Forest of Souls Review

                     

GoodReads:

Sirscha Ashwyn comes from nothing, but she’s intent on becoming something. After years of training, she plans on challenging her rival for the position of the queen’s next royal spy, but she’s forced to abandon her plan when shamans attack and kill her best friend Saengo.

And then Sirscha, somehow, restores Saengo to life.

With her mysterious ability uncovered, Sirscha is summoned to the domain of the Spider King—the only person powerful enough to control the haunted Dead Wood that separates the kingdoms and, ultimately, enforces peace. But the Spider King’s hold of the Dead Wood is weakening, and he needs Sirscha to use her newly awakened powers to obliterate the bloodthirsty forest. As war looms on the horizon, it’s up to Sirscha to learn what she can do and who she can trust before time runs out.

My Review

Guess who has a new favorite MC? This ladyyyyy.

I told you all I was hoarding any slightly spooky books to review for this month so here we are! Forest of Souls

Sirischa was just so interesting and I was invested in her from the start!

The world Lee builds is full of so many layers and nuances that I felt as if it were real and I was the one living in a sort of fantasy world. [And let’s face it, w/2020 anything is possible]

This was such a great story of friendship and the magical culture is BRILLIANT the shamans and the politics of the kingdom versus them is just everything my little dark heart enjoys in the struggles of a new fantasy world.

I said it was a great story of friendship and Saengo and Sirischa were really the heart of this story, there were other players, and they were all so interesting and fleshed out but I definitely enjoyed watching the growth and at times distance between the two girls who work so hard to protect each other. I mean, bringing someone back from the dead has to require some kinda commitment lol.

Finding out about Sirischa’s origins, or rather, a secret that may or may not do with her origins, I was completely floored and hadn’t seen that plot twist coming, especially so early on and thought it was a pretty good way to keep us on our toes!

AND HOLY COW THE ATMOSPHERE! The atmospheric setting was made me save it for a spooky review! The forest was utterly creepy and not terrifying but there was this sense of unease as Sirischa travel through it.

I don’t want to compare this to another book, but I will say that this book had what the other book was missing in terms of meeting my expectations and keeping a darkness to it that still allowed so much growth and plot movement as well.

I couldn’t help though but be sketchy of Ronin from the start and boy, haha, I am not giving spoilers, but, just *chef’s kiss* with all the Ronin plot point bits!

Pacing was great and it was really consistent as well so I never felt the sort of ‘drag’ I tend to feel with most books, so that color me impressed for sure.

My one complaint? HOW EVIL DO YOU HAVE TO BE FOR THAT SORT OF ENDING!! EVIIIIIIL [OH AND GIMME MORE YANDOR]

Seriously, I loved this and enjoyed it so much, I looked forward to every single day of the Fairyloot readalong and didn’t rush through it because I didn’t want this book to end.

4/5 cups of coffee now gimme a time machine so I can speed up to book 2’s release, Broken Web.