* I got this book for review and these are my thoughts*
This book worked so well for me. I gave me massive once upon a time vibes but the early seasons. It also hard a darker twist with the both the forest and the tarot elements. I also really liked the main characters all thrree of them and the various quests that made up the whole story!! I also really binged this book and loved all the subtle nods to fairytale characters!! Def excited for book 2!! ( )

* I got this book for review and these are my thoughts*
This book worked so well for me. I gave me massive once upon a time vibes but the early seasons. It also hard a darker twist with the both the forest and the tarot elements. I also really liked the main characters all thrree of them and the various quests that made up the whole story!! I also really binged this book and loved all the subtle nods to fairytale characters!! Def excited for book 2!! ( )

Clara asks her grandmother, ""Tell me again, Grandmère, the story of how I die." Two cards pulled, indicating her death. Grandmere's readings are always right. Clara knows she will die in the forest at the hands of the wolf.

It's been four years since her mother disappeared into the forest, and many others have followed, never to return. The townspeople are cursed. At sixteen, each resident makes one wish upon the magical book. It comes true unless one tells what was wished. One wish involved murder, which has led to the curse as well as the forest reclaiming the book. A poem tells of its location. Perhaps rescuing the book will break the curse. The town is starving; in hopes of breaking the curse, they send someone into the forest to seek the lost citizens. The forest, however, throws the citizens back. The few who do pass into the forest are never to return. Clara feels that she can get into the forest, so she has her name put in the drawing seven times. When her name is drawn, she's determined to make it. Instead of her name being drawn, Axel's name is called out. His fiancee disappeared a year ago; he wants to bring her home. The forest rejects him.

While out picking flowers, Clara discovers a flower she's never seen. It's a beautiful shade of red. While picking the flowers, Clara fails to realize that she's in the forest. Henni worriedly beckons her back. Clara now has a plan. She will wear the cloak her mother made for her, which is obviously died from the red of the flowers. She makes a kerchief for Axel, suspecting the flowers will protect them. They enter the forest and begin their journey. In the journey, they meet characters from the Grimm Fairy Tales. A few missing townspeople have transformed into these characters, forgetting their real identities. Dangers lies around every tree.

This novel is not for everyone. I love weird, remade fairy tales. They battle the forest as well as the curse because the forest moves. That's why everyone gets lost. When you wake up, you aren't where you were before. Their goals are to rescue Clara's mom and Axel's fiancee and to find the book. Clara can make her wish and everything will be fine. Sounds easy. Alas, nothing is easy. ( )

I love how many fairy tales are incorporated into this story and how each of them is told with a different twist. I am excited to see what happens in the second book, which fairy tales are incorporated, and the twists the stories will take.

Sarah Ovens did a great job narrating this novel and I hope she continues to narrate the rest of the books in this series. ( )

The best thing I can say about The Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie is that it does a good job of recognizing the French and German origins of the most well-known fairy tales. The story itself is good but not great, and there are certain elements that are unnecessary.

I give Ms. Purdie props for her creative take on several fairy tales. To me, they were the best part of The Forest Grimm. Ms. Purdie kept the requisite darkness that makes fairy tales what they are while adding her own spin. They are as grim as I could want, disturbing, and unexpected.

Unfortunately, Clara is too one-dimensional to be an enjoyable heroine. She never grows beyond her mission of saving her mother, and she fails to learn much of anything from her time in the forest. While her motives become less selfish, she remains focused on a single task that is as short-sided as it appears misguided.

To make matters worse, the love story in The Forest Grimm is unnecessary. While sweet in its beginnings, I wonder if it is too innocent for modern readers. Certainly, teen readers have a much greater exposure to sexual content than what Clara and Axel dare to do. Plus, it is utterly predictable and does little to affect the story.

The Forest Grimm suffers from a lack of clear identity. It waffles between fairy tale retellings, a new fantasy series, and a romance. Unfortunately, only the fairy tale portions of the story are interesting. The rest of the novel is too simplistic with characters that never grow beyond their one-dimensionality. The Forest Grimm is not the worst thing I've read, but there are much better retellings, fantasy stories, and romances available if you have a yen to read one. ( )