I thoroughly enjoyed reading In the Heart of the Linden Wood. The story throws you right into an intense scene where you meet the major characters and I was hooked. The storytelling, imagery, and dialogue kept my interest throughout the entire story. I loved the development we see with Christopher and Geraldine from the beginning of the story to the end and how their story of forgiveness, grief, and love evolves. I would highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy historical fiction and fantasy.

I am not particularly a fan of sci fi & fantasy novels, but thought I would test myself and am so glad that I did.
Yes, with the magical trees, there is a definite fantasy element, but the characters seemed real, the story flew along and was so easy to read.
As well as the magical fantasy, this very much focussed on grief, greed and love.
I think it would be very suitable for a teenage audience although I as an adult, just enjoyed the ride.
I will be looking out for more work from Ekta R Garg.
Thanks to NetGalley and Atmosphere Press for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

What a beautiful unexpected surprise this story was…A story that weaves real life themes into a fairytale setting and you are immersed into the magical Kingdom of Linden.

Genre: Fantasy

Summary: There is a King,, there is a magic forest, and their is a Kingdom. The Kingdom is recovering from the tyrannical reign of King Vincent and now it is up to his son King Christopher to restore the reputation of the monarchy to its people. He was a victim of the Kings tyranny as a child and finds solace in his bride, Queen Lilly. The magic forest is made up of the Linden Wood, this would has supported the kingdom for generations. All at once tragedy strikes the hearts of the king and his people when he loses his Queen and his child during childbirth. Word also comes that the Linden Wood that is coveted for its magic properties, is dying. No one knows the cause. The King, despite his grief has no choice but to seek answers. With the help of some very unlikely characters, he sets off to find answers. Will the forest heal, will the kingdom rally behind the king and will the kings’ broken heart heal? You won’t be able to stop reading to find out.

Pace: Slow

This is truly a fairytale setting and a fairytale story with very real life themes. Insecurities, needing approval, troubled marriages, loss, grief, responsibilities, finding your purpose and doing what it right even when it comes at a personal cost. I started reading this book yesterday and finished it within 24 hours. I very rarely do that with this type of read. I found myself so invested in the characters and their crossing paths, that I had to finish. The pacing was a perfect combination of slow character building moments and quickened escalation during the plot driven moments. The writing is beautiful and visual. My only criticism for this story is the length of the book that was used to over the Kings Loss. It felt a big long…

Although this book is a fantasy read, the characters feel more human to me than any other fantasy I’ve read.. If you enjoy very relatable fiction with a mix of fairytale whimsy… YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!

Thank you for NetGalley for allowing me early access to this publication.

This book, I can already tell, will end up in my top ten reads of 2023 list! This easy-to-read fantasy entwines friendship, love, loss, adventure, and trust all into one breathtaking novel - balancing each aspect perfectly. It is the perfect introductory read for someone wanting to branch out into the fantasy genre! My only point to note is that this book is aimed at a younger audience - with it's simple plot line and description choices - however, this should not at all deter any older readers from exploring this novel.

This book was exactly what I was expecting, only better. The writing is lovely, and I cared so, so much about the characters. At its core, this is most decidedly a book about grief. It may have been a bit on the nose at times, but it was unapologetically what it said it would be, a journey through heartbreak in all of it's forms that allows us to develop an understanding for the way that these feelings can manifest at different times.
I liked the standard fantasy quest setup, and felt that the story's turns were unexpected enough to satisfy me. More than anything, I expected to go into this and get a sad, but cozy tale, and that's exactly what I got. Also, I love Alistair more than anything and I would fight for that absolute darling.

A slower paced read with a very pretty, descriptive writing style. The prologue really captured me from the beginning. It felt like a Disney story where the traumatic event happens in the first 10 minutes of the movie and then we're experiencing the after effects.

This book nearly breaks my heart in the first three chapters. It shows you what true love and an incredible deep and painful loss can make out of a man.

Garg created a fabulous world with spectacular characters and an amazing worldbuilding.

The writing is very fluid and you inhale the book within hours. Two storylines are at the beginning and their mostly switching while the story went further.

One of my first very loved highlights this year. Really amazing.

In the heart of the Linden Wood we meet Christopher and Lily there the royalty for Linden a place that is revered for its magical boards and when we meet them Lily is in the middle of giving birth with the healer named Geraldine as her midwife. When the baby and princess Lily are lost Christopher blames the midwife and takes away her ability to birth babies in the kingdom and he gives her a royal decree that she must turn in to the elders in her village. When all this is over Geraldine goes home and Christopher starts the process of morning and there’s no sign of the morning letting up. Lily‘s parents come to visit and others come to get their condolences the Christopher isn’t interested in any of it but when he gets a word that their magical trees are dying he must set off to speak to the keeper of the forest and on the way he meets a few different people. I really enjoyed Christophers story and Geraldine story and found the boat said tails but once Christopher set off on his adventure the story really picked up. I thoroughly enjoyed fairytales and thought this one was a good one. I especially love the ending and how Christopher was able to cure the woods. Like any good fairytale this two had a narrator and it was the keeper of the Linden board I just wish they would’ve had a bigger part. Not that it took anything away from the story because it didn’t. If you love the fairytale enjoy this one I really did. I received this book from NetGalley and atmosphere press but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This was the first book I had read by Ekta R Garg. I don’t normally read this genre, but it kept my interest and hit all the expectations I had of a fairy tale. There was discord and broken hearts and heroic efforts and the author did a great job with character transformation as the book progressed.

This is a grownup fairytale. Book starts a bit slow but keep reading. The story will pull you in. It's a love story, a fairytale, a historical and a trip thru the magical world of the Linden Wood. You will be glad you read it.
Thank you to Net Galley, Ekta Garg and the publishers for this Advance Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

A wonderful story about loss, acceptance, sacrifice, and hope. This is a much slower paced book than I’d normally prefer, but it was just what I personally needed to read. I have recently experienced more than the lion’s share of loss and I connected with this book in a way I never expected to. I learned about my own grief and struggles through the loss these characters have went through.

This book is a fairy tale for all those who have loved and lost and discovered meaning in life again. King Christopher and Queen Lily seem to have a perfect live…a wonderful marriage, a baby on the way and a kingdom they rule together. The suddenly life falls apart when the queen and baby die in childbirth. The king is inconsolable and strikes out at those around him. The magic trees that sustained the kingdom begin to die when the Keeper of the Wood’s health starts to fail. An insurrection happens when a disgruntled subject overtakes the castle. The King escapes and sets out on a journey with his guardsman where he meets both old and new enemies and friends in an effort to save the kingdom. The book starts out slowly but picks up about a third of the way through. In the end I enjoyed it but would love to learn more about several of the characters’ back stories. Overall I really enjoyed it.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.
Reviews posted on Goodreads, Amazon, and multiple Facebook groups

This is my first book by Ekta R Garg and I really enjoyed it!!! If you love a good fantasy then you will like this book!!! Read and enjoy!!!

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable and varied, the plot is one that is engaging and medium paced. I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

My first time reading a book from Ekta R. Garg and it was quite enjoyable. It felt like a fairy tale for adults. I would have liked a little bit more action and at times I found the story to be a bit slow, however; I pushed through and still enjoyed it.

This was such a good read I loved it and was completely hooked from the first page. Definitely recommend