The Grim Adventure

Vanessa Bettencourt
May 5
2 min read

Book Info:

The Grim Adventures (Fern’s School for Wayward Fae #2) by Piper CJ

Genre: Middle Gray Fantasy

Publishing Date: May 6, 2025

4.5 Oooh... Key words for this one: Reaper (who was a student) and mushrooms. Rosemary is the kind of character who always ends up doing the right thing. This is a fun academy portal adventure, with a great small format. I love the covers so much. It's the type of fantasy that I recommend for those wanting to start reading the genre (fantasy/portal/fae academy). Has a good pacing, not too frenetic, and not too many details to keep track of, perfect for reluctant readers. Iris is still a thorn, but there's always one in any school.

Synopsis:

Return to Fern’s School for Wayward Fae—where students are part human and part magical. In book 2 of this peculiar series, one demifae girl discovers that Death itself has Fern’s students in sight . . . and the fate of the whole school is looking grim.

A girl who’s trapped in another realm. Her school, full of the peculiarly magical. And a hunt for Death itself. . . .

The month leading up to one’s thirteenth birthday can be exciting, but rarely does that thrill come in the form of a perilous chase. Nearly thirteen-year-old Rosemary Thorpe is on the run from a wicked statue come-to-life as she fights to discover what’s happening with the fae courts. She can see the future . . . and right now, it’s looking grim.

Out of nowhere, legions of mushrooms threaten to overwhelm Fern’s School for Wayward Fae. Someone tries to drown all the plants in the greenhouse. And as Rosemary searches for answers, it becomes clearer that something sinister is after the students and their curious gifts . . . and it’s closer than she might think.

Book Links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/219446057

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DHFLC3DD/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-grim-adventure-fern-forgettable/1146310645

IndieBound: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-grim-adventure-fern-forgettable/21817976

About the Author:

Author, folklorist, french fry enthusiast, and wannabe international woman of mystery. Let’s see, what do people like to learn in this sort of portal? Where I grew up? North Dakota. My age? Thirty or forty probably. A fun fact about me? I used to do speed runs of Ocarina of Time. What kind of music I listen to? Here’s my unhinged spotify, have at it. What was I doing before I was a full time author? Photography and teaching in Vietnam and stuff. Where did the “chaos goblin” fan club get its name? The offspring of Mr. (David Bowie) & Mrs. (Me) Jareth the Goblin King. Where I got my M.A. in folklore? Newfoundland. My dogs’ names? Arrow and Applesauce. My hobbies? Being an RPG Gamer (Mass Effect is the way to my heart), a hockey fan, and a hobby linguist.

When I’m not knocking it out of the park with award-winning “About the Author” bios, I’m binging cartoons (I’ve seen every episode of Hazbin Hotel, Lower Decks, Helluva Boss, and Rick and Morty a normal, sane amount), making tiktoks about cryptids and fae, rewatching Labyrinth, or disappointing my parents.

Author Links:

Website: https://pipercj.com/gallery/about-the-author/

Twitter: https://x.com/pipercjbooks

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/piper_cj/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/47990987

Tour Schedule:

https://tbrandbeyondtours.com/2025/04/12/tour-schedule-the-grim-adventures-ferns-school-for-wayward-fae-2-by-piper-cj/