Forest of Souls
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-03-25 12:18:17
- Update Date：2025-09-14
- Status：finish
- Author：Lori M. Lee
- ISBN：1624149243
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Danger lurks within the roots of Forest of Souls， an epic， unrelenting tale of destiny and sisterhood， perfect for fans of Naomi Novik and Susan Dennard。
Sirscha Ashwyn comes from nothing， but she’s intent on becoming something。 After years of training to become the queen’s next royal spy， her plans are derailed when shamans attack and kill her best friend Saengo。
And then Sirscha， somehow， restores Saengo to life。
Unveiled as the first soulguide in living memory， Sirscha is summoned to the domain of the Spider King。 For centuries， he has used his influence over the Dead Wood—an ancient forest possessed by souls—to enforce peace between the kingdoms。 Now， with the trees growing wild and untamed， only a soulguide can restrain them。 As war looms， Sirscha must master her newly awakened abilities before the trees shatter the brittle peace， or worse， claim Saengo， the friend she would die for。
Sirscha Ashwyn comes from nothing， but she’s intent on becoming something。 After years of training to become the queen’s next royal spy， her plans are derailed when shamans attack and kill her best friend Saengo。
And then Sirscha， somehow， restores Saengo to life。
Unveiled as the first soulguide in living memory， Sirscha is summoned to the domain of the Spider King。 For centuries， he has used his influence over the Dead Wood—an ancient forest possessed by souls—to enforce peace between the kingdoms。 Now， with the trees growing wild and untamed， only a soulguide can restrain them。 As war looms， Sirscha must master her newly awakened abilities before the trees shatter the brittle peace， or worse， claim Saengo， the friend she would die for。
Reviews
Z
，
i cant believe i binged this and then the ending Happened and theres nothing to do but wait for the next book？？？？？？？？？？
Margrieta
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I'VE LOST MY SLEEP over this book。 😭 “Once， I’d been convinced that to be anything of worth， I needed to be the Queen’s Shadow。”“I’m only a girl with no true name， and I have once lived up to anyone’s expectations， except in dissapointments。”For the past four years Sirscha trains to be the Queens Shadow。 It’s all she dreams about， since she is an orphan， with no heritage and no name。 Trying to overcome her competitor she sneaks in the secretly arranged meeting， that turns her world upside down a I'VE LOST MY SLEEP over this book。 😭 “Once， I’d been convinced that to be anything of worth， I needed to be the Queen’s Shadow。”“I’m only a girl with no true name， and I have once lived up to anyone’s expectations， except in dissapointments。”For the past four years Sirscha trains to be the Queens Shadow。 It’s all she dreams about， since she is an orphan， with no heritage and no name。 Trying to overcome her competitor she sneaks in the secretly arranged meeting， that turns her world upside down and destroys all her dreams and things she was looking for。 She gets involved with Shamans that she was trained to hate and that were meant to be her enemies。。。 This book is brilliant from all the aspects of YA fantasy。 The world is so beautiful， complex， based on old tales， and we all know， each tribe， nation， sees things only from their perspective。 Sirscha makes friends， enemies， encounters loses， encounters challenges that she has to overcome。 Discovers her powers， discovers that everything she knows， everything she was told is not like it seems。This book is full of secrets， beautiful characters。 Troll bones that contain magic power？ Oh， and prince Theyen。。。 He’s definitely my favourite character of this story。 People that loved “The cruel Prince” trilogy by Holly Black， and Sarah J Maas trilogy “The court of thorns and roses” will definitely fall in love with this story。 Oh， by the way， author has announced that it will be trilogy。。。 。。。more
Taryn Robinson-Jones
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I’m blown away。 I have never read a fantasy book that book ever （ but then again I haven’t read that many fantasy books）。 I am speechless and amazed。 I want to read the second book like right now
Katie Collupy
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Absolutely amazing！ I had low expectations and that made this a great read！ I fell in love with the characters， and the main character gave me Celaena vibes。 Very interesting world with shaman magic。 I’m excited to see where this series is going！
Becki
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*3。5 stars
Dorothy
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Hmmm so。。。 I didn't like this as much as I wanted to， but I liked it nonetheless， definitely liked it enough to want to read the sequel。 3-3。5 stars then？ Full review to come！ Hmmm so。。。 I didn't like this as much as I wanted to， but I liked it nonetheless， definitely liked it enough to want to read the sequel。 3-3。5 stars then？ Full review to come！ 。。。more
Barrett Brassfield
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Fun fantasy novel with an interesting world build。 I was drawn to the title initially and there is indeed a forest of souls that is just as creepy as it sounds。 Pretty accurate description as well。 I found the main character Sirscha to be quite engaging （Saengo less so） and her fighting skills are nicely described in action by the author。 Ronin the Spider King the ruler of the Dead Wood is pretty cool too。 Plot moves along at a relatively quick pace。 Looking forward to the next volume in the ser Fun fantasy novel with an interesting world build。 I was drawn to the title initially and there is indeed a forest of souls that is just as creepy as it sounds。 Pretty accurate description as well。 I found the main character Sirscha to be quite engaging （Saengo less so） and her fighting skills are nicely described in action by the author。 Ronin the Spider King the ruler of the Dead Wood is pretty cool too。 Plot moves along at a relatively quick pace。 Looking forward to the next volume in the series。 。。。more
Kenzie Mills
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Eh。。
C
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4/5 stars [Modified review from my reading journal]This is the most solid intro to a fantasy series I've read in a while。 The world building was excellent， detailed but not over complicated， despite all the magic and unfamiliar words and concepts。 I respect the lack of romance， but I do think the book lacked character development and that a strong relationship sub-plot could have fixed this。 I finished this book a couple of weeks ago now and I realise that it was somewhat forgettable， but I enjo 4/5 stars [Modified review from my reading journal]This is the most solid intro to a fantasy series I've read in a while。 The world building was excellent， detailed but not over complicated， despite all the magic and unfamiliar words and concepts。 I respect the lack of romance， but I do think the book lacked character development and that a strong relationship sub-plot could have fixed this。 I finished this book a couple of weeks ago now and I realise that it was somewhat forgettable， but I enjoyed it so I think i might reread it before I have to return it to the library at the end of the month （it was a relatively quick read anyway， and I have access to the audiobook）。Lastly， Sirsha travels quite about in this book and it would have been really nice if there was a map。 Especially because they kept referring to things being North or East or whatever， and I know the territories' placement was established at the beginning of the book， but you cant expect me to remember that， and in addition to that， I would have loved to see the size of the forest in relation to the rest of the world。 I'd probably have a lot more to say if I wrote this review right after I finished the book， but I didn't so this is all you get :） 。。。more
Daisy Hale
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I had some trouble getting into this story for the first quarter of the book because of the paragraphs of exposition。The author developed an intriguing fantasy world， and while the exposition wasn't unnecessary or uninteresting， I would have preferred to see these important aspects of the world introduced more naturally in the narrative， rather than learning about them through exposition dumps。 I felt especially confused about the need for these passages because there is a glossary （that I skimm I had some trouble getting into this story for the first quarter of the book because of the paragraphs of exposition。The author developed an intriguing fantasy world， and while the exposition wasn't unnecessary or uninteresting， I would have preferred to see these important aspects of the world introduced more naturally in the narrative， rather than learning about them through exposition dumps。 I felt especially confused about the need for these passages because there is a glossary （that I skimmed over） at the beginning of the book。 I was happy to see that because I like knowing that there is a glossary so that I can look up terms if I need to。 But then the author still explained a bunch of worldbuilding aspects （that were all in the glossary）， and while I get that with fantasy it's sometimes unavoidable， some things could have easily been omitted until later， or incorporated into the story to make the exposition feel less jarring。 I'm glad that I kept reading though because the pace of the book picks up quickly， and I couldn't put the book down once I hit the 50% mark。 The world is very rich and well-developed， with an exciting magic system， a spooky forest， and an amazing main character who discovers her self-worth throughout the story。 I didn't mind seeing some of the plot twists coming， because they were perfectly set-up and foreshadowed in a way that made sense， and the eventual twists felt natural rather than fabricated just to surprise the reader。 While there were some things I didn't love about this book， I thoroughly enjoyed reading it， and can't wait for the sequel to come out。 。。。more
Jasmine
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I'm not sure what it was about this， as I was so excited to read it， but I just couldn't really get into it， im not sure if it was the book in general or if it was me just maybe not being in the mood for it， as it wasn't that it was a bad story， I really liked the concept， but I just wasn't really feeling any of the characters or the relationships and was never eager to pick it up and dive back into it， and everytime I was reading I was finding myself just losing focus with it。 I did finish a bo I'm not sure what it was about this， as I was so excited to read it， but I just couldn't really get into it， im not sure if it was the book in general or if it was me just maybe not being in the mood for it， as it wasn't that it was a bad story， I really liked the concept， but I just wasn't really feeling any of the characters or the relationships and was never eager to pick it up and dive back into it， and everytime I was reading I was finding myself just losing focus with it。 I did finish a book I loved before this so maybe I was just having a bit of a book hangover but I'm not sure I care too much about what's going to happen to pick up the next in the series。 2。5⭐ 。。。more
Nichole （bookmom4ever）
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3。5 StarsAnother one I find hard to rate， overall it was good。 There a few things that I didn't like but the ending saved it。 Things I liked: the main character is strong and quick witted， the side characters are decent， no love interest， magic， and the ending。Things that I didn't like: info dump， a lot of information is given and it dragged for me， the isn't any real depth to the characters， I hate spiders （maybe this could be a plus it was creepy）， it took awhile for the plot to move forward。 3。5 StarsAnother one I find hard to rate， overall it was good。 There a few things that I didn't like but the ending saved it。 Things I liked: the main character is strong and quick witted， the side characters are decent， no love interest， magic， and the ending。Things that I didn't like: info dump， a lot of information is given and it dragged for me， the isn't any real depth to the characters， I hate spiders （maybe this could be a plus it was creepy）， it took awhile for the plot to move forward。 Overall I liked this book and will read the next。 I am hopeful once the world building is done and the characters have been introduced that now we'll have more plot and character development。 。。。more
Jazmin Luvianos
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I have to admit: the beginning of the book certainly dragged in places。 In fact， it seemed to drag on in various portions of the book causing my mind to wander and me to forget what I was reading。 But it certainly picked up near the end。 The concept of Thiy and the various forms of magic and its people were intriguing。 Plus， I love when books come up with terms for the different kinds of magical people and their specific abilities。The lack of love interest was also refreshing and new as most boo I have to admit: the beginning of the book certainly dragged in places。 In fact， it seemed to drag on in various portions of the book causing my mind to wander and me to forget what I was reading。 But it certainly picked up near the end。 The concept of Thiy and the various forms of magic and its people were intriguing。 Plus， I love when books come up with terms for the different kinds of magical people and their specific abilities。The lack of love interest was also refreshing and new as most books always incorporate this theme into their plot。 Unless you consider the love between two dear friends to be the central form of love found within these pages。The ending definitely left much to be imagined。 One can only wonder what will go down in the next book。 I am currently still considering whether or not I'll be reading the sequel。 。。。more
Azia
，
What I Liked*loved the lore and the horror elements of the forest and villain*not much romance （refreshing）*Sirscha a very capable and relatively likable MC*ending sparks anticipation to continue with the storyWhat I Didn’t Like As Much*relationship between Sirscha and Saengo not developed enough to inspire sympathy for their friendship and dire situation*needed more action sequences with Sirscha at the center to highlight her skills*tiresome bully with no clear motivation*Sirscha as the stand o What I Liked*loved the lore and the horror elements of the forest and villain*not much romance （refreshing）*Sirscha a very capable and relatively likable MC*ending sparks anticipation to continue with the storyWhat I Didn’t Like As Much*relationship between Sirscha and Saengo not developed enough to inspire sympathy for their friendship and dire situation*needed more action sequences with Sirscha at the center to highlight her skills*tiresome bully with no clear motivation*Sirscha as the stand out and hated among her people （even before known to be a Shaman） is cliched*plot construction doesn’t fully support the conflict turnaround in the end*unique magic elements that deserve a little more attention 。。。more
Maipa Lee
，
Forest of Souls is slow to start but it builds up for the middle and end。 I am very excited for book 2 and plan on reading it。 Once the plot line was established， I was pulled in， thinking I knew what was coming。 I was wrong and the book took many unexpected turns， it was thrilling！ Lee did an exceptional job portraying friendship and sisterhood while also keeping the characters longing for community， thus creating an absence of belonging。 The characters were relatable。
Steffi （WynnieReadsAndPlans）
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2。5 stars （rounded up）There was a lot of potential with this book， really there was。 The glossary at the beginning， complete with pronounciation guide for some of the words， made me think we were getting the start of something really good。 Unfortunately， the book fell flat in places。 From the beginning， we were introduced to our MC and her best friend。 We don't really see much interaction between the two， however， so it was difficult to really gauge and connect with their friendship。 The cast of 2。5 stars （rounded up）There was a lot of potential with this book， really there was。 The glossary at the beginning， complete with pronounciation guide for some of the words， made me think we were getting the start of something really good。 Unfortunately， the book fell flat in places。 From the beginning， we were introduced to our MC and her best friend。 We don't really see much interaction between the two， however， so it was difficult to really gauge and connect with their friendship。 The cast of characters was rather large， but I didn't feel that there was really much character development。 You could argue that MC did have some， but that depends on your viewpoint and for me it didn't really work。 As the book went on， I was finding that the logic in some of the story just didn't seem to make much sense - not necessarily to the real world， but to the world that Lori M Lee has built。 I think part of this was because of the lack of connection with the characters。 I couldn't get myself to understand why certain things were suddenly so important to the MC， which I think ties back to the character's development throughout。The fact that it's a trilogy means that the rest of the story might progress better in the follow ups， but I don't know that this is a series I'll be continuing with。 。。。more
Jessica Boesterd
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I loved this book start to finish， couldn’t put it down once I had picked it up！ Finished it in a day because it was so fast paced and full of action！ There are definitely some very sad moments， can’t wait to continue this epic story in the next book :）
Maddie
，
I feel like I should have loved this book？ Like， all of the elements to make a good story were there but there was just something missing。 Maybe I just didn't jive with the writing style， I don't know。 I should have loved it but it just fell flat for me。 I feel like I should have loved this book？ Like， all of the elements to make a good story were there but there was just something missing。 Maybe I just didn't jive with the writing style， I don't know。 I should have loved it but it just fell flat for me。 。。。more
Emil
，
Read half the book。 Incredibly dull， you are being told everything instead of observe events/people and draw your own conclusions。 The characters are flat， nothing makes them "real"。With the description of the book you expect two close friends to pretty much fight the world together and develop their friendship。 There is nothing of that， Saengo is both portrayed as a master archer and someone that needs to be kept safe， so she is essentially put aside for most events。Not once during the first ha Read half the book。 Incredibly dull， you are being told everything instead of observe events/people and draw your own conclusions。 The characters are flat， nothing makes them "real"。With the description of the book you expect two close friends to pretty much fight the world together and develop their friendship。 There is nothing of that， Saengo is both portrayed as a master archer and someone that needs to be kept safe， so she is essentially put aside for most events。Not once during the first half of the book are we given another point of view than Sirscha's， I for one would have loved to see things from Saengo's PoV for a bit。 。。。more
Catalina
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Very standard YA fantasy but I liked that it focused on the friendships and there was no romance introduced。 Although my favorite characters did die sooooo。。
Lance
，
This review is hard for me to write。 This book seemed like it was off to such a great start and around the middle of the book， for me， it fell flat。 I was kind of wondering if it was just the way I was looking at the book， but I don't believe it was。 First major thing is the fact that she never shows any sign of her training or references it， but when she needs it Sirscha can just call upon what she needs to get herself out of a situation。 I know that there are few people who find this a problem This review is hard for me to write。 This book seemed like it was off to such a great start and around the middle of the book， for me， it fell flat。 I was kind of wondering if it was just the way I was looking at the book， but I don't believe it was。 First major thing is the fact that she never shows any sign of her training or references it， but when she needs it Sirscha can just call upon what she needs to get herself out of a situation。 I know that there are few people who find this a problem， but I always like a little backstory "I remember when " and then you can go into the backstory for this or even offer some explanation into why she's able to do certain things。The second major problem I have with the whole book is the fact that her best friend Saengo is supposed to be her best friend， but yet there is very little interaction between the two characters and honestly I do not see them as being close at all and then when （view spoiler）[ Saengo becomes her familiar （hide spoiler）] I was less than impressed。 It is a troupe of the chosen one who doesn't know it， the one who is secretly powerful when they are able to do things that no one else could。 I was surprised at the ending。 I am not going to say that wasn't something that surprised me， but I was less than impressed with the whole book。 I will say I had high hopes for the magic system since everywhere you read a review it's about the magic system and how deep it is and how wonderful it is。 However， the magic system is lack luster at best， the more you try and understand it the less you can truth be told and not in a soft magic system type of way。The setting for the book is one of the few things that I did like， the political aspect I will say is well done and she should be commended for that， however， it was not enough to redeem this book and allow you to look past the major plot holes which are riddled through the book。 2。5 stars for me。 。。。more
Savannah
，
Soooo I picked this up on a whim。 SO much fun。 I listened to the audio book thinking it could be a nice thing to lul me into sleep （and at first it was， with the muffled rain in the background） but after chapter 2 passed I was HOOKED。 did I lose sleep to finish it？ Absolutely。 Would I do it again？ You bet。 Did I order a physical copy to do this？ 。。。。yes。
Annie
，
Overall， it was a fast paced， action packed fantasy fiction where the world building moved at a brisk pace and the level of suspense was well done – it kept us hanging but it didn’t take too long for the explanations。 I enjoyed the interaction and relationship Sirscha had with Saengo and how each character developed throughout the book and how each of them tackled on each challenge they faced as we went along。 It’s one of those stories where the plot is simple and the character development is we Overall， it was a fast paced， action packed fantasy fiction where the world building moved at a brisk pace and the level of suspense was well done – it kept us hanging but it didn’t take too long for the explanations。 I enjoyed the interaction and relationship Sirscha had with Saengo and how each character developed throughout the book and how each of them tackled on each challenge they faced as we went along。 It’s one of those stories where the plot is simple and the character development is well done but not too much happens if that makes sense。 I enjoyed the world， the magic and the powers Sircha has found to develop however I’m not sure whether it’s series I want to invest in and therefore unsure whether I will pick up the sequel。 However， this was a cool and adventurous read and if you are a big fantasy reader like I am， I do recommend you giving this a go。 。。。more
Miranda_loves_books
，
Main character was very annoying， made stupid assumptions that led to stupid courses of action and stupid results。 Honestly not surprised that she’s gotten the kingdoms into an even greater mess。
Katy
，
2。5 stars
Abbey
，
I’m so torn on this rating。 The first 2/3’s of the book was slow and slightly boring， but the last third was so good I couldn’t stop reading！！ I probably would have dnf’d it if it wasn’t a fairyloot book but I’m glad I continued， I’m undecided if I’ll read the sequel yet。 While three stars is by no means a bad rating， and I wouldn’t deter anyone from reading this， I still think it’s worth a read。
CC Sanders
，
See my full thoughts in my reading vlog: https://youtu。be/xMFQdKKZcFg See my full thoughts in my reading vlog: https://youtu。be/xMFQdKKZcFg 。。。more
Rose
，
I felt there could have been something done in making the plots more enticing and perhaps making every character more believable。 Something for me to remember that they are something I should care for， like if they get hurt etc。
Meg Ní Fhlannagáin
，
Review to come。
katie
，
i was tricked by a gorgeous cover。 but i somewhat enjoyed this。// 2。5 stars
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Forest of Souls
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Forest of Souls&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Forest of Souls&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0