Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Gavyn's childhood love, Kain, is enchanted by the shards of a vile mirror and flees to the mountains with a mysterious woman. Visited in the night by the mirror's bestial creators, Gavyn realizes Kain has been bewitched and sets off to rescue his beloved.

On his journey, Gavyn encounters magick, danger, friends, and allies as he uncovers depths of strength he never knew he possessed. Yet, as Gavyn journeys toward Kain, sinister tendrils of magick suffuse his travels, and the Snow Queen herself may bar his way. If he survives, Gavyn will never be the same.

This story is also available in the Torqued Tales M/M Anthology.

 

Book Review

Enchantment in fairy tales can be good or bad. In this story's case, it's bad and comes from a cruel witch called the Snow Queen who wants to whisk Kain, Gavyn's lover, away from him. I got the impression Gavyn wouldn't stand for that as he's known Kain more years than he can count, but the Snow Queen is a cruel enemy when crossed, so he will have to have his wits about him.

Gavyn has an affinity with animals, especially rabbits. This enchants Kain who pretends not to understand why animals flock to him. The only answer I can think of is that they trust him, and who wouldn't. Gavyn at first seems one of the most amazing men Kain has ever met, yet there is something that has the capacity to destroy their love and split them up, and he has to take a stand to make sure that will never happen.

For one who has known great love, Kain sacrifices all to be with the Snow Queen who leaves him no option but to leave with her. The Snow Queen knows they have a deep bond and love for each other To Gavyn, Kain is a beautiful and amazing man, but when he becomes influenced by a magic mirror that cracks and breaks, his face changes from beautiful to ugly as there are creatures of evil living inside the mirror. Evil might have the upper hand now, but several strange things start to happen while Kain is away.

Gavyn is a stronger man than the evil queen gives him credit for. Thinking their love was fleeting, she thinks she will keep Gavyn in her grasp, but a creature comes to Gavyn when he tries to sleep and tells him of what is going on—he also knows about his lover, the man he hasn't seen since he left with her that fateful day.  Even Kain’s grandmother begs Gavyn to bring her “baby” back to her as Kain’s disappearance is strange to say the least. Even for a fairy tale, Darren Endymion brings us into a bizarre world of pumpkin heads, witches, and ugly gremlins.  Gavyn shows the lengths to which a man might go to find his lost love. The question of whether he will be the same once they meet again doesn’t matter as his love for Kain negates beauty.  This is quite a long story that shows the labors Gavyn has to go through in order to get back the man of his dreams. There is plenty of the fantasy element in this, but there is also a bit of tragedy too.

As the story is based on the original 'The Snow Queen' by Hans Christian Andersen, this is a richly told and longer story than I expected. I enjoyed how there was plenty of explanation as to how far Gavyn will go to rescue him. The fear, sense of loss and anguish over his lover being taken away is felt very much in this story. A love between two men could not be any better written.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. The anthology this story was published in has been provided by Torquere Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Short Story, 36 pages/9900 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	23-April-2014
Price
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