Book Review: The Deathly Grimm (The Forest Grimm Duology #2) by Kathryn Purdie

Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 400 pages
Author: Kathryn Purdie
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: March 25th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The spellbinding sequel to Kathryn Purdie’s bestselling dark fairytale, where our main characters must return to the forest—and its monsters.

The story hasn’t ended yet.

After surviving the Forest Grimm and defeating the Wolf, Clara and Axel have made it back to their village, the one place they can be safe behind the forest’s borders. But when the forest itself begins luring in more villagers, it’s clear that Clara and Axel have only treated the symptoms of the forest’s curse, not the cause—and it’s getting worse.

Burdened with visions of the past and learning to navigate her fragile new relationship with Axel, Clara finds herself entering the forest with Axel yet again to discover the truth once and for all: the identity of the murderer who caused the curse. As they fight murderous woodsmen with incomprehensible riddles, ladies who will drag you into an eternal dance, and ghosts with the power to wield the forest against them, Clara and Axel realize the stakes are higher than ever. If they don’t survive the dark, deadly twists of the forest once more, not only will they never escape, they may also no longer have a home to escape to.

Romantic, eerie, and beautiful, The Deathly Grimm is the triumphant conclusion to Kathryn Purdie’s bestselling Forest Grimm duology.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the gifted copy.

BETTER AS A STANDALONE.

And I rarely say that, but I mean it this time.

I had a hard time getting through this one because it felt very much the same as book one. Clara goes back into the woods, meets some fairytales that have gone awry, figures out who the bad guy is (who is obvious from the start) and saves the day. Which was practically what happened the first time.

There was also a forced issue in the romance. I think it was trying to add tension, yet it didn’t come across as such. I wanted to love them and that never happened.

It was overall just a dry read. I don’t have much to say because I hardly felt anything while reading other than I was ready to be finished with this book.

Overall audience notes: