Genre: Fantasy, Historical, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
Ravaged by a horrific experience, Oliver Webb flees the smog-bound city of Greynox for a quiet seaside village and the inheritance he’s never seen: a cottage called Farview. He discovers clear skies, friendly imps, and a charming storyteller named Felix Corbyn.
With help from Felix’s tales, Oliver learns surprising secrets about his family history and discovers what home really means. But with Felix cursed, Oliver growing deathly ill, and an obligation in Greynox hanging heavy around his neck, it seems that not even wizards can save the day.
Still, as Felix knows, stories are the best truths and the most powerful magic. Perhaps the right words might yet conjure a chance for happiness.
The Review
Farview by Kim Fielding is an incredibly sweet and charming book. Enter a Tolkienesque world where factories and dragons stand side-by-side and magic is as common as medicine. In this world is Oliver, a tired man with not much time left on this earth, coming home to his ancestral cottage by the sea to die in peace. That’s his plan after a horrific tragedy in the grey, murky city. He had no idea what his homecoming would be like.
The people in the Croftwell have lived in their little seaside town for ages. Everyone knows everyone else. Everyone mostly accepts everyone else. If Oliver expected to be left in peace to live out his days, he was sadly mistaken. The long lost son of Farview Cottage returns to curiosity, warmth, ghosts, and magic. It’s a sincere, if unexpected and unwanted welcome. Oliver slowly comes to terms that privacy is a thing of the past and the intentions of his new neighbors are good. What he cannot readily come to terms with is Felix Corbyn.
Felix Corbyn is an incredibly beautiful person, both inside and out. He was tortured by childhood illness and still nurses a persistent allergy to magic (which means his world is always one step away from disaster). Unable to earn a living or support himself through work due to his frailty and his allergy to the all-too-commonplace magic, he earns a few coppers a day by entertaining people with his beautiful stories and lending a hand where he can.
Against his better judgement, Oliver finds his hardened, half-dead heart blooming as Felix waters it with his kindness and words.
But it looks like love won’t have much time to grow as each man has a short life expectancy, for one reason or another. When the truth comes out… neither man can bear to pull away, no matter how hard they might try. The sweet determination Oliver and Felix share to heal each other through love if nothing else is truly beautiful, but both men realize there may not be a cure. They decide to love each other for the time they have left. There, in that decision, is an astoundingly lovely reality in all this fantasy that will hook the most cynical of readers. You can try not to let yourself be moved, but it’ll be as inevitable as the pervasive magic in Fielding’s universe.
Aside from the beguiling love story and the fantastical world, Fielding weaves a seamless subplot about seeking justice and honoring what’s right and true. Add in Felix’s enchanting tales every chapter or so, incredible imagery, and truly lovable characters, and an absolutely joyful twist at the end, and you have yourself a book you’ll devour and re-read over and over.
The Reviewer
S.C. Principale is a voracious writer, reader, baker, and teacher. When she’s not writing paranormal romance and erotica, she loves reading the works of others. She’s a firm believer that great writers must be great readers, too. Reviewing allows her to follow her passion of uplifting and learning from other authors. She lives in Pennsylvania with her amazing husband, their two brilliant and stubborn kids, and their menagerie of six pets.