A review by onthesamepage
The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed

dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Never, never, never. It had been drilled into them their entire lives; they had taken in the fear of the place with their mothers’ milk. One more step and you risked falling into the Elmever. Where the other people of the woods lived. And they would not give you up.

There's something immediately gripping about this novella. If you're a fan of creepy forests, definitely pick this one up. I personally tend to prefer Mohamed's writing in shorter form—so far, her short stories and novellas have all worked very well for me, even though I get the feeling there are way more layers to her works than I can pick up. The way Veris's background is revealed to us slowly, with tantalizing hints dropped every so often, was fantastic. I don't think this novella is officially listed as horror, but it falls under that category for me. The author's take on unicorns is probably the most unique one I've ever read. This reminded me of old fairytales in all the best ways. The ending did feel a bit weak in comparison, and some things are left very open, but I would still highly recommend this. 
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