Genre: Fantasy, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
Cursed to never find love, Crea is shocked when he finds the perfect man. Choosing to fight the curse could cost him everything, including his life.
After his father cursed him, Crea has faced decades of dead end relationships. Just as he’s almost given up hope he finds a handsome stranger broken on the side of a desolate road. Once he drops the stranger off at the hospital, he figures all is done. Nothing could be further from the truth. The stranger becomes so much more as he pursues Crea, threatening the curse. Crea learns quickly falling in love is easy, but surviving a nasty cantation that’s determined to destroy you, isn’t as much.
Eli isn’t what you’d call a social person. His love for isolation in his beloved forest fully defines him. After breaking his leg in a mishap, Eli’s life is turned upside down as his life is filled with things he didn’t even dream of having before.
Unfortunately, those dreams turn to nightmares as he and Crea, the man he’s become bonded to, battle a curse that should’ve never been cast.
Crea and Eli’s bonding must be strong enough to overcome the curse, or they could both be lost, forever.
The Review
Creagan “Crea” Franklyn and his brothers, oldest Lance and youngest, Kyle, have been cursed by their father. With the curse, Lance stands up to his father and casts a spell.
All three brothers are gay, but that’s nothing new to the family – as history has it, their grandparents were bi. Coming from a long line of pagans, Crea’s his parents have found the Lord, but it’s more than that. With the spell cast, there’s nothing left for the brothers to do but to leave home and live with their Grandma Gwen in Chemeketa, a small community in Oregon with a host of interesting inhabitants.
Crea, now thirty-nine, lives in San Francisco and works in urban agriculture. He’s enjoyed being the Urban Farm consultant and developing grants to seek out help for hvariousis projects. But he’s been in the job for eleven years and has lost interest. He makes a trip to Oregon to plan reuniting with his brothers, who haven’t seen each other in two years, and finds a very special place – Crater Lake.
Eli Bane is forty. He’s a very famous wood-sculptur and has his own business. He’s also very private, stays secluded and is just not very social. His love is for the forest. While out prepping special wood pieces for his sculptures, Eli has a horrid accident, and can’t make it back to find help.
Luckily for Eli, Crea finds him. He takes Eli to the hospital but is stopped on the way out – Eli want’s to see him. Eli is in great pain and is not very coherent, but thanks Crea. As he departs, he leaves his contact information at the desk.
When Crea and Eli meet once again, things don’t go well. Curses, spells, misconceptions abound, and there’s lots of fun interference from the locals, who seem to have Crea’s and Eli fates sorted out.
Emerald Earth holds back no surprises, in the magical sense, as Adam J. Ridley brings this delightful new fantasy to life right from the start. Hedge witches, magic, spells, curses, strange dreams, lore, wood emerald and a ring are all part of of Chemeketa.
There’s are so many wonderful characters here besides Crea and Eli, including Jennie Lambert, Lance’s daughter and Crea’s niece. I also loved Lee Chelsea, retired ranger; wife Idigo, a hedge witch, and their daughter Libby, a nurse. Rounding out the cast are hedge witches Donna and Miranda, and Jack Henry, a sweet man who is also a great cook.
Emerald Earth is the start of “The Witches Brothers Saga.” I enjoyed this first book from Adam J. Ridley. It’s low-drama, with fun and steamy moments, friendships and all the makings of a wonderful fantasy. I can’t wait to see what Ridley has planned for Crea and Eli, and I’m sure it will get even more interesting as the brothers get together.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.