The Forest Beyond Midnight: Book One of the Elarwyn Chronicles

by Victoria Tarasevic

Rowan never expected an ordinary game in the woods to change his life.

When he and his three best friends — steady Alder, curious Elowen, and kind-hearted Liora — discover a strange message carved into an ancient tree, they follow its instructions straight into the impossible.

Beyond a glowing portal lies Elarwyn, a hidden realm of silver forests, floating lanterns, skywhales, dancing fae, and magic older than memory itself. There, the four children learn a secret that will change everything:

Filled with magic, friendship, adventure, and heart, The Forest Beyond Midnight is the enchanting first book in a spellbinding fantasy series about courage, kindness, and the stories that never stop calling us home.

Genres: Fantasy

326 pages, Paperback

Published June 17, 2026

Reviews

[Sascha Parker]

First of all, I want to say that I had the opportunity to be an arc reader for this book.

I liked the story quite a lot and found it interesting, and good the ending got to my heart.

The characters were nice to read and there was a good enough introduction to them. I liked the pacing and the world too.


Unfortunately, and this was a huge deal breaker for me, I couldn't deal with the writing, sentences like:

His voice carried that particular excitement the others had learned to recognize, the sound of someone who had already discovered something interesting and was only just remembering to invite the rest of the world to witness it.

Or:

...moving with the steady patience of someone who never hurried unless there was reason to do so, which meant he spent much of his time watching the others with quiet amusement and occasionally reminding Rowan that not every interesting thing in the forest needed to be chased.

This bothered me right from the beginning. By that I mean I don't think the writing style is necessarily bad, and I didn't find any mistakes in the text (but also I am not a native English speaker).

I think a lot of people will like this writing style and will also enjoy this book. So I would still recommend it and wish only the best for this author!

[Onyx-Aiko .]

I absolutely loved The Forest Beyond Midnight! The characters were wonderful, the story was magical and immersive, and the mystery kept me captivated from beginning to end. The forest setting was beautifully described, making it easy to feel completely transported into the world alongside the characters.

The ending left me with so much anticipation for what comes next. I'm incredibly excited for book two and can't wait to return to this magical world, reconnect with these characters, and discover where their journey leads next.

[Ziva De]

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. The story follows four children who travel to another world filled with fae and magical creatures. The beginning was quite slow, but the pace improved as the story progressed. The children face a difficult challengeand work together to overcome it, which made the adventure exiting. The ending really got me in the heart and added an emotional touch to the story. Overall, it was a good book, but since it is the first book in a series, it spent a lot of time setting up the story and characters, which made it feel a little slow for me.

[Nox Warring]

A lovely first entry in the world of Elarwyn. A story of childhood wonder and magic and friendship. I can't wait to see where this series goes!

[Elena Dufková]

This book was phenomenal. I adored the way it was written what it was about, everything. The characters were funny and all so different yet to alike. Definitely a must read!