I have exactly zero feelings about this book. I tried to start it shortly after the holidays, but then put it down and never picked it up again. I don’t even remember what it was about

Ekta R. Garg's "In the Heart of the Linden Wood" is a captivating fantasy novel that will take you on an emotional journey . The story follows Maya, a young girl who is whisked away to the magical world of decem by a mysterious enchantress. Along the way, Maya discovers the truth about her past and what it means to be human.

Garg's writing is poetic and immersive, transporting the reader to a world filled with magical creatures and enchanting scenery. Maya's journey is one of self-discovery and growth, and readers can't help but feel invested in her story.

What really sets this novel apart is how it handles its themes. "In the Heart of the Linden Wood" explores both the light and dark sides of human nature and challenges readers to look at themselves and the world around them in a new way.

Overall , "In the Heart of the Linden Wood" is a beautifully written and thought-provoking novel that will leave a lasting impact on readers . Highly recommended for fantasy fans and anyone looking for a deeply moving story.

A Fairy tale for adults which was far too slow.

There is excessive dialogue and a little bit of action thrown in.

It was very difficult to feel any attachment to the characters.

This was not for me.

There was so much potential, not just in the premise, but the book itself. 

I loved the idea of the magical forest, the exploration of grief and forgiveness, all the possibilities of the world I thought I was walking into, but it just wasn't there. The magical forest ended up being like most magical forests, and this unfortunately took away from it feeling special. Our protagonist is likeable, and I was excited to read through this story, wading through duty and grief but we are forced to focus on other things, and his grief is sidelined. 

I did enjoy the read, and I imagine others will too, but I do see that this could've been excellent instead of good, if it was give just a bit more.

This book is a grown up version of a fairytale. I enjoyed the concept but felt that the plot was slow to start with but it did pick up towards the last third of the book. Beautiful world building in this book and I enjoyed the characters too. 

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for NetGalley for This ARC .

The pacing was a little slow but the concept was great! The world building was great!

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.

It would have been a 5 star book if it had been carved in another way...because it was in the last 30% of the book that the story captivated me the least.

This is the story of a kingdom called Linden, whose main source of income for that people is the magic wood that comes from the trees of that place. The current king has to pay the price of his father's wickedness, who had also mistreated him in childhood, removing all his self-esteem in reigning in the future. It was after marrying Lily that everything changed, with her he learned how he was capable of being more and better.

There are wonderful and special characters like Healer Geraldine and her son Alistair, Guardmaster Martin, and the King's in-laws. However, I couldn't sympathize with the king, and I only really liked him in the last 5% of the book.

The story had all the elements to be a wonderful and incredible story and it has very good messages and values ​​to pass on, which unfortunately were lost a little by the way the author wrote this book.

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.

Reading a retold Fairy gives twice the joy as the original story Like almost all fairy tales.  "In the Heart of the Linden Wood" by Ektra R.Garg  there is a king and queen, the kingdom and an heir. In this instance, Queen Lily has trouble during childbirth. The Healing Midwife is there with her every moment. Queen Lily''s character is so real that I found myself breathing and straining with her. Finally, her labor is over

Geraldine is the healing midwife. She is with Queen Lily every moment. She is willing to do anything to help. to put the novel down is impossible. King Christopher is struggling with the usual troubles that worry a monarch. Now, there is Queen Lily's troubles that concern him. Unfortunately,he makes a judgement against Geraldine. Because of his decision her world is turned upside down. Out of his head, the King lays all the blame on Geraldine who only wants the best for he and the  queen. 
This is an emotional ride for everybody.  Surely, this will make a good book for a book club.. Yes, it is a tearjerker. .One thing for sure is that this Fantasy will not bore you. Men and women will find themselves reliving their childhood and rethinking decisions. Remember all the happily ever afters?

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.

The pacing of In The Heart of the Linden Wood was very slow. I loved the characters, but it really just felt like a story I've read before- following so many classic tropes.

A solid concept, though a bit washed out and forgettable without a reason to stand out. The cover gives you your first reason, the lovely prose the second. It is unfortunately a tad long-winded, but it does not unbearably overstay its welcome. I have a great deal of hope in what I see as potential for the future in this author after my time with this book. Thank you to both Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity with this title.

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 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.

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.

The story is incredibly magical and full of wonderful fantasy elements, but it is completely overshadowed by the plain narrative. The characters come across bland and static because of this. There is a lack of description that the book so desperately needs to be able to plunge the reader into the world of Linden. It makes the whole story fall so flat. 
I enjoyed the book overall and the story that was being told, but I just wish that the descriptions had been developed much. It left me feeling disconnected to the characters to the point where I just did not find myself liking or hating them, they had no liveliness or spirit that I feel like they could have had if just a little bit more had been done. I also feel like it oftentimes felt disjointed and not enough was explained, or if it ever was explained it just wasn't explained in a strong way. I also felt like the main body of the novel, where they seek out the heart stones, happened too quickly and any problem they came across was solved quickly and conveniently, and left it feeling weaker all the more for it. I would have liked to have seen more struggle, desperation, sacrifice, emotion from each of the characters. As I said, the lack of the same made the novel feel flat, and very beige.
It's an easy enough read - perhaps a little too easy with the lack of life in the characters and overall descriptions. I feel like the book had the potential to be something much more greater than what it is.

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

In the Heart of the Linden Wood is Ekta R Garg’s look at what happens after the fairytale ending. King Christopher loses his beloved wife in childhood and has to learn to cope with his grief while simultaneously going on a quest to save his kingdom from certain demise. 

The Pros: the plot, subplot and pacing were all excellently laid out, giving more substance than the average fairytale but still having that same whimsical feeling. The culmination of King Christopher’s personal journey brought me to tears. 

The cons: I’m a girl who enjoys descriptions - give me vivid page long descriptions of setting, clothing, characters and I’m in my zone. I can count on one hand the amount of character descriptions used in this entire story. The prose is painfully sparse, and I do mean painfully. The characters are almost all completely unlikeable. 

But my real problem with this book is the world-building. I’m confused, like genuinely confused what kind of world this book is set in, because on the one hand we have mention of the robes the King wears and torches used to light the way and on the other hand we have sterilized surgical instruments, white picket fences and cement being used as building material. It is all over the place and it’s a major flaw that took me right out of the story. 

The well thought out intertwined plots and the pacing is what saved the book for me; I do think it has amazing potential but it wasn’t quite pulled off because of the inadequacies in world building and characterization.

I really struggled getting through the first 100 pages , but carried on through it and it did eventually end up being a good book, I would just like to grabbed a bit more by the story within the first 100 pages.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc copy in exchange for a honest review