Stolen Enchantress: Beauty and the Beast meets The Pied Piper (Forbidden Forest, #1)

by Amber Argyle

A beast. An enchantress. An unbreakable curse . . .

When her little sister is taken by the beast of the Forbidden Forest, Larkin does the unthinkable: she goes in after her. Deep within the sentient woods, Larkin uncovers a secret that puts her in dreadful danger. Worse, now that the beast has had his taste, he'll never stop hunting her. But the forest has woken something inside Larkin; something that gives her the power to fight back.

Magic.

Using forbidden magic will get Larkin hanged. Not using it will leave her at the mercy of the beast's enchantment. But there's a third option; one that scares her more than anything.

She could fall in love with the beast.

Fans of A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY and A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES will be spellbound by the fairytale retelling of Beauty and the Beast and The Pied Piper in Stolen Enchantress.

• ISBN10: 0997639032
• ISBN13: 9780997639032
• Publish Date: 9 April 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Starling Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[inlibrisveritas]

Amber Argyle returns with a new book and a new series! Forbidden Forest is a young adult fantasy series with a rich world filled with intricate lore and incredible magic.

Our story follows Larkin, a young woman who is currently trying to help take care of her family but longs for a life that doesn't require her to be tied down. She's caring and devoted to those she cares for and isn't afraid to place herself in danger if it means protecting someone else. One of my favorite tropes in YA is seeing someone who has toiled and stood strong against others find their own freedom, and Stolen Enchantress does exactly that. We get to see Larkin slowly blossom into someone who knows what she wants and needs, and breaks away from expectation to form her own path. I was a tad worried about the inclusion of the love interests but Argyle directed the story in a way that really makes me appreciate the rather interesting take on the Beauty and Beast story. Denan is also quite the character as well. He's a strong leader who does what he must for his people's safety but remains compassionate and gentle with Larkin and others.

One of my absolute favorite things about Amber's stories is the unique way she includes magic, and while they have all dealt with nature in some way they don't feel the exact same in each series. She makes it interesting each time and doesn't bog down the story with a lot of details, but instead lets the magic system flow into the story naturally. The Forbidden Forest is a character all it's own. With it's seemingly dark and brooding trees that cause those who stumble in to lose themselves both mentally and physically, filled with beasts and dangers. Daughters of the nearby town are being taken into the forest, never to be seen again, and as a result, the forest becomes this an enemy to those outside. But to those inside, it provides safety and power.

I'm really excited to see where this series will go, especially after such a strong start. If you enjoy fairy tale retellings or light fantasy with beautifully woven magic, then Stolen Enchantress is certainly worth a try

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. I received no compensation and all opinions are my own.

[tweetybugshouse]

This story has it all that echoes from my child hood, a magical forest, a pied piper and children who are being stolen. Amber does a great job of diving right into the heart of the story and giving you a little bit of info as you progress through the story. We are introduced to poor Larkin who only failing is she went into the forest to rescue her sister and survived the woods. Now the town wants to sacrifice her when all she wants to is to escape her abusive father but like the she been told by her mom freedom is the chains that bind you and which ones you choose those to be. This is a interesting first story looking forward to the rest of the series.