Originally posted as part of Queen’s Book Asylum’s SPFBO X reviews.

All Tiller wants is to keep a promise to the woman she thought of as her grandmother and return her remains to her ancestral homeland deep in the Forest. With the Forest having grown more dangerous and pushing beyond its familiar borders, she has limited time to achieve her goal and can’t do it alone.

The Forest at the Heart of Her Mage is tricky to categorise, which is likely to be both to its benefit & its detriment. Part exploration of guilt and loss, part slow-burn romance, and part fantastical adventure through a fascinating world.

Since the novel is told from Tiller’s perspective, we spend the greatest amount of time in her head, which is something the character does herself. Already isolated from years of being under threat, and having lost everyone close to her, the determination to fulfill her grandmother’s last wish makes sense as both a way of honouring her and as a means of atonement. Despite her withdrawn nature, she strikes a bargain with the other main character, Carnelian Silva. In return for safeguarding her to and from the Forest, Tiller agrees to a marriage of convenience to the erratic mage.

While there are a few supporting characters in the first half of the novel; once the two characters enter the Forest, they’re on their own. With no-one else to rely on, or perhaps get in the way, this is where the romantic elements grow stronger and the two begin to open up about their pasts, including some shared traumas.

As mentioned, this is a slower-paced novel, with stretches of soul-searching interspersed with short bursts of action as various elements seek to prevent their quest. While there is a lot to reward the reader, such as the world-building and the unique magic system, I suspect that the leisurely progress will cause as many to give as to persist to the end.

3 out of 5 cores