Hello everyone!
See, I've probably looked at or at least taken a peek at seventy percent of what's out there about this stuff, and most of it is pretty straight-forward at the end of the day. One guy, becomes king, marries a woman, second guy comes in.
I'm still salty because of First Knight but, I mean, what can you do?
This though, this is a little bit ... new.
Well alright, new to ME, maybe, would be better if I said it that way.
And man did I love it.
I didn't expect to as much as I ended up doing, but here we are, and I'm including it in my blog, so it MUST be that good, right?
Marked by Fire, by Mia West, is here.
I'll be including the links to some of the stuff I've already done on the topic down below - at the very least I know I have one other book series! - but for the most part, sit back and enjoy this series starter with me!
If you haven't clocked in yet from that movie link above, Marked by Fire is a story about Arthur.
Yes, THAT Arthur.
But there's a twist.
See, in West's universe ... he doesn't really want a wife.
Because he's gay.
Listen that's what sold me on the book in an instant. I thought it was just another King Arthur retelling, but NOPE the dude is polar opposite this time, so naturally I needed to read it through.
Arthur is part of a Welsh community under Uthyr, keeping the Saxons at bay, and the people he lives with put a lot of stock in tattoos, which is why he wants one, too, and can't wait to go into his first skirmish so that he can earn one (we aren't talking about the botched up dragon he tried to tattoo on himself as a kid). He has an older brother, Cai, his father is the village healer and his mother the smith - role reversal right there!
Oh and also he's got the hots for Cai's shield-mate and Uthyr's son and heir, Bedwyr.
You would think he'd look to Bedwyr's sister Gwenyfair, but nope, it's Bedwyr.
For his part, Bedwyr HAS noticed Arthur, though he's also noticed Arthur's dad, because the man's the only one who's gentle with him, so it's already a complicated enough situation by the time the Saxons do wander up into the territory, though what they're doing there in winter is anybody's guess.
Anyway, Uthyr orders an attack and they all troop off, Arthur included, and Bedwyr is kind of worried about Arthur from the get-go, which proves that he has some sense in his head.
Because in the fight, Arthur is so eager to prove himself that he makes more than just one rookie mistake, nearly getting himself killed - but Bedwyr intervenes and loses his sword-hand in the process.
Any other warrior might have been left to die of the wound, but as he's Uthyr's heir, he's patched up, then sent to the very edge of the community as he ostensibly has nothing left to offer them if he can't fight. Uthyr has an ulterior motive, however, and sends Arthur after his son, threatening to banish him if he can't teach Bedwyr to fight with his left hand.
Initially, Bedwyr fights this and tries to send Arthur away, but Arthur can be just as stubborn and they eventually do begin bashing at one another with their left sword-hands.
See, Arthur actually has the advantage here because he was taught to use both hands to begin with - his grandfather was a Roman survivor, who had a male partner, and he was the smith in the village until he passed. So you can guess how much more accepting Arthur's family is about this stuff.
And it's a good thing, because if you think Bedwyr and Arthur don't get it on, you're SO not paying attention.
They totally do, and in fact Bedwyr's sister Gwen is actually incredibly supportive when she finds out.
But the truth of the matter is Uthyr wants Bedwyr back, and not necessarily with Arthur as his shadow, so they have to keep this a secret ... and of course Arthur never tells Bedwyr that he came to the hut because he'd been ordered to do so, under pain of exile.
This backfires when they go to visit Arthur's mother so that she can adjust the straps on Bedwyr's shield, and Uthyr demands a demonstration when he shows up unannounced, eventually dropping that bomb of a tidbit about Arthur, which of course detonates like a nuke.
It would have probably sat there in its crater for much longer if not for another Saxon attack, for which Arthur goes to drag Bedwyr with them into the fight, and the two of them fight as shield-mates.
The men successfully repel the Saxons, Arthur earns his first tattoo (a dragon, to honour Uthyr's house, natch), and Uthyr tells him he's expecting him at his right hand eventually.
Ummm, Arthur, this spells trouble if you don't know it yet.
He and Bedwyr make up, but Arthur does recognize it'll be dangerous and difficult for the two of them, so he goes to Uthyr and swears to make him proud ... playing some sort of long con I can't even begin to imagine at the moment, but that's okay because there's FIVE more books in this series to go, and all of them are already on the market!
Different from the usual takes, I thoroughly enjoyed the realism behind the writing, as this isn't set in the time of knights and chivalry but in the grittier era of Saxon invasion, plus Arthur and Bedwyr grip your heart and don't let it go.
Bedwyr is actually someone who supposedly existed in the legends, eventually to become one of the Knights of the Round Table, too, so that's an added layer of fun!
But mostly, yes, this is smut, so be aware of that as you go in to read it. However it's paired with one of the strongest Arthurian stories I've seen in a long time, which means I will absolutely be picking up the sequel as soon as I get some other books out of the way.
Because I need me some more Arthur and Bedwyr - and I need to figure out how this is going to turn into the legend we all know and love.
10/10 recommend!
xx
*image not mine
**the guy on the cover is TOTALLY holding Andúril, in case you're wondering why the sword looks familiar
No comments:
Post a Comment