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ClareR (6225 KP) rated The Forest Grimm in Books
Jun 3, 2026
There are no two ways about this: I love fairytale retellings. I’ve yet to find one I don’t like (I’m also picky). Perhaps it’s because I like the firm sense of right and wrong with no nuance in-between? Or the fact that I immersed myself in myth, folklore and fairytale as I was growing up? Well, whatever the reason, it has stuck 🤷🏼♀️
What I really enjoyed about The Forest Grimm was its pastiche style: as Clara makes her way through the dangerous Grimm forest on the hunt for a magical book that has disappeared from her village (Sortes Fortunae, or the Book of Fortunes), she encounters characters out of fairytales who are as far from helpful as they can be!
These characters reminded me of the original Brothers Grimm fairytales: poisoning, maiming, murder all methods used by the fairytale characters. Clara and Axel (the boy she’s destined never to be with) stick together to survive and discover that perhaps fate isn’t necessarily set.
I really enjoyed this, and I have the second book all ready to listen to at some point, too!
What I really enjoyed about The Forest Grimm was its pastiche style: as Clara makes her way through the dangerous Grimm forest on the hunt for a magical book that has disappeared from her village (Sortes Fortunae, or the Book of Fortunes), she encounters characters out of fairytales who are as far from helpful as they can be!
These characters reminded me of the original Brothers Grimm fairytales: poisoning, maiming, murder all methods used by the fairytale characters. Clara and Axel (the boy she’s destined never to be with) stick together to survive and discover that perhaps fate isn’t necessarily set.
I really enjoyed this, and I have the second book all ready to listen to at some point, too!
Morgan Sheppard (1010 KP) created a post
Jun 5, 2026
The Ninja’s Illusion
8.0
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Book
A fabled illusion performed by a stage magician who claims to possess real supernatural powers. A...
The Sight of Heather
Book
For centuries, the fae folk and spae women of Scotland were feared – and persecuted. Life in...
Historical Fiction Women's Fiction Scottish Folklore
Morgan Sheppard (1010 KP) created a post
Jun 10, 2026
Kyera (8 KP) rated The Raven Boys in Books
Jan 31, 2018
It took a long time for this book to draw me in and even then I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it. I am not the type of person to put down a book if I'm not enjoying it, I always try to finish it so that I have a complete picture. I don't know if my lack of engagement was solely due to the story or the fact that I decided to listen to this as an audiobook.
The two main characters are Blue and Gansey, although they are joined by a supporting cast of about eight others. Blue is the daughter of a psychic, but the only ability she has is to amplify her surroundings. She has always known that if she kisses her true love, he will die. Gansey is the rich boy who goes to private school and has a lot of problems. His school friends also had a lot of struggles. Honestly, that's about as deep as the characterization and development felt for me, most of the times. There were a few scenes that we got to see below the surface, but in general, it felt very superficial to me.
Although the book is set in Henrietta, Virginia it takes aspects from Welsh folklore and weaves them into the narrative. As I am not familiar with Welsh folklore, I cannot speak to how accurately it is done. Personally, I didn't feel like the world or magic system was well explained. The mundane was adequately described, but the supernatural was left with a permeating air of mystery.
While the book followed an overarching plot, it also had myriad side plots and points of view thrown in which was also off-putting. They seemed incredibly irrelevant at the same and didn't contribute much to the story. Some of them ended up tying into the story in the very last chapters, leading me to say oh so that's why I've been bothering to listen to this character complain and grouse for the first three-quarters of the book. But others it seems still had no true relevance to the plot, they just added pages to the novel.
I wasn't even going to consider continuing the series until I reached those final few chapters. I still don't love the book, but I'm curious. The ending intrigued me enough that I will take a chance. I have hopes that it will improve, as so many people are in love with this series.
The two main characters are Blue and Gansey, although they are joined by a supporting cast of about eight others. Blue is the daughter of a psychic, but the only ability she has is to amplify her surroundings. She has always known that if she kisses her true love, he will die. Gansey is the rich boy who goes to private school and has a lot of problems. His school friends also had a lot of struggles. Honestly, that's about as deep as the characterization and development felt for me, most of the times. There were a few scenes that we got to see below the surface, but in general, it felt very superficial to me.
Although the book is set in Henrietta, Virginia it takes aspects from Welsh folklore and weaves them into the narrative. As I am not familiar with Welsh folklore, I cannot speak to how accurately it is done. Personally, I didn't feel like the world or magic system was well explained. The mundane was adequately described, but the supernatural was left with a permeating air of mystery.
While the book followed an overarching plot, it also had myriad side plots and points of view thrown in which was also off-putting. They seemed incredibly irrelevant at the same and didn't contribute much to the story. Some of them ended up tying into the story in the very last chapters, leading me to say oh so that's why I've been bothering to listen to this character complain and grouse for the first three-quarters of the book. But others it seems still had no true relevance to the plot, they just added pages to the novel.
I wasn't even going to consider continuing the series until I reached those final few chapters. I still don't love the book, but I'm curious. The ending intrigued me enough that I will take a chance. I have hopes that it will improve, as so many people are in love with this series.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Astonishing Color of After in Books
Mar 29, 2018
Evocative descriptions (1 more)
Good characters
Just WOW. The Astonishing Color of After is about a teenage girl, an artist, dealing with her mother's depression and ensuing suicide. Part of what makes the book so fascinating is Leigh's constant description of colors. She uses color as shorthand for emotions - her grandmother might have a vermilion expression on her face, or she might be feeling very orange while staring at her mother's coffin at the funeral. Between colors-as-feelings and her insomnia-induced hallucinations (or magic - the book is deliberately, I think, noncommittal on whether some things only happen in her head or not) the entire book feels a little surrealistic. But grief and mourning DO feel surrealistic. The book is amazingly evocative and emotional and I absolutely adore it. This, along with City of Brass and Children of Blood and Bone, are definitely on my Best of 2018 list.
As an added bonus, the author is the American child of Taiwanese immigrants herself. So all the ghost traditions and folklore from Leigh's journey to Taiwan are from her ancestry as well.
This book was gorgeous. It may need a trigger warning for depression and suicide. If you can handle those themes, read it.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
As an added bonus, the author is the American child of Taiwanese immigrants herself. So all the ghost traditions and folklore from Leigh's journey to Taiwan are from her ancestry as well.
This book was gorgeous. It may need a trigger warning for depression and suicide. If you can handle those themes, read it.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Jackie (3 KP) rated Hunting Prince Dracula in Books
Sep 10, 2018
Contains spoilers, click to show
I absolutely adore Kerri’s writing in this one! I loved the folklore added into the story (I think I learned more in this one that I did in the first one) and that we got to explore Thomas’s family history and learn more about him.
I mentioned in my review for STJR that the ending had took me by surprise but that I could go back to add up the clues dropped throughout the book. The ending to this one, however, caught me completely off guard! I knew most of the suspects were red herrings but I hadn’t thought that this character would do what they did! Especially given their reasoning behind their actions.
I also loved that we were able to explore Cressworth some more in this book (the tension was killing me at certain moments) but given THAT part of the ending, I’m hoping we get even more of their romance in the third book. ?
The new characters added were some of my favorite side characters. I’m hoping they’ll pop up in any future books (if Kerri adds on after the third one she’s announced) for assistance for Audrey Rose and Thomas in a future case. These two really do remind me of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson and I absolutely love it!
I mentioned in my review for STJR that the ending had took me by surprise but that I could go back to add up the clues dropped throughout the book. The ending to this one, however, caught me completely off guard! I knew most of the suspects were red herrings but I hadn’t thought that this character would do what they did! Especially given their reasoning behind their actions.
I also loved that we were able to explore Cressworth some more in this book (the tension was killing me at certain moments) but given THAT part of the ending, I’m hoping we get even more of their romance in the third book. ?
The new characters added were some of my favorite side characters. I’m hoping they’ll pop up in any future books (if Kerri adds on after the third one she’s announced) for assistance for Audrey Rose and Thomas in a future case. These two really do remind me of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson and I absolutely love it!
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