Hello everyone!
Tonight's reading material of choice belongs to an author I found completely by accident while browsing BookSirens, and liked the initial premise of her series.
Turns out, she's written ANOTHER one (that I'm currently slowly chomping my way through) and is working on expanding her ongoing adventures in the mythical land of Teutonic witches.
Aka, there may or may not be people among us who can and do wield elemental magic, hopefully staying on the right path and not worshiping a demon lord in their spare time ...
I digress.
Tonight, we take a look at the second in her series, and just be aware that these aren't full-length books a la Outlander, they've got WAY fewer pages.
But they're page-turners just the same.
So let's hop right into Forbidden Gift.
Forbidden Gift tells the story of Gisela, who we've met before, if you recall, both with Radomir and Gustav, but here we learn just how they first met.
See, Gisela has no living relatives aside from her uncle, and said uncle pretty much wants to mooch off her as best as he possibly can, so he sells her to their people's brothel.
Oh right, yes, they're both Teutons, and her elemental gift is metal, which apparently no self-respecting Teuton man will want to bond with (lies, all of it), and serving in the brothel will mean Gisela is serving her people by popping out pure-blooded babies and thus helping repopulate.
Listen, if it all sounds sketchy as hell, that's because it is.
She realizes it pretty much immediately as she gets in, signs the contract, and then is to receive her first nightly visitor, but has no magic to help her because something was put into her food and/or drink to render her helpless.
See what I mean by sketchy? If the word brothel hasn't clued you in yet.
Luckily for Gisela, Radomir is the one who walks through her door, and he's not interested in having sex with her since his friend Tobias (of Gift of Snow fame) warned him about a new acquisition to the brothel. They're investigating the place because THANKFULLY not every man in the city is like Gisela's uncle and the city's Keyholder, who apparently bleeds the witches here regularly so they can have no secrets.
Radomir saves Gisela by basically booking her flat-out for the foreseeable future, and Gisela feels drawn to him. He's already in a relationship with a priest, Gustav, BUT happily he's bisexual and very into Gisela as well, so when he has to leave with his little concert group, he leaves her safety in Gustav's hands.
This is another stroke of luck, considering Gustav's Teutonic priesthood which enables him to place a hex on Gisela's heart that warns him when she's suddenly snatched by the Keyholder and the brothel matron's husband, literally teleporting his magical spirit to the room they're in and making them wish they'd never touched her in the first place.
And this all happens after one of the other brothel witches dies during her last childbirth, prompting a more enthusiastic investigation and deeper, inside look into what's happening.
Gisela's rescued before any harm can be done, and by the end of the book the brothel's been disbanded, with plans of perhaps transforming it into an AirbnB, while Radomir proposes to the girl and Gustav happily joins in on their little menage a trois, so they can live happily ever after (and pop up occasionally as energetic and colourful side characters!).
If it isn't obvious yet, I received an ARC of the book. Man, it's good to be back in this magical world.
It's especially good because we explore the origin story of a few people we've already met in previous work(s), making it doubly special.
I've had a soft spot for Gisela, Radomir and Gustav from the moment I met them, and was enraged about the brothel "breeding" program right from the start. Seeing behind the walls at what was happening just makes me madder, but goes to show why it's important for good Teuton priests and witches, such as Tobias, Nelke and the others, have to keep fighting.
Ms Calhart weaves a raw, heart-wrenching world that intersects at multiple points, some of which we're still discovering, and I'm here for it.
Would I have loved if this was longer? Yes but, that's a me problem. The snapshot of a story is self-contained and self-explanatory, and it has a start, middle, and epic conclusion all the same.
I think it's a mighty fine, magical addition. Definitely recommend, and the two series as a whole!
It's especially good because we explore the origin story of a few people we've already met in previous work(s), making it doubly special.
I've had a soft spot for Gisela, Radomir and Gustav from the moment I met them, and was enraged about the brothel "breeding" program right from the start. Seeing behind the walls at what was happening just makes me madder, but goes to show why it's important for good Teuton priests and witches, such as Tobias, Nelke and the others, have to keep fighting.
Ms Calhart weaves a raw, heart-wrenching world that intersects at multiple points, some of which we're still discovering, and I'm here for it.
Would I have loved if this was longer? Yes but, that's a me problem. The snapshot of a story is self-contained and self-explanatory, and it has a start, middle, and epic conclusion all the same.
I think it's a mighty fine, magical addition. Definitely recommend, and the two series as a whole!
xx
*image not mine
No comments:
Post a Comment