Genre: Fantasy, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Jay
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About The Book
The magic that was gifted to Prince Avery’s family has always been a part of his life. When he was fifteen, that magic marked him as the heir to the throne. Ever since, he’s known that someday that same magic will lead him to his one true love and a magical bond that will tie them together.
Avery knows that even magically destined love will still take work and love is always complicated, especially for a royal. He’s prepared for some complications, like his destined bonded being politically challenging or a gender he’s not romantically attracted to. He’s not prepared for poachers, broken magic, and a surly but intriguing cat shifter that threatens to break his heart.
Avery is convinced that the two of them can find their happily ever after, but Kael is hurting and resistant. How can Avery convince Kael to believe in the magic when Kael’s own magic is so broken?
You’d think this would by angsty but no, Kael doesn’t want to like Avery but Avery is just too sweet to resist, Avery doesn’t realize he’s adorable, the siblings all think that’s hilarious, mages trying to fix magic with cuddles, Avery’s love language might be snacks.
The Review
This is a delightful story set in a fantasy kingdom. The heir to the throne sets out to find his potential partner, nudged by magic, but finds his possible mate, a leopard shifter, has been ‘broken’ and cannot use his own magic.
The author calls it ‘light’ fantasy and romance and it is suitable for older teenagers since it has no explicit sex and the story is both straightforward and traditionally romantic. The royal family were refreshingly ‘ordinary’ even though surrounded by guards and servants, many of whom were nicely developed characters too.
For adult readers used to more angst and sex, the plot might seem flimsy or more suited to a short story, but the tale is well written and pleasing.
I myself am used to ‘more’, in terms of sex, magic, problems, etc., but even so, I found myself wanting to read on and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Recommend it to younger readers, but enjoy it yourself as well.
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.