The Gambler's Den weaves its way across the scorching dessert, stopping at certain towns and offering its overworked and underpaid townfolk one night of solace. One night to forget all their troubles, let loose and have some fun. But once on board there's much more to the mysterious traveling show than meets the eye: enter Franco, the captain and heart of the train, Misu, Franco's second hand and fire breathing showgirl, and Wyld the young stowaway thief.

"Some called it a circus. Some referred to it as a carnival. Both were incorrect, for it was something much more grandiose."

In a realm governed by law, Franco makes sure to keep his den in line by being a strict and precise leader. But when he's faced with saving the fate of his train and those on board, he may be forced to break his own rules. For Franco, The Gambler's Den isn't just a job, but a way of life and the people abroad aren't just workers but his family.

The Gambler's Den by Christopher Byford is a slow paced, western fantasy like tale about an elaborate showman named Franco, his relationships, and his traveling casino business.

At 176 pg's long this is a short book, but it feels much longer due to the pacing of the story. However, its so wonderfully written that I didn't mind its slow pace; it was very easy to get lost in the author's beautiful descriptions. Unfortunately, it did take a long time for the plot to reveal itself and I didn't really know where this story was going until about half way through.

I love the idea of a traveling train casino! Where ever it stops, it offers its new passengers a night full of shows, gambling games, drinks and much needed excitement and relaxation. The world building is great and the characters were fleshed out too. I just wish there was more to the plot. It took so long to get to it that by the time it did, it felt like this story had ended. It didn't feel complete to me. Fortunately, this is the first book in a series, so I have faith that the future books will add much more to the Gambler's Den world. I wanted more!

This is a beautifully written tale that will be sure to suck you in with all of its vivid imagery. Its full of colorful people, traveling, and casino fun. Worth the read!

**** I received an eBook copy of this title via netgalley in exchange for my honest review. ****

Actual rating: 3.75 

I want to start off by saying I absolutely adore the cover of Den of Shadows! 

It took me forever to get into this story, but I think hats because it is very atmospheric. It relies heavily on world building. While saying all that, the world building was beautiful. I could visualize the picture in my mind almost perfectly. Also, the plot is so unique. I have never read anything like it before! 

I think this book is setting up the world for a wonderful series! 

Thank you for providing me with an egalley!

This book is a rich development of a world that is closer to the Wild West than to hard science fiction. It is strange that it begins with a division between those who have the best of everything and those that support this lifestyle and yet the former have no role in this story. It is a slow read with very little going on for quite some time. The thing that keeps you reading is the style of writing and the world building and character development which are both well handled. Frequent flashbacks form the major mechanism for scene setting. Whilst effective, it is a little overused and the only variation is whether these are internalised or discussed.

There is some tension points where characters are at risk but there always seems to be a little twist that keeps them moving forwards. That is not to say that all characters survive, but the risk tends to be higher for peripheral characters. The story picks up pace towards the end and there is far more of the adventure story to it. This is also the time when some of the questions are answered.

The ending is quite abrupt, given the pace of much of the book. In fact it lurches to a conclusion that leaves plenty of opportunity for a sequel. It is an interesting read but not one that has the reader aching for more...well maybe

Can we just acknowledge how mesmerising this cover is!? In all honesty this is where my excitement for this book stemmed. And once I had then read the synopsis, which was remarkably cryptic and alluring, I just knew this was going to be the book for me!

The Gambler's Den brings a brief night of respite to the poverty-stricken and hard-working individuals who have made a home upon the desert's vast and windswept plains. The train arrives in each town laden with beautiful women, alcohol, gambling, and the promise to make, at least for one night, all your fears disappear.

Other reviewers have stated their discontent at the slow-build of this novel, but this is the section I most admired. The dark atmospheric qualities of this book grew until the setting became almost a character in itself. From there, I became absorbed into the realm of the mystical and belief was suspended, as I was borne across the desert along with the cast of theatrical individuals this circulates around.

This bore similarities to two previous books I have thoroughly enjoyed: The Night Circus and Caraval. All three books evoke a dark whimsy and a building sense of foreboding that haunts the narrative. Neither of the three are easily classifiable and it is this indefinable quality that truly captivated my attention.

This book bears a resemblance to classic Western literature, due to the setting and the lawless and heady feel aboard the illicit train, but is also clearly fantastical in nature. The adventurous elements combine into an almost dystopian plot-line, that had me constantly guessing and second-guessing the outcome. This book was many things, but the one that is for certain is that it was an unforgettable journey that I am keen to revisit in the second instalment in this thrilling new series.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for access to an early copy of Den of Shadows in exchange for an honest review.  I absolutely loved the idea behind this book, but it really just fell flat. I felt like more than half the book was building up to something incredible but instead it just fizzled out. I'll admit I really struggled to get through about 80% of it. It somehow gave me too much detail and backstory where I didn't need/want any and left other things vague and shrouded in mystery when I wanted more. And oftentimes by the time the mystery was revealed I was just no longer interested.

Let's start with the blurb, because I should have noticed one of my own warning signs right off:

The Gambler’s Den weaves its away across the desert… But will it stop at your station?

While fighting off poverty in the blistering desert heat a travelling casino offers one night of solace. One...

The Gambler’s Den weaves its away across the desert… But will it stop at your station?

While fighting off poverty in the blistering desert heat a travelling casino offers one night of solace. One night to forget all your troubles. But once on board there is more to the show than meets the eye: enter Franco, the elaborate ringleader, Wyld the stowaway thief and Misu the fire breathing showgirl.

In a kingdom ruled by the law Franco ensures his den remains in line, ruling with an iron first. But when he’s faced with saving the fate of the train, and those on board, he may be forced to break his own rules. Life on the den isn’t just a job but a way of life. And now you’re about to find out why!

Welcome to the den…

Perfect for fans of Caraval, Rebel of the Sands and The Night Circus.

See the last line there? A list of three books that I really like? That's a warning sign. I've talked about it a few times in past posts. When a book you've never heard of compares itself to amazing books that you love, you must proceed with caution. Also there are a couple of typos (ruling with an iron first? not an iron fist? hmm).

So we have a train, a game, and a bunch of shady characters, winding their way through the desert. The book is very slow to begin, much like Caraval - so in a way, that comparison isn't off, though not the way they wanted it to be I'm sure. The atmosphere and descriptions of the setting are appealing enough. But the wait for more adventure on this train ride was agonizing. The entertainers were very much like you would expect in a casino, but they were a bit wooden. I'm not sure. It just didn't feel as fleshed out as it could have been, though it was interesting.

I think because it compares itself to such well known books, or rather, it tags itself as being something I should like, I had really high expectations. I am still interested in seeing where the next book takes the story... maybe what this one was lacking will be resolved as the plot continues. 3/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review.

I really liked the idea of a traveling train that provides entertainment instead of passage. The showgirls were my favorite. Lots of awesome women. There was some action but I wish there was a bit more. I also didn't like Misu's storyline too much. It didn't seem completely believable.

DNFed at 50%

This is a fantasy novel with a western feel to it, and the description had me desperate to read it. The story follows a train that has been converted into a moving gambling den, with fantastical elements and was described as being for fans of books such as Caraval.

Going on this description, I was eager to read this book, which was also advertised as a short and quick read. I was expecting to meet strange and interesting characters and to be entertained by the events on the train. Instead, I feel this is one of the most slow paced and dull books I have ever picked up. Usually I try and pull myself through books no matter what, especially when I have requested them to review. This book was just too difficult for me to find anything to like and push through with.

To go into more detail on what I didn't like, I shall first start off with the characters. To be honest, I can't even remember anyones names, which is never a great start. I didn't like any of the characters, like they weren't good people, so I didn't feel any attachment to them to help me keep reading. Then we have the plot, at first I managed to keep myself somewhat interested due to being intrigued about the world. This intrigue soon left me when I was just faced with slow moving plot, or rather almost no pace at all, and just pages of boring nothingness.

I'm honestly trying not to sound rude or mean with this review, however I just honestly have no good things to say about this book. Looking at other peoples reviews, this book seems to have a marmite affect. Many people share my opinion, on the other hand a few people have also loved it. This book clearly wasn't for me, and so I wouldn't recommend it unless you are a massive fan of very slow paced information dumping fantasy novels.

There is some beautiful, elegant, emotive and magical writing in Den of Shadows.  It's a shame then that the story takes so very long to get going, reaches a climax in the middle and then sort of meanders about a bit, forgetting it's meant to be entertaining us.  It tried to be so many things, and couldn't really carry any of them long enough for them to be effective.

The synopsis of Den of Shadows completely hooked me in, but sadly the execution did not convince me at all. Despite the book being not that long, <b>I struggled to get through it</b>. Here are a few reasons why:

» The beginning starts with a huge info dump, which is really not a good way to keep a reader engaged. I was quite put off when I had to get through so much background story to get to the actual story. It did make me worry about the rest of the story.
» The writing style - while very detailed - sounded more like dry telling, rather than showing. It just felt very passive and made me feel detached from the story. It sounded like someone was narrating a story for a textbook, which did make me a bit sad.
» Because of my problems with the slow beginning and passive writing style, I was not engaged in the story at all and could not bring myself to care for the characters of storyline. My interest was just not hold and I felt myself drifting away while reading this.

<b>IN CONCLUSION</b>: Den of Shadows had a good premise, but ultimately let down with a passive voice and lots of info dumping, which made me not care much about the actual storyline.

Many thanks to Christopher Buford, HQ, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. 

The Den of Shadows takes us on a journey through the Sand Sea, a vast desert waste where humans live with crime and corruption , hard labor and low pay with little entertainment. At the beginning of the story the kingdom of Eifera is very briefly mentioned, so briefly that it left me wondering why it was really even mentioned. There must be a story there that will be developed in future books. Otherwise it's just there for a juxtaposition. 

The Sand Sea is known for its rough terrain, bad weather, and towns that popped up along trade routes. These towns are what the Gambler's Den was made for-a train fit for gambling and drinking with showgirls. There is a resident thief, breakfasts with cockatrice eggs, shootouts, and an evil sheriff. All the makings of a successful fantasy story right? But I just felt like the author wasn't sure where he was going at first. Then suddenly there is this plot with the manager and the sheriff in town. My assumption is this the beginning book of a series. What the Gambler's Den is and who the people are needs to be addressed. It took maybe half of the book. Then suddenly the reader is thrown not one, not two, but three subplots on top of the two character development plots and not one is heavily developed. I think Byford may have shortchanged himself. He has some really promising ideas here. I'm curious if there will be overlap into book two.

Keep writing, Byford. The ending leaves me wanting more.

Some books lure you in with pretty blurbs and colourful covers but then the quality of the actual content is still a hit or miss situation. This one was a total and complete miss. It’s been a while since I read a book where I couldn’t find a single thing that I would enjoy. It’s a shame because I really thought I would like it.

From the very beginning I knew it wasn’t my kind of book. I was expecting adventures from town to town as the Den traveled through the desert. I was waiting for spectacular abilities and shows that never ends. But that was not what I got.

Instead there was  tedious and never ending descriptions. Descriptions of places, descriptions of emotions, descriptions of trains, more trains and even more trains. I was never so bored reading a book.

Throughout the whole book I had no idea where the plot was going. A few characters had their own side story going on. BUT! Those stories would start and I was interested to see what would happen next to that particular character and suddenly we read the book from someone else’s point of view and we don’t really get any answers. I felt confused and bored and it just wasn’t for me.

The book is only 176 pages long and it took me 4 days to finish it, can clearly see how much I didn’t like it. I would only recommend it to readers who are really into trains!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review from Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book, the plot was fast paced and the writing was beautifully descriptive. I thought the characters were well written with just enough of their back story weaved into the plot that it didn't bore me. I ended up really liking Franco!

My favourite part was the fight/battle at the end, It had me on the edge of my seat and I definitely didn't see the plot twist at the end. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and will definitely read the second book, I've got a feeling this series will only get better!

It was like The Night Circus sans the romance and the whimsy. And that's not bad! I loved the premise and the setting of the story - about a train that offers one great night to remember to erase all the other bad ones spent in the middle of a sea of sand. It was a great slow burn of a novel and I loved how it started out as if the train was magical and invincible but it it turns out that the people behind it, who were the reason behind the magic, are only human after all. Somehow, it felt to me like The Great Gatsby if it were set in the midwest because of the opulence and the tragedy of the characters. But the prose - THE PROSE. I didn't really mind if it there were times when it was a bit slow and dragging, I loved the writing and the world building so much it felt like this book was too short for me. The author really had a talent in setting the mood for the reader and I remember squeaking with delight after I read the first few pages. Nevertheless, this was one of those books that I forget quite easily. I am looking forward to the sequel though and hoping that the story will take the readers deeper into the world of The Gambler's Den.

Why did I pick this up?: Comparisons to the Night Circus, a train running across the desert with an elaborate ringleader aboard? Sounds like my cup of tea.

Good points: The Gamblers’ Den is a Vegas on wheels, but better. Beautiful descriptions of the casino, the show they put on for the customers, everything. The flamboyant manners of the characters are exactly my style, and it’s got such a unique premise that the idea swept me along immediately. It’s one of those ideas that as a writer I wish I’d thought of first!

Quibbles: It takes a long time to get started. And I mean a long time. I was wondering what was going to happen well into the fourth and fifth chapters of a twenty chapter book. And, beautiful as it was, it failed to catch me and make me desperate to read more, something I look for in books I add to my shelves.

Overview (TL;DR): A beautiful book with an exciting premise that just missed the mark for me and my shelves. Someone else may find it exactly to their taste.

Franco Del Monaire fixed up an old train with his grandfather and converted it into The Gambler’s Den: a traveling spectacle providing a night of food, drinks, and gambling for the towns it stops in. When they make a stop in Windberg, a town known for it’s law-abiding Sheriff, they end up risking everything to make it out alive. 

While the premise sounded fascinating, I did not enjoy reading this book. It’s less than 200 pages and nothing really happened until I was almost 40% into the plot. There was a lot of exposition for what amounted to be virtually no world-building. The characters fell flat. We might have gotten glimpses into their past from flashbacks, but they weren’t that informative or out of the ordinary. There weren’t any good relationships between the characters. Very minimal romance or family ties with maximum levels of guilt and fear from roles the characters played in the past and people they left behind.

So I was not invested in the world or plot or characters which made it very tedious to get through.

The best parts of the books were the end when we realize how much the girls care about the family they’ve created and the lengths they go through to protect it. Yet, we don’t have that many interactions between them to see where this love grew. The dialogue is very stilted and forced.

Diversity: +2

Race/Ethnicity: +/-1 No one was mentioned to be of a particular race. While no skin color was explicitly stated (that I can recall), they weren’t explicitly of color so be default they were white. Also it takes place out in the middle of a dessert somewhere so it feels like a place where “race” isn’t an issue. 

However, the names kind of give some things away. Franco Del Monaire sounds French, is slick, clever, scheming, and the boss. Misu sounds Asian, is a beautiful, small, petite, woman in charge of two separate groups of women employed to pleasure men. Wilheim sounds German, but suffixes like -heim and -stein are often attributed to Jewish people, he is conniving, underhanded, corrupt, and launders large sums of money.

Gender: +1 [Wyld is only female who does not strictly adhere to standard gender roles, even for performers]

Socioeconomic Status: +1 [Some interesting commentary on how poverty affects decisions, breaking rules to survive]

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

Definitely not my cup of tea. I was expecting an action packed story related to Caraval, or even the Night Circus. And from someone who didn't like the Night Circus, I would still rather read that than this one. Nothing really happens until like really close to the ending. EVEN THEN ITS STILL SLOW AS THEY COME. I didn't connect to the characters, the writing was a tad bit mediocre, and the storyline overall was just a let down.

This book made me feel so many emotions all at once. I had never really read a book like this before and I am so glad that I did

This has been one of those curious "it's not the book, it's me" case.

Maybe I have read too many action packed, quick-paced books lately, but this ride started very slowly and it took forever -almost to 50% into the book - to take up speed, and I still thought it was dawdling.

At first I did not notice, because the writing is beautiful: elegant and clear. The setting was promising and so was the start. I totally wanted to get on the train and take the ride.

But as the story progressed - or rather, it didn't - information was sparse and I kept on waiting for events to culminate, for some climax but when it came, it was not so much a bang, but a whimper. 
Too many things were hinted at, but not explained. Characters were shrouded in mystery for so long that I simply lost interest. 

My main problem, however, is that I think the book tries to be too many things at once: fantasy, coming-of-age, character-driven, Victorian steampunk, westernesque, and this is inimical to plot and world-building. The story/characters do not have enough steam in them to carry the narrative far enough and though there are some interesting, more exciting stretches in the journey, mostly it is milkrun.