A Forest of Vanity and Valour

The Levanthria Series, Book 1

De: A.P Beswick

Narrado por: Aaron Smith

An aggressive debt collector banished from the kingdom. Now his life depends on his ability to help the less fortunate....

Vireo Reinhold relishes collecting his monarch’s proper dues. Working hard to prolong and fund the king’s never-ending war, the self-centered official revels in the perks of luxury that come with his unorthodox role. But his world upends when he unearths an ancient spellbook that promises to unlock a shadowy, forgotten magic. Embroiled in a secret affair with a fellow noble’s wife, Vireo is mortified when he’s forced to commit an unthinkable act. Driven into exile, no longer able to coerce the vulnerable, and with the powerful tome in his enemy’s hands, the fallen agent’s only shot at survival hangs on his skills at saving others.

Can Vireo redeem himself as the people’s champion before they all fall to a sinister fate?

A Forest of Vanity and Valour is the dark first book in the Tales of Levanthria fantasy-retelling series. If you like fast-paced action, evil-to-good transformations, and classic stories with a twist, then you’ll love A.P Beswick’s ominous tale. Buy A Forest of Vanity and Valour to fight for what’s right today!

©2022 A.P Beswick (P)2022 A.P Beswick

Meh

By no means is it bad...it justbleaves you wanting more. Im not saying you want more like "I can't wait for the next book." I'm more saying you're looking for so much more character development, intrigue, personality, and it never comes.

Enjoyable but…

A nice re-imagining of the Robin Hood tale with a fantasy twist. Narrated well, and the story flows pretty good. I will say the first person aspect is a bit jarring, and sometimes breaks my immersion. Also there is a lot of telling rather than showing at times. Overall still good.

It’s quite unoriginal.

Was somewhat entertained in the beginning of the book. Then things turned to simply a retelling of Robin Hood. Creatures and magic have been added in for fun. At the end of the book, they hint at a “sword embedded in stone”. So, apparently, it’s King Arthur meets Robin Hood in the next book. I won’t know for sure, because there’s much more original work to listen to.

Enjoyed!

I enjoyed the readers pace and the accent brought life to the characters. Story was great as I love sword fights, magic and all that this involves. Ready for the next book in the series.

Depth of characters

Great listen!! Can’t wait for the rest of the series! Sets up a bold world just waiting to be explored!

Good listen!

Good book, interesting retelling of a classic tale. I will definitely listen to the next books in the series!

Short but well written

A lot of authors these days are long winded and disjointed in their writing. A.P. Beswick does not deal with those struggles. The story is nuanced and well thought out, which is so refreshing! Characters are introduced in an excellent manner and I respect any author who isn’t afraid to kill off a character or two.

I also love that the queer coded character is given more depth to their personality than just being queer and I hope there is more inclusion in the other books.

Intriguing

This is such a fascinating King Arthur/Robin Hood retelling. Jareb seems to be playing the role of the Sheriff of Nottingham, Prince John, and Sir Guy of Gisborne (all three being villains of Robin Hood) all while under the thumb of the sorceress Morgana (obviously from the tale of King Arthur, though perhaps also influenced by the woman who ends up killing Robin Hood). The take on Robin Hood was unique and quite interesting. It is a tale of redemption that few Robin Hood retellings have. And the antagonist appears to be surprisingly the victim, even till the end. His entire “villain” arc was brought about by someone influencing/controlling his mind. Not that he was innocent. But while most representations of the villains from Robin Hood are heartless and greedy, he was not.
This story also shows you a very real truth about how you can never know the true evils or kindnesses of a person’s heart simply by what they do or say. Neither Vireo nor Jareb wanted to steal from the people, however, they both did it anyway “for the greater good” and to maintain their lifestyles. They both hated each other, and yet they could have actually made great allies if only they could have been honest with one another.
I finished this book in the space of a few hours, at which point I realized just how short it is. It feels like a nice sized story, and yet in the end it seems so very short. I look forward to reading the next book and exploring this world A.P. Beswick has invented.

just 👏

it was the best retell i has seen in a long time since the animal version of Robin hood lol. this is my favorite one now. cant wait to read the other retells by this author. keep them coming.

Great book looking forward to the rest of the series

This is a story of Robin Hood told in a light that I’ve never heard before I loved how the author set up the chapters so readers could see the different perspectives and how the characters were following change overtime. But I a lot of credit is also due to the the Narrator Aaron Smith. He really bring out the characters personality’s in his voices for each character and made the book even more enjoyable