A Forest Of Vanity And Valour (The Levanthria Series)

I had been following this author for a while and had not really had the courage to read the book due to the high expectation I had conjured in my mind.That said I was a fool. The story is absolutely captivating and each moment that passed I wanted to know more. The over all change in the main character was beautiful and compelling to see. Watching the antagonist fall deeper and deeper into madness was like watching a well preformed play.If you have any interest in reading this get it out of your TBR and start. You will not be disappointed

I enjoyed the overall premise of the book and the story line that the A.P. Beswick worked on creating was interesting, but there were some things that threw off the story for me. This book was really fast paced read and once the book started to get going after the slow beginning it definitely sucked me in for the rest of the book.We as the readers follow two narratives Vireo (our Robin Hood) and Jareb (the Sheriff?) that switch between chapters for the most part so we can see what is happening from both sides, which when there are not a lot of switching I tend to enjoy and I for the most part did in this book as well.There were some loose ends that I felt could have been wrapped up nicely if an epilogue was given and I definitely would have enjoyed a bit of a longer book to be honest as I felt that there is so much more that could have gone in to make the book more fleshed out.Overall I am giving it a high 3, low 4 stars as I did really enjoy the story of the book if not some aspects (see below for more issues),Below are my issues with the book in more detail and there are mild spoilers:This book was sold as a Robin Hood retelling and I can see where the author tried to incorporate certain aspects of the tale within his book, but it felt more like the beginning of the story instead of the actual story. Like this story was to tell the audience not a retelling of Robin Hood, but how he came to be within the forests that protected him and his "merry men (and women)." It didn't really feel complete either as there were was no real wrap up in the end, and I know that this is supposed to be a first book in the series, but the next books don't seem to have anything to do with these characters anymore so I felt that there should have been at least some wrap up instead of it just ending like it did.Secondly, this book had no characters that really stuck out . Other than one background character that was barely in the narrative because the two POVs were in first person, there were no "good" characters. But, a book doesn't need to have likable or good characters to be a good book. I did absolutely hate Jareb and his constant whining though (so irritating). Vireo did have growth which was nice and he was definitely a anti-hero more than a hero, but it took the whole of the book to happen and it was less growing and more epiphany when it happened. And Jareb could go take a flying leap off the tallest tower for all I cared. He whines more than my drama queen of a cat. Grow up man, life isn't fair, but you are just a idiot who thinks that he suffers more than the people that he is killing "because he don't like what he had to do" (*screams in frustration* Then don't do it!).Third, was the plot holes! I usually dont have a problem with some plot holes, but its like characters just disappeared once they were no use and that is frustrating. The author talks about servants of Vireo, but we never hear what happened to them when he was a outcast, the story introduces a small daughter of a bartender, but we never see what happened to her when her dad went to fight and then leave with Vireo, and another when his betrayal arc is over he just falls off the face of the book. I also wanted to know why the some things happened and they were never discussed. Like I stated previously the book could have done with being a bit longer or having a epilogue wrap up as we are not seeing these characters in the next few books of the series (already out).

I heard lots of great stuff about this series and got the first book for Christmas. I finished it in one sitting (~3 hours with breaks) and it was a fun little read. It's a new take on Robin Hood and I think (spoiler alert) it's going to mix in some elements of King Arthur throughout the series.With that said, i want to call out some things so that expectations can be managed. While the overall premise is fun and enjoyable, the flow was clunky in some parts and the story felt rushed in other parts, especially at the end. This was definitely self-published, which is a valid form of publishing, and the author hired someone to "edit" but they did a piss-poor job of it to leave so many mistakes within the manuscript when sending it to print. I'm talking blatant misspellings of words, inconsistency in character dialogue, and weird typos that any spellcheck software should have caught and corrected. I felt that Vireo could have used a bit more character development; it felt a bit forced at times. We're supposed to like him, but I wasn't fully onboard with him until the very end of the book, which is too far into a story to finally like a character.Overall, I think the author had a great idea for a story that has a lot of potential that could have used a bit more polishing before publishing. I'm going to give the series a chance, because I think it's worthwhile, but if I were the author, I'd consider reworking and republishing the first book someday now that he's got multiple books under his belt!

This is a wonderful twist on Robin Hood. I loved meeting the characters and discovering their growth. The twists A. P. He’s wick has written are shocking and pull the reader further into the journey. The book is slow moving at to start but this is needed when building a world. I recommend to any fantasy fan who loves a tail of heart and betrayal. There is so much growth in this world and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

This book is a dark fantasy twist on the story of Robin Hood, set in world called Levanthria. The story focuses on Viero, the Robin Hood character, and Jareb, the Prince John character.Viero, starts out a nobleman who serves his kingdom by aggressively collecting taxes to fund the King's war and woe to those who try to resist him. Jareb is the Lord ruler, representative of the King, and he struggles daily with the stress and morality of the heavy taxes the King demands of his subjects. In a heartbreaking tragedy, Viero finds himself outlawed and Jareb turns cold and ruthless in his power. Soon Viero must take up arms and fight against the system he once so maliciously enforced.I really enjoyed this book, it puts a great spin on the classic tale, with some decently written characters, fast paced action and a sprinkle of humor to keep things from being overly dark. I think it's setting up a shared universe of classic folklore with a dark fantasy framework and I'm ready for it.My only criticisms are there are some sections of the story that feel a bit under developed and could have done with more detailing. While this doesn't ruin the story, it just feels a bit unpolished. Other than that the narrative style, first person present tense which alternates between the two main characters, for me personally was a bit confusing at first but I quickly adjusted to it.Overall I highly recommend A Forest of Vanity and Valour!

I cannot wait to read the other books in this series! The writing style has me hooked, the storyline perfection, and the characters lovably flawed. Chefs kiss, A.P Beswick!

preso perchè sembrava interessante l'idea, e personalmente do sempre spazio a nuovi scrittori, ma qui forse andrebbe rivisto un attimo lo stile. l'idea di base è bella, ma è un continuo dilungarsi nello spiegare e nelle descrizioni. non riesco ad andare avanti, trovo lo stile davvero poco scorrevole...peccato, l'idea era buona

A new approach to an old tale. Very interesting and action packed. And with a beautiful message. Surely will continue the series

So I saw this advertised either through Tiktok or through instagram and I just thought 'why not give it a bash' and whilst it was not the best in terms of story telling, as some of the other commentators have mentioned, as there were grammatical errors, I wasn't looking for something which we would be receiving from the likes of Stephen King etc, this is a home author who's trying to branch into something.So with that, if you don't take the book all too seriously and pass over the mistakes you see, you will find something which is enjoyable to read and very well could be something which could lead to a good series - as with that, I have now purchased book 2 and await 3/4 to come out with eagerness.

Absolutely loved this book, was a fantastic read. I was gripped from the start. Brilliantly written. Such a great twist on a classic. I highly recommend this book and the series. The author himself is a great guy, follow him on different social platforms. Always great when you can interact with an author, and he genuinely is grateful to his fans.