disclaimer: I received a copy free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

After a devastating plague that swept through Torvi’s home, the only person she has left is her sister Morgunn. When Morgunn is taken by Uther, a flame-loving wolf-prief who leads a pack of wild starved girls, Torvi leaves the only home she has ever known on a quest to get her sister back. Joined by a druid and a band of Elsh artists known as the Butcher Bards, each with their own quests, they set out on their journey and along the way they face deadly dark magic, merry travellers, and murderous wolf-priests.

content warnings: drug use, gore, murder

I absolutely adored Tucholke’s previous novel The Boneless Mercies and it’s grand, atmospheric, and lush fantasy world and it’s dynamic cast of characters. So when I heard The Seven Endless Forests was a companion novel, I was stoked. And while it succeeded in dragging me back into the brilliant world-building and lush writing, it failed in making me really fall for the characters, these characters just didn’t resonate with me as much as the girls from The Boneless Mercies -except maybe Gyda.

The world that Tucholke has created is so brilliantly vivid full of culture, mythology, and brilliant tales of quests and heroics. Like The Boneless Mercies, The Seven Endless Forests is a very slow-paced book with an odd action scene, it was a book that focused heavily on character interactions and their journey and while that worked for me in The Boneless Mercies, I struggled with that aspect for The Seven Endless Forests.

That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy this book, I did, I just wishes I cared more for the characters, who I will talk a little about now. So, our main character Torvi – she’s great, truly she is. What I really loved about her was her soft-heartedness. Throughout her childhood, she was seen as less Vorse – not a true warrior – because of her softer nature. I loved this to be honest, and I enjoyed how this impacted her character arc as well. A good character and a good protagonist. Gyda was my absolute favourite – blunt, charming, fearless, ambitious, and loud. They were truly the only two characters who really stuck out for me. The other side characters include Madoc, a bit of a bore really, Ink, a storyteller who I actually liked, and Stefan – who was someone so bland that I didn’t care about his departure early on in the story that seemed to have a massive impact on the other characters. That was my issue with The Seven Endless Forests – boring and dull side characters.

Another issue I had that I struggled with was the forced m/f romances – truly bland and uninspired. I had this same issue with The Boneless Mercies in all honesty but the characters and the story truly saved that novel- but less so with The Seven Endless Forests. Torvi and Gyda had such great chemistry and intimacy and yet… were paired with the most dullest of men, ughh. Truly a disappointment.

I would recommend The Seven Endless Forests if you are looking for an epic fantasy with a rich world and a long journey to complete a quest.