The formatting for kindle is broken. I was not able to read. Leaving five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney for the ARC.

The first mystery published by Rick Riordan Presents lives up to the accolade, It Waits In the Forest showcases an island steeped in lore and characters who are more than they seem. Sarah Dass does a wonderful job weaving the threads of a who dun it with the supernatural and loss. It might take a bit to understand the world, but once you’re in, hold on as twists and turns keep you guessing at each character and what you thought you knew.

A Rick Riordan and Sarah Dass collaboration produces a dynamite book? Shocker, I know. This is everything I expected and more. It’s an ancient trope at the heart of the story, but Dass drapes the old “selling your soul” skeleton with plenty of modern dress. There are some great plot twists and one really terrifying underwater scene near the end that only further reinforced my irrational fear of swimming in anything but a pool with a defined bottom.

The Rick Riordan presents series has introduced me to so many new stories from world folklore. This one is another winner.

As terror takes over her town, Salina feels the need her to call on her special ability to discover what is happening. Who is responsible for the horrific murders? Why does she keep having scary dreams that involve her father who passed away a few years earlier. This book will keep you awake at night with the lights on!

Selina has always been treated differently by the other residents of the small tropical isle she calls home. Whispers and names like “witch” follow the teen wherever she goes, and sometimes Selina uses it to her advantage. Blessed (or cursed) with some uncanny abilities, Selina gets paid as a psychic in her friend’s gift shop. When a fugitive from the law comes to her for a reading, Selina and her ex-boyfriend, Gabriel, find themselves secretly investigating a murder. Could the evil act be caused by something supernatural? This spine-tingling mystery had me turning the pages late into the night until I finally reached the unexpected conclusion. Thank you, NetGalley, for a thriller I couldn’t put down.

Exciting, creepy, and great coming of age story entwined with Carribean Mythology. Selina is a complex believable character.

I absolutely adore creepy forest tales, so I knew right away that I wouldn't be able to say no this book. Dass' book lives up to my expectations. I was wholly captivated by Selina, and the Caribbean mythology that is interlaced throughout the pages.

This book is geared more towards high school and young adult given its content regarding the supernatural. It may frighten the younger population.

I enjoyed the read and found that I could not put it down. I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going on and find the twist, which didn’t disappoint. I will say the ending was a little rushed and I would have liked an epilogue for further closure with the characters.

Just a side note: the digital version was challenging to read at first because of random spacing, or no spacing between words, hyphens in the middle of paragraphs, and a lack of structure between the characters talking. These were just editorial issues and once I understood the errors, I was able to read the book with ease

3.5? I’m sincerely conflicted about this one. I think a lot of students will like the island, tropical setting. All the flora and folklore are undeniably fascinating. The legends and forest intertwine beautifully. I like the characters, but, here it is, this is definitely an adult trying to write teenagers. So the characters come off as adults, not as college freshmen. If you put the math of it to this, that means that this book is targeted toward high school juniors. I’m not sure they’ll feel a connection to these fictional ‘young people.’ It totally works as New Adult, I’m just not sure it’ll draw a high school audience, maybe the mystery and romance will save it for teens? Remains to be seen.

From the Rick Riordan Presents imprint comes an eerie story filled with Caribbean folklore, African-derived religious practices and superstitions like Obeah and jumbies. Selina’s mother had the gift of sight and its use made her popular but also feared. When her talents cause a gross miscarriage of justice and subsequent murder of a young girl, Selina’s dad is killed and mom is left comatose. After two years, high school graduation, and a new job, Selina is hoping that maybe she is finally beginning to fit in with those on her island home. But her new job involves manipulating people with theatrical second-sight and very real herbology and a reading goes terribly wrong. Now people are dying and she is having hallucinations of her dead father, the suspected murderer and a creature bent on violence. The drama keeps coming in “It Waits in the Forest” and not only with the mysticism and death. Selina is caught between a new love interest and one she thought was over plus family squabbles and business complicate everything. Dass’ descriptions of not only the island’s flora but of the people, the magic and the mixture of feelings welling up in Selina will create clear pictures in readers’ minds and leave them wondering about who the villain really is and if she will end up with Edward, Gabriel or maybe neither of them! Outstanding climax that will catch all but the most astute reader off guard. With the age of the main characters, the dating scenarios that stop at passionate kissing, the target age for Sarah Dass’ book is likely 8th grade and up. Violence is frequent and often bloody but Dass does not go on and on in an attempt to shock and awe. If profanity was used, it was so infrequent that I did not make note of it. Highly recommended for libraries with high circulation in books with magic, superstition and horror.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC. This teen read kept my interest. I loved the setting and the folklore. Once I started the story, I couldn't put it down. My only complaint was the ending- everything was wrapped up too quickly. An epilogue was needed. All in all, I would recommend this book for grades 9 and up.

I love Sarah Dass and I love the Rick Riordan Presents, so I was really looking forward to this collab. Unfortunately, this one did not hook me within the first chapter, so it was hard to get my interest again while reading.

Thank you Disney Publishing and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Sucked me in! On Selina’s Caribbean Island there’s all kind of lore about Magic and the supernatural. She doesn’t believe in that sort of thing. But since her dad’s death and her mother’s coma her life has changed. On top of which a series of murders has begun to happen. Selina gets pulled into the investigation when the accused murderer comes to her place of work. Now she’ll have to figure out what’s going on and she may just discover magic after all. Beautifully depicted and Sarah Dass paints a vivid picture that will makes readers feel like they are there! I love the mix of a murder mystery with supernatural elements! And the ending?? I did not see that coming! A story about grief and guilt that is as compelling as it is scary! Definitely a do not miss read!

I am a huge fan of the Rick Riordan presents books having read most of them and suggesting them to my students in class. I teach 4th, and most of the Rick Riordan presents are middle grade reads. This one is definitely a young adult read. High school and above for sure!

The supernatural suspense in this was so good and the African legends and myths were so well intertwined into this story. Very fast paced.

The characters in the town besides the MC were pretty horrible maybe to the point of disbelief.

The twists caught me off guard and made for really good story. I enjoyed the plot and the mystery quite a bit.

The formatting on the digital version of this made the book difficult. There was odd spacing between chapters, no spacing between dialogue (I didn’t know who was taking half the time) and hyphenated words in the middle of paragraphs like every- thing. Definitely took some getting used to and needs to be fixed!

As I expected, this book was fantastic! Rick Riordan really knows what he’s doing when it comes to publishing.
Selina is a young woman who has experienced tragedy in her life. Just when she feels like she may be gaining control, a man comes into her work and has her doubting what is going on around her home island. To add to her confusion her ex boyfriend is back and he wants to help her figure out what is happening.
I really enjoyed to story, and the mystical elements really kept the story going!
Thank you Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide the digital ARC!

Absolutely phenomenal. I loved the characters and setting right away but the best part was how spooky the story becomes. The other so easily painted a picture of these ghosts all while weaving the mystery together. It was definitely one that kept me up at night reading.

It Waits in the Forest is a novel based on Caribbean mythology, complete with bargains with an undefined, rarely name creature that trades wishes for lives. The main character, Selina, doesn't believe in the magic that pervades the culture of her Caribbean island, although her mother did - and possibly still does, but with her mother in a coma for the past two years, following the brutal murder of her father, it's hard for Selina to know what her mother would think about current events. Following the attack that left her father dead and her mother in a coma, Selina moved in with her mother's best friend, Muriel at the age of 16; at 18, she's still there, trying to find her way in the world, when a series of murders shocks the island. The accused murderer comes to the shop where Selina works as a clerk and mystic - playing on, but not really using, the magic her mother relied upon - seeking help for the spirit he says haunts him. Because of his visit, Selina becomes caught up in the investigation, which turns out to be far more personal than she could have imagined.

This novel definitely fits in with the mythology theme of other Rick Riordan Presents novels, although compared to the others I've read, it's a darker story, scattered with descriptions of murders and murder scenes, and more appropriate for older teens and adults than middle school students. It doesn't get too deeply into the mythology of the Caribbean, but does get in far enough to give readers a taste. At its base, this novel is a murder mystery, and it does a good job of leaving clues that will cause a reader to say "Of course it was that character" at the end, while not giving the murderer's identity away until then. There's also a fair amount of exploration of friendship and family, as Selina tries to deal with how her relationships changed, both with age and the change in her family life after she moves in with her mother's friend Muriel and Muriel's family.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. This book was a bit darker than I thought it’d be. I’m enjoying reading about the various mythologies from various cultures. This had romance as well as a Faustian vibe to it.

This novel was my first from Rick Riordan Presents, but since I trust that man with my life, I knew it wouldn’t let me down. Sarah Dass is a masterful writer who spins an intriguing web of mystery, folklore, and chills. I am not an avid thriller-read, but everything about this story was thrilling, page after page. That being said, those that read thrillers more often might find the ending of this book predictable, but I frankly did not. Dass finished her story exquisitely, the ending of the novel was truly my favorite part. It was twist after twist and every time my jaw was on the floor. I can only dream of conjuring such a vivid masterpiece someday. I also cannot recommend this work enough for my fellow teachers. It would make an excellent addition to a classroom library, middle school or high school.

Thank you Netgalley and Rick Riordan Presents for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"It Waits in the Forest" by Sarah Dass offers a blend of mystery, romance, and supernatural phenomena set on the Caribbean island of St. Virgil. Selina DeSilva, a young woman ostracized by her community due to rumors of her family's supposed ties to the supernatural, finds herself thrust into a tangled web of murder and dark secrets when a body is discovered at The Amber Hotel.

Dass crafts a compelling protagonist in Selina, whose journey to unravel the mysteries surrounding her past and the recent murders on the island is filled with tension and suspense. The character writing in this book is definitely one of its strong points as well as the setting with the focus on Caribbean folklore, which is something I haven’t really seen tackled in YA literature before.

The novel excels in its portrayal of the vibrant Caribbean setting and its exploration of local mythology, adding depth and richness to the narrative. I absolutely loved the setting, like the descriptions of the forest and the hotel. I could just picture the setting in my head due to the rich descriptions, which added perfectly to the tension being built up throughout the book. I did, however, want a little more focus on the forest aspect, since that is included in the cover/title, and I feel like the author didn’t develop this location as much besides in the ending of the book. I did really like the use of botany throughout the book, especially Selina’s skill and knowledge in using certain plants.

I really enjoyed the engaging mix of supernatural elements and murder mystery as I wondered throughout the novel just what was real and what wasn’t. Additionally, the pacing in the first half of the book was a bit slow though it picks up significantly as the story unfolds. I was not expecting the twist at the end with the mystery, and I was completely caught off guard. That doesn’t usually happen with YA mysteries, so I definitely think Dass created a well-developed mystery where I honestly did not predict the different layers of the mystery. I enjoyed the romance aspect of the book, though it did sometimes overshadow the mystery aspect.

Overall, "It Waits in the Forest" delivers a captivating read with strong characters, unexpected twists, and a tantalizing blend of genres. I think this book would appeal to fans of YA supernatural thrillers and mystery enthusiasts alike, especially if you want to learn more about Jamaican folklore.