My 5-Star review in entirety posted at Amazon for 'The Forest' by Julia Blake.

The author’s storytelling prowess and larger-than-life characters lead the reader to the lush forest’s edge in the insular farming village of Wykenwode—and through its barrier, to witness the fallout from a curse that transcends time.

A curse the vile entity trapped inside the forest feeds on, siphoning a vengeful evil by feeding on and manipulating the inherent darkness steeped in its targeted villagers. There’s no shortage of hatred, jealousy, envy, greed, pain, anger, and betrayal for the entity to thrive. Until, the forces of good can effectively break the curse.

The boundary line between past and present is blurred through parallel lives, whereby Sally, Reuben, and Jack are destined to fall victim to the accursed fate suffered by their counterparts.

An enthralled reader, I willingly somersaulted from one generation to the next as events unfolded through the author’s use of language, a rich compost of bewitching and evocative descriptions.

Like the forest, this story pulsates with a life of its own, rendering the reader spellbound from the first page to its last. I highly recommend this heart-wrenching tale of magical realism, intertwining past and present. So mote it be!