A review by ritabriar
The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed

adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is a really excellent story that works because the main character cannot drive it. Veris reacts to what is done to her

and eventually the children

at every turn. The Tyrant's threat works. The Forest tries to kill her in various ways. Rules and deals are followed and broken. Survival is more than Veris can dare to expect. Nonetheless, she dares. She squeezes every drop of power she has to feed that hope. She's also not perfect. She makes mistakes, very human mistakes, and the price for these mistakes rises and compounds throughout the book. 

There is a lot of contemplation about innocence and violence as Veris questions her motives for finding the Tyrant's children and bringing them home safe.

Veris delves deep into the Forest, and yet I feel like we've barely scratched its surface. An apple tree, a fox, rotting carcasses, lost children, a unicorn, so much more. I would definitely want to read a sequel. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Minor: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Stalking, Deportation

Graphically re-animated carcasses Giving up on living, briefly