Review- Snakewood by Adrian Selby

Blurb  "Once they were a band of mercenaries who shook the pillars of the world through cunning, alchemical brews, and cold steel. Whoever met their price won.

Now, their glory days behind them, scattered to the wind, and their genius leader in hiding, they are being hunted down and eliminated one by one. 

A lifetime of enemies has its own price. 

Adrian Selby brings us into an unforgettable new world filled with magic, mystery, intrigue, bloodshed and betrayal."

My review:

I received this book from Orbit and Netgalley  in exchange for an honest review. All opinions

are my own.

I read the blurb and saw the cover for Snakewood and I could not wait to read this story.  I will admit, that the beginning was slow 

going for me and I debated whether or not I should continue. By the time I reached the third chapter, I was very happy that I kept reading. 

There are high's and low's in this story and I will break them down the best way that I can.

Cons: 

- The sentence structure does take some getting use to, especially the first two chapters and I  imagine that it will pose a problem for many readers. 

But this was most predominant in the chapters told by the character Gant. He has a very unusual dialect and it is a bit distracting, but I did grow accustomed to it.

Some examples:

I looked around the boys I'd shared skins and pipes with under the moon those last few weeks.

or

It was then I took the arrow that'll do for me.

- The story seemed disjointed at times. The flow was interrupted by the different flashbacks.

- There were words used that needed explanations or a better context. I had to read some sentences several times to try and figure out the meaning. A glossary would

  have really came in handy.

- The story is dark and very violent. Some might have a problem with this.

- Multiple POV's. you either like this style of writing or not. I just wanted to let readers know that the story is told by several characters.

Pros:

- The author created a unique world. The use of plants to make brews, poisons and antidotes was interesting. I liked the different colors of the skin and side effects that occurred

  over time from their usage.

- Multiple POV's. I happen to like this and think it enhanced the story

- The characters of "Kailen's Twenty" were very well written and I enjoyed their background      stories. 

- The battle scenes were very vivid and detailed.  

- It was intriguing reading about the fightbrews that the mercenaries used to aid them in battle. Battles could be won or lost based on who has the better fightbrews.

- The story is dark. I listed this as a "Con" as well. I happen to be a huge fan of dark tales and don't have a problem with the darkness and violence.

- The mystery of the assassin killing off "Kailen's Twenty" was very well done.

- I will not give a spoiler, but there were some twists in the story that I definitely did not see coming. They increased my interest in the story.

I would recommend this story to fantasy lovers who are interested in a unique tale and will read more from this author. I would also caution that the person considering this story

realize that even though the story starts out slow and that the style of writing is not typical, the story gets so much better. I can truly say that with a little patience Snakewood will be worth the read.