morganreads11 's review for:

Gods of the Wyrdwood by R.J. Barker

4.25

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Characters: 4⭐️

Setting: 4⭐️

Plot: 3.5⭐️

Themes: 4⭐️

Personal enjoyment: 4⭐️ 

Emotional Impact: 4⭐️

Overall rating: 4.25/5⭐️ 

A slow burning dark-epic fantasy with masterful world building. I was fully immersed in this rich fantastical world RJ Barker wrote. With intense battle scenes to keep the reader hooked. A world with warriors, gods, prophecy, and a forest full of monsters. This is everything I love when reading a fantasy book. 

My only critique is the very dense vocabulary requires the reader to be patient and just continue reading despite not fully understanding all of the terminology the author is throwing at you. Especially early on in the book. There is no glossary so you have to just go with it and trust the process. Definitely not for an entry level fantasy reader. 

You can certainly tell this is setting up for a bigger arc being the first book in a trilogy. I’m excited to start book 2. 

Cahan is the chosen one and a warrior, but is now known as the forester. He has been cast aside as a new chosen one has emerged and lives in exile. Cahan is drawn back into the world by Udinny, a monk who serves the goddess of the lost. Udinny seeks Cahan as her guide into the Wyrdwood forest to find a missing child. Into the forest they go where betrayal, redemption, monsters and destiny awaits.