Hannah Linder’s “The Girl from the Hidden Forest" is a gripping Regency romantic suspense novel! It was hard to put down because it is beautifully written and there are so many mysteries throughout this story. I kept thinking I was going to get some answers, but then something else would pop up. The twist at the end made me gasp! It kept me up turning pages late at night. Ms. Linder writes magnificently, with lyrical prose, and a unique story.
This is not your typical sweet Regency novel. Ms. Linder has authored some other books that are more Gothic in nature, but this one is the most suspenseful and reads more like a thriller, due to some of the content (see below). "The Girl from the Hidden Forest" is darker than some of her other books and feels heavier overall. Ms. Linder does an excellent job of showing the effects of trauma on our main characters and how it has changed their lives and shaped them into who they are. I love that the hope and light in the story can shine all the brighter through the romance and the characters’ faith.
Our main protagonist, Eliza, is constantly second guessing the motives and character of those around her, not knowing who is trustworthy or truly noble. The reader is left guessing as well. Ms. Linder excels in writing complicated, multifaceted characters and I was not sure about several people until the end. If you love historical Regency with a strong thread of suspense, you will love this five-star read!
Content: I give this book a PG-13 rating. Some examples of the content are: a man has ale on his breath; the word “devil” is used; a character goes to a bar and men are drinking; people are drunk; the word “bloody” is used as a curse; someone curses, but the word isn’t actually written; a woman’s bosom is mentioned; there is a murderer after one of the characters and at several points tries to kill her; a women talks about her how her husband used to beat her; a woman has a man stumble out of her bedroom and it’s implied that she may be having relationship with him for money and says she could be a “light skirt”; opium and prostitutes are mentioned; a man dies of suicide; there are several incidents of violence and torture, some rather graphic; a man is murdered; a character wants to die; there’s mention that a woman was raped and beaten in the past.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.
