Sadly, this book just wasn’t for me. I can see how so many people loved and enjoyed it. The story line was very unique, but I found it hard to follow. I will say the writing style was great and the plot was very interesting.

The one thing that really caught my eye at first glance was the cover, You know the old saying "Don't judge a book by its cover" Well this book had me drawn, I of course did what most people do, added it to the TBR and it fell down and down the list.
Well, finally, the name was drawn and I could get into this one, The premise seemed good, it could be a fun read. How often are there books that revolves around a train, filled to the brim with a night of escape from your ordinary lives. A night that can make you forget what troubles are waiting for you back in the real world.
The book just felt like it took too long to get going, so it dragged for some time. It's beautifully written, very descriptive, but just dragged a bit. Throughout the book it really build up, and I can admire the world it is set in, but maybe this was just one of those times, I should've called it quits and admitted, this book was just not meant for me.
I therefore won't give it a bad review as I feel this was just not the right fit for me. Someone else might pick this book up and it could become their favourite book.

I unfortunately was not able to read and review this book before the digital ecopy expired. The synopsis sounds great though, so I will be buying a copy of my own to read soon!

Maybe I have read too many action-packed, quick-paced books lately, but this ride started very slowly. The Gambler's Den weaves its way across the scorching desert, stopping at certain towns and offering its overworked and underpaid townfolk one night of solace.

I thought the setting was pretty cool; the roving bandits, the desert towns, the dealings with the locals. The Gambler's Den is also a thoroughly original idea (at least to me it was!). Further, the writing is simply lovely.

I have been lucky enough to be approved for all three of these books, so this is my first meeting with the Gambler's Den. I'm really enjoying it so far, I found the narrative really drew me in, and I got the magic from the start on this wonderful train!

I really thought I'd love this. The premise sounded so exciting and fantasy/Western is such a good genre. But there is so much world building. So much telling rather than showing. Really the first long chunk of the book simply describes what's going on rather than making us live in the moment. I found it difficult to connect with the characters and kept drifting off and skimming bits. Not the best.

I have been lucky enough to be approved for all three of these books, so this is my first meeting with the Gambler's Den. I'm really enjoying it so far, I found the narrative really drew me in, and I got the magic from the start on this wonderful train!

Franco, the owner - I can't quite work him out - do I like him, is he a genius, is he a criminal, does he have a heart or is he cruel? What is he? I'm sure i'll find out in the next two books....

I can't wait..

I enjoyed this , it was an entertaining read, the pace was slow sometimes , but it had all the elements I enjoy, magic, fantasy , great world building but I’d have liked a little more character building too.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I'm always a sucker for a good old-fashioned Western, and "Den of Shadows" 100% delivers on that aesthetic. The Gambler's Den is created so evocatively that you really get a sense of what the train means to people, rolling into town and spreading some frivolity in hard done by settlements in the middle of the dustbowl. You've got bandits, no good crooks, overly zealous lawmen and high-octane fight scenes. It's slow moving at first, the plot speeding up so gradually that it creeps up on you and you're suddenly on the edge of your seat hoping that all your favourites manage to survive until the next chapter.

The cast of characters is excellent too. I had a special soft spot for Franco, charismatic and driven yet morally dubious, but the showgirls soon won me over and I particularly wanted to see more of Jacques. Can't wait to see where they end up going in sequels!

I thought the pace of this book was a little slow and that the story could of been developed a lot more.

However I loved the writing style, the book was so descriptive it was like I could see the train and all its magicalness right in front of me!

The cover is beautiful. The book is fine but not what I expected. Nothing to do with Caraval or magic, also there is so little about gambling and mistery so maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I read it without reading the plot on netgalley or goodreads. Also I would have liked to know more about the characters. If I had to find similarities with an other book maybe I would say Six of Crows mainly because of the camaraderie.
In conclusion fine, but something is missing.

So this book is so many things in one, fantasy, westerns, steampunk and sort of young adult. It is beautifully written with so much detail and description.

By one fault is in the book the story is sort of overshadowed by all the detail, the plot took a while to develop and move on.

But it was incredibly interesting once that story moved on, hopefully it keeps on the pace in the next book!

The Den of Shadows weaves it's way across the land, bringing enjoyment and delight to the towns it visits. It offers nothing more than the opportunity to forget your troubles, and win a fortune, if you're lucky. The train is led by ringleader Franco, with his trusty second Misu, and a chorus of showgirls with mysterious talents. Yet, Franco must make a decision; save the train, or save his people. What decision will he make? Welcome to the den....

I have to say what initially drew me to the book is the cover; the cover gets four stars from me as it is so inviting and colourful, and just makes you want to know more. Secondly, the premise itself sounds really interesting; a train that travels stopping only at specific destinations offering a wild night of fantasy, fun, and gambling. Unfortunately for me, after these two it goes downhill.

This book took ages to get going; I was about 70% through the book before things actually started to happen. The first half (and more) is spent entirely in world building; don't get me wrong here, Byford does world-build amazingly, the train comes to life before your very eyes, and the ensemble is theatrical and interesting. However it is just not enough to make the book interesting overall; the first 70% of the book we watch as the train goes to a station, entertains for a night, and moves on - this happens multiple times and after a while just becomes a bit dull. I did not feel that the premise lived up to what the book actually offered. The writing itself was really good, and I feel the book had a lot of potential in itself, but I just feel that the actually plot was lost, and was just paced far too slow to make it a gripping read. I am intrigued to read where the second book goes given the ending of this one.

I haven't read anything by this author previously, but I loved the magical writing. The author has awesome world-building and cool characters. My favourite has to by Wyld, the thief. The story revolves around a group very different characters and a train, which is both a carnival and . a circus and a party vehicle? Trust me, it's amazing! I absolutely loved the heavy descriptions, they really helped set the scene and weren't unnecessary or boring.

Highly recommend!

This sounds a lot like other books - namely Caraval, and a lot of others have found it lacking. The reviews aren't great, and I just lost interest.

Byford has created a wonderful and captivating world for his readers.
Engrossing from the first word to the last. A real pleasure to read.

This book took me a while. At first I was really disappointed by this — after all, despite knowing next to nothing about this novel, I was still pretty excited to read it based solely on its pitch. After all, who doesn’t want to read about a traveling gambling den that exists on a train that promises wild characters and a Western vibe?

Sign. Me. Up.

Cards on the table (no puns intended): I’m a massive fan of the Western. It’s one of those classical American film genres I grew up loving — I even took a Genres course at university that spent a third of the semester just on the evolution of the Western. I try not to consider myself as picky with this genre as I am with, say, Classical Mythology…but, yeah, I’m probably going to be judging on a slightly higher curve when it comes to the Western than I would be with, say, just a generic action-adventure story.

And this book?
It’s alright.

There are some interesting things being done in here, and you won’t hear me say that Byford isn’t adept at atmosphere — he is. His creation of the world of the Gambling Den and its inhabitants is spot-on. The characters may be borderline archetypal in how operatic and “big” they come across at times, but it fits the mood of the world he creates.

Now if only he had a plot that lived up to this atmosphere.

The word that comes to mind is “unfocused.” It’s as if Byford spent so much time creating this world and its inhabitants, he didn’t quite work out what exactly he wanted to do with them, and, as a result, this book plods along with no clear direction. This is, understandably frustrating because, while the atmosphere is good — really good, at times — it’s not enough to keep me from wondering, “So…when’s something going to happen?” It shouldn't have taken me over three months to finally finish this book.

Perhaps, in the next novel of this (apparent) series, Byford will focus more upon a tightly-constructed plot to complement his interesting world and wild characters.

On one page I thought to myself "Why is this book so long!?" and then on the next I was asking the opposite!! A beautiful book, very descriptive, loved the characters but found it did drag in places. Wonderful writing, great characters.

It was interesting, really different and so descriptive, but it wasn't quite as exciting as I was expecting it to be more fast paced but it was lacking somewhat, the plot too took long to pick up.