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The Way of All Flesh

Ambrose Parry

8.7 (3 Ratings) Rate It

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Edinburgh, 1847. City of Medicine, Money, Murder. Young women are being discovered dead across...

Silent City

Alex Segura

6.5 (2 Ratings) Rate It

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Pete Fernandez is a mess. He's on the brink of being fired from his middle-management newspaper job....

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters, Vol 1: Galaxy's Deadliest

Ethan Sacks

5.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

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Never betray a bounty hunter - especially if it's Boba Fett! Years ago, Valance and Bossk joined...

Tough as Iron (2013)

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Kang Cheol is a legendary street fighter in Busan, who cleaned up his act to care for his sick...

Raven (Raven Series #1) [Audiobook]

Heather Atkinson

7.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

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Raven, loner and assassin-for-hire, finds her reputation tarnished when a rival steals her contracts...

The Reckoning (Matthew Hawkwood #6)

James McGee

7.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

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The 6th historical thriller featuring Matthew Hawkwood, Bow Street Runner and Spy, now hunting a...

Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Phantom Forest in Books

Jan 23, 2020

The author/publisher provided a free copy of the book for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a review copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore do not affect the opinion or content of the review.

So when I sat down to write my review for The Phantom Forest, all I wanted to write is this:
<ul>
<li>Protect this character</li>
<li>Seriously, protect this character</li>
<li>Take them away from Liz Kerin; it's the only way to protect them</li>
</ul>
But uh, that doesn't work as a review (maybe one day). Anyways.

The Phantom Forest is haunting.
Kerin's debut is creepy, everyone. The world here is atmospheric and brings a chill or two, even when the story isn't in the Underworld. In a world ruled by the Coalition where one practicing their belief in gods or superstition results in death, General Simeon overlooks a village with tight control. He keeps the people under his authority by taking a religious ritual where only criminals are sacrifices to one where anyone can be chosen.

I wanted General Simeon to choke on sharp pineapples while reading.

Since her father died, Seycia lives in hiding with her younger brother Miko in the village. It's not long before General Simeon makes her a target and she becomes the next village sacrifice, sending her to the Underworld where she joins forces with Haben.

<h2>Interesting Characters Arcs</h2>
I find myself most invested in Haben's story and wanted to keep reading to find out what happens to Seycia and him as they journey across the Underworld. While The Phantom Forest has a multitude of POVs, most are from Seycia, Haben and Miko.

The story seems to focus on one character with the others sitting in the backseat, undergoing the most development. However, I do feel this is only the beginning, and there is more to come for both Seycia and Miko. Their story seems to stand in the back of the room, but they'll likely develop in future books. I want to see what Kerin has in store even if I only want to protect Haben.

<h2>There are slow moments in The Phantom Forest</h2>
Kerin builds a world and plot that captures my attention from early in the novel. However, there are moments where I felt the scenes were maybe irrelevant and unnecessary. While it was a rough patch to go through, it was well worth it. I wanted to see to the end of the story, and I had a lot of questions that won my curiosity. By the end of The Phantom Forest, I still have plenty of questions, but I'm sure there will be answers eventually.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/the-phantom-forest-by-liz-kerin/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>