Today is my turn on the blog tour for Forest of Foes my Matthew Harffy!!!

Forest of Foes is the 9^th instalment in The Bernicia Chronicles series and what a cracking read it is!

Here’s the blurb:

AD 652. Beobrand has been ordered to lead a group of pilgrims to the holy city of Rome. Chief among them is Wilfrid, a novice of the church with some surprisingly important connections. Taking only Cynan and some of his best men, Beobrand hopes to make the journey through Frankia quickly and return to Northumbria without delay, though the road is long and perilous.

But where Beobrand treads, menace is never far behind. The lands of the Merovingian kings are rife with intrigue. The queen of Frankia is unpopular and her ambitious schemes, though benevolent, have made her powerful enemies. Soon Wilfrid, and Beobrand, are caught up in sinister plots against the royal house.

After interrupting a brutal ambush in a forest, Beobrand and his trusted gesithas find their lives on the line. Dark forces will stop at nothing to seize control of the Frankish throne, and Beobrand is thrown into a deadly race for survival through foreign lands where he cannot be sure who is friend and who is foe.

The only certainty is that if he is to save his men, thwart the plots, and unmask his enemies, blood will flow.

Review

After the events of the last instalment we see Beobrand is sent on a mission by his Queen. This journeys target is Rome!

Although this will take him far from home his oath is ironclad and he will see Wilfrid safely to his destination. Oh Wilfrid.. this man had my life ha ha.. He has a wandering eye and things very highly of himself.. he’s going to cause some trouble.. you can feel it.

Nothing bad will happen on the journey though will it…Yeh right… it’s not going to go smoothly is it? Ha.

Beobrand and his warriors meet a group of individuals being attacked by wolf’s heads.. but these aren’t your average individuals, and this chance encounter sets Beobrand and his men on a different path that ultimately leads to betrayal & bloodshed….but there may be a chance for retribution.

I really enjoyed the latest instalment, Beobrand is older now, his eyes are not once what they were but he’s still just as deadly, but it was a real joy to see Beobrand share the limelight with his men, and you can really see the connection he’s made with each and everyone of them as they offer up their lives for him… to fight for what’s right.

The author spent a lot of time ensuring the development of Beobrand flowed well throughout the story, he still mourns the loss of his wife, he’s conflicted over his difficult relationship with his son and the shadows of the past walk with him daily…

… but not all of these shadows are in the past…and not all are friends either.

These insights help you envisage Beo, he’s not the young man we first met any longer.. the past has changed him.. is it his fate to survive while others die?

I particularly enjoyed the growth of Cynan, you can really see some of Beobrand in him and he has his own worries too.. he’s rash and impulsive at times.. just like his lord… but god I love him.

The twists in the plot quite honestly had me on tenterhooks.. There’s one moment I won’t spoil but the author sets the tense atmosphere perfectly and you can feel something is about to happen but when the story plays out it’s like a punch to the guts that you didn’t see coming.. it knocks the air out of you it’s that amazingly breath-taking.. and very bloody clever of the author too.. I knew something was brewing but could never have guessed what they had in mind.. wow.

Beobrand and his Black Shields are as powerful as ever as they band together chanting “Death”, the image of these men advancing is enough to scare most foes and those who don’t run will live to regret that choice…but will everyone make it back home.. time will tell.

Forest of Foes is the perfect addition to the series, the plot is strong and the characters have soo much depth and there’s plenty of detail and action just when you need it. It’s quite honestly the only series I feel like I want to start again with so I can enjoy this from the start all over again!

I’m more than eager to see what the author offers the readers next.

A raving 5 stars from me! and a big shout to Head of Zeus and their art team.. Love the cover and the colours 🙂 a massive thank you for having me on the tour. I received an ARC to allow me to have a review ready but I had my pre-order in from day 1!

To find out more head to Goodreads or Amazon (Or any good local bookseller 😊 )

Why not follow the tour?

About the author

Matthew Harffy lived in Northumberland as a child and the area had a great impact on him. The rugged terrain, ruined castles and rocky coastline made it easy to imagine the past. Decades later, a documentary about Northumbria’s Golden Age sowed the kernel of an idea for a series of historical fiction novels. The first of them is the action-packed tale of vengeance and coming of age, THE SERPENT SWORD.

Matthew has worked in the IT industry, where he spent all day writing and editing, just not the words that most interested him. Prior to that he worked in Spain as an English teacher and translator. Matthew lives in Wiltshire, England, with his wife and their two daughters.

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