The Briarmen: A fairy-tale for adults

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I also enjoyed the whimsical writing style and some of the descriptions of the forest and magical elements are imaginative.

The Briarmen | The StoryGraph Reviews - The Briarmen | The StoryGraph

At first Penny is far from happy with her new house guest, but after she and Hamish discover and befriend the Briarmen, four fantastical creatures living in the forbidden Woods Beyond The Railway, they are bound together through a shared secret. A rocky start to their friendship leads the children to daring each other to step into the alluring and yet forbidden forest, upon entering the forest Hamish realises these are not any ordinary woods and the pair are introduced to four fantastical creatures dwelling within the trees. I was fortunate enough to be provided with an advance copy of The Briarmenfrom Crescent Swan Publishingin exchange for an honest review. The story conveyed the conflict of WW2, not just between Britain and Germany but within the village itself, and the journey to acceptance, the value of trust and loyalty and the form of unlikely friendships. I’ve no plans for a sequel at the moment, but it has been amazing to see such a great response, so you never know!This book was the first of Crescent Swan's publications, and I will definitely be on the look out for more of their books in the future.

The Briarmen by Joseph. A. Chadwick - Blogger Book review: The Briarmen by Joseph. A. Chadwick - Blogger

I found readers, reviewers and bloggers alike praise the small operation for their openness in communication, as well as their genuine appreciation for reviews of their work shared. As I read the first few chapters I felt like I was reading an old children’s classic with vibes of Narnia, The Railway Children and Five Children and It. While this book can be enjoyed by children, its focus on personal responsibility, war, and the destructiveness of humans, means that it can be enjoyed by adults as well. Clemens, about whom I won’t say much to avoid spoiling anything, was also a pleasant surprise, reminding us that everyday people who did not necessarily approve of their countries’ atrocities, experienced the war as a tragedy, no matter where they came from.The whole of the book was generally very light-hearted, which is a little surprising when we consider the themes that are explored. The man-eating catfish were also just as mystifying and out of all the amazing mystical creatures the author could have created for his enchanted forest bizarrely we are presented with geese and catfish. Thank you to the publisher for the gifted advanced copy of this book to review in exchange for an honest opinion. This story is set in the village of Brombury at the start of the second world war and follows our two main characters; Penny and Hamish, as they discover the secrets of the nearby forest – The Briarmen – and how this experience shapes their understanding of the world and of human behavior. With The Briarmen I found that getting up and writing in the morning tended to be more productive, though that being said there were certainly times I wrote late into the night and managed to get a good amount done.

The Briarmen by Joseph A. Chadwick | Waterstones

Looking ahead, Crescent Swan has recently announced two new authors they are looking forward to working with this year. At first, Hamish and Penny don’t quite get along, but when the two adventure into the Woods Beyond The Railway – where the townspeople collectively never visit for some reason – the two discover something living with the woods that they weren’t expecting. Support libraries: If this is available at your local library, consider borrowing it for free there.Hamish and Penny now have a secret to keep but with a German fighter plane crashing into the woods can they keep the secret to themselves as German Pilot Clemens becomes a threat.