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A review by kevinscorner
Sorrow's Forest by Kaitlin Corvus, Kaitlin Corvus
5.0
Sorrow’s Forest was fantastic and offered so much more than I could have possibly expected. On a dare when he was 12 years old, Mackie runs into the mysterious and creepy woods that borders his backyard. There, finds a young boy his age named Blue and takes him out of the forest. A decade later, something has awakened in the heart of the forest, and it is taking children from their small town. Mackie is fearful because it seems like it’s never going to stop until the forest gets Blue back.
Atmospheric, mysterious and filled with dread is how I would describe Sorrow’s Forest. This is a dark fantasy that toes the line and is spilling over into supernatural horror territory. There is just this menacing feeling of suspense and torment threaded throughout the narrative. As the bodies pile up and the small instances of casual violence break out, the forest has magicked the small sleepy town into blissful and willful ignorance of what is happening. It seems like Mackie and his friend Sam are the only ones aware of what is happening while Blue is also hiding secrets of his own.
I loved Mackie. He is a man full of internal conflict and torment where anger, fear, and forbidden desire mix in a pressure cooker that’s threatening to burst apart. Blue, meanwhile, is a character I wasn’t sure how to feel about. The book makes us question whether he is an innocent victim himself or if there is more to him that meets the eye. Their dynamic feels strangely taboo, where they’ve grown up practically like brothers but Mackie’s harboring feelings he isn’t sure is reciprocated. Oddly though, this works in the context of the story and with everything that’s going on. I was on board with it.
Sorrow’s Forest is a dark and twisted fantasy that delivers the atmosphere of a horror classic and carried by a tormented lead you can’t help but root for.
*I received an ebook copy of this book as part of its book tour.
Atmospheric, mysterious and filled with dread is how I would describe Sorrow’s Forest. This is a dark fantasy that toes the line and is spilling over into supernatural horror territory. There is just this menacing feeling of suspense and torment threaded throughout the narrative. As the bodies pile up and the small instances of casual violence break out, the forest has magicked the small sleepy town into blissful and willful ignorance of what is happening. It seems like Mackie and his friend Sam are the only ones aware of what is happening while Blue is also hiding secrets of his own.
I loved Mackie. He is a man full of internal conflict and torment where anger, fear, and forbidden desire mix in a pressure cooker that’s threatening to burst apart. Blue, meanwhile, is a character I wasn’t sure how to feel about. The book makes us question whether he is an innocent victim himself or if there is more to him that meets the eye. Their dynamic feels strangely taboo, where they’ve grown up practically like brothers but Mackie’s harboring feelings he isn’t sure is reciprocated. Oddly though, this works in the context of the story and with everything that’s going on. I was on board with it.
Sorrow’s Forest is a dark and twisted fantasy that delivers the atmosphere of a horror classic and carried by a tormented lead you can’t help but root for.
*I received an ebook copy of this book as part of its book tour.