“The Forlorn Trail” by Jacob Sadler is a dark fantasy western that follows Jessie Bingham, a man who would do anything for his twins, Ethel and Elijah. The book is set in the town of Belford, which is located at the end of the Forlorn Trail. The trail is seldom taken, and those who do take it disappear or come back deranged. One day, when Jesse comes upon the ruins of a wagon, everyone is deceased. This is where he finds the dream stone. When the mayor’s house catches on fire, and the mythical tribe raids the town, the mayor, Don Marcos and the Bingham twins are kidnapped. While the tribe is getting away, Eridu, who is there raiding the town, gets captured because someone poisoned his animal. He is the son of the king of all the Lugals. Before Jessie and the newly sober reporter, along with the Rodgers Brothers, head down the Forlorn Trail, they will free Eridu from the sheriff in exchange for his help. The Blackstone Jessie found at the wreck starts affecting him in strange ways, and eventually, he will intertwine with a woman named Kisima who lived before and caused the destruction of her home village.

This is a mystical western and is the first in a series. It ends on a cliffhanger, which always bothers me. But since it is a series I can understand. The author normally reveals all in the next book, and I am sure that will be the case here. The reason it bothers me is that I have started series that never got finished, and so am left never knowing what happens.

Thanks to NetGalley and Auberdine publishing for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I keep trying to read this one, but I couldn't get into it. The writing didn't catch me and I kept getting bored and putting the book aside. I finally decided to give up and dnf-ed this one since it wasn't for me.

I love a good "weird west" story that blends horror and western elements, and this one is a pretty good entry into that sub-genre. It's a strong concept with great characters, some well-done Native American folklore weaved throughout, and plenty of action and suspense. It ends on a pretty good cliffhanger, so I look forward to the next book in the series.

It was an alright read. A bit slow to get going so difficult to get into. I thought going into it, this was a stand alone but it isn't. I liked it enough that I will probably read the sequel when it is available.

Thank you NetGalley, Jacob Sadler and uberdine Publishing, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for the eArc or The Forlorn Trail.

This isn’t my usual mix of genre, usually it’s horror or science fiction. So I was intrigued in this mix of a western based horror with a syfy twist. I feel that Jacob did a good job fleshing the characters out with a good building of the Western way of life. However, it did make the 1st quarter drag a little and found it a little harder to engage. The narrative does slowly unfold when Jessie finds the dark stone and my interest started peeking. After around 50 % I found the narrative more engaging with the mix of SyFy.
Overall, I wonder if this book ( for me anyway ) would be more engaging as an audio as I felt my interest dipped throughout the book.

3 stars

"The Forlorn Trail" remains an enjoyable read for fans of adventure and fantasy. Sadler skillfully blends elements of myth and history to create a richly imagined world that beckons readers to explore its depths. With its blend of mystery, action, and exploration, this book sets the stage for an epic series that promises to captivate audiences with its intriguing premise and memorable characters.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book, but, for me, the execution of it all seemed to fall a little short.

Sadler does a decent job at bringing the Wild West to life. The dialogue is fitting of the setting, though I do find that some of the stuttering to be over-done and it became rather distracting. I appreciate wanting to invoke that sense of nervousness... but sometimes it became more annoying than it was worth.

Let's go onto the characters, because they were the biggest issue, I found. I did not like the character of Jessie. I found him to be rather spineless for the hero that he was attempting to be, and in all honesty, considering his children were abused and abducted, I felt like he did not seem to care about them all to much.

Which brings me onto the children... Ethel and Elijah were some of the worst kids that I have ever read about. I hated them. Ethel was slightly better than her brother, but still, their voice and dialogue did not feel like they were children. It was bizarre.

But maybe that was the author's intent. Maybe there is more to Ethel and Elijah than meets the eye? (Though I am hesitant to side with this point of view, and do not find that my view of the book works in that favour in the slightest).

Hiram and Solomon were... meh. Predictable, and rather boring. Solomon's frequent attempts at writing his vows for Cleona were sweet, but again, there was a predictability to it.

Porfirio, and Mary Anne Thorne were the best characters. Again, Porfirio was a little flat, but he was flawed and raw, and that made him decent overall. But Mary Anne was bloody brilliant. Her development was interesting, especially her connection to Elijah, and as a leader of the town and also the one that the other captives looked up to whilst abducted, it was interesting.

I do feel, though, like a lot of her scenes were unnecessary. I feel like she could have been portrayed as the bad-ass woman that she is without the need of her overcoming a would-be rapist (although I am still completely at a loss as to what actually happened in that scene. Maybe I missed something?!)

That being said, there were some redeeming elements to the book. The history and lore with the tribes and the conflict between them all and the sense of setting were things that I really did enjoy. The fantasy elements were very much on the backburner, but when they did come up, they were okay.

I am glad that there are more books to come and that more is to be opened up and explained. I anticipate I will read the other ones when they are released, just to see how it all pans out and ends.

But largely, I did find that a lot of the book was built on tropes and stereotypes, and I think it would have been nice and interesting to see something a little different.

That being said, this is the first Western Fantasy that is rather speculative, and overall I think I did enjoy it, but it wasn't my favourite.

With thanks to Netgalley, the author, and Auberdine Publishing for the ARC.

Jessie Bingham's life has been a tragedy lately, from flooding to drought causing his crops to die and losing his wife the only good things in his world are his twin son and daughter Elijah and Ethel. Mary Anne Thorne is the mayor of Belford and rules her frontier town with an iron fist, crossing her means taking your life in your own hands. But for some reason Jesse Bingham takes pity on her and while he doesn't necessarily like her he does tell his children they should treat her with kindness. A lesson that they were right to listen to as Ethel, Elijah, and Mary Anne find themselves captive to a group of people's who were thought to be myth, legends spoken of in horrified whispers even by the Native Nations who fight for their land from settlers moving west. With the only two good things in his world spirited away by people's who should not even exist Jesse Bingham's story begins.

I really wanted to like this more than I did, unfortunately I'm just not really a big fan of fantasies set in a wild west setting. Even with fantasy elements thrown into it. Also completely random but there's a Sims 4 account that has a Sim named Erin Tul, the name of the "bad guys" people is the Erintul, kinda hard to not chuckle every time I read that.

I also didn't really enjoy Jessie, like sometimes he was great but other times I really wanted out of his head. The self loathing just goes way too far. And if he mentioned one more thing about his wedding ring I probably would have stopped reading the book. And since the whole point of this is that he has to rescue his children, I cannot stress enough how little he seems to actually care about them. And I mean that as a parent. I'm sorry but if my kids needed medicine to survive, and I was a farmer I wouldn't sell the freaking deed to some of my land (that I need to make an income) instead of my dead husband's wedding band. Love my husband but living kids vs dead husband's belongings? No contest. Oddly enough I didn't like the children either. Their behaviors were just kinda weird, nothing they did seemed childlike to me. To be honest I kinda found them a bit creepy.

Now, that all being said I actually *did* like Mary Anne Thorne. Given what we discover about her childhood I can't say I blame her for being ruthless. And actually to be honest considering she was a female mayor in the Wild West even without the brutal childhood I'd say she was not necessarily justified in some of her actions but she at least had reasons.

I also did like the fantasy elements here. There's definitely a ton of promise in this story and in any other setting it would've been perfect. And while it was slow to start I found that once we get past the first few chapters it picks up and you really get an idea of how important it is to find the children. Plus I really like the idea that there's some political strife happening within the Erintul and I think I may have liked it just a little bit more if we would have gotten some perspective from their side. Especially after we find out that they basically disappear for generations, reappear, raid, and then disappear again.

Overall, even though I do have some complaints here I'm genuinely on the fence as to whether I'd read the second book. Like I said, I don't really have much attachment to the hero or his kids but I enjoyed Mary Anne and I am curious as to who or what the hell the Erintul even are.

I personally like where this story is going. It's dark and entertaining, however it did take me a bit to actually get invested into the story and it felt much more like a prologue to a larger story rather than it's own story. It is supposed to be a series but it definitely a series that I will have to read once the series is completed.

Another great book by this author. Great characters, solid story line, a very unique story line...that definitely stays with you. I look forward to so much more by this author.

This book gave hints and glimpses of a grand adventure, but I found it way way wayyy too slow at the beginning. I completely lost interest in the plot and characters.

While I don't normally gravitate towards Wild West as a setting, I enjoyed this fantasy spin on it! It's not a short book, but I think adding a few more paragraphs or chapters to flesh out some of the plot points would have helped me, as a reader, absorb and understand the ending, as well as the different characters and groups introduced. Very interesting book that kept me glued until the end.

This was a good read. Wild West Fantasy is not a genre I read much of, but I enjoyed this. After a good, if slowish, start, there's a bit of supernatural goings on which had me a bit lost for a couple of chapters, but after that (and I figured out what was happening!), the story raced to the end. However, and this is why it's only 4 stars, I hate cliff hanger endings and this one ends on a beauty! There's no resolution of any part of the story, just a new twist in the last chapter. Ugh, why do authors do this?!
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest rewview.

An excellent read. I was hooked from start to finish and read it on one sitting. I now can't wait for the next one.

This is a story of guilt, grief, anger, pain, tragedy, and love bound up in a fantasy Wild West with elements of Native American cultures. One group is so mysterious as to be almost a myth. Coupled with some interesting magic, it's a riveting story.

The world-building is excellent. I love the main characters, who are flawed and human. The pacing is very good and kept me hooked.

This book has way too much going on for me to just give a brief summary there’s a guy named Jesse Bingham he has twins Ethaland Isaiah who he would do anything for he strives to be a good man and wants to do the right thing because it’s right. Then there’s mayor Marianne Thorne she comes from a long line of previous mayors she is haunted by childhood traumas but doesn’t hesitate from doling out her own nightmares to those who cross her. Don Marcos is the local pharmacist/doctor who charges exuberant prices for his medicine just because he can and because he is a real jerk. Then there’s Cleona her and Solomon Johnson are in love Solomon lives in the town with his brother Ephraim there’s also the reporter in the local newspaper man and alcoholic Porfilio Prashanka they all live in a town called Belford which is at the end of the four Lauren Trail which used to be home to two tribes but in recent years it seems the times have moved on. There are still rumors of a mythical tribe that lives past the forlorn trail and those who come into contact with them or travel the trail if they live come back crazy and out of their mind. One day when Jessie comes upon the ruins of a wagon everyone is deceased and all but one has a tongue nail to the fore head this is where he finds the dream stone. One day when the mayors house catches on fire in the mythical tribe raids the town the mayor Klena Don Marco and the Bingham twins are kidnapped but while the tribe is getting away Eridu Who is there raiding the town gets captured because someone poisoned his animal. He is the son of the king of all the Lugels before Jesse and the newly sober reporter along with the Johnson Brothers head down the forlorn trail they will freeEridu from the sheriff in exchange for his help. The Blackstone Jesse found at the rec start affecting him in strange ways and eventually he will intertwine with a woman named kismet who lived before and caused the destruction of her home village. This is a horrible horrible review for what is a really good book and even though it ended in a cliffhanger something I usually do not like I cannot wait to read the next book in this Siri‘s I will be honest and say there is so much I don’t understand about the story but I’m going to read it again and hopefully pick up things I didn’t understand the first time having said that I would still definitely recommend this mystical western anyone who loves westerns or sci-fi books. I also want to say I think Marie Thorne was a great character and cannot wait to see what happens with her and little Isaiah she really is turning out to be my favorite character and it isn’t just because we are both blind lol! I want to thank the author and NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Great western fantasy, which is a genre that doesn't get enough notice. Really enjoyed this book . Will be ordering for my library.

The writing was strong in the beginning, but I found myself waiting for something to happen. There were many good character relationships throughout the story that were fun to follow.
When things started happening, there were several fantasy names introduced that were hard to pronounce and in such quick succession that I had a hard time knowing what was going on (I read made-up names easier if they are introduced slower, so maybe that's a "me" thing).
After the main incident, there were a few events that were an interesting read, but for the most part, they were buried beneath strange exposition. In addition, I didn't really get a feel for what the characters looked like. There were several warring tribes in the story, but I have no idea what distinguishes one tribe member from another or even from the main character. The most decorated explanations revolved around the mayor's infected eyes.
By the end of the book, I felt that the beginning character-building, specifically with the main character and a certain woman, was ultimately unnecessary-- if she is removed from the story, nothing changes, in my opinion. There are reasons I feel this way, but I don't want to spoil anything.
I think the story idea is great, so I gave it three stars. It could have been even greater if the above things were addressed.

Interesting take on an Old West fantasy! Admittedly not quite what I was looking for, as the summary led me to believe it would be taking place in our world rather than an original one, but all and all an enjoyable read! Thanks to NetGalley and Auberdine Publishing for the ARC!