Guard in the Garden

Fables of Finlestia

De: Z.S. Diamanti

Narrado por: Peter Leppard

Embark on a wholesome journey of healing and self-discovery. A cozy fantasy tale of forging new friendships and overcoming fears. A quiet quest of family bonds and budding romance.

From dragon fire to garden flowers …

Felton Holdum spent his entire life training to become one of Galium’s elite dwarven warriors. When a bloody battle leaves him injured, he has no choice but to move into his eccentric twin aunts’ quaint home in the town’s quiet Garome District.

With his life of military service seemingly over, the captain of the city guard gives Felton his only chance at a fresh start in the new life he never wanted.

But when a human woman barges through his front door, the grumpy dwarf starts to wonder if there is more to life than war. The sunshine woman invites him to visit her garden, where Felton gains a new nemesis and a new purpose in life.

Take a walk through the garden and see what magic awaits.

Come enjoy the hospitality of the whimsical Garome District. Meet new friends as you sample new breads at the bakery, play a game of Castle Brick at the tavern, and taste homemade pies during the annual pie baking contest at the Fall Festival.

“Virgin River meets The Hobbit” in this heartwarming, feel-good fantasy.

©2024 Z.S. Diamanti (P)2025 Z.S. Diamanti

Not my usual genre

I happy cried, I giggled. This was an amazing journey! Love love loved this book!

Cute and cozy magical journey

What a beautiful story. It is cute and cozy and easy to get lost in. This is a story I recomend you read and listen to with the entire family. It has so many wonderful lessons about healing, support, pain and loss. Zs Diamanti did a fabulous job of setting the scene and bringing you into this wonderful world and taking you on this beautiful journey. The narrator Peter Leppard did a remarkable job of bringing these characters to life. Every day I got transported and couldn’t be happier. I felt such love and light and peace once I finished reading and I truly think everyone should read this. So much care and thought went into this book and it shows from beginning to end. Completely magical with real human life lessons.

It hits ❤️

I’m on medical leave from work, and this book helped me hold on to a sense of worth separate from my career

A fun, cozy, and insightful light fantasy novel.

This is an enjoyable story of transformation in a cozy setting.
The book is completely stand alone, though it goes along with his the author's fantasy universe. I haven't ready any of his other stuff but that took nothing away from reading this.

I enjoyed the touching story of Felton adapting to a very changed life. I found myself really caring about him and his progress.
The characters are fun and interesting, though they seem to be universally nice.

In addition to a cozy, endearing story, the book quietly discusses some of the challenges of PTSD without taking away from the story. I think it's a good way to show some of those challenges and gently mention some ways of dealing with it, and of dealing with unexpected life changes in general.

For reasons I can't explain, I suffered an allergy attack near the end of the book, leading to very watery eyes. The book was touching.

Narration was very good.

Could not put it down!

This is a delightful read that touches on so many emotions. I laughed and cried (a lot) cannot recommend enough!!

One of the most impactful cozy fantasies!

One of my most anticipated reads of the year surely did not disappoint one bit!

Hands down The Guard in the Garden is in my top 5 of books I have read this year! The journey and storytelling of this beautiful crafted and well written book has seriously help me have a better understanding of what our veterans maybe feeling after their time is up in the military.

From falling in love with Felton to Tilly to Lilly to Aunt Clearly & Aunt Gael. This journey of self discovery & healing brought tears to my eyes! My favorite thing about books and what makes me fall in love with them is when the under tone of the book can be applied in daily life!

I hope we get more of Felton and Tilly's story simply because it is just wonderfully beautiful and cozy with a message that we all should take to heart.

Also not to mention the quotes throughout the book are simply inspiring! This a must read for anyone who loves a good cozy or has a veteran in their life struggling with PTSD and veterans are feeling overly overwhelmed with the feeling of being alone! This is a book that will open your eyes and will open up discussion of some of the more challenging topics.

To the author Z.S Diamanti~ first of all thank you for your service. Secondly thank you for writing such a beautiful cozy fantasy that has to deal with such a heavy topic but one I have found passion in! Your writing is truly breath taking and from the moment I hit play. I could not shut it off! So thank you for falling your heart and writing what I consider to be a masterpiece!

Cozy, low-stakes fantasy

This book is short, warm, and has a lot of cute moments. I appreciate the representation the author brings to returning veteran struggles. I think he could have gone a bit deep with some of the emotional themes, but overall the book is very uplifting and I believe that’s the point.

Cozy Fantasy

This was such an enjoyable read. Light and easy yet it had an incredible message. The romance was also incredibly sweet. If you’re looking for something light and easy take a listen.

Truly wonderful story

A fantasy world with real world insights. This is not your typical fantasy book. The author brought an often unseen perspective into the fantasy realms many of us escape to and it’s not an unwelcome edition. I highly recommend reading or listening to this, and stay through the author’s note at the end.

A beautiful story with deep meaning.

As a veteran, this book hits close to home. It was done so well. Completely cozy, yet it carries a deep story of a warrior who has been seemingly set adrift, and how he finds his way again. Great narration, too.