Himesā story about a Dragon ISO his forever Treasure and a young man in definite need of ā¦ well being said Treasureā¦ is likable and sweet. I felt it had more promise than itās 72 pages could deliver in fact.
Himes has the makings of a terrific little murder mystery here but not enough ātimeā or length to develop it. Instead we get something (a great start/weak explanation and ending) and someone (a nonsensical villain) thatās just doesnāt make much sense and feels contrived. Especially considering how strong a start it got and how it pulls the reader into being invested in a relationship between Alaric and Tarquin.
Had the author spent time here making this element more than a quick plot device and instead a deeper story thread to grow the main characters relationship, this could have been a very different book.
Same goes for Alaricās mother and her drama which launches the story. It too never becomes the greatly emotional element it is supposed to be. And her story isnāt actually resolved as the house isnāt fixed snd all the bills arenāt paid and sheās sort of fading into the background.
So yes. Thereās many wonderful elements at play but not many actually do more then show up and stand around. Thereās just no time for them to do anything.
Thatās a shame.
If you just want something to breeze through and itās sweet, a bit sexy and a HEA with dragons. Here you go! Itās got all that! At 72 pages.
Synopsis:
Needing employment to help his ailing mother, Alaric Keening gets a job as a billionaire dragon’s clairvoyant. He never imagined his almost useless talent would ever become a marketable skill, and even worse–the sight of his new boss leaves him breathless. That was the worst, until the first day on the job, he finds himself nearly dying in the arms of his new boss.
Tarquin is a storm dragon, and he’s been alone for centuries. Fleeing the Great Wars, he sacrificed his old territory and made a new home in Montreal, collecting companies to fill the void left by the loss of his hoard. Running an international company in the magical world means hiring a clairvoyant to protect his assets, and yet there is nothing to protect his heart when Alaric Keening walks into his office.
Between trying to keep Alaric alive and trying to find who’s out to kill Tarquin, they can’t deny the connection that goes far beyond that of a boss and his new employee–but that of a dragon and his treasure.
Treasured was previously published as the short story, A Caller From Montreal, in the Heart2Heart Charity Anthology Vol 4. It has been expanded and lightly edited with new content. Word count is 25,000 words
I love a good fantasy fairytale romance and Yours, Forever After by Beth Bolden definitely fits that category.
It has young royalty fleeing great evil that wants their blood. It has a Prince who will lose his kingdom if he doesnāt get help. And it has magic.
Those are the basics that Bolden uses to build a grand emotional journey for two men towards a HEA for themselves and two kingdoms. And perhaps one magical being.
It contains anger, loss, betrayal, issues with communication, and all the usual barriers that occur with new relationships under stress. Also sword fighting , cause fairy tale!
Itās main characters under go personal growth and change into men determined to make their commitment to each other and their people work.
I was connected to Gray from his perilous flight away from his castle as a young boy and then to Rory as his true nature slowly reveals itself to Gray as they tackle obstacles together. They figure out how to communicate.. eventually. As the story and their pursuit of justice., for themselves, and to rid their lands of the evil battling against them, everything about their roles and their relationship feels real.
I love them so much . And was delighted with the promise of a continuation of their story with a sequel to come.
Itās a novel Iāll eagerly await.
Until then, if you like fantasy romance and fairytales, this is a story youāre to enjoy. Well written, terrific plots and characters I love. Iām definitely recommending it.
Synopsis:
Fifteen years ago, Prince Graham of Ardglass barely escaped from the ancestral castle with his young life. Rescued by a magical creature and spirited off to a faraway valley, he grew into a strong, capable manānever shirking his duties on the farm, but forever bitter over his fatherās betrayal. But just when he has finally come to terms with being lost and staying lost, a visitor arrives in his valley and changes everything.
After a lifetime spent lost in his beloved books, Prince Emory awakens to find his villainous aunt working to usurp the throne of Fontaine. When she sends him on a dangerous quest, heās certain the journey is a trap, but heās not willing to accept defeat without a fight.
But a fight is something Rory is unprepared and untrained for, until heās saved by a handsome, unassuming farmhand and his snooty, smug, and surprisingly talkative unicorn.
Yours, Forever After now includes an epilogue novella, completing Gray and Roryās magical quest for true love.
Holigay is a term that denotes someone who is gay or gay curious just for a holiday vacation. Once again home, they return to their safe sexual orientation.
Holigay by K.M. Neuhold is a sweet best friends to lovers, sexual discovery holiday romance. Itās frankly adorable.
It helps that the men involved have known each other all their lives and their dialogue reflects that long time familiarity and deep love for each other. For it to move from one type of love to a romantic, sexual love felt easy and natural.
Matt, large, gentle and learning that Caspian isnāt merely his oldest and best friend but also the person he loves and wants to spend the rest of his life with? Itās a journey of joyous awakening as well as sexual pleasure. Itās as though everything finally makes sense. And for Caspian, it does finally as heās long loved his best friend.
This is a sweet, absolutely romantic, low angst holiday romance. I adored this couple and story.
You will too.
Synopsis:
Iāve been in love with my best friend for almost as long as I can remember. The only problem is heās straight. At least I thought he was.
But when he gets me to Fiji for Christmas, heās suddenly looking at me in a way Iāve never seen before. Could this all be real, or is he just HoliGay?
Ah, time for that all important second book in a series review. So many questions and weighted hopes hangs on this follow up novel if the author is continuing an overall series arc.
Is there continuity and character growth? Does it flow somehow out from the events of the first book? Does it empower not only the characters but our imagination in the same manner the original launches us into this journey?
Hmmm, with Spellbound, the answers are a bit mixed.
Letās tackle them one by one.
Plots.
The storyline that takes up the majority of this novel is wonderful. It contains so much depth and emotional layering that I expected. Thereās a serious mother/daughter flawed relationship built on lies, love, and a great tragedy. Eden, the daughter is so relatable in her anger, pain, and apparent maternal abandonment. Her rage is both poignant and deeply frightening. We get it. This aspect of the novel, and everything that surrounds Eden is absolutely terrific. With an exception.
Eden is a high school student. At the end of this story, sheās found herself in a serious permanent as in forever relationship. With a ancient being. Now while we are all smacking our heads over that flag, I will say the author has several characters bring up the illegality of that issue as well as the idea that sheās not emotionally ready. Ok good.
But thereās no real resolution. So perhaps thatās to be addressed in upcoming novels but Eden clearly deserves a more defined finish here. Sheās a marvelous character and so is this entire element of the arc.
Which brings me to
Series Arc plots .
As best I can tell, Salinger is slowly adding bits of pieces to her overall arc mosaic much like a 1.000 piece table puzzle . You fit a bit in here, several snap in together there. So hopefully, Eden and her new Dryad Prince are part of the huge battle group that will be needed to fight the Evil whoever who is trying to do whatever. Still not a clue. But Salingerās strengths are in her ingenious storylines and layerings. She knows how to build a suspenseful scene, and then top it off with high action.
However , this didnāt move the overall arc along hugely. Did confirm new information about our main characters though.
That brings us to the aspect of characterization. What I thought worked and, frankly, what I felt didnāt.
Edenās group and storyline. Those characters were new , including her BFF Lois and her family. All the beings that gravitated around Eden and her drama? They really worked as far as realistic emotional scenes and reactions to her dilemma. Again great job.
But, unfortunately, in what should be solid, continuing .character growth for Cassius and Morgan, our main couple and the series biggest heart as well as mystery? It felt as though we got a stripping off of layers instead of a depth of dimension.
In the first story, we saw the ages of wisdom, the compassion and pain coming through for Cassius. Now heās a pouty, insecure lovesick being? What happened to the serious character of the other novel? He seems to have vanished, replaced by a boyfriend of Morganās. Who occasionally transforms into something cool. Morgan too is undergoing a bit of a metamorphosis, although into what exactly is anyoneās guess. But the gravity of these downright elemental or idk other worldly transformations seems to be missing.
Idk maybe they should actually stop having sex for a moā and figure out if this pertains to their missing memories, and maybe even the bad guy! Good grief.
Definitely not the same beings I liked in book one. They need to regain their gravitas, their focus, and personalities.
Almost missing main character. You all know how I feel about this. Here itās Loki the magical cat, a main player in book one and the series arc. He lives with Cassius now. When do we see and here about him here? When the book is about 74% complete. Then Loki is mentioned as part of the growing mystery so , yes, he has to be trotted out in one scene so everyone sees heās still around. Thatās it. Done. He disappears again back into the apartment not to be mentioned again. It fed or whatever. So Loki could have starved because heās not seen or mentioned even when they are back in the apartment. A huge change from book one when heās a constant presence, weaving catlike around the feet or in their laps. SMH. Continuity and consistency!
All of which finally brings me to my last bit of griping. Since I had time to notice all the above, then the issues I had with the repetition of adjectives and certain authorās fondness of terms definitely continues on here.
Pls, someone either tell her about how to find and replace a word within a document, Thesauruses our old friend , (and edit) or point a great editor her way.
We are back to muscles jumping in every characterās face and often. Adrianne is saying things āleadenlyāagain. I pity poor Adrianne. No sex and the worst lines. A couple of female characters always āsmile softly ā.
Thereās also a lot of āshe___fill in the name___snarled,ā āso and so hissedā,
Lots of hissing and no they arenāt snake shifters.
Also āgrowling ā. Cedric growled. But it could have been and usually is another.
Plus a host of clenched whateverā¦ jaw, fistā¦ whatever can be clenched.
You get the idea. Salinger once she uses a word or term in a certain manner, it stays used. To the detriment of the story. And the readerās, at least this readerās concentration.
And thatās a shame, because the plots? Both one the book and overall series arc scale are imaginative and layered. They have grabbed my attention and the potential for a really great series shows everywhereā¦.
But thereās some definite tidying up to be done. Both in the major characters personalities and language. I look forward to see what book three brings.
High marks mostly for Eden and her journey.
Fallen Messenger series:
Unbound #0.5
Fractured Souls #1
Spellbound #2
Edge Lines #3
Oathbreaker #4
Synopsis:
Can Cassius and Morgan overcome an elusive enemy and save a young girlās life?
Eden Monroe has spent her entire existence believing she has no magic. Shunned by her mother Brianna and the magical bureau Hexa, she runs away from home when she is forced to embrace a future she never chose, only to fall into the hands of ghastly monsters from the Nine Hells. After being rescued by a mysterious Dryad with secrets of his own, Eden realizes there is more to her past and future than she could ever have imagined.
When San Francisco PD asks Argonaut to assist them in solving a series of strange bank robberies, Cassius Black and Morgan King uncover a disturbing plot that points to an unknown artifact hidden somewhere in the city. Their investigation soon has them crossing paths with a desperate Brianna, who seeks their help in finding her missing daughter. When the witch reveals the shocking circumstances surrounding her daughterās birth as well as the deadly magic sealed inside the young girlās body, the Argonaut agents realize their case is linked to Eden and the weapon of devastating power the bank robbers are after.
Can Cassius and Morgan defeat the malevolent organization behind it all and save Eden from her cursed fate? Or will the young girl suffer a destiny worse than death itself?
Spellbound is the second novel in the gay urban fantasy romance series Fallen Messengers. If you like your paranormal adventures full of action, magic, snark, and a host of steamy angels and demons, then youāre not going to want to miss this jaw-dropping, fun-filled ride!
Fractured Souls is the first book Iāve read by author Ava Marie Salinger but it definitely wonāt be the last, if for no other reason that Fractured Souls is the first in a series.
But after reading this imaginative and gripping fantasy story (non-stop btw), Iām ready to rush headlong into the second round and more in this universe and series.
Salinger starts us off in a world where a cataclysmic event has already occurred hundreds of years ago. Then a tear in the void between worlds saw demons, angels and a host of otherly beings from all Realms fall to Earth. After much warring a peace was brokered and all species co-exist, tentatively side by side.
Thatās the interesting basis that the author then starts really building her edifice upon. Salinger does so through her strong characters as they navigate her incredibly dark and complicated storyline, which includes murder, sacrifices, humor, action, surprise revelations, and just plain great plotting.
Much like her universe, we get a basic understanding of who her characters are and then the author proceeds to show us thatās just a mere outline sheās using to create something astonishing. Not just for one major character but for many as the revelations, small and large, stumble out .
Whatās more remarkable is that not only is the reader highly surprised by each change or new element with regard to the characters but the characters themselves are shocked!
Yes The Fall wiped out most memories of past existence for those who survived it. Talk about a great concept! So both the readers and characters find out the new details about themselves at the same time. Love it.
Salinger has so many great details here to go along with a heinous murder spree. A series arc thatās delicious , devious, and dangerous in its own right. And characters that are just memorable in every way.
If I have a issue here itās with the language or descriptions. While Salingerās plots are stellar, the writing sometimes gets a little less tidy. Some characters get the same words used to describe them repeatedly.
Poor Adrianne. She comes to mind the most.
Adrianne said dully.
Adrianne said leadenly. (She does this a lot)
Adrianne snarled.
Thereās also a lot of āmuscles jumping in cheeksā of both sexes when upset. Including Adrianneās. Itās as though the author knew she didnāt want her characters muscles to ātickā so they ājumpā. Often, sometimes in the same paragraph. SMH. Anyway.
The plot kept my interest glued as the pace is fast and the events occurring are action packed. Had that not been the case, verbiage like those examples above would soon drag your attention out of the storyline.
Luckily, a great concept and enough mystery keeps your mind centered on the characters.
Here thereās no demons versus angels but all factions actually work together. More or less, power struggles not withstanding. Nice change that.
Cassius Black and Morgan King are perfect for each other. And their chemistry grows along with their complicated relationship.
All the support characters are equally strong and have the potential for more growth in the future. They make up a great team, one you connect with and invest yourself emotionally in.
Iām heading now quickly over to book 2 in the Fallen Messengers series. That would be Spellbound.
Iāll let you all know what I find. This was an terrific , exciting, sexy fantasy novel. And a great start and introduction to a new author and universe.
I canāt wait for my journey to continue with both.
Definitely recommended.
Fallen Messenger series:
Unbound #0.5
Fractured Souls #1
Spellbound #2
Edge Lines #3
Oathbreaker #4
Synopsis:
Humans are dying in San Francisco. The most shunned angel on Earth may very well hold the key as to why…
When Cassius Black moves to San Francisco for a fresh start, the angel’s hopes of staying below the radar of the supernatural organizations that oversee the otherworldly and magic users in the city are dashed when he stumbles across a dead body in the sewers. His grim discovery soon puts him in the sight of the Argonaut Agency and Francis Strickland, the bureau director who knows his darkest secrets.
Morgan King and his team of Argonaut agents have been hunting for the culprits behind a series of gruesome killings that have rocked the city all summer. Killings that bear sinister hallmarks of sacrificial rituals where the victimsā souls have been ripped from their bodies. When Fate brings Cassius in Morganās path, he realizes the angel everyone likes to call The Devil may very well be the only person who can help them track down the murderers.
Morgan and Cassius soon find themselves chasing down a sect of black magic sorcerers and cross paths with a mysterious warlock whose actions evoke disturbing echoes of an incident from Cassius’s past. As rumors of a potential plot to tear the Nether reach their ears, Cassius and Morgan must work together to defeat their common enemy and save the city from destruction, all while fighting their growing attraction for one another.
Fractured Souls is the first novel in the MM urban fantasy romance series Fallen Messengers. If you like action-packed paranormal adventures with romance and snark, then get this pulse-pounding book today and enter a world you wonāt want to leave!
Ghost of Lies was a great read. A scary thriller of a ghostly murder mystery with a side of romance to spice things up.
As if it needed it.
Alice Winters certainly knows how to write a messy murder detective mystery. This was terrific, amping up our anxiety and suspense as the body count increases along with the suspects.
However, Winter added ghosts and the paranormal to this and the scary became horrifying. I LOVED this!
Hiro, Medium bookstore owner whoās surrounded by ghostly companies is seeking the killer of his brother ( whoās still very much a part of his lifeā¦ non corporeal state not a issue). Along the way heās assisting other ghosts to move along, and that brings him up against Def. Grumpy.
Maddox keeps running across this strange guy at his crime scenes, and his explanations for being there and disrupting the scene just donāt add up. When a serial killer strikes again, the man, Hiro, is there.
The characters twist and combust, especially after Hiro reveals his ability to talk to ghosts. Uh yeah.
Things are exciting, funny (ghost strippers and ravens), horrific (malevolence off the scale), great plot twists, pathos, and a very rewarding romance.
If I got a tad annoyed with Hiroās manner in which he dealt with issues, then he absolved himself later on.
This had a surprising resolution which I didnāt see coming. Absolutely enjoyed that.
I canāt wait to see how this partnership continues. Next book out in January.
So if you enjoy mysteries, detective stories, ghosts, and romance? I got just the thing for you! Great characters, outstanding plots, swoon worthy romance. Scary stuff. There you go.
Highly recommended.
Medium Trouble series:
ā¦ Ghost of Lies #1
ā¦ Ghost of Truth – coming in January 2022
Synopsis:
Hiro
Though I was born with the ability to see the dead, I struggled with it until my brother was killed and his ghost was left behind. Now, Iām determined to figure out who is responsible for his deathā¦ the problem is that Detective Maddox Booker, the one working the case, is a grumpy and stubborn man who wants nothing to do with me and definitely doesnāt believe in ghosts. It doesnāt help that I keep finding myself looking ridiculous in front of the detective, thanks to interfering ghosts who enjoy laughing at my expense. Still, the more Iām around Maddox, the more I realize that beneath that surly exterior is a kind and caring man who will do anything to help.
Maddox
When another man dies, I know we have a serial killer on our handsāthe same murderer who has remained elusive for a year and a half. To add to my frustration, I keep running into Hiro at crime scenes only to hear him claim that he can talk to ghosts. The words of the dead could lead us to the serial killer and even tell us who is next, but ghosts? Thereās no such thing as ghosts. Hiro is determined and charming, and no matter what I do, I canāt stop letting him get involved. He’s definitely snagged my attention, but when he nearly winds up dead, I know he’s getting closer to the truthāand if I donāt do something soon, he might be next.
Ghost of Lies is full of action, mystery, humor, and romance. Though more is planned for this couple, the mystery is solved and there is a happy ending.
With the holidays almost upon us for those that celebrate at this time of the year, thereās always a number of holiday books that arrive with it.
Merry Elf-ing Christmas by Beth Bolden is a wonderful and sweet addition to anyoneās holiday reading stack this year!
I was wracking my memories if I had read any similar plots because a Tir na Nog Fae being hauled off to the North Pole because of a prophecy was all sorts of imaginative. And in terms of character development, downright awesome.
If I was from Ireland and dragged away to the ice and freezing cold, away from the pubs and rainbows, would I be happy? Without any say in the matter? Uh, no. And neither is Aiden.
Bolden is able to get the reader a real connection with Aidenās emotional state over this huge permanent upheaval of his life. The loss of friends, home, a job he felt he was good at and is now looked down upon by certain North Pole elves as nothing important. As is Audenās favorite holiday, St. Patrickās Day. His entire old life is made to feel.. well less in the face of being a Christmas elf, which he doesnāt want to be.
While the North Pole May glitter , itās often cold, freezing, and unfriendly. Except for Sam aka Santa (a title) whoās assistant Aiden is supposed to be.
Bolden builds quite the pictures of a role foisted on Aiden by a prophecy he doesnāt understand in a place he doesnāt want to be. And itās a role that doesnāt seem to fit him. At all.
The reader, listening and watching through Aidenās pained eyes, will tend to agree.
Then on Christmas Eve, outside of Chicago, in a small convenience store, Aiden runs into college student/store clerk Dex and a friendship as well as instant attraction is struck up.
Dexter is another layered marvelous character. Dysfunctional childhood, poor family dynamics means heās not a fan of the holidays. Until an unhappy elf stumbles into the store looking for milk and cookies for Santa.
What follows is such a heartwarming, funny, sometimes poignant love storyā¦via a long series of texts, and then of course thereās that prophecy.
I may have actually sniffled once or twice here.
I really felt for that given no choice hereās your new future elf Aiden and his engineer graduate boyfriendā¦ to beā¦they fully grabbed at my heart .
I believe they will at yours too. Thatās why Iām highly recommending this.
Synopsis:
Aidan might be a bad elf, but heās never been naughty.
Aidan has always landed on Santaās nice list, thank you very much. But that doesnāt mean heās cut out to be a North Pole elf; instead of worrying about the dwindling magic of Christmas, heād much rather be back in Tir na Nog, calculating where the next end of the rainbow is going to land.
Instead heās freezing his butt off in Santaās sleigh.
His situation seems grim despite all the decking the halls, until on Christmas Eve, during a milk and cookies run, he meets Dexter, an engineering student.
They couldnāt be more different, and Dexter couldnāt be more forbidden, but Aidan is drawn to the handsome human anyway. Over the next year, their emails start out as a entertaining way to pass the time in all his interminable elf meetings, but soon, hearing from Dex becomes the very best part of his day.
And when they meet up on the next Christmas Eve? Aidan and Dex discover that their infatuation is so much more than just attraction. If they believe in each other and in the love they share, together their magic might be powerful enough to save Christmas.
The Professor’s Dragon is a sweet, often funny, low angst fantasy romance. A part of the Hidden Species series universe, this novelās events picks up from the end of Dragon Ever After.
Thatās the book that launched this series and frankly was my introduction to this universe and Louisa Masters. Make sure you start there, if unfamiliar with this series. Itās a winner and youāll need the background established there to help with all aspects of the characters and romance here.
The Prologue gives us Dustinās first look at his soon-to-be all consuming crush/love Professor Rob Sarris on Dustinās first day of class at a human college.
Fast forward two years and things are only more intense for Dustin. Heās still deeply emotionally attached, but still from afar and itās all one sided.
Dustin has grown from overly exuberant youth we met in the stories of the Great Migration to a more responsible, yet totally adorable one here. The character growth continues while maintaining all aspects of his personality that makes Dustin such an engaging and endearing being.
Rob is the new and wonderful element here. Before he was just the object of adoration. Now heās an actual person, with a family and history. Heās become fascinating in his own right and I wanted more, actually of him as I got to know him and his family dynamics and history. Charming, heartwarming, funnyā¦ Robās family has its own story to tell.
Together, along with the madcap denizens of Here Be Dragons, Dustin and Robās courtship plays out, with all its wide ramifications, to great and romantic fun.
I will admit I keep waiting for some type of element of suspense or mystery to enter, much like that of Hidden Species. But maybe this series is the authorās gift to the characters for all they went through there so itās going to be low angst all the way. Except for bit of a craziness from Steff now or then.
Next up? Thatās the slightly weird, always entertaining Fabianās story, The Dragon Experiment coming in 2022. Canāt wait to see what hilarity that brings!
Until then, Iām recommending this series and novels. And all the Hidden Soecies stories too if you havenāt read them as well.
Read them all in the order they were written and enjoy a grand journey through a fantasy series and a multitude of marvelous characters.
It was love at first sightā¦ with my professor. Whatās a dragon to do?
For two years, Iāve been pining over Professor Sarris. I knew the moment I saw him that we were meant for each other, but itās not to be. For one thing, I was his student, and heās the most ethical man I know. For another, he has no idea Iām actually a four-thousand-year-old dragon from another dimension.
When my people fled to Earth to avoid extinction, I vowed to clean up my life and stop acting like a fledgling. Itās bad enough that nobody takes me seriouslyā¦ sure, maybe I used to be flighty and irresponsible and caused a few interspecies incidents, but thatās all in the past. I have big plans for the future, and this college gig is the first step in proving myself. Iām not endangering this fresh start for anyone.
But then my professor and I wind up at the same party, and suddenly it seems heās not completely out of reach. Except Iām still the adorable flirt nobody wants to rely on, and convincing him we should be together while proving Iām a changed dragon is a monumental task.
Urban fantasy binge reading continues, this time with a author well established as a terrific writer of fantastical, magical tales and series.
I must have missed Sam Burnsā fantasy fairytale story first time around. So I was happy to make its acquaintance by chance now, lured in by its great cover and evocative title. Why did du Maurierās Rebecca spring to mind? Nevertheless, it pulled me right in.
Told from the pov of Wainwright, a cat and companion to Luke, youngest of three Miller brothers. Parents recently deceased and the older brothers have decided to deprive Luke of his rightful inheritance and chase him from his home, with only the cat and his grandfatherās book in his possession.
Lukeās shaky, uncertain perspective comes in later as the young man struggles to survive on the streets without resources, unwilling to part from Wainwright.
Unaware that Wainwright is trying to provide for them both and just might be more than either of them suspect.
The Cat Returns To Adderly turns into one of those stories that engages your imagination as well as your heart. Sam Burns builds such fascinating characters here! And not just the main characters of Luke and Alastair. But that circle of witches that attend to the Market just cries out for an expanded version or more stories. How powerful a presence were they!
Plus I needed more knowledge of Lukeās grandfather and that book! And poor Elz. And and andā¦ā¦
Itās a parade of intriguing characters here. And all I wanted to know was more more more. Of what came next. Of what happened in the pastā¦ just everything.
Because thereās more elements here that needed a wider universe and plain bigger novel (s).
This? Itās great. But the promise for over the top magnificent? Itās everywhere.
Read it and see if you agree.
Yes Iām definitely c recommending this.
Synopsis:
Orphaned, Luke Miller is left alone and homeless with only his cat for company. But Wentworth is more than an average feline, and when Luke makes a set of leather boots to keep his paws safe, it might help them both find the path to where they belong.
Previously published in Fables Retold under the same title
Iāve been pretty fortunate in my fantasy reading binge of late. Iāve found no less than six new series, four new authors (to date) and the some terrific series and stories from long-standing writers on my auto read list.
Like I saidā¦ great times.
Tavia Lark and The Necromancer’s Light, are new. New author, new novel and the first in this writerās new series. And itās a marvelous start!
Using a two person perspective, the author opens the tale with the person of the title. The Necromancer.
But far from the normally powerful, and darkly mystical mage we would expect to encounter, we instead meet a bone-thin, shivering, thread poor specimen, reviled and shunned by all he passes. Shae Nightven, our first narrator, is the very essence of last chance desperation. In need of the very thing heās being denied, and with a great evil pressing upon him, Shae is almost lost and the voice and character given to him by Lark screams of his pain, of the crisis, and fear of failure. Heās the opposite of powerful.
And that fragility combined with a prickly essence he hides behind makes Shae someone we immediately care about and need to understand.
The person heās drawn to and needs as a bodyguard to complete his mission? That would be Arthur Davorin of the Radient Order.
Heās our other pov, and one at the other end of the spectrum from Shae. Thatās in personality, in outlook, in physicality (heās huge, Shae is thin and small). Arthurās even has an aura that glows, well suited for the Radiance Order. Unlike the dark, spelled silver jeweled necromancer.
But Arthur is on a penance, temporarily removed from his order and missing it. Heās a man conflicted, over his path in life and why his Goddess is no longer speaking to him with guidance.
When the two men decide to go forward on Shaeās mission, the alternating pov works beautifully, especially to see certain battles, creatures or dire situations from each perspective.
Lark comes up with some fascinating creatures, a great quest with some haunting, traumatic memories for both men to pick apart and recover from if not triumph over.
My wishes for this story and from the author is for more foundation. We get some idea of the framework for the Order, and local municipalities. But other religions? Governments? Mages? Are the Necromancers not an order themselves? I just donāt have enough information.
Also the great evil. Weāre told how he/it came into the human realm but the potential for this character didnāt reach its full potential. The power indicated that it had would have easily extended over the series arc but maybe the author is playing a longer game here.
Which I would applaud.
Shae and Arthurās story does wrap up ( Iām assuming) at the end of this book because the next in this series deals with two secondary characters mentioned here.
The Necromancer’s Light
(Radiance #1) by Tavia Lark is a marvelous fantasy epic, full of action, romance, and adventure.
I look forward to the next book and the one after that! Iām definitely recommending this!
Radiance series:
The Necromancer’s Light
The Paladin’s Shadow #2
The Sword-Witch’s Heart #3
Synopsis:
Heāll die without touch.
As a necromancer, Shae loses a little more of himself every time he uses his magic. Always cold, always touch-starved, the only thing that helps is human contact. But thatās hard to come by when those same dark powers scare everyone away from him. Nobody likes a necromancer.
Especially a paladin of the Radiant Order.
Arthurās still bitter and broken after his last lover stabbed him in the back, and the last thing he needs is another brush with evil. When he agrees to escort the wandering necromancer north, heās just doing a public service.
But he never expected Shae to be so clingy. Or distractingly attractive.
Shae has never felt an aura as warm and safe as Arthurās. He craves the manās touchāand more. But everyone heās ever known has left him, and itās just a matter of time before Arthur leaves him too.
Assuming the soul-stealing monsters donāt kill them first.
The Necromancerās Light is a gay fantasy romance, with magic, hurt/comfort, and bed sharing for Reasons. First in a series but can be read alone. 56,000 words, HEA guaranteed
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 