He was no lone hero here to save his world. He was one of many. It was like sticks. One on its own easy to snap. A bundle together so much stronger. One archer alone, nothing, a hundred together could stop an army. Not about him. Never about him. He was strong but brittle. He needed others and they were here.

It's not often I read a book that leaves me completely speechless upon finishing, deep in thought about the beautiful message. However it comes as no surprise that RJ Barker has done it again! As a big fan of the Tide Child Trilogy, the Forsaken trilogy surpassed my expectations with an incredible third entry. For me book 1 was an easy 5 star as the world swept me away. Book 2 was overall a great experience, but a few minor issues led me to a 4.5 star. Heart of the Wyrdwood however took the strongest aspects of both, cranked them to 10, and then threw an absolute curve ball of its own.

One of my biggest takeaways has to be the character work; it is by far the best of the three. The most impactful character development for me has to go to both Venn and Sorha. If you told me after the end of book 1 that Sorha would be among my favorite characters, let alone my SOLE FAVORITE, I would laugh in your face. In Gods of the Wyrdwood, Sorha just felt like a minor villain I'd end up forgetting about at the end of the trilogy. However what we got was Sorha going from Cahan's sworn enemy to the First Priest of Wyrwood, literally transforming Crua back into the world it was supposed to be (with the help of Iftal and the rest of the crew ofc)

I don't want to litter this review with too many spoilers as to get more people to just pick up this trilogy and read, but I have to talk about the ending:

The gang: Cahan, Nahac, Venn, Sorha, Dassit, Ont, Ania, and Udinny all combining to summon Iftal and save Crua was thematically and emotionally perfect. I never saw this coming but it was the best ending I can imagine. The story was always about working together, people, plants, animals, creatures, gods, monsters. They all play a part in making the world a beuatiful place, and of course when they finally realized this they were able to overcome Saradis and Zorir. I also love that Sorha spared Saradis despite all the horrible things she did.
Two specific scenes that made me cry were: Cahan and Nahac reuniting and making amends and Issofur being turned back into a regular boy and reuniting with Furin


All in all, RJ Barker provided me with a new all time favorite fanatasy novel, one of my favorite worlds in fiction, and now one of my top 10 favorite characters. Just insanity! I cannot wait to see what he puts out next and I hope to see him grow in popularity one day.

Thank you to Orbit Books for the ARC! This did in no way affect my review.

There’s something truly breathtaking about Heart of the Wyrdwood. It doesn’t follow the usual tropes and genre trends, thereby wrapping up the Forsaken trilogy with an epic conclusion.
The finale doesn’t just tie up loose ends, it in many ways challenges you to grow "roots" in this story and world.. Characters aren’t just completing arcs either, it feels as if they are becoming better versions of themselves. Sorha and Undinny for one, experience fundamental changes that feel true and as if we get to witness their growth - instead of it just being a tool to move the plot forward. Their personal stories are impactful and had me emotionally invested.

What stands out the most is the world itself. Part of what sold me on this trilogy was the Wyrdwood, it isn’t just a backdrop.. it's an entire MC in itself. I say this because Barker uses it as more than scenery, it becomes its own force of reflection and reckoning. About halfway through the book, things completely pivot.. EVERYTHING is upended.

Much like the previous books in this series, the third and final one is grim dark. It’s challenging, strange, and beautiful. The pacing is steady and remains the same throughout the trilogy, which I appreciated - somewhat kept the "feeling" of the world constant.

This is a true and epic finale to an amazingly grim fantasy series! Loved every second of it!
Thank you to R.J. Barker, Orbit Books and Netgalley for allowing me to explore this forest full of trees and other "living" things.

Hey so I just wasn’t feeling this one I was obsessed with the first book and this book follows the trend so it’s definitely me. I’m gonna have to go back and read it at another time because I just cannot get into right now

One of my most highly anticipated books of 2025 and OF COURSE it was amazing. I love all RJ Barker books but this series had me from page one. Featuring some of the most unique world building I’ve ever read. Full of fantastic creatures and epic political intrigue. Let’s just say the stakes were high in this series and you better just buckle up for the ride!

With Cahan captured and presumed dead Saradis's victory is almost complete in her final push, she sends her armies to Jinnspire and Woodhome to wipe out the remaining resistance Meanwhile, Ranya has put Ont, Dassit, Ania, Sorha, Undinny, and Venn on their own paths. Paths that will see them become more and yet what they always were and while their powers grow and a strange god not god bestows upon them unfathomable gifts each of them questions whether they will be enough to save Crua.

The first part of this book was just incredibly hard to read. I ended up having to take a ridiculously long break from it to be able to finish it. Every challenge that each of our heroes face was a direct challenge to not just who they saw themselves as but a challenge to forgive themselves for what they had done. Or to forgive others. Or in Undinny's case to find herself trapped in a body that was not hers and one she felt not just uncomfortable in but one that was antithesis to *who* she actually was. This was such a wonderfully done and blatant nod to what it must feel like to be Transgender that to not mention it would be almost criminal.

But as I said in the review of book 2, it is Sorha that has my heart and soul both in the last book and this one. To call the changes she undergoes a "transformation" or even a "change of heart" would simply not do her justice. Sorha's introspection throughout this entire volume up until the end almost is painful, inspiring, wonderful, and I believe wholly embodies what it truly means to change. It is her story I struggled with the most, and her's is the ones that pushed me on even when it almost physically hurt. She is without a doubt one of my favorite characters of all time.

It's difficult to write this next part without any spoilers, but I'm going to try. A huge portion of this is finding out the history of Crua and how the gods, humans, The Wyrdwood, and Crua worked together to simply make Crua a better place. This reliance on and respect of each other is essentially the overall theme (and the gods know I hate that whole "theme" thing) of the series and it's a strong testament to our own ongoing issues with the impact humans have made upon our natural environments. While this is obviously a fantasy version of this, without this balance, without humans feeling a connection to the natural world which causes a complete and utter lack of respect we continue to destroy a part of our existence that we should be working with not against.

Honestly, this is hands down Barker's best book, not just of the series period. Heart of the Wyrdwood truly shows us just what an exceptional writer he truly is.

As always, thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the eArc!

Wow. This book firmly cements this author as one of my new favorite authors. I eagerly look forward to what his mind will come up with next.

This is the 3rd book of a trilogy so there will be some spoillers....later on. First I'm going to talk in general terms for those who may be checking out this series to see if it's any good and worth reading (it is) so those who have already read the first two books can skip down a couple paragraphs. The first book was slow to get going but not boring. And I can see why some people might have rated it down a bit. But don't worry, prospective reader, the action picks up. Though this story is not your typical action-packed fantasy series. It's more thoughtful and beautiful and emotional. This third book explains everything and I realized that the author knew when he wrote the first book what the under=arching story was about, so he didn't just make it up as he went along. That made my high opinion of the author even higher. Some authors are good at beginnings, some endings, but it's rare to find an author good at both the beginning and the ending.

This series is worth reading for the sense of wonder you will experience as the characters travel the dangerous Wyrdwood with its ginormous trees (it takes you a full day to walk halfway around one!) and unusual creatures that if you stop and hide they will ignore you and go about their business. Then night comes and BOOM! it's pitch black for a couple seconds and then BOOM! the forest is lit up with colorful lights. The vines snaking all over the trees must have some phosphorescent properties and the bushes and other things glow in multi-colors. I would give anything to witness that.

Ok, this is SPOILER ALERT time because now I'm talking to those who have read books one and two and want to know a bit about what happens in book three.

Poor Cahan, who seemed to be the main character of the previous books has been captured by the dark god Zorir and spends most of the book trapped in his mind in a cycle of the battle of harn against the Rai which took place in book one. He keeps fighting the same battle over and over again and sometimes stops to think, haven't I done this before? but then the enemy approaches and he has to take charge of the battle. The book is split up between viewpoint characters: Venn, Udinny (her passages are written first person, everyone else is written 3rd), Sorha (who ends up having a role of great importance, who knew?), Dassit, that butcher from Harn, Ania a forestal, the bad guy or rather bad gal in this case, who else... ... ...I can't remember sorry. The characters are spread all over the map, some in the north and some in the south, some in the middle. We will learn more about the Boughry, Iftal and the legend that's been passed down has new meaning, and we learn why the series is called "Forsaken".

About 3/5th of the way through the author throws us a twist that's more than a regular twist but rather a full twizzler. Your mind will be like "Whoa, I totally did not see that coming". I can't give you any hints about the twist without possibly revealing too much so I'll stop there.

The ending is a big battle of sorts, there is a normal battle with a mass of the enemy minions vs. a small amount of good guys but other sections tell of smaller battles. What I'm getting at is don't expect a huge LotR battle. Our attention is split between different areas across the map. People struggling to achieve their objectives, fighting against the blue-veined mindless minions of the dark god who, of course, has been lying to ....what's her name...and using her for it's own selfish ends. The final ending is satisfying and ties everything up.

Now go read it! Or go read the first book if you haven't already. Oh, I forgot to say that I received an ARC copy of the book before it is released and that in no way affected my opinion. I will buy my own copy when it is released because I want to support the author and want a copy (hopefully) without the typos and small errors that are in the ARC copy. Happy reading.

Thank you just doesn't say enough my feelings toward NetGalley, the publishing company, and the author for allowing me to read this ARC copy. I feel honored.

From British Fantasy Award-winning author RJ Barker comes the epic conclusion to the Forsaken trilogy, set in a forest straight out of darkest folklore with outlaws fighting an evil empire and warring deities.

A great ending to a great series. The third and final book in the series was the best one yet. Each installment has gotten better and better with fitting and satisfying conclusions to all characters. Some of the best worldbuilding in fantasy settings in quite some time. RJ Barker is an author to watch!

From Gods to War Lords and now to the Heart, we have explored the Wyrd Wood. The Forsaken trilogy is a truly unique series, with fantastic settings and incredible characters. The writing makes the world come alive, feeling so foreign that it tests your imagination yet dropping the reader into the middle of the action in such a way that the characters feel real. The heart of this last book takes the battle for the wyrd wood head on. Like the prior book, narration is third person with multiple characters' pov. Also like the previous book, it starts with a summary of what has come before; not a replacement for reading the books that came before but a good refresher for those that read them a while ago. The story is well-paced and flows smoothly around all the action right up until the apt ending. Those who have enjoyed the unusual world created in this series will surely relish their final foray into the forest.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Orbit Books) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.