ARC Review The Butcher of the Forest Premee Mohamed

Introduction

I was given a copy to review. My reviews are always honest and all opinions are my own.    #TheButcherofTheForest #TitanBooks  #PremeeMohamed  #BookReview  #FreeReview #AdPR #Gifted  #ARCReview #GothicHorror #ModernFairyTale  

Blurb

A merciless tyrant forces an ordinary woman to rescue his children from a malevolent magical wood in this eerie, twisted fable. A world of uncanny creatures, deadly beauty, and unthinkable violence beckons…

At the northern edge of a valley conquered by a ruthless foreign tyrant lies a wild forest ruled by dangerous magic. The local people know never to enter—for no one who strays into the north woods is ever seen again. No one, that is, except Veris Thorn.

When the children of the Tyrant vanish into the woods, Veris is summoned to rescue them. Veris knows she has only one day before the creatures in the wood claim the children for their own.

If she fails, the Tyrant will destroy everything she loves. If she is to succeed, Veris must evade traps and trickery, ancient monsters and false friends, and the haunting memory of her last journey into the woods.

Time is running short. One misstep will cost everything…

Review

The Butcher of the Forest is reminiscent of the original fairytales of old with a touch of macabre whimsy you could perhaps expect if Edgar Allen Poe had written Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I adored every second of this novella and in particular the way Mohamed’s writing style was often whimsical and bordering lush that juxtaposed against the macabre of the woods and it’s magical inhabitants.

I was utterly taken by Veris and the other characters in the novel. They were believable and yet well rounded. Flawed. I particularly loved how the story comes full circle as it were with Veris and Eleanor. There is no doubt that the novella is extremely atmospheric, you feel claustrophobic at times, dark and dreary at others but always with a touch of enchantment as well. As someone who loves folklore, folk horror and of course the original Fairytales by the likes of the Brothers Grimm this utterly perfect. I will most certainly be looking into Premee Mohamed’s other work

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