I have heard a lot about this author on some of the podcasts I listen to. This book did not disappoint. The author created a gothic tale with lots of romance and suspense. There is also a mystery about Eliza's mother and who killed her. Lots of answered questions-How does Eliza end up living in the forest with the Captain? Who is trying to kill her? I enjoyed reading this book and solving the mystery. I also thought the romance between Eliza and Felton was well-written (although he was a little dominating.) This is a solid read with lots of adventure!
Thank you to Net Galley and Barbour Publishing! All opinions expressed are my own.

4-4.5 Stars! So glad I stuck with reading this book since it wasn’t really grabbing my interest at first and I almost stopped reading it but I hate not finishing a book once I start it. Most tend to get better and this book did NOT disappoint! I laughed, I cried- a few times actually, and got angry with fictional characters! (That’s how you know it’s a really great book, when you get emotionally invested.)
This is my first time reading this author & hopefully it won’t be the last because she is a very talented writer. Surprises, mystery, no sexy times as this is a clean Christian romance, stupid decisions that make you wonder what’s wrong with these people, bad guys, lies and betrayal, murder and attempted murder, some romance, a main male character I really wanted to have just a few “words” with at times, and some enlightening points that have actually made me rethink not being religious. I know, right! Eye opening stuff that makes a person wonder. Thankfully, it wraps up with a great HEA ending.
The main characters are Felton & Eliza. Eliza I really liked and felt so bad for, I just wanted to hug her throughout the book. Felton, on the other hand, was a pretentious prig (I would say he was a ‘pretentious ass’ but ‘pretentious prig’ just sounds better. Haha!) who was more concerned with gossiping peoples opinions of him than how the young woman he kidnapped was feeling being in a whole new world with new rules and mean girls she’s never dealt with before. I didn’t really like him for 80% of the book. The author has a way of getting the reader invested in these characters lives that I wish I knew how to achieve. I cried over the lives of fictional characters! That’s how good this book was. Maybe I’m just overly emotional right now or just really felt for these fictional “people”. Incase I haven’t mentioned it enough, they aren’t real people, this was a work of fiction. But it made me feel for real life people who have had bad things happen to them like Eliza. I’ve had a lot happen to me in my life but at least I have my family and loved ones for support. Why can’t everyone just be kind & helpful to one another?! But at least it’s getting better than it was hundreds of years ago.
Anyway, this really was an excellent book and I’d highly recommend reading it. You’ll never guess who the baddies are & that’s all I’m saying. Enjoy!
*I received this book at no charge & I voluntarily left this review.*

This gothic romance-suspense has all the elements of the genre, which I’ve always enjoyed- the mystery about the female main character’s identity and family, the mysterious past crime, the man trying to prove his good name, unknown assailants, and petty and cruel society misses. As always with these books, you have to be willing to suspend some disbelief and just get drawn into the story. It is well written and avoids the overwrought tone these gothic suspenses sometimes have. The female main character does go through more pain, physical and emotional, than in a lot of books, but it all makes sense to the story and is resolved by the end. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. All views are entirely my own.

Big Bronte vibes. Dark, intense, twisty - gothic to its core. It took me a few chapters to get into it, but once I did, I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I have a two year old and am sick and desperately need sleep, but I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning because I NEEDED to finish it. Linder's writing just sucks you in.

I have some mixed feelings about Felton as a person (he's a little controlling and kind of entitled), but he works well as a gothic hero. And the romantic tension? The kisses? Perfection.

If you're hoping for something light and fluffy, look elsewhere, but if you don't mind some violence and death, this is SO GOOD. It's unlike any other Regency I've read (in a good way).

I will definitely be reading more of Hannah Linder's books.

THE GIRL FROM THE HIDDEN FOREST by HANNAH LINDER is a beautifully written Regency novel, full of mystery and suspense and with unforgettable characters. Although there are many criminals in the story, I was kept guessing right to the end as to who had killed Eliza’s mother.
The author tells the haunting story of a young girl of five who has witnessed her mother’s murder, who grows up happily in the forest with Captain Jasper Ellis and her dog Merrilad, dancing with the trees and living vicariously through the stories her beloed Captain tells her. He is the one who soothes her when she has nightmares………
Felton Northwood kidnaps her and takes her to her real father Lord Gillingham at Monbury Manor, hoping she will remember who she saw on that dreadful night, not realizing the killer will want to keep her quiet. He is desperate to clear his family name, Because Northwood is a bloody name, Miss Gillingham - and you”re the only one who can cleanse it.”
Felton worries a great deal about the opinions of others especially as he wishes to marry Miss Haversfield, the squire’s daughter, to make something of himself. His obsession with clearing the family name makes him come across as proud, selfish and bossy, but gradually Eliza’s strength of spirit and purity make an impression on him……
I like to see Felton’s friendship with Lord Gillingham who accepts him for who he is, not his family name. I also like the way the Lord is acknowledged as a prayer answering God when desperate prayers are prayed.
There is romance, murder and mayhem, and friendship, in this fast paced historical thriller. There is also confusion and fear - who should one trust?
I cannot recommend this lovely read strongly enough.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Barbour Publishing. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

Definitely another page turning book and honestly Linder's most adrenaline pumping book to date. Every chapter left me leaping to the next page to see how things worked out. The mystery was a hard one to guess as far as the who done it part. Definitely heavy gothic, a lot of despair in this book, highly recommend not reading it if you're in a dark season of life, could easily get one down. Still the final chapters did see things to rights. Thank you to the author and netgalley for my early arc. The opinion expressed is entirely my own.

Eliza Ellis was torn away by a from her beloved forest and home by a man named Felton and taken back to her father, Lord Gillingham's house.
Eliza looked at her father and remembered riding on his shoulders when she was little. She thought Captain Ellis, the man who had brought her up in the forest was her father, he had comforted her and taught her how to survive in the forest.
Eliza also has nightmares about claws shredding her skin and eyes that are a luminous yellow "saying you don't understand what happened" and glass started shattering and she was falling out a window and she was taken to her forest home.
Felton, the man who had brought her home, was hoping she would remember who had killed her mother because his father had been accused of it and he wanted to prove his innocence and clear his family name.
But there were secrets about that night and the perpetrators will do anything to keep the truth from coming out....

A solid story about defeating darkness, overcoming fear and not letting your past define you. If you like wholesome stories with women gaining the courage to stand up to their beasts, plus lots of action and plots twists, you will enjoy this story. I couldn't really get behind the way the male main character was so bossy and unfeeling towards the female MC. Their romance felt unrealistic because of it, but if you enjoy that, and the slow burn of characters coming to term with feelings we all see is there, then you will like this. Hannah's writing is interesting and the story doesn't feel predictable. It was overall a good read, and I'm interested to see what else she has in store.

The Girl From the Hidden Forest is a beautifully written Regency suspense. I throughly enjoyed this book. I received an advance copy of the book from the publisher and Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.

This book was even better than I had expected. A new author to me I was drawn into the story from the first few pages and held there until the last page. Highly recommend and cannot stop thinking about it long after I put it down.

What a great story! Author Hannah Linder has hit a home run with The Girl From the Hidden Forest. It has great characters, an exciting plot line and non-stop suspense.

The story centers around Eliza who has lived in the forest with only Captain for companionship for as long as she can remember. One day while walking through the forest, she is surprised to see a handsome man named Felton Northwood. Felton asks her to come with him and discover her true home and parentage. She is reluctant to come, so she is forced into a carriage and into a life she never knew existed. She is the lost daughter of aristocracy and now must adapt to her change in status. Eliza has had repeating nightmares throughout her life and these increase until she learns that she witnessed a murder as a child. Felton needs Eliza to remember what happened in order to clear his father's name and restore the family's honor. But as Eliza remembers more and more, the killer will need to silence Eliza before she exposes their secrets.

This is a Christian novel and it has themes of prayer and relying on God. But it is also a Gothic novel set in Regency England. Therefore it has suspense and some bloody parts like sliced off fingers and attacks resulting in bodily injury. Just a warning to sensitive future readers.
I really liked the story line and it has a happy ending! I never would have guessed who the villain is.

This is an intriguing story about Eliza growing up with a captain in the forest, isolated from the world. Her world is suddenly turned upside down when her worst nightmares come true and she's kidnapped. Her captor returns her to her father, though she only has a distant memory of him. They were warned returning her would bring danger, and it does.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this story surrounding the mystery of her mother's death, and you're kept guessing until the surprising end.

I struggled with the captor turned friend. Felton's selfish ambitions to clear his family name drive him to make hasty, desperate choices and thankfully he eventually sees the folly in how he's treated her to meet his own ends. I've enjoyed this author's writing and will gladly pick up another.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC and for the opportunity to post an honest review.

A twisty Gothic Regency novel with a clean but swoony romance awash in high suspense. This one wouldn't let me go!

Hannah Linder has a way of putting the reader squarely her incredible settings. I could smell, feel, and taste every sensation in this outstanding novel. The Girl from the Hidden Forest was unique and compelling in every way, and I loved Eliza's journey from forest girl to the daughter of a viscount. Her emotions along that rough journey were realistic and painful as was Felton's strong desire to clear his family name. With their opposing goals, it took every page to resolve the conflict. The satisfying ending had all the right notes, and readers who love Regency romance will eat this up.

The talented Hannah Linder delivers a fine Gothic romance with "The Girl from the Hidden Forest". Happy, carefree and literally hidden, Eliza Ellis (Gillingham) is taken from the only home she remembers by Felton Northwood, a man from her childhood she can't recall. Northwood's ulterior motive unmasks far more than what he was expecting.

Bewildered Eliza is at first nothing more than a pawn, a means to an end for Felton, someone to be eliminated by others. The murder-mystery is very well done. There are several plausible suspects with various motives, and the reader is left guessing. Seemingly unrelated plot threads weave together in the end. There's a multitude of interesting characters; misguided, yet endearing, Minney Bradshaw, garden-variety criminals, and a sadist. A charming little dog adds levity to the mix.

There's no dreaded insta-love here. The romance builds slowly and believably. Indeed, Felton is overly concerned with his name, and delightful Eliza dreamily dances among trees at first.

There is violence in this book but remember, Gothic tales frequently contain elements of criminal activity. This well-written book is clean. I have greatly enjoyed Hannah Linder's works. This is her fourth, and each one is unique.

Thanks to NetGalley and Barbour Publishing for an ARC of this compelling read.

Loved reading the wonderfully written story full of suspense and captivating characters. Felton feels it is his duty to kidnap Eliza, bring her back to her rightful home, and hope her memory comes back to clear his father's name, but Eliza wants to go back to her forest and to the Captain who was like a father to her. Now, Eliza's life is in danger, and Felton wants to protect her from harm. Read the highly recommended and a riveting must read. Can't wait to read another story by the fabulous author, Hannah Linder!

This was a very good book! It was very well written and I enjoyed reading it so much. The writing was very well done.

Gothic mystery, danger around the corner, a bit of romance, what is true? The Girl fro the Hidden Forest offers a bit of everything wrapped up in one. This is the first book I've read by Hannah Linder, and she has a way with words. I enjoyed the setting and the mystery of it all.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of The Girl from the Hidden Forest by Hannah Linder.

What a delightfully gothic read! I finished The Girl From the Hidden Forest in two sittings. Wow. I loved this one!
I was drawn into this story from the first page and kept completely captivated until the last page. I was reading as quickly as I possibly could, trying to solve the mystery. The characters were interesting and fun to follow. The plot was intriguing. There were so many twists and turns tucked away in these pages. The constant suspense and danger kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time.
I am so excited to read more by this author!
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*I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review. All thoughts expressed are strictly my own. I was not required to post a positive review.*

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Hannah's newest book takes us deep into the forest of Northumberland during the Regency era. The story begins with a girl named Eliza who doesn't remember parts of her past and a man named Felton who claims to know the missing history. Throughout the book, different facts are slowly revealed and lead us to the final revelation of what happened to Eliza as a child and who committed the murder of her mother.

What I liked about the book:
- Multiple points of view presented.
- The wording of the book felt authentic to the time period without being difficult to read or understand.
- The reader was kept in suspense as to the "whodunit" until close to the end.

What I didn't like about the book:
- Although classified as romantic suspense, this book was a large percentage thriller/horror (or "gothic") with a small amount of romance. I loved Garden of the Midnights, but this book was markedly more violent. I sensed Bronte vibes and I like a good mystery, but this was darker than I expected. The romance felt more austere than warm.
- The writing was harder to follow than Garden of the Midnights. I got lost a few times. I think brevity was used as a prose device, but made the flow jolting at times. The plot meanders in parts and seems to retrace the same plot points.

Content Summary: Kissing only. Many examples of violence/injury and discussions of murder, abduction, and painful childhood memories. Recommend for 16+.

Overall, it's an intriguing Gothic mystery novel but too dark for my personal preferences.

Thank you to Barbour Publishing and Netgalley for the complementary copy of this book. My review is my own opinion, and my words were not influenced in any way by the author or publisher.