Read my review and an Extract by EV Knight! on Just Geeking by.

Content warnings:
Stories in this anthology include themes of misogyny, and violence against women, children and animals. Deaths for people and animals happen on page throughout. If you are not familiar with the figure of Baga Yaga I would suggest reading about her before reading this anthology as that will give you an idea of what level of gore, violence and horror to expect.

Specific warnings should be noted for ‘Storks Bite’ by EV Knight which discusses postnatal depression and has a particularly graphic abortion scene which includes Baba Yaga eating an embryo. As well as ‘Maw Maw Yaga and the Hunter’ by Alexandrea Weis which includes a graphic scene where a woman is eaten alive by animals in a lot of detail.


Into the Forest is just what I hoped for when I heard about an anthology based on the Slavic folklore figure of Baba Yaga. She’s a figure that has been portrayed in many ways, from the monstrous witch who eats children, to the crone who helps those in need and wise woman who passes on her knowledge. An excellent foreword by author Christina Henry talks more about the mythology surrounding the figure, and I felt that the selection of stories lived up to the legends. There is something for everyone, with stories touching on all these aspects and more.

Some authors have stuck to a tradition fairytale style and added their own touch to their retelling, while others have pulled the legend of Baba Yaga into the modern world. Some of my personal favourites were ‘The Story of a House by Yi Izzy Yu’, ‘Flood Zone’ by Donna Lynch’ and ‘Herald the Knight’ by Mercedes M. Yardley. It was interesting to see how each author interpreted Baba Yaga, but do be warned; while there are stories of fantasy, magic and fairytale in this anthology the darker side of Baba Yaga has not been forgotten. There are tales of horror that will leave you shuddering and hoping that these are just stories…

This is a great read if you have the courage to go Into the Forest ( )

Firstly, thank you, NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours, for the chance to read and review 'Into the Forest: Tales of the Baba Yaga.'

I'm a big fan of short stories. An excellent short story slaps in a way a novel can't! And these focus on the Baba Yaga! Of course, I had to request a copy!

Into the Forest is a collection of 22 short stories (and a poem) by female writers focusing on the Baba Yaga. It was published by Black Spot Books on the 8th of November, 2022, and is 272 pages long. The collection aims to focus on the various interpretations of the Baba Yaga and her place in the modern world.

As a whole, the collection was a mixed bag. Some stories were undoubtedly better than others. Lindy Ryan needed to do a better job of taking some of these stories out. By the end, I was bored with the collection; I just felt like I had read too much to DNF it.

Also, sometimes, things should only be open to a limited amount of interpretation. For instance, Herald the Knight is a cute story, but it does not work within a book about Baba Yaga. There are also some incredibly basic stories (I don't want to name them) that could be about any woman turning into a witch instead of the Baba Yaga, like incredibly generic. So when you have these stories that don't really match each other in terms of energy and creativity, the collection as a whole goes down, which is sad because some of these authors were really good.

That being said, I loved that most of these writers didn't shy away from the more horrifying aspects of Baba Yaga instead of sanitising her; she is the Baba Yaga, after all. The book also introduced me to some writers who I have high expectations of! ( )

The 23 short stories in this book revolve around the folklore of Baba Yaga. The stories demonstrate the ability to adapt a narrative around a subject. They are quick reads and authors share their own styles. It helps to understand the folklore of Baba Yaga to follow the context.


I received a free copy and am leaving a review voluntarily.
Thank you to Hidden Gems Books and author. ( )

The legend of Baba Yaga has fascinated me for a long time, and so it was with great interest that I started reading Into The Forest, a collection of stories about Baba Yaga. These are all stories and poems written by women, and edited by Lindy Ryan. All are variations on the legend. As in most collections, there are stories that are excellent (for me, these were The Peddler’s Promise, Herald the Knight and Stork Bite, the latter very topical given the recent Supreme Court leak), along with some that are just so-so.

Overall, an enjoyable collection of stories.

My thanks to Black Spot Books and to Netgalley for an ARC of this book. ( )