blog tour + arc review | forestfall

Forestfall by Lyndall Clipstone

Series: World at the Lake’s Edge #2
Expected publication: September 27, 2022 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Age Range: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Rating:

Synopsis:

Some oaths can never be broken…

The curse that haunted Lakesedge Estate has been broken, but at great cost. Violeta Graceling has sacrificed herself to end the Corruption. To escape death, Leta makes a desperate bargain with the Lord Under, one that sees her living at his side in the land of the dead.

But this world of souls and mist hides many secrets. And when Leta realizes she is still connected to Rowan by a tethering spell, she will risk everything— even her soul— to try and reach him.

Torn between power and love, life and death, Leta struggles to keep hold of her humanity as she falls further and further under the spell of the world Below… and the Lord Under.

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Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tour for choosing me as one of the participants in the #Forestfall tour. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. If you’re interested in the other tour stops, check out the schedule!

trigger and content warnings:

Body horror; Gore and blood (including description of wounds); Discussions of death and grief; Descriptions of drowning and deep water; Drowning-related imagery; Self-injury

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Everyone thinks Leta is dead after she sacrificed herself to purify the Corruption. That is, except for Rowan. Somehow, the magic within still connected him with Leta. In the world Below, Leta had bargained her memories of her loved ones away to stay alive. When she started seeing Rowan, desperate hope bloomed and Leta dreams of returning back to the Above to reunite with her brother and Rowan once more.

Forestfall has the atmosphere of a gothic novel. Since Leta is trapped in the world Below, she explored the eerie and gloomy forest that housed all the dead, souls sealed within the trees. Even Above, Rowan and the rest of the crew worked with magic, alchemy, and blood hoping to bring Leta back. The author did a great job in creating this dark and mysterious setting.

While Leta yearns for Rowan, she somehow is attracted to Lord Under the longer she stays Below. I wouldn’t say I’m too surprised about a tall, dark, and brooding male character deemed as a monster will fall in love with the female lead. There’s bound to be something between Leta and Lord Under, and it was interesting to discover what his motives were and why he made the bargain with Leta.

“Maybe I’m not a soul inside a tree. But I’m not truly alive, either.”

In the Above, Rowan is running himself into the ground. Initially, he was the only one who believed that Leta was alive, and his resolve to bring her home never went away. Rowan is truly devoted to Leta, wanting the best for her, and even understanding that there might be another in her heart.

While exploring this whole new place, Leta slowly gained magic that she had never thought she would possess. In her desperation to find out the truth, she made bargains and sacrifices once more. Leta is determined to go home and she would do anything to achieve that.

If you’re looking for a gothic novel, visit the dark forest of the dead in Forestfall. You will read about desperate main characters trying to find their way back to the other. An inexplicable love triangle with the lord of death. Overall, I had a fantastic time reading the duology.