Genre: Paranormal, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Bi, Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
Sometimes being a vampire sucks, and not in a good way. Gwil might have accepted his vampire afterlife didn’t come with rubbing shoulders with the elite and endless wealth, despite what his sire might alluded to, but working as a private detective isn’t all bad. Being dragged into Vampire Council business is annoying at times but there are worst things—the worst being years of pining after his best friend, business partner, and fae prince, Hyax.
Spending so much time with Hyax is getting harder, and now Hyax has told his parents that Gwil is his betrothed to stop them from trying to marry him off, everything gets even more difficult. Add in meddling family members on both sides to fake dating a prince, a missing crown jewel, and rogue flower fairies, Gwil thinks things can’t get any more complicated until they do…
Pining for the Prince is the first of Fang & Fae, a MM Paranormal Romance series, where a vampire and a fae prince go from best friends to lovers while solving mysteries along the way.
The Review
Gwilym Hilt is a vampire. He was turned in 1843 by Solivatus, a very revered vampire. Because of bureaucracy, it took decades for him to be officially claimed by his sire, or he would not have gotten his business permit.
Gwil was once a human police inspector, but his drug habit was a strike against him. He now holds a grudge against Detective Chief Inspector Goya. As a vampire, he tried to get hired with the Metropolitan Paranormal Division, but was denied many times. He found that human and vampire things just didn’t go well together, and eventually started his own Private Detective business. It’s been lucrative – he gets cases from the elite, and they pay well. Those cases can take him to different realms: human, fae and other species. Gwil is not alone in the business – he has a best friend/business partner, Hyak, who has been driving him crazy for fifteen years.
Hyak is one of the Princes of the seven Fae tribes. As Faes go, he’s very attractive. He doesn’t need a job or money. He’s tired of all the bad dating in the search for someone to marry. He’s had a few affairs, including one that really hurt when he was cheated on. At times he’d really rather be couch sitting with Gwil, watching TV and eating lavender bon-bons.
At home in the Fae realm, he was waited on hand and foot, and was bored with his life. He loves the excitement and the freeness in the human realm. Gwil and Hyak work really well together, even though they occasionally butt heads about their cases. They are also at odds over their personal feelings, as neither one has realized that they want the same thing.
When Gwil tells Hyak about the case he just accepted from Tobias Flume, Hyak gets disgruntled, but Gwil couldn’t turn down what Flume was offering as payment. He also felt that he had to accept the case from Flume, or he might lose the business. All Flume would have to do is tell the Vampire Counsel, and word would travel to the elite undead and all would be lost.
Flume wants Gwil to steal his father’s watch from the British Museum, the one Flume bought for his father in 1624. Gwil needs Hyak’s help, with his fae abilities. The case doesn’t go so well, as Hyak feels that something’s not quite right with his fae magic, and has to make a quick escape from the museum using a portal. Gwil becomes very ill, and Hyak stays by his side until he’s better. It all seems worth it – the payment is the deed to a townhouse in Spitalfields on the Heliman Ley Line.
But things are about to get chaotic. Gwil with Nella and a few friends at the Dock Club, and hears of the raid at the Testament by DCI Goya and Metro Paranormal Police. And it seems that’s not the only club that was hit. He also runs into the Dark Countess, his sister Penelope, who is concerned about a new drug called “Stardust”. On the way home, Gwil saves a flower Fae – Chase – from being attacked by Orcs. Little does he know that Chase, is a whole lot of trouble.
In the mean time, Hyak is at his fae home and finds that DCI Goya has been to see his Mother, Queen Talia. When the Queen tries to turn the tables on him, he makes an announcement that will rock the realms.
The book deals with bigotry against Vampires among the other species, especially the Fae. Gwil and Hyak are a sparkly match but they have to stay strong. Gwil is harassed and treated rudely, and there are those that will do anything to get him to walk away from Hyak.
There are a few subjects that kept me curious, and I hope there’s more to come about: Gwil’s sire Solivatus; The Dark Earl of MacLove; King James and Queen Hylei; the Calanti Fae tribe that don’t connect with other Fae tribes and socialize with the House of Cartwright; and Jyndarin society, elite group in vampire society.
There are some interesting side characters here too: The moggy; Midnight, Gwil’s companion; the Fitzrovia Confectionary with Nella and the Lavender bon-bons; Copperpipe aka dirt devils, potato looking, sub-species of goblin; Tobias Flume; and maybe Chase.
Pining for the Prince also ties in with Subterfuge, the first book of “Dark Earls” as it mentions: Warlock Rules Committee, Invigilators, Vampire Council, House of Cartwright and Fae Alex, and the Dark Earl of MacLove.
Cohen does it again with her creative, wild and humorous imagination. Pining for the Prince, the first book of the new series “Fang and Fae,” is full of snark and banter, making this her best book so far. I couldn’t put it down. It’s a fantastic read, filled with danger, suspense, magic, spells, potions, realms, elves, goblins, a spicy romance, and laugh-out-loud humor in a suspenseful paranormal mystery/romance. I hope I don’t have to wait too long for the next “Fang and Fae” book!
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.