Forest of Souls is a darkly twisted story with secrets and magic. We follow Sirscha who has to be training with the shadow queen in secret and is hoping to become with queens' shadow one day. She's working hard trying to prove that she is strong enough and the best person for this job. However, one night when things go wrong, she ends up bring Saengo back to life. Saengo is a childhood best friend, and they end up in a few tight spots, and things unfold from there. I enjoy the relationship between the two, I like the witty and care that they have for one another. Two other characters that stand out are Theyen and Meilek. I found the development between these two characters good and liked how things play out between them. But I also feel like we only got to know the top layer of the characters, but seeing as this is a book on I get that. I also like that there wasn't any romance, with some YA books that usually overtakes everything but that didn't happen with this book; however, there are many different relationships that do play hugely into this story.   
The Dead Woods is a place all it's own. Lori's descriptions really painted a vivid place. I felt that I could see and feel what it would be like to be trapped in a place where all these souls are being traped. I haven't read about many places like this, it was one of a kind, spooky! I like how there was more going on than just a scary place.
The culture and magic were inspired by Hmong shamanism, which was new to me and I enjoyed it very much. I can't wait for the second book, hopefully, we get more magic and get to learn more about Sirscha's 'powers'.

With all that said, I did enjoy this book, the chills, and the magic. This book kinda gave me Truthitch vibes, which I loved. I'm looking forward to seeing where these characters go next.