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thebookboy's review against another edition
4.0
What a fun, magical story! Set in the English countryside during the evacuations of WW2, The Briarmen is a tale about two children discovering a small group of magical nature creatures in a forest and trying to keep this secret safe from the adults in the community as the ongoing war continues to put this discovery at risk.
Sort of a fairytale for adults (though I think younger readers would be fine with this one too), The Briarmen explores loss, war time attitudes and a lot of other great themes while being a charming story full of action and adventure. There's spies, kidnapping, giant catfish and planes painted like dragons - it's all very good fun and the perfect read if you're looking for something quite fast paced and enjoyable.
Sort of a fairytale for adults (though I think younger readers would be fine with this one too), The Briarmen explores loss, war time attitudes and a lot of other great themes while being a charming story full of action and adventure. There's spies, kidnapping, giant catfish and planes painted like dragons - it's all very good fun and the perfect read if you're looking for something quite fast paced and enjoyable.
hermoine7's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bethanybook's review against another edition
4.0
Ok so this book… you need to get yourself a copy ASAP.
If you love all things fantasy and all things historical fiction this will be right up your street. It took me back to childhood tales with a dash of adult fantasy and history thrown in and it just made the perfect story.
The relationship between Penny and Hamish was just amazing to read and I found myself staying up until the early house just so I could read a few extra pages and stay inside the amazing world that Joseph A. Chadwick has created.
Even though it is a big book, I found it went rather quick, due to me wanting to find out what was going to happen!
I literally finished this book over the weekend. That’s how much I enjoyed it.
It truly is a fairytale for adults.
(Also the super cute illustrations at the start of every chapter was just the cherry on top for me) *chefs kiss*
Thank you to Crescent Swan Publishing for sending me a copy of The Briarmen by Joseph A. Chadwick. I loved every minute of it.
If you love all things fantasy and all things historical fiction this will be right up your street. It took me back to childhood tales with a dash of adult fantasy and history thrown in and it just made the perfect story.
The relationship between Penny and Hamish was just amazing to read and I found myself staying up until the early house just so I could read a few extra pages and stay inside the amazing world that Joseph A. Chadwick has created.
Even though it is a big book, I found it went rather quick, due to me wanting to find out what was going to happen!
I literally finished this book over the weekend. That’s how much I enjoyed it.
It truly is a fairytale for adults.
(Also the super cute illustrations at the start of every chapter was just the cherry on top for me) *chefs kiss*
Thank you to Crescent Swan Publishing for sending me a copy of The Briarmen by Joseph A. Chadwick. I loved every minute of it.
lillygabriella's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
doobyus's review against another edition
2.0
Not a bad story. The author writes fairly well, but the absence of a good editor is evident throughout the book.
Interesting idea but it doesn’t quite come off for me. I’m sure future books will be tighter.
Interesting idea but it doesn’t quite come off for me. I’m sure future books will be tighter.
rhifallows's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED this book, such a wonderful story that had me gripped all the way through. We were kindly provided with review copies by the publisher.
The story, set in wartime Britain, centres around the friendship that blossoms between Hamish, a wartime evacuee, and Penny, who he goes to live with in the sleepy village of Brombury. However, Brombury doesn’t stay sleepy for long as there are rumours of a German plane coming down in the mysterious Woods Beyond The Railway. And that’s not all that’s hiding in the woods, as Penny and Hamish discover the Briarmen. Adventures in the Woods ensue and relationships are forged between the children and the Briarmen.
This was such a nostalgic read and is definitely a book that I would have picked up and appreciated both now and 20 years ago. I’ve always been drawn to wartime fiction and the added fantastical elements to this books gave it such a unique twist. Plus there were really cute illustrations at the beginning of each chapter! I really felt catapulted back to my childhood while reading this, although that’s not to say this is a children’s book as there’s definitely a health dose of the cynicism that comes with adulthood.
It was well written, the characters and their relationships well established and developed, and the end of the book was excellent. It had me on the edge of my seat. My only complaint is that I now really want to know more about the Briarmen and their story!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would love to read more from the author.
The story, set in wartime Britain, centres around the friendship that blossoms between Hamish, a wartime evacuee, and Penny, who he goes to live with in the sleepy village of Brombury. However, Brombury doesn’t stay sleepy for long as there are rumours of a German plane coming down in the mysterious Woods Beyond The Railway. And that’s not all that’s hiding in the woods, as Penny and Hamish discover the Briarmen. Adventures in the Woods ensue and relationships are forged between the children and the Briarmen.
This was such a nostalgic read and is definitely a book that I would have picked up and appreciated both now and 20 years ago. I’ve always been drawn to wartime fiction and the added fantastical elements to this books gave it such a unique twist. Plus there were really cute illustrations at the beginning of each chapter! I really felt catapulted back to my childhood while reading this, although that’s not to say this is a children’s book as there’s definitely a health dose of the cynicism that comes with adulthood.
It was well written, the characters and their relationships well established and developed, and the end of the book was excellent. It had me on the edge of my seat. My only complaint is that I now really want to know more about the Briarmen and their story!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would love to read more from the author.
thehannahwilkinson's review
5.0
A wonderfully wholesome and nostalgic novel. This reminded me of stories I read as a child, of ‘The Secret Seven’, ‘Five Children and It’ and ‘Stig of the Dump’, I really enjoyed the familiar feeling it gave me. Having said that, the story was still new and very interesting, I wasn’t sure where it was going and I enjoyed the little mysteries in the novel too.
I liked the development of Penny and Hamish’s characters both separately and as friends. I felt like they grew through the novel in a very natural way, nothing felt contrived, their reactions to the things they saw and learned were real and as such I enjoyed being on this adventure with them even more.
I loved the Briarmen! I have long been fascinated with the idea of magical creatures in nature, particularly those that dwell amongst the trees. Walking through dense woods still gives me feelings of magic and I’m sure that will only increase next time I’m out in the forest now!
I liked the development of Penny and Hamish’s characters both separately and as friends. I felt like they grew through the novel in a very natural way, nothing felt contrived, their reactions to the things they saw and learned were real and as such I enjoyed being on this adventure with them even more.
I loved the Briarmen! I have long been fascinated with the idea of magical creatures in nature, particularly those that dwell amongst the trees. Walking through dense woods still gives me feelings of magic and I’m sure that will only increase next time I’m out in the forest now!
gravityeyelids's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
3.0
jellybean1981's review against another edition
5.0
I have a very bad case of sadness, I never wanted to finish this book. It was an amazing book that had me from page one.
It is an adult Fairytale that is based in a little village with magical woods, it's based around the war & sees two children living with a secret, until one day the secret has to be revealed to save the village.
It is an adult Fairytale that is based in a little village with magical woods, it's based around the war & sees two children living with a secret, until one day the secret has to be revealed to save the village.
amongstchaosshereads's review against another edition
'A classic... filled with magic and escapism' - This is a perfect description for this book