I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
A Girl Walks Into the Forest by Madeleine Roux Published by Quill Tree Books on June 10, 2025
Genres: YA Fairy Tale, YA Fantasy, YA Horror, YA Mythology
Pages: 336
Source: the publisher
Format: E-galley
Goodreads
Buy on Amazon, Buy on Barnes & Noble, Buy on Audible
Also by this author: Scary Out There
My Rating:
Blurb:
Midsommar meets The Shadows Between Us in this alluring mash-up of horror and fairy tale from New York Times bestselling author Madeleine Roux, where a girl must embark on a harrowing journey through a deadly forest filled with otherworldly creatures, supernatural forces, and one maniacal villain who will stop at nothing to bring her down.
For as long as she can remember, Valla’s been told her beauty would give her a life most people only dreamed of. So when the mysterious Count Leonid calls on her to be his betrothed, Valla jumps at the chance to leave her small, bleak village. The only thing standing in her way? The journey through the dangerous Gottyar Wood that many don’t survive.
Filled with deadly and cunning creatures, the Gottyar immediately delivers on its reputation with an attack that leaves Valla injured; her face torn to shreds. Barely making it to the castle in one piece, Valla is relieved to finally be safe. But things have changed. Valla’s face is no longer beautiful. And the Count is not happy…Valla thought making it through the Gottyar was a victory, but when she sees what awaits beyond the palace walls, the true battle begins.
In this ruthlessly female-forward narrative that borrows from the best of horror, fairy tales, and folklore, a chewed-up-and-spit-out heroine must lean on the brutality of nature and her biggest fears in order to win back what’s she’s been robbed her life.
My Review
I did ask the publisher if I could get an advanced review copy of this because I have enjoyed this author’s books in the past. I also was in the mood for a good horror story, and the books I’ve read by her in the past worked for me in that way. This is basically a Baba Yaga story, and I guess if I’d realized that, I might not have requested it, with my past experiences with that type of story. I did finish it in the end, so yay me for pushing through instead of DNFing like normally I would.
It definitely has some horror in it, the woods, the Count and the castle she ends up living in. There the family is keeping their father’s corpse sitting in the dining room until a magician/magical person that lives with them can supposedly bring him back to life. The people in the family that Valla thinks might actually be on her side may not be, and those she is unsure of trusting in the end may come through. There are all kinds of creatures as well that are grotesque and horrifying. Not to mention things the Count does as a “gift” for his bride, and even things we learn later when she is fighting back that were done, definitely all count as horror.
For me there was so much of the fantasy world in it, all the long descriptions, the things that take me out of the story. I get it, those are what you get in this type of story. But it makes it so slow for me to get through. Very slow for me to read, so much so that I was ready to take a nap after forcing myself to get through to the very end.
All that said, if you enjoy that kind of fantasy world, that kind of descriptive horror story, this is probably a book for you. And you might enjoy it so much more than I did!
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Glad you were able to read enjoy some of it although not your favorite genre.
I pushed my way through! Didn’t want to start the month out right away with a DNF.
Sorry to hear it wasn’t to your liking! I think I spontaneously preordered this one during the last B&N sale as it sounded intriguing and I love a good horror mixed with fantasy! Hoping the long descriptions will work for me in this one. Sometimes I don’t mind them and sometimes they do tend to put me to sleep if they are too long. I guess we will just see how it goes! Sorry to hear this wasn’t everything you were hoping for. Nice review all the same!
You read a lot more fantasy type of books than I do, so this one might be right up your alley!
This sounds like it has some creepy elements, but its probably not the type of horror I prefer either. But congrats on getting through it😉
You might enjoy it, you do read more fantasy/descriptive horror books than I do I feel. But who knows, it was one I could finish, but I did kind of force myself to just get through it.
Sorry this was a miss for you. You asked about how I do the maps for my travel posts. I use MapChart and just remember to save it so that I can add to it the next month.
Awesome! I’ll check out MapChart!
I enjoy fantasy, but not overly descriptive writing as it takes me out of the plot, too and really slows down the pace. There’s got to be a happy medium. I find the best writers introduce the world in bits and parts throughout the story so it doesn’t affect the pace. This does sound like it would be good. Sorry to hear it slogged on.
That’s exactly me too. I need the world being sprinkled throughout the story and not just paragraphs of descriptions. I slogged through this one and got done though.
I’ve enjoyed a few stories with the Baba Yaga stories in the past, but I think this would be a too scary one for me. 🙂
I love the whole Baba Yaga story, but I think these stories tend to be hit or miss depending on how they are written.
It’s hard when you expect one thing. I love fantasy and have enjoyed Baba Yaga tales.
I mean, I guess I should have expected it kind of to be like this since a lot of the Baba Yaga tales I’ve read have been similarly descriptive.