My Review - Den of Shadows - (18/5/17)

Den of Shadows - (Gambler's  Den #1) - By Christopher Byford

3.5☆ Beautifully Descriptive

I want to start off by saying how Magical and Exciting the Book Cover is.

However for me the Book took ages to get going.

Don't get me wrong Christopher created a beautifully descriptive story capturing the magical feel to a casino,the varied Characters aboard the train, the life on board the train and the many places it visited.
 He built up the atmosphere and the scenes delighting my senses.

But for me it just lacked something. I'm struggling to put my finger on exactly what was missing.

The depth of the story was lost on Atmospheric build up. I didn't get the rule breaking, fight for survival feel the blurb teased.

The blurb very much creates a fantasy / wild, fun, entertaining, risky, rule breaking, fight for survival feel but I didn't feel there was enough story line to keep me wanting more.
I think I was expecting more of a dangerous feel that comes with Gambling.

The Characters were flamboyant I would go as far to say theatrical/ circus /cabaret  to a point.
Which was great as it added to the entertainment vibe of an exciting casino. Exactly how Christopher intended them to be.
It also has a Western/ steampunk / dystopian feel to it which I did enjoy.

I was very excited to read this book.
The idea of a Gambling Train that stops at different worlds enticing all walks of life to come aboard and be entertained and to take risks was so fresh and exciting.
The atmosphere was there but the story was missing something.

I do believe Den of Shadows has huge potential. I have never seen another book quite like this one before!

However I do want to point out these are just my opinions whilst reading the book.

Although this one wasn't necessarily to my taste it does have alot of potential.

I 'm hoping there will be a book 2 and that book 1 was just creating the vibe for an exciting fresh new series.
If there was another book I would definitely read it as I do feel Christopher has got something special. It just needs some fine tuning then it will be Perfect!

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy Fantasy, adventure, Dystopian