Heart of the Wyrdwood Book 3 of the Forsaken Trilogy by RJ Barker

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!