A Dark Forgetting

MikoOctober 2026

★★★☆☆

🌲✨ 𝓐 𝓜𝓪𝓰𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓵 𝓕𝓸𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓽, 𝓕𝓪𝓮 𝓜𝓾𝓼𝓲𝓬, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓪 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓓𝓲𝓭𝓷'𝓽 𝓠𝓾𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓒𝓪𝓼𝓽 𝓘𝓽𝓼 𝓢𝓹𝓮𝓵𝓵 ✨🌲 <i>A Dark Forgetting follows Emeline, a young woman who returns to her grandfather's home on the edge of a mysterious forest after receiving unsettling news about his health. But the woods surrounding Edgewood are far from ordinary. Filled with dangerous magic, ancient secrets, and fae who lure humans with enchanted songs, the forest has long haunted Emeline's family. As memories resurface and strange events begin to unfold, Emeline finds herself drawn deeper into the mysteries of the woods, and closer to the enigmatic Hawthorne.</i> After absolutely falling in love with Kristen Ciccarelli's Crimson Moth duology, I was beyond excited to pick this one up. I was actually the person who suggested it as our May pick for A Book Journaler's Book Club, and I was thrilled when it received enough votes to be chosen. Unfortunately, this ended up being a rather disappointing read for me. The biggest highlight of this book was undoubtedly the setting. I absolutely adored the magical forest surrounding Edgewood. It felt eerie, whimsical, and wonderfully atmospheric, and I found myself far more invested whenever the story took place within the woods. Honestly, I think the book could have worked beautifully if it had leaned even more heavily into that fairytale-like setting. I also really loved the concept of combining music and magic. The idea of songs holding power and weaving enchantments was incredibly creative and gave the story a unique feel. It's such a fascinating premise, and I only wish it had been explored in greater depth alongside the rest of the world-building. Sadly, the urban fantasy elements didn't work nearly as well for me. I found myself much less interested whenever the story shifted back into the real world, and those sections often pulled me out of the atmosphere that I enjoyed so much. I kept wanting to return to the forest and spend more time immersed in its magic. The romance itself was a nice slow burn, and I did enjoy watching it gradually develop. However, the overall pacing felt uneven, with some parts dragging while others moved too quickly. I could actually feel myself slowly slipping into a reading slump while making my way through this, which is never a great sign. On top of that, many of the twists felt fairly predictable, and I was left wanting much more from the world-building and side characters. And then there was the epilogue... which honestly caught me completely off guard. It felt very random and was such a strange note to end the story on that I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it. Overall, A Dark Forgetting had all the ingredients of a book I should have loved, an enchanting forest, fae magic, music, and a slow-burn romance, but in the end, it simply didn't capture me in the way I had hoped. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 - atmospheric and creative, but not the magical experience I was hoping for.