The Girl from the Hidden Forest

I've read several of this author's books and this book confirms what I've already learned. Hannah Linder is an amazing wordsmith! I relished the beauty and seclusion of Balfour Forest, the home of Eliza Ellis, her father, and her beloved dog, Merrylad, but Eliza's life wasn't as idyllic as she believed. The Girl from the Hidden Forest is a captivating Regency story, part fairytale, and part Gothic mystery, that kept me turning the pages to learn the secrets of Eliza's past. Secrets that would forever change her future. Eliza was sweet and innocent, content to live in her magical forest until she was abruptly taken away. What would she discover as she navigated a life much different than the one that she'd always known? Linder kept me fully invested in this tale that's filled with mystery, suspense, and Gothic vibes, but the emotions were what kept me turning the pages! I experienced surprise, sorrow, and even fear, but there was also immense joy in witnessing the relationship that evolved between Eliza and Felton Norwood. He seemed determined to keep her safe but could Eliza be sure of his true motives? Was he worthy of her love and trust? This fantastic book fed my love of mystery, Gothic fiction, and Regency romance, but it's also a delight for all who appreciate exceptional writing. I recommend The Girl from the Hidden Forest to all who enjoy historical Christian fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

SO TWISTY! Hannah's gift of storytelling is amazing! When you begin it's a HUGE TANGLE so snarled you don't think you'll EVER get it all figured out, but as you progress slowly, but surely, it all begins to unravel into a GREAT adventure you won't soon forget! The two things I have a bit of an issue with is how Eliza relies a little too much on Felton in my opinion. Especially for a Christian fiction story I feel she should rely more on The Lord than Felton and I feel there were some things mentioned where I really wish she had taken the opportunity to have Eliza get strength from The Lord. For example Eliza describes Felton as "a tower she could run to" at one time, but The Bible describes God as our high tower multiple times and especially in Proverbs 18:10 KJV: The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. On the one hand I applaud Hannah for making her characters so believable and human in their issues, but in this one I just feel that while Felton has flaws and is human Eliza put him too high on a pedestal in some scenes. Maybe this was done on purpose because of Eliza's character, but it still bothered me. The other thing is some of the language. The word referring to blood is sometimes used to describe blood, but sometimes it's used as a curse word. While it's not a curse word in our culture I still don't want to read it as such in books. And there is another derogatory word used multiple times I found bothersome. However I think this is a story that will satisfy many genre lovers from Historical to Fantasy. I myself am not a fantasy fiction reader or lover, but there was just enough imagination for it to satisfy a fantasy reader in my opinion. But not so much that I, as a historical regency reader, didn't still enjoy it. Overall I read this book twice back to back it was such a great adventure!

A very exciting book!!! Keep them coming please!!!