I've been chosen by @atmospherepress to read an ARC of In the Heart of the Linden Wood by @ektargarg

I really wanted to like this book, but at 260 pages, it really needed to grab me in the first 50 pages. Unfortunately, it did not.

The synopsis of this book outlines a redemption arc of a young king who loses his wife and then goes to the woods to seek healing. I felt there was too much time spent on a political narrative and too many side characters' POV. The plot was lost and didn't actually pick up until halfway through, and by then I'd lost interest and felt the actual adventure was speeding by.

Positives were the world building - however again, I felt there was a lot of time spent building this intricate world for it to not be that relevant to the main plot line.

The excessive POV's were full of internal dialogue that was not really needed to move the plot along.

Overall, a great first draft, but definitely need some editing and streamlining to clean it up.