Title: Into the Heartless Wood

Author: Joanna Ruth Meyer

Review by: Dani Hoots

Rating: 5/5

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Back cover:

Epic, heartbreaking, and darkly atmospheric, Into the Heartless Wood is the story of impossible love between a monstrous tree siren and a boy who lives at the edge of her wood.

The forest is a dangerous place, where siren song lures men and women to their deaths. For centuries, a witch has harvested souls to feed the heartless tree, using its power to grow her domain.

When Owen Merrick is lured into the witch’s wood, one of her tree-siren daughters, Seren, saves his life instead of ending it. Every night, he climbs over the garden wall to see her, and every night her longing to become human deepens. But a shift in the stars foretells a dangerous curse, and Seren’s quest to become human will lead them into an ancient war raging between the witch and the king who is trying to stop her.

*I received this book from Netgalley for my honest review*

Joanna Ruth Meyer does it again! She magically crafts a story with enchanting prose, wonderful characters, and a beautiful plot. I fell in love with Owen and how he wanted to help his family, and yet is drawn to Seren, a tree siren who has saved his life. He knows better than to trust her, but he can’t help but wonder what she is truly about.

The prose for Seren is almost like poetry as she grows and learns more about the humans. She constantly is struggling on wanting to help Owen, but also her loyalty to her mother and sisters. Will she break tradition and help her new human friend, or will she succumb to fate?

The first book I read by Meyer was Echo North and I immediately fell in love with her writing style. This books follows the same style of weaving different folklore and fairytales, and yet being something completely different. I recommend it to anyone who loves YA fantasy!

~Dani