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umairah's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
Forest of Souls was a magical read about the strength of friendship and developing self worth. It was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I really liked it!
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Writing: 4/5
The main character was Sirscha, a spy-in-training who discovers she is the first soulguide in living memory and the only one capable of restraining the vicious, dangerous Dead Wood. I loved her uncompromising fierceness, skill and strength- she was a force that you definitely would not want to be on the wrong side of!
No matter how hard Sirscha trained and how skilled she became most people never saw any value in her because of her low station. This resulted in a fear of never being enough and a desire to be worthy and seek external validation that drove her every action. These fears, of failure and disappointing those around us, are something I think that many people can relate to and it's amazing seeing Sirscha start to realise that her worth isn't tied to what others think of her.
Another key aspect of this novel was unconditional friendship. I've never seen a YA fantasy that puts a friendship front and centre instead of a romance and it was a beautiful thing to behold. Saengo was Sirscha's best friend and despite their differences, especially in rank, they were inseparable and would do anything for each other. Through all the trials and tribulations their friendship stood firm where others would have wavered and it gave them the strength to keep fighting for each other. My only wish is that Saengo gets more of an active role in the next book because I really would have liked to see more of her in action.
I've always been intrigued by magic systems in books and the system in Forest of Souls was one of the most interesting I've ever seen. The author has said that it was inspired by Hmong shamanism and it had a heavy emphasis on spirits and souls as the source of magic. It also had an elemental aspect with the five Shamanic Callings being fire, water, earth, wind and light. Separate to this there were also the Shadowblessed who could manipulate shadows. I loved how well fleshed out the system was and the fact that spirit familiars were necessary to channel the magic was probably my favourite part of it.
I loved the Dead Wood, the chilling forest of souls referenced by the title, as it was so morbid and visceral while also serving as a symbol for how hatred can endure and power can corrupt even the most well intentioned person. A large chunk of the book was spent in the Dead Wood and its surroundings which was great but I hope too see much more of the world in the sequel. Overall, Forest of Souls was a brilliant YA fantasy novel that is beautiful both inside and out.
Thank you to Page Street Kids for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Forest of Souls was a magical read about the strength of friendship and developing self worth. It was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I really liked it!
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Writing: 4/5
The main character was Sirscha, a spy-in-training who discovers she is the first soulguide in living memory and the only one capable of restraining the vicious, dangerous Dead Wood. I loved her uncompromising fierceness, skill and strength- she was a force that you definitely would not want to be on the wrong side of!
No matter how hard Sirscha trained and how skilled she became most people never saw any value in her because of her low station. This resulted in a fear of never being enough and a desire to be worthy and seek external validation that drove her every action. These fears, of failure and disappointing those around us, are something I think that many people can relate to and it's amazing seeing Sirscha start to realise that her worth isn't tied to what others think of her.
Another key aspect of this novel was unconditional friendship. I've never seen a YA fantasy that puts a friendship front and centre instead of a romance and it was a beautiful thing to behold. Saengo was Sirscha's best friend and despite their differences, especially in rank, they were inseparable and would do anything for each other. Through all the trials and tribulations their friendship stood firm where others would have wavered and it gave them the strength to keep fighting for each other. My only wish is that Saengo gets more of an active role in the next book because I really would have liked to see more of her in action.
I've always been intrigued by magic systems in books and the system in Forest of Souls was one of the most interesting I've ever seen. The author has said that it was inspired by Hmong shamanism and it had a heavy emphasis on spirits and souls as the source of magic. It also had an elemental aspect with the five Shamanic Callings being fire, water, earth, wind and light. Separate to this there were also the Shadowblessed who could manipulate shadows. I loved how well fleshed out the system was and the fact that spirit familiars were necessary to channel the magic was probably my favourite part of it.
I loved the Dead Wood, the chilling forest of souls referenced by the title, as it was so morbid and visceral while also serving as a symbol for how hatred can endure and power can corrupt even the most well intentioned person. A large chunk of the book was spent in the Dead Wood and its surroundings which was great but I hope too see much more of the world in the sequel. Overall, Forest of Souls was a brilliant YA fantasy novel that is beautiful both inside and out.
Thank you to Page Street Kids for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
arapier's review against another edition
3.0
I have two immediate takeaways from Forest of Souls, the first being that emotionally cathartic moments in this book are very spelled out for readers, which I'm not really a fan of. There's nothing to pick apart in those moments. We can take them at face value because Lee tells us exactly what that scene was for without the bother of metaphor or subtlety.
Second, the end of this book felt very rushed, with a lot of material crammed into the last few chapters, presumably so the cliffhanger could make it in. The progress of the plot seemed very straightforward. With limited exceptions, Sirscha met all the little goals of the plot with token resistance, and moved right along.
I did appreciate how active Sirscha is as a character. She has clear goals and is constantly making plans and decisions to reach those. The story is driven by her actions, instead of the other way around.
Second, the end of this book felt very rushed, with a lot of material crammed into the last few chapters, presumably so the cliffhanger could make it in. The progress of the plot seemed very straightforward. With limited exceptions, Sirscha met all the little goals of the plot with token resistance, and moved right along.
I did appreciate how active Sirscha is as a character. She has clear goals and is constantly making plans and decisions to reach those. The story is driven by her actions, instead of the other way around.
sailorlune's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
4.0
I can’t believe I took so long to finally read this! I got the ARC when it was a relevant time to read the ARC, but sat on it, and that was silly of me! Sirscha is such a badass! She is training to be the Queen’s Shadow aka a super spy and is being mentored by a grumpy old lady who will kick your ass if you look at her wrong! On a mission with her fellow Wyverns (aka fellow dragon riders. Yes, DRAGON RIDERS) she and her bestie Saengo sneak off to intercept a meeting that her rival mentee is going to. The tea house is ambushed by Shaman (folks with magic in this world) and Saengo gets a knife to the damn heart. Fuck. Sirscha is so distraught that she somehow wakes up to find her bestie alive again. And she can feel her feelings. And, oh yeah, she accidentally made her dead friend her familiar and unlocked her unknown Shaman power! This gets wild. She has to get out of the kingdom because they execute Shaman constantly, and the Prince freaking helps her escape off to the neutral party in the area, but she has to go thru the GOSHDANG DEADWOOD! A forest full of souls reaching out to grab you and absorb you into its being! Anyways, it gets wild! They meet new people, learn about Sirscha’s rare power and get into more and more trouble and politics! I cannot wait to read the next!
brendalovesbooks's review
2.0
I finished this a couple of days ago. I didn't love it. Here are my not at all detailed notes that I took while reading:
-awkward world building through dialogue
-nothing seems to be happening
-so much telling instead of showing, and I don't know why I should care
-at one point it was like a laundry list of what had happened to the people she had run into
-very little emotion to the story, and what little was there was very repetitive
-awkward world building through dialogue
-nothing seems to be happening
-so much telling instead of showing, and I don't know why I should care
-at one point it was like a laundry list of what had happened to the people she had run into
-very little emotion to the story, and what little was there was very repetitive
lilac_moon125's review against another edition
4.0
Well that was a terrible ending.
I'm just kidding.
It served its purpose, at least - I want to buy the next book. Alright, so this book was pretty good, I really enjoyed it! And I think it was a great story line. A lot of really interesting elements, and I loved the main characters of Sirscha, Saengo, Theyen and Meilek. It would have been great to see more of Queen Meilyr in order to account for just how vengeful and power-hungry she is, but hopefully we will see more in the next book. There were some great plot twists, and oh my goodness Phaut's death. No. Not cool. She was a good character. Also I really wanted Sirscha to be a soulguide. That would have been amazing.
Even better, this book has a library in it! And secret book messages! Kind of!
Now let's talk about Saengo. I have never known a side-kick who had a worse deal. She died, her friend brought her back from the dead - as a half-real familiar, who was tied to Sirscha for life and who was susceptible to the rot. (was that spelt with a capital letter in the book? I can't remember). The terms of being a familiar sound terrible. You will eventually fade away unless you stay with your shaman, and you will not grow and change - I mean, what is Saengo going to do with her life now?
One of my favourite scenes was Sirscha and Prince Meilek's fight scene. I liked how it was described as a dance, and I just love both characters together and apart. I really want more of Prince Meilek, for example, why is he such a well-rounded, reasonable, understanding person, but his sister is... not?
I also was very appreciative of the glossary at the front of the book, especially the pronunciations. It would have been even better if we had pronunciations for the main characters' names though...
I do recommend this book, it definitely was enjoyable. I don't know if you can tell, but I am writing this review two weeks after I finished the book. Don't ask me why.
I'm just kidding.
It served its purpose, at least - I want to buy the next book. Alright, so this book was pretty good, I really enjoyed it! And I think it was a great story line. A lot of really interesting elements, and I loved the main characters of Sirscha, Saengo, Theyen and Meilek. It would have been great to see more of Queen Meilyr in order to account for just how vengeful and power-hungry she is, but hopefully we will see more in the next book. There were some great plot twists, and oh my goodness Phaut's death. No. Not cool. She was a good character. Also I really wanted Sirscha to be a soulguide. That would have been amazing.
Even better, this book has a library in it! And secret book messages! Kind of!
Now let's talk about Saengo. I have never known a side-kick who had a worse deal. She died, her friend brought her back from the dead - as a half-real familiar, who was tied to Sirscha for life and who was susceptible to the rot. (was that spelt with a capital letter in the book? I can't remember). The terms of being a familiar sound terrible. You will eventually fade away unless you stay with your shaman, and you will not grow and change - I mean, what is Saengo going to do with her life now?
One of my favourite scenes was Sirscha and Prince Meilek's fight scene. I liked how it was described as a dance, and I just love both characters together and apart. I really want more of Prince Meilek, for example, why is he such a well-rounded, reasonable, understanding person, but his sister is... not?
I also was very appreciative of the glossary at the front of the book, especially the pronunciations. It would have been even better if we had pronunciations for the main characters' names though...
I do recommend this book, it definitely was enjoyable. I don't know if you can tell, but I am writing this review two weeks after I finished the book. Don't ask me why.
ej_dh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
martareader's review
3.0
Such a disappointment!!!!!
I literally zooned out during the whole book and could tell you nothing about what happened!
It was impossible for me to connect with any of the characters and the plot was too action packed for my taste.
I also felt like it was petty epetitive and all ove the place.
The only good part about it? The intriguing magic system and the friendship dynamics! Also loved that it had no romance.
Don't think i'll read the sequel though.
I literally zooned out during the whole book and could tell you nothing about what happened!
It was impossible for me to connect with any of the characters and the plot was too action packed for my taste.
I also felt like it was petty epetitive and all ove the place.
The only good part about it? The intriguing magic system and the friendship dynamics! Also loved that it had no romance.
Don't think i'll read the sequel though.
nanabookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
At first, the book was a bit hard to get through. As someone has already mentioned, it was hard to understand Sirscha as we barely knew about her or how she was. I do think it would have been better to get to know her better, plus her friendship with Saengo. We know they are best-friends, but we do not understand that bond much. I also think it would have been better to have more training sessions or interactions between Sirscha and Theyen, because his sudden interest in a friendship with her caught me off guard.
However, by the middle of the book I was hooked. I grew to love Phaut surprisingly fast. I LOVE Meilek and some revelations that came with his character.
This is the first series that I read without a love plot in the very first book and I love it very much. It allowed to a bigger focus on Sirscha and her mission and not her interest in someone else. (Still, I am rooting for Sirscha and Saengo
However, by the middle of the book I was hooked. I grew to love Phaut surprisingly fast. I LOVE Meilek and some revelations that came with his character.
This is the first series that I read without a love plot in the very first book and I love it very much. It allowed to a bigger focus on Sirscha and her mission and not her interest in someone else. (Still, I am rooting for Sirscha and Saengo