Review: Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee

Goodreads

“They are innumerable, a forest of souls so ancient that their original forms, whoever they might have been once, have long since withered. They are shapeless beings now, warped by the magic that binds them here, by the decay of long years and their own nurtured wrath.”

Release Date: June 23rd, 2020

Genre(s): Young Adult, Fantasy

Publisher: Page Street Kids

Pages: 400

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

Forest of Souls is a YA fantasy that follows Sirscha, who is training to be the queen’s next royal spy. But after Sirscha’s best friend Saengo is killed by shamans, and Sirscha restores Saengo’s life, she is known as the first soulguide in living memory. Now, Sirscha is summoned as the only person who can confront the Spider King, and in that time it is up to her to master her new abilities to bring peace back to the kingdoms before it is too late.

Review

Forest of Souls is the kind of book where you’ll find yourself reading way more pages than normal in one sitting. When I picked up this book, I just couldn’t put it down. And while I slowed down a bit in the middle, I found myself reading the rest in one sitting once again. The storyline was addictive. In the first half especially, there’s so many end-of-chapter cliffhangers and things you want to learn about that keep you from putting the book down. 

I also really enjoyed the general atmosphere of this book. I was craving a fantasy novel when I picked this up and the amount of detail you get in the world did not disappoint. Some of the scenes in this book were reminiscent of horror settings as well, which I was not expecting but ended up loving. Or maybe, rather, thrilling, since it’s the action and suspense of dangerous scenes combined with chilling settings that made it feel that way. 

One thing I will say though is that Forest of Souls is not intensely character-driven. While there’s a lot of action and plot expected in this fantasy, I was anticipating more in terms of Sirscha’s character and seeing more of her thoughts and emotions. This could be up to personal preference, as many people do when it comes to character-driven vs. plot-driven stories. However, I do think that adding more of these elements to the story would have strengthened the novel further. In the end it didn’t actually bother me too much, despite the fact that I do very much like to see strong character development and emotions front-and-center. But the lack thereof here didn’t impact me so much, and I think a lot of that has to do with balancing the exploration of other concepts as well as the central storyline in this book. 

I also like how Forest of Souls took a different direction than what I expected. With so many books I see the storyline where a character discovers they have this power, then there’s a training montage, then they save the day. And I know a lot of people would have loved to see more of Sirscha’s training, but for me personally, I like the direction this story took. The book could have gone through a “chosen one” storyline, but instead, it was more about adapting to the new circumstances and finding answers. But also saving the day, too. 

So all in all, I liked reading Forest of Souls. It’s definitely an addicting read, and I’d recommend it to those looking for plot-centered fantasy stories. I’m looking forward to reading book 2 once it’s out!