced. Much of the time the plot did not make sense, which was extremely confusing and disappointing, and the writing felt very juvenile. It's almost as if this was originally intended to be a middle grade story, but reworked into a young adult novel.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, as I had heard great things about Purdie’s Bone Crier series, but this one just fell flat for me. I give it 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie will be available on September 19th, 2023.

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