Thank you to Escapist tours and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour. See more information and all the tour stops HERE.

Want to win your own copy of Sorrows Forest? Scroll down to see the giveaway! 

“This house is a prison for Mackie. The bars get smaller each time he escapes and comes back. He always returns anyway.”

Publisher: Shadow Spark Publishing

Release date: 16th July 2022

Pages: 300

Representation: LGBTQIA+ (Gay MC), Gender exploration (through use of clothes/make-up). 

Trigger warnings: Homophobia, violence, sexual assault, death, gore, death of a child, memory alteration, Alzheimers, Animal Abuse, vomiting, child adbuction, Drug and alcohol use/abuse, Mention of broken bones. 

Summary: No-one goes into the forest. It’s a rule-the only one that everyone follows, even if they’re unsure why. Blue and Mackie are best-friends, everyone calls them brothers, but Mackie knows something no one else does. He knows that he pulled Blue out of the forest when they were children, and since then everyone has acted like he didn’t just drop into their lives.

The forest is alive, more and more children are going missing and strange things are happening all over town. Mackie knows Blue has something to do with it, but Blue is too busy lusting over his old school bully to answer any questions. It’s only when the devils in the forest start to leave the trees that Mackie realises they’re in a lot more trouble than anyone realised. He has to stop the forest, before it stops him first.                                                                                                     

The trees are alive, and they want nothing more than to have the type of hold on us that Sorrows Forest has secured. 

Horror based on forests is a genre that always seems to hit the right spots. I wouldn’t advise reading this book if you’re planning on being in a forest soon. It’s what I did, and I don’t think the trees have ever made me so anxious. 

The opening is harsh, but poetic and attention grabbing. It had me hooked from the first sentence, and didn’t let up the entire way through. It was also great to read a mythical novel that featured adult main characters. They were in their early 20s and still learning about the world and themselves, which is something that is so realistic and relatable but is rarely seen on paper. I was constantly rooting for both Mackie and Blue, even when they were both at odds and even when they were making decisions I didn’t agree with. I wanted them both to be happy, and that’s one way you know a character is well written.

It’s unapologetic in all the points it makes, and you can tell that the author put their heart into making sure that there are no questions as to right and wrong. The homophobia it provides isn’t just homophobia for the sake of it; it provides a very important perspective that I haven’t seen often in books. Being queer is a journey that is often so hard to accept, and many queer people accept less than they deserve because at least it’s someone. 

Just look at the beautiful artwork below-provided by the author-that shows Mackie and Blue in all their glory.

They stand out like shining stars against the darkness of their town and the trouble that comes with it, but that doesn’t mean we don’t welcome the trouble. When the gore comes, it hits you in the face and you thank it. It changed the entire tone of what’s been happening from mysterious to truly horrifying, and it’s exactly what the book needed. I still think about it occasionally-it’s taken a room in my brain and doesn’t plan on leaving. 

The author has compared the book to ‘The Replacement’ by Brenna Yovanoff-a book that sits on my shelf but I genuinely have never heard anyone mention before-which immediately piqued my interest. Teenage me would be thrilled to know that there’s books out there that fit that niche. 

Sorrows Forest is a beautiful mix of horror and magic that leaves us feeling like we all believe in fairies. Whether they’re good or bad? The Jury’s still out on that one. 

Its shining glory: It’s prose are poetic and haunting, in a way that really brings us the mystery we need.

Its fatal flaw: The tension in the book is a rollercoaster, and so was the suspense. At times

Read this if: You want a fantasy that features adult characters. You like spooky, ever changing stories that leave you with a feeling of unease in the best way.

Skip this if: You don’t like gore, or overly complicated topics. You want adult characters that are stereotypical adults-not ones that are still finding themselves.

This book is the first in a duology. Book two of the series, currently tentatively titled Sorrows Blight, is set to be published July 2023.

Want to win an paperback (US) or E-book (International) copy of Sorrows Forest? Enter our giveaway HERE . Giveaway ends July 31st, 2022 at 11:59pm EST

Purchase the book or add it on Goodreads here:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B469DJX6/

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0B469DJX6/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60891841-sorrow-s-forest

Author Bio & Information:

Kaitlin Corvus is a curator of the weird and unusual. She may or may not be a murder of crows in a trench coat. It can, however, be said with certainty she loves monsters. Toothy and gummy ones. Big ones and small ones. Weird ones. Pretty ones. Ugly ones. Totally benign ones. And especially the ones that crawl into your heart, nest, and live there forever.

Author Site: https://kmariecocks.wixsite.com/website

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaitlinCorvus

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kaitlin-Corvus-1526181161006368

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16455601.Kaitlin_Corvus