Tag Team Review + GIVEAWAY: Don't Fight the Spark (Soldiers and Mercenaries #1) by Kasia Bacon

As the Light Festival draws near, the Něssyrians craft paper lanterns, awaiting the most important holiday of the year.

The Lyliňg Fighting House, too, prepares for celebration—by laying fresh sand onto the arena and setting up a match against their top pit fighter, the unrivalled Yüuzuki Ōren.

His last match. One he can’t win.

With the odds more than stacked against him, the gorgeous Barbarian is as good as dead. Unless his lover, healer Ĥaiatto Ẽkana, proves himself every bit as determined as he is clever and finds a way to protect the man he'd stop at nothing to save.






We have not only a tag team unicorn review but an awesome visit from the author with prizes for 3 lucky people! See all below!

Averaged!



R *A Reader Obsessed* - 5 Hearts

Gods. The more I read about this world and it's varied inhabitants, the more I want and crave and need.

Continued complexity in this intriguing fantastical universe, slowly weaving an intricate piece of the grand puzzle as all of Bacon’s stories are intertwined and connected and as usual, this was just not enough!!

I don’t want to give much away, but this was a tender, emotional story of two lovers, one resigned to his fate, the other desperately determined to subvert it and bend it to his will against impossible odds. This also gives a glimpse of the infamous Grandmaster Assassin of The Order itself, Lu Feninghan, and I can’t wait for his story. It better be on the horizon!!

This technically isn’t a stand alone, and though I haven't read all of Bacon’s works, I don’t think one could go wrong with publishing order, and I'm going to rectify that soon and read the other two I was holding off on. The author herself recommends at least reading The Poison Within first, and I totally concur. Enjoy!

Sara - 5 Hearts

One would think by now having read and fallen in love with every book Kasia Bacon has released that I would get used to this feeling. One would think but one would be wrong. Each and every story, though familiar with the world of The Order is brand new and I fall for each couple just as fast and hard. It only took me reading the first page to feel how much Ĥaiatto cared for Yüu and how much the relationship with him had to be kept secret. I was in love, on board and ready to dive in.

True to The Order fashion, this is a short book and I wish I knew how the author is always able to pack so much emotion, world building and just artistry into the novella’s because it and she are magic. So because this is short, I’ll not produce a fangirl ramble and keep this review short. By the Gods, I promise I will. Maybe? Who knows?
You learned to pick your battles when you loved a fighter.
Ĥaiatto is a healer, one who does not possess solitary magic but the ability to use magic to heal others. He is currently employed at The Lyliňg Fighting House as their healer and his main job is to heal fighters of the pit. When their top pit fighter, the unrivaled Yüuzuki Ōren landed on his table some three years ago, Ĥaiatto treats and falls hard for him and begins a secret but passionate relationship with the fighter.

There is always something about secret relationships that tugs at my hopeless romantic heart while also tearing it apart. The level of commitment to be with the one you love no matter the consequence lends a level of romance but then the fact that the commitment is hiding who they are to one another to everyone, is sad. Yüu and Ĥaiatto have figured out a good balance to be together and the tall, gangly and awkward healer often wonders if his feelings are returned from Yüu. When Yüu is brought in to be healed after his last fight and Ĥaiatto learns of a twist Yüu’s next fight, Ĥaiatto will do everything his can to save his lover and give them a chance at a future… together.

Oh man! I loved this one super hard. Ĥaiatto is an amazing story teller and the characters he meets to secure a future was a joy to read. I do wonder if we will get a book with the Grandmaster and the Vamper because I am sure there is something between them. But Ĥaiatto and his love for Yüu made me feel. To be honest, reading and I have been having issues but this book made me feel and feel hard. I was waiting for the punch to the feels moment and once I got it, they just kept coming and I was happier than a ten puckered owl.

Now Yüu, I am so thankful we get his backstory and how he came about to be fighter in the pits at The Lyliňg Fighting House. It’s heartbreaking but gives him such strength of character that when Ĥaiatto proposes they spend the rest of their lives together… well, read the book to experience that scene. Kay?
“This Yüuzuki, […] Who is he to you?”
“Everything. He’s everything.”
This was just so good. I was holding my breath toward the end and freaking out a little but then I danced in my seat when Eryssa shows up and then when we see her reunion with Caylii. Giddy would be an understatement. That epilogue was pure perfection and I love how sweet Yüu is with his healer.

I have to say the title makes me smile and when you read the book (Read.The.Book.) you’ll figure out why.

I’ll stop rambling now but just know, I want more. I’m so ready for more.



Interested in learning more about Don't Fight the Spark (Soldiers and Mercenaries #1)? You're in luck! Author Kasia Bacon visited with an excerpt and is giving 3 e-copies below!


BUY LINKS:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QQNP96D
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QQNP96D
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/don-t-fight-the-spark
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1131255727?ean=2940156438778
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1459807032


Excerpt


WARNING

They brought him to me bloodied and beaten to a pulp three days before the Night of Lights.
Being battered black and blue after a fight came with the territory for an ih’mohrô, even one as good as Yüuzuki Ōren. Not once in the past, however, had he ended up unresponsive in my treatment room. My stomach plummeted at the sight of two guards hauling him between them like a sack of coal. Was the dread that had haunted my dreams about to transpire?
Careful not to unmask my fear, I schooled my features. “Here.” I ushered the men to the exam table, erected in the middle of my study for easy access.
I did my best not to wince when Yüu’s limp body landed on top of the linen-dressed surface with a dull thump.
I got to him in two leaps and busied myself with arranging him in a recovery position. Placing two fingers on the inside of his wrist, I took his pulse. It felt thready and rapid, but it was there. I observed his chest rising and falling in shallow but regular breaths. Having seen no evidence of a collapsed lung or any blockage in his airways, I sighed with relief.
The blood caking his body—part dried, part fresh—prevented me from fully determining the damage.
I ordered the men to step back and allow me room to work. The next moment, I snatched my emergency kit from the side cabinet and prepared a basin of fresh water, dampening a soft muslin washcloth in it. Having settled Yüu onto his back with speed and care, I proceeded to clean the skin of the wounded man.
Not just any man, but the one I loved.
The scanty outfit of a pit-fighter, consisting of a simple loincloth, allowed me to get on with my task right away, taking stock of his injuries as the sweeping movements of my hands uncovered more and more scrapes, cuts and contusions.
Yüu was as tough as they came. The toughest. I would know, having treated him and other prized combatants of the Lyliňg Fighting House for over three years. If his body shut down, going into shock from blood loss and pain, both must’ve been significant.


A linguist and an avid reader with a particular fondness for fantasy and paranormal genres, KASIA BACON lives in London with her husband. When not tearing her hair out over a translating project, she writes stories about the shenanigans of emotionally constipated assassins and sexy Elves. Otherwise, she can be found shaking her loins at a Zumba class, binging on anime or admiring throwing knives on Pinterest. She has a mild coffee and lemon tart addiction. A lover of MMA and Muay Thai, she also enjoys nature and the great outdoors. She dreams of becoming independently wealthy, leaving the city and moving into her wooden mini-manor—located in the heart of stunning forests resembling those of the Elven Country depicted in her tales.

Find Kasia online:

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Three people can win their own e-copy of Don't Fight the Spark (Soldiers and Mercenaries #1) from author Kasia Bacon! Enter in rafflecopter below. Giveaway ends May 3rd, 2019 midnight EST.

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