Oh, I'll be buying this one for my library! An excellent thriller by Sarah Dass, presented by Rick Riordan. Twists and turns, magic in the Caribbean and murders to be solved - a great read!

18-year-old Selina DeSilva’s father is dead, and her mother is in a coma. Living on her own in St. Virgil, Selina makes a living working in her friend’s souvenir shop, pretending to be psychic, and helping people find solutions to their supernatural problems. When a tourist comes to town convinced, he’s being stalked by an evil spirit, suspicious, unsolved murders start happening. Soon, her ex-boyfriend, Gabriel returns to town. Working with Gabriel, she must uncover the secrets, scandals, and other things going on to discover what really happening. Dealing with small town dynamics, trauma, and paranormal threats, can the two succeed in saving St. Virgil? What’s really going on?

The plot is complex, engaging, full of plot twists, and memorable. The world building is well done and draws the readers into the story. Characters are relatable, complex, and authentic. Readers will have a hard time putting this book down. Characters all have brown skin. Readers who like mystery, thrillers, magic, and Caribbean style mythology will want to pick this one up. Recommended for most library collections. Gr 7 and up, 5 stars

Please note: This was a review copy given to us by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial compensation was received.

Voodoo and superstition. Evil entities taking your soul. Very enjoyable and I know kids love Riordan’s stories and titles he presents. Even as an adult I loved this story.
A small island with magic. Murder is on the rise. Follow Selina as she tries to solve her father’s death and her mother being in a coma. At first I was confused on the meaning of the title, but evil awaits.
A must for school libraries!

"It Waits In The Forest" is an electrifying blend of horror, mystery, and thriller that hooks you from the very beginning. The fast-paced narrative sweeps you into a world of eerie forests and chilling secrets, crafting a palpable sense of unease that lingers throughout. Highly recommended for anyone seeking an immersive and thrilling reading experience that will leave you breathless.

As an avid Rick Riordan presents fan, I am excited when a new world lore is presented in the lineup. It Waits In the Forest was one I was definitely excited to read with the chance to learn more about island mythology. Sadly, this book did not reach my level of hope. It was an interesting tale and it was not hard to read, but I felt it was quite shallow in character development, plot, and mythological explanation. I am aware that there is stigma and misunderstanding attached to island lore, so it felt strange that the author really did not do anything to dispel or explain what the characters were dealing with, but rather continued to make it seem unexplainable or grossly misunderstood. If anything, it felt like an angsty teenage story that some supernatural ideas got shoved in as an afterthought. Overall, it was a couple of hours of pleasant reading, but definitely not up to usual level of a Rick Riordan presents book.

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!