Genre: Paranormal, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay, Bi
Reviewer: Jay
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About The Book
Fae aren’t real. Soulbonds are woo-woo nonsense. And the man swooning in Bo’s arms definitely isn’t a kelpie.
Bo
Bo’s made a career out of debunking the supernatural. His eager fans regularly tune in to discover what he’ll disprove next. And Bo really should know better than to let them pick where he goes.
It’s supposed to be a routine visit to a so-called haunted house. But instead of dust and rats, Bo finds Everil: A strange, beautiful man who faints into his arms.
Which, fine. Weirder things have happened. Except the man claims to be a kelpie. And Bo’s soulbond. (Which explains why Bo can taste him, snowmelt and frozen grass, from across the room.)
Bo should just walk away. Believing in magic has only ever hurt him. But he’s always been too stubborn to take the easy route.
Everil
Everil’s spent a century hiding from the Faerie realm and his abusive former soulbond. Now the man is back, and Faerie law makes his claim on Everil’s soul inescapable.
Which means Everil absolutely cannot give his soul to the brash, kind human who barges into his home. Unfortunately, his soul isn’t keen on listening to him.
Everil’s ex will kill Bo if he finds him. To keep the human safe, Everil must break their bond. Only Bo rejects Everil’s every attempt to protect him, offering rough reassurance in turn.
A proper fae would insist. But Everil’s always failed at being proper. And Bo’s honey-sweet soul and wonder are impossible to resist. Despite the perils of homicidal dryads and duplicitous friends, Everil agrees to run. With Bo. Not from him.
Everil is determined to protect his new soulbond. But he soon finds that the true risk comes with the lingering taste of Bo’s kiss.
Warnings: Emotional abuse by a past intimate partner, magical abuse by a past intimate partner, body horror, gaslighting of a child, imprisonment, brainwashing, xenophobia, and murder committed by MCs and others (this includes the past murder of an MC’s lover by his ex). That said, the relationship between the MCs is affirming, loving, and in no way abusive. And it’s not nearly so heavy as it sounds.
The Review
I absolutely loved this story. As a fellow writer of fae romance, I was always going to be intrigued, but also perhaps more inclined to be ultra critical. I was transported into the fae world created by the authors, and it was one of those books you can’t stop reading, but at the same time dread finishing.
Bo is human and falls in love with Everil, a kelpie. Together they are chosen as guardians by Talia, a magical (but non-fae) teenager able to open portals between realms. Angst and drama are provided by the entire fae court and in particular Everil’s ex, Nimai.
Both main characters have endured mental abuse, Bo at the hands of his parents and Everil from Nimai.
The writing is beautiful. Even the explicit sex scenes (which I normally skip or skim) are turned into ‘something rich and strange’. In their take on the fae the authors can be compared with Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series (though with an mm main pairing) or with Emma Bull’s War for the Oaks.
The writers have clearly done a lot of research about legends, folk tales and traditions regarding faerie. Like McGuire and Bull, they have effortlessly transported this into the twenty-first century.
There is to be a sequel which I shall definitely be reading. The paperback is expensive, but probably worth it as a re-read will be likely. The book is also available in KU.
Highly recommended – 5 stars.
The Reviewer
I’ve been doing book reviews on my website, crossposted or linked to various social media, for a few years. I read a number of genres but I really enjoy all kinds of speculative fiction so thought I’d like to share my views with you. I love sci fi and other speculative fiction because of the way it can, at its best, make us see ourselves in a new light. Quite apart from the exciting stories, of course! I used to be an English teacher, and I’m a writer (fantasy) so I can be quite critical about style etc. but I hope I can also appreciate properly some books that don’t appeal to me personally but might be simply perfect for others. I have, obviously, read widely, and continue to do so.