Review: Blyd and Pearce by Kim Fielding

Born into poverty and orphaned young, Daveth Blyd had one chance for success when his fighting prowess earned him a place in the Tangye city guard—a place he lost to false accusations of theft. Now he scrapes out a living searching for wayward spouses and missing children. When a nobleman offers him a small fortune to find an entertainer who’s stolen a ring, Daveth takes the case.

While Jory Pearce may or may not be a thief, he certainly can’t be trusted. But, enchanted by Jory’s beauty and haunting voice, Daveth soon finds himself caught in the middle of a conspiracy. As he searches desperately for answers, he realizes that he’s also falling for Jory. The two men face river wraiths, assassins, a necromancer, and a talking head that could be Daveth’s salvation on their quest for the truth. But with everyone’s integrity in question and Death eager to dance, Daveth will need more than sorcery to survive.

Blyd and Pearce is a lot of things; it’s a tale set in an alternate universe with a medieval noir feel with MC’s I am completely smitten with, it’s an action packed mystery with a healthy side of romance and it’s everything I want in a fantasy.

Once I started, I didn’t want to put it down even though I did drag out the last 20% or so just because I wanted it to last longer. I can only hope this is the start of a series because Daveth and Jory have a lot more stories to tell and I feel like we are just at the beginning of their relationship. Which, to be fair, they’ve been on the run from evil Lords, unscrupulous guards and river wraiths, so the getting-to-know-you phase of their love was a bit harried and I want more of it.

Daveth is one of the best characters I’ve read in a long time. I was completely charmed by his dry wit and sage wisdom. He has virtually no education besides what he has learned so he could survive in the Low and support himself. He has no illusions about himself. He knows his strengths and his weaknesses and he’s incredibly pragmatic about everything. He has to be in order to get by. But, that’s pretty much all he’s been doing his whole life, surviving and getting by. And he’s ok with that. 

Then Lord Uren comes to him requesting his professional skills as a gothic private investigator. Lord Uren hires Daveth to recover a “stolen” ring. The Lord gives him plenty of clues to work with and is generous with payment. It sounds like an easy gig until Daveth tracks down the perpetrator of the alleged crime in one Jory Pearce, a singer and possible whore with the face of an angel. Daveth is a smitten kitten from the get-go and once the two started with the banter it was obvious that there was much more to the story than a stolen ring. Daveth is not overly thrilled with this easy mark turning into an adventure for the ages, but he’s with Jory and it’s not long before Daveth would do anything for the man. And vice versa.

The mystery is fun. The fantastical beasts even more so. The author is a master at showing and not telling with the world building and while it is an entirely new environment, it’s easy to get immersed and not at all overwhelming. The city is a character in itself and the social structure is fascinating to read about.

What hooked me though was Daveth and Jory. They are on the run and in danger for much of the story, so if you are heavily into more traditional romance, this will be a bit frustrating for you. To me though, the danger element made the stolen moments between the two of them more special. The time they did have was actually incredibly romantic because it read so real. They knew there was a good chance they wouldn’t make it out of this nonsense alive so they appreciated their time together and didn’t bother with any manufactured angst.

Daveth was a man who couldn’t deceive anyone, it wasn’t his nature and it wasn’t a “skill” he ever needed for survival. He was honest to a fault, but people respected him for it and his blunt delivery of information ended up being pretty funny a lot of times. Jory on the other hand, survived, after being disowned by his family, by being able to play the game. Daveth never judged anyone for what they had to do to get by and Jory wasn’t really sure how to process that reaction to his professions. It also meant that Daveth didn’t trust Jory 100% and they both knew it. Jory owned his faults just as much as Daveth did, and while I don’t doubt Jory wouldn’t hesitate to lie, cheat or steal if his life depended on it, I never doubted his devotion to Daveth and completely bought into the idea that Jory would sacrifice himself for Daveth in a heartbeat.

I really can’t gush enough about the two of them together. Daveth really didn’t understand his true worth or appeal. Like, he honestly didn’t get it. But Jory was just as much a smitten kitten as Daveth was and I just swooned with how Jory loved Daveth so hard. He said the sweetest things and without any flowery speech (Daveth wouldn’t appreciate that) it made me believe every word. Especially knowing that Jory could flower it up to hell and back if he had to, but he didn’t for Daveth, he just spoke his truth and I loved it. In turn Daveth saw Jory as brave, smart and strong, words that had never been used to describe Jory in the past, but Daveth saw it and made sure Jory knew.

*SIGH*

While I do love me some cracky fluff, I really appreciate the stories that are more accidentally, or honestly romantic and Blyd and Pearce had that for me. Plus all the fantasy and adventure were a total kick, so this story will be a reread for me for sure. I’ll drop this not-so-subtle request one more time, I really hope there are more Blyd and Pearce books coming, that would make me one happy Peach.

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

Giveaway + Blog Tour: Blyd and Pearce by Kim Fielding

Happy Release Day, Kim Fielding! Who's here today talking anti-heroes in support of her new Dreamspinner Press release, Blyd and Pearce! Find out more about this fantasy story, read an excerpt and be sure to enter for your chance to win The Bureau Vol 1 (Corruption, Clay White and Creature) in audio format! Good luck!

Hi! Kim Fielding here, and I’m so excited to be sharing my newest release—my 21st novel!—with you. Blyd and Pearce is a fusion of some of my favorite genres: m/m romance, medieval fantasy, and noir private eye. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Today I’d like to talk to you about heroes—specifically, the heroes of noir films and books. In case you’re not very familiar with the genre, let me give you some classic examples: Humphrey Bogart’s Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, or his Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep. Harrison Ford as Deckard in Blade Runner. Fred MacMurray’s Walter Neff in Double Indemnity. Batman.

So what do these guys (and a very, very occasional gal) have in common? Let’s begin with this good description from a course at the University of Montana:

[The noir protagonist] is a loner, introverted, troubled, hard-boiled, pessimistic. He is not the conventional film hero, confident/exceptional/certain, but rather average and conventional, often is a war veteran or detective, and is defined by his ability to survive and restore normality.

Frank Miller, who created noir heroes in Sin City, said:

The noir hero is a knight in blood-caked armor. He’s dirty and he does his best to deny the fact that he’s a hero the whole time.

Interestingly, Raymond Chandler (who wrote noir stories as well as screenplays) had a sunnier outlook, although he was talking more about hard-boiled detectives in general:

Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. The detective in this kind of story must be such a man. He is the hero, he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor, by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world.

What can we glean from all of this? Our noir protagonist is an antihero, a flawed man who’s also better than the grim world he lives in. He smokes and he drinks. He’s not particularly handsome, although many of us may find him alluring. With a few exceptions (I’m looking at you, Batman), he’s not wealthy, and he doesn’t much care about fame or material possessions. He’s smart. Others may underestimate him. He has a bleak outlook and thinks of himself as a realist; he’s nearly always honest, often brutally so, even about his own shortcomings. He’s never sentimental and rarely emotional—although he may very well be sexually driven—yet he does have a firm code of ethics that probably doesn’t match conventional standards. He expects life to hit him hard, and it does, but then he gets back up again and keeps on fighting. Not because he expects anything good to come of it, but because doing what he thinks is right is all he’s got.

I was just chatting with Amy Lane, who knows way more about heroic archetypes than I do, and it occurred to me that the noir hero is a very close cousin of the Byronic hero. Consider Byron’s description of his pirate in The Corsair:

He knew himself a villain—but he deem'd
The rest no better than the thing he seem'd;
And scorn'd the best as hypocrites who hid
Those deeds the bolder spirit plainly did.
He knew himself detested, but he knew
The hearts that loath'd him, crouch'd and dreaded too.
Lone, wild, and strange, he stood alike exempt
From all affection and from all contempt

As you probably guessed, I love noir heroes—and they become even more interesting when they meet the femme fatale. Or in the case of Blyd and Pearce, an homme fatal.

Do you have a favorite noir hero? Please comment!

Blurb:

Born into poverty and orphaned young, Daveth Blyd had one chance for success when his fighting prowess earned him a place in the Tangye city guard—a place he lost to false accusations of theft. Now he scrapes out a living searching for wayward spouses and missing children. When a nobleman offers him a small fortune to find an entertainer who’s stolen a ring, Daveth takes the case.

While Jory Pearce may or may not be a thief, he certainly can’t be trusted. But, enchanted by Jory’s beauty and haunting voice, Daveth soon finds himself caught in the middle of a conspiracy. As he searches desperately for answers, he realizes that he’s also falling for Jory. The two men face river wraiths, assassins, a necromancer, and a talking head that could be Daveth’s salvation on their quest for the truth. But with everyone’s integrity in question and Death eager to dance, Daveth will need more than sorcery to survive.

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Excerpt:

The narrow stairway rose steeply, each step creaking under our feet and taking us into increasing darkness. I smelled onions and fish—a bit strong, but better than my apartment’s odors—and blindly held on to the banister. It occurred to me that Pearce was in a good position to attack me, since I’d have trouble defending myself in the blackness of unfamiliar territory. But I wasn’t afraid of him. Maybe some of his enchantment lingered.
We climbed four flights to the top floor, where he unlocked another door. A few scattered spiritlights flared to life at once, but he lit two lanterns as well.
It wasn’t a large apartment, and the roof angled steeply on both sides so that he had to stoop a little when he hung his lute and midnight-colored cloak on a hook. Bright fabrics adorned the walls—silks and embroidered cottons—and a thick mat and pile of pillows were heaped in one corner. Rag rugs and pillows for seating covered the wide floorboards. The apartment held little else other than a dry sink, a few shelves, a little stand with a chamber pot, a painted wardrobe. But it was a cozy space, and two pottery vases of flowers squatted on the windowsill.
“Do you want some wine?” he asked.
It wasn’t what I expected, so I didn’t answer at once. “Uh, yes. Sure.”
He took a green glass bottle from the shelf, pulled the cork, and poured a red liquid into a pair of plain clay cups.
He was no longer wearing the gauzy silks he’d performed in, but his current outfit was hardly understated. Embroidered snakes—matching the bright blue of his chausses—trimmed a sunshine-hued tunic, and instead of sensible boots, he wore scarlet stockings and yellow slippers with curled, pointed toes. On another man, the clothing would have been gaudy, but it suited him well.
I remained near the closed door. With a tiny quirk to his lips, he prowled closer. He held out one cup of wine, which I took, and when I hesitated to drink, he took a dainty sip of his own. “It’s mediocre, I’m afraid.”
Not being able to distinguish good wine from bad, I swallowed a mouthful. It tasted fine to me.
“What shall I call you?” he purred, standing quite close. He was older than I’d thought, but the fine lines at the corners of his eyes didn’t make him any less beautiful.
“Daveth Blyd.”
“It’s a pleasure, Citizen Blyd.”
“I’m not a citizen.”
He tilted his head. “Oh?”
He wore a scent—something spicy and warm—that made my head swim. And his voice….
When I was newly signed on as a city guard, my duties had included carting my captain’s soiled uniforms to the laundry. It wasn’t one of my favored tasks. But she’d been a showy woman and had her capes trimmed not with dyed wool but with velvet. I’d rarely felt anything so soft, and I used to give the velvet surreptitious little pets as I carried her clothes.
Jory Pearce’s voice was like that velvet: soft and rich and plush. And, I reminded myself, expensive.

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Kim Fielding is the bestselling author of numerous m/m romance novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning genres such as contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, and historical. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in 15th century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, housekeepers, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.
After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there with her husband, her two daughters, and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.

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Review: The Heir of Locksley (Outlaw's Legacy #1) by N.B. Dixon

Robin of Locksley is a rebel, more comfortable roaming Sherwood Forest with his longbow and courting the village girls than learning how to run a manor.

An innocent flirtation with a peasant girl soon lands Robin in trouble, and worse, he finds himself inexplicably attracted to Will Scathelock, his best friend since childhood. Robin must decide whether to follow the rules of society or his own conscience.

Meanwhile, his neighbour, Guy of Gisborne, is anxious to get his hands on the Locksley estate and he will do anything to make it happen—even murder.

Some stories stand the test of time, retold again and again in many forms, Robin Hood is one of these. There is something endearing about the man who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, a tale tale rooted in history and myth. There is evidence Robin Hood, or Robin of Locksley, is real, but no definitive proof, yet, like King Arthur, his story is enduring. Who is the man behind the legend? What inspired so many tales about him? He is fascinating. Perhaps my favourite thing though, is the way each author puts their own twist to the tale. Whether it be the story development, the "merrymen", or the personality of our hero.

N.B. Dixon has done a sterling job of recreating this hero of folklore in The Heir of Locksley. I suppose, if I'm honest, the opening scene of young Robin splitting an arrow in two did remind me of Prince of Thieves, but it wasn't a retelling of that tale at all. Not even a little bit. (Even if I do want a re-watch now, if for nothing more than Alan Rickman's Sheriff of Nottingham).

This story starts with young Robin and tells us his story from his early teens onwards to adulthood. We see just how his character, and that of other MC's, develop over the years. How he comes to be the adult he does. I LOVED this story. It was rich with history and attention to detail. It created a vivid picture of 12th/13th century England; the villages and Lords and forest and rules. How the crown operated and the cut-throat way of living of the time.The hierarchy of society. I like that the author took time to set this story so it will develop over a series.

However.

If you are looking for romance, particularly the romance between Will and Robin, then you are going to have to be in it for the long haul. The hints are there in this story, but the development is yet to come. It's exciting. The attention was on the story, on the character development, of what happens to make Robin him who he is. I read for the romance but I would absolutely take a long burning romance over a quick wham bam thank you ma'am any day of the week. My anticipation for what is going to happen is so high; there is something to be said for not being instantly gratified - and it's especially easy to take when it is surrounded by a compelling story.

Reading this has left me with a yearning for historical novels set in this time. I have read and loved books such as Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth and I now have a hankering to read more. I'm especially pleased to read one in the M/M genre and I really cannot wait for the next in this series.

A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.
For more information see Goodreads.