Review: Shadowmancer (Paladin Charm #1) by Devin Harnois

Marius Everhart is something even mages fear — a shadowmancer. His power marks him as cursed, a creature belonging to the Queen of Shadows. Marius escaped her realm with his memories corrupted and his sanity in tatters, managing to live a fragile, lonely existence at the edges of society.

Some might call Ayodele Sauveterre delusional. He prefers the term “optimistic”. With his homeland in danger from invasion, Ayodele will do anything to protect it, even recruit a shadowmancer. Marius’s incredible power and gentle nature make him a perfect addition to Paladin Charm, a new mage guild dedicated to helping rather than exploiting the non-magical populace. The fact that handsome Marius also warms Ayodele’s bed is a wonderful bonus.

With support from Ayodele and his new friends in the guild, Marius begins to heal. He’s also quickly falling for the alluring mage, but Ayodele struggles with what’s forming between them. Past experience left Ayodele flippant but guarded, and Marius’s open honesty unnerves him.

As they grow closer, Paladin Charm prepares for a battle with impossible odds. And in the darkness, the Queen of Shadows waits to reclaim Marius and drag him back into a nightmare.

Shadowmancer’s Marius had me hooked from the first chapter. The author built this character that grabs you by your empathy and doesn’t let go and I didn’t want him to. Marius is a shadowmancer, he’s a human who was kidnapped by the Queen of Shadows and given magic that is powerful and frightening and the life he leads in the shadows is slowly destroying his mind. When we meet him at the beginning of Shadowmancer he’s managed to escape back to the human world, all kinds of mentally damaged, and while there’s a sense of relief, Marius is surrounded by humans who fear and loathe who he’s become. I wanted to hug him and fix all the thing because he’s one of those compelling characters you root for, respect and want to protect all at the same time.

The author did a really good job of building the world around Marius and his his whole persona organically. As I said, I was on board the Marius train from page one and when Ayodele found him putting the shadow beatdown on a group of thieves Ayodele was hooked too. Ayodele is spoiled but he knows the benefits he was born with. He wants to protect his homeland from invading city states led by Ayodele’s former guild, Serpent Fang.

So, we have Ayodele’s home, which is uncomfortable with mage’s in general, with a guild established by Ayodele and his family’s cash, filled with magical misfits and here comes Ayodele with a Shadowmancer, Marius, in his ranks, preparing to defend his home against invading forces. This was probably my favorite part of the book. The dynamics in Paladin’s Charm (Ayodele’s guild) is a great read. The secondary characters and their relationships with one another is a treat. I would have been happy if the first book in this series focused on that alone to be honest. The group is overall uncomfortable with Marius, but they are also empathetic and Marius is just so damn likable and honest, he naturally works his way into their ranks.

I’m really bad at building up the background when it comes to fantasy stories, I’m the first to admit it. I don’t know why I don’t just tell you to stick to the blurb, but I don’t, and I’m sure it’s just because I want to talk about it with reading pals because there is always so much to unpack with fantastical tales. In this case, it’s the story in general and Marius and Ayodele in particular.

There’s a lot of nuggets in their relationship that I want to pick apart and mull over repeatedly. They both grow and learn to trust in their own ways throughout the story and I loved how they came together. It wasn’t without a level of angst that was necessary considering where they both came from and while I love/hated it, I needed it to make me believe in an HEA for them.

Marius has a mantra that he goes through to keep himself centered and every time I read him going through his ritual, my heart broke a little. I loved that Ayodele committed it to memory and personalized it for the evolution of Marius. You have to read it to appreciate the subtle loveliness of it all, but I ate it up.

I do want to take a little paragraph to talk about my cover love for this book. The artist nailed it hard with the characters and the mood of the story. It’s unfortunately rare that the characters are truly represented on the cover of their book. Ayodele and his beautiful eyes had me swooning and I pictured the MC’s exactly how they were portrayed on the cover.

I did have a niggle though. The wrap up of conflict was entirely too fast. Well, one was and one wasn’t. I would have been totally fine with one of them left hanging and moved into book two. There’s a lot to cover in a story of this length and the ending felt rushed considering the build up. Annnnd, I wouldn’t change the build up and considering this is the beginning of a series, a thread that continues would have been totally fine by me. There’s plenty of meat for this series to continue with the setup that was dealt out here, but the big arc should continue to give it the seriousness it was built up to have in book one. That actually makes sense believe it or not.

Overall, this was a total treat and I can’t wait to read the next installment. I miss Marius already and I hope there’s some more background on the rest of the guild. They’re a fascinating group and will make for a great series.

**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**

Review: Undaunted by Devin Harnois

A warrior’s broken soul.
A vampire’s kind heart.

Kelas Vartorvi escaped from one vampire only to find himself bound to another. Roshan saved his life and honor demands Kelas stays by his side until he repays the debt.

Roshan takes his broody new werewolf bodyguard in stride. Slowly, his relentless good nature begins to break down Kelas’s walls.

And their tentative friendship becomes something more.

An unexpected visitor from Roshan’s past throws them into a political plot and gives Kelas a chance for revenge. But are the gods blessing Kelas, or asking for a sacrifice?

Content warnings: Contains slavery, violence, body control, bottom shaming, misogyny, and rape mentioned in backstory. All sex between the heroes is clearly consensual.

“A warrior’s broken soul.
A vampire’s kind heart.”

Doesn’t that sound intriguing? I’m really glad I finally pulled the trigger and cracked this one open. The blurb is short and sweet but the story is so much more. Before I continue, please be aware: “Content warnings: Contains slavery, violence, body control, bottom shaming, misogyny, and rape mentioned in backstory.” This was a gruesome story and along with the listed warnings, there was necromancy which adds a whole other level to body control.

You’re still here?

If all those warnings didn’t send you running for the hills, pull up a chair and let’s get this party started.

Kelas Vartorvi was a warrior for his people until the Vampire’s took over his city and killed everyone they couldn’t use. Kelas was very proficient as a warrior which led to his capture, being turned into a werewolf (a Hound), and forced into slavery for the Master Vampire, Zoja. With Zoja forcing a blood bond, she is able to control Kelas’ body and he became her “sword.” He was forced to live as a dog, kill at her command, and be raped at her hands. For years he endured until he found a way to escape. He was on the run for months staying one step ahead of the trackers Zoja sent his way until he was outnumbered and poisoned. Just when he thinks it’s over and that he’ll be brought back and tortured, he’s saved by an unlikely hero.

Roshan is a rogue vampire that was abandoned by his sire shortly after being attacked and changed into a vampire. He embraces life and has built a family of friends around him. Roshan is light, sarcastic and caring. He is also a hell of a fighter, a mercenary, and is able to save Kelas from the attack.

Roshan being a vampire represents everything Kelas hates. He finally freed himself from Zoja and now owes Roshan a life debt as a payment for saving his life. Begrudgingly, Kelas agrees to stay with the group until he saves Roshan’s life. Kelas is like one of those abused and terrified animals you see at shelters. The ones that are heartbreakingly skittish and can’t bear to be touched. He was robbed of his pride, dignity, his name, consent, humanity, and choices on his physical actions. Slowly, Roshan earned his trust. Each day he showed Kelas that ”what you were didn’t determine who you were.” That he wasn’t a monster.

Their journey as mercenaries takes them all over the lands, bringing them closer together until one job dangles the carrot of revenge. They have an opportunity to come face to face with Zoja and Kelas is eager to follow this path through, knowing that she will always be looking for him. Getting to the point of revenge takes trust and great sacrifice for both Kelas and Roshan. They have parts to play and can’t show their hand too early. Each step the group took brought them closer to Zoja, the castle of Kelas’ enslavement, and the battle that would take place. Their time at the castle was tense, engaging and eventually very gruesome. There were a lot of moving pieces and the prior world building supported them well.

Roshan and Kelas are opposites that fit. Their love is beautiful and transparent in each interaction. Roshan slowly brought Kelas back to life. But, Kelas feels “broken.” He needs to face his demons. He needs to face the voices in his head that tell him he’s nothing but a worthless Hound.

“I’m a pet, an animal. Not a person. Not someone you love. I’m a creature you lust after, one you can make do whatever you want. I’m a toy.”

This wasn’t a case of insta-love. They were slow to realize their attraction and as their feelings grew, love bloomed bright. With Kelas’ past, trust had to be the foundation before anything else was added and the author did a great job of making that a realization. There wasn’t a lot of sex in the book but each time it took place held purpose. It furthered the believability of their connection and the trust built between them. They got their HEA but it wasn’t without hardship, heartbreak, and a need for healing.

Was it perfect? No. Did I have to suspend reality? Yes, but that is to be expected with a paranormal/ fantasy romance. The time period was a bit confusing and I still don’t know if it was a historical with its talk of coin, carriages, and horses or in modern time with the way each character spoke. It was contradictory and pulled me out of the story a few times. Also, this was very heavy in gods talk. There are rites, rituals, thanking ceremonies, prayers, alters, statues, etc… The gods are mentioned in the blurb and are everywhere throughout. I could have done without all that but it didn’t ruin the book for me. Another unique aspect of this story was the feel; It has a vintage werewolf and/or vampire feel which worked for the heavy elements present.

I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to fans of paranormal romance.

“Oh, Kel.” Roshan pressed their hands together. “You store up reasons to hate yourself, and I…” Roshan laughed, sad and sweet and surprised all at once. “I store up reasons to love you.”

Trivia Question: Name the book where the 2 MC’s share a birthday and are reincarnated from a couple who died in a plane crash. 15 pts

Random winner will be chosen at (or around) Noon EST 11/15.