Into The Heartless Wood by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Description from Goodreads:

Deep in the wood lives a witch queen and her eight tree siren daughters. For centuries, they have harvested souls to feed the heartless tree, using its power to grow their ever reaching kingdom of ash, birch, and oak.

Owen Merrick lives at the edge of the forest, mapping the stars for the king in his father's observatory. For years, he has resisted venturing over the garden wall, until one day he must enter the woods to find his missing sister. But one of the witch's tree siren daughters, Seren, decides to save his life instead of end it. Now, no matter how hard he tries, he can't stop thinking about her -- the birch-bright hue of her skin and the way violets bloom in her hair. Every night, he goes into the wood to meet her, and their love for each other grows.

But when the constellations shift, the stars foretell an inevitable war between the witch queen and the king. With Seren compelled to fight for her mother, and Owen forced to join the king's army, they are plunged into the heart of a conflict that seemingly no one can win and that might destroy both their kingdoms forever.

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My Review:

I really loved this book from start to end. I thought the writing and the world-building were absolutely beautiful. I finished this book in a couple of hours. I thought the author did a great job with the descriptions of the tree sirens and the magic. It never felt too block-heavy or overwhelming.

I really liked the plot. I loved that there wasn't a strict good vs evil trope. It was just how trauma and violence can change a person. I also thought the distinction between hearts and souls was very fascinating. I will say this book reminded me a bit of the live-action Maleficent even though this was a twist on Beauty and the Beast which I also enjoyed. No forced cohabitation here. Though honestly, I didn't realize this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling until I read the acknowledgment at the end. I also really liked how the author has the stars play into this story. That they could foretell the future was a fun addition.

I thought Owen was pretty interesting. I liked seeing how his mind rationalized and viewed everything. I also kind of enjoyed how determined he was as a character and seeing what lengths he would go to to do what he wanted whether it involved finding his family or seeing Seren. Even though he was a bit reckless at times, I couldn't help but admire it. Seren was the most fascinating though. I loved how the author wrote her thoughts and changed them depending on how human she became. I thought it was very clever. I also liked how the romance between them wasn't the focal point. It was a great addition and I loved how it played out in the story. I was rooting for both of them pretty heavily.

Overall, if you want to be thoroughly immersed in a fairy tale with a huge twist, this is definitely the book for you. While I have enjoyed other works by this author, this is by far my favorite. It's also definitely now in my top 10 favorite fantasy books.