My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
How I acquired this book: I purchased it.
Goodreads Blurb: Fed up with his desk duty in the Imperial Arcane Library, book hunter Colin Bliss accepts a private commission to find The Sword’s Shadow, a legendary and dangerous witches’ grimoire. But to find the book, Colin must travel to the remote Western Isles and solve a centuries’ old murder.It should be nothing more than an academic exercise, so why is dour -- and unreasonably sexy -- Magister Septimus Marx doing his best to keep Colin from accepting this mission -- even going so far as to seduce Colin on the train journey north?
Septimus is not the only problem. Who is the strange faery woman that keeps appearing at inconvenient times? And who is working behind the scenes with the sinister adventuress Irania Briggs? And why do Colin’s employers at the Museum of the Literary Occult keep accusing Colin of betraying them?As Colin digs deeper and deeper into the book’s mysterious past, he begins to understand why Septimus is willing to stop him at any price -- but by then, it’s too late to turn back.
Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Male/male sexual practices.
My Review: Josh Lanyon has infused our world--or our world as it was some decades ago--with alternate history, fey creatures, old magick, paranormal abilities and dangerous legends. It's an enticing world that's easy to fall into, especially as revealed to us by Colin Bliss, the irrepressible narrator. I love Colin: he's engaging, proactive, intelligent and childish all at once. I was rooting for him and cringing for him at the same time.
Septimus Marx is a more problematic character. His attraction to Colin is obvious to the reader long before Colin is aware of it; his condescension and high-handedness mask genuine concern. Those are points in his favor, and part of what makes him impossible to dislike. But his ultimate mission raises some moral issues (to put it mildly.) Colin's reaction to that mission, I think, proves that these two are well suited--if it's not a deal-breaker for them, nothing else will be!
Available on Kindle: Yes. You can find it on Amazon here
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