Reviewed by Vicki
Series review of the first two books of The Forester Trilogy and a bonus review of Oren’s Right
TITLE: The Forester
SERIES: The Forester Trilogy #1
AUTHOR: Blaine D. Arden
PUBLISHER: Storm Moon Press
LENGTH: 18600 words
BLURB:
Kelnaht, a cloud elf, is a truth seeker caught between love and faith. Worse, a murder committed ten days before Solstice reveals an illicit affair between two tree elves he desires more than he can admit: Kelnaht’s former lover Ianys, who once betrayed him, and the shunned forester named Taruif, who is not allowed to talk to anyone but The Guide, their spiritual pathfinder. When Taruif turns out to be the only witness for the crime, Kelnaht has to keep Ianys from sacrificing himself and losing his daughter, while at the same time realising he’d gladly sacrifice himself to end Taruif’s loneliness.
REVIEW:
Wow! What a great story! I’ll start by saying I used to read a lot of fantasy, prior to discovering gay romance, but I’ve not read much in years. A book here and there, but really not much. I was asked to review this book, and decided to give it a try, thinking it would be yet another fantasy, elves, forest, magic,blah, blah, blah. But it’s not like what I expected at all!
Here’s the details: Kelnaht is a truth seeker, which appears to be an elf police officer. He and his apprentice Brem, are investigating the murder of a female elf named Cyine. They use a combination of visual investigation and magical investigation techniques to check out the scene and eventually the body. The murder has taken place near the home of the Forester, an elf who has been a shunned by the community of elves, and no one is allowed to speak to him. Kelnaht realizes this will be a difficult issue to deal with, not being able to question a suspect, who has immediately been accused by the community it members. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that Kelnaht has been attracted to the reclusive elf for years. In to the story comes Ianys, Kelnaht’s former lover, who it appears has been having a relationship with the shunned Forester. Kelnaht and the Guide are called before the council and given permission to speak to the Forester one time to ascertain whether he was involved in the murder or not. That is the basic set up of the story, I’ll stop here so I don’t give more away!
What follows is a very detailed story for being a short story. The world is very interesting, certainly magical, but there isn’t a medieval feeling to it like you get with a lot of fantasy. The mystery felt contemporary, why it happened and how, but the detective work was magical. These Elves live in the woods, in trees I think, but Kelnaht runs upstairs to take a shower at one point. That’s cool! I wanted to know a bit more about there dwellings and settlement actually… Very interesting characters, the main ones but also the others. The Guide, Brem, Olden, the council all added to the story and community.
There is some sex in this, not very graphic, but it worked very well with the story. I liked a couple of things particularly; Kelnaht has wings, so his walk of shame one morning is a flight of shame! He is appreciative of the fact that he can fly to his bedroom balcony and doesn’t have to go through the door. The other thing I’d like to mention is he DOES have wings! They are there and acknowledged. He has to settle his cloak to accommodate his wings. His tunic is removed, over his wings. When he is held by another person, his wings are taken in to account. I loved that. I’ve read about winged beings before that don’t really deal with how you would live, or specifically go to bed with someone with big wings on their back! The author addresses this and it worked very well.
I enjoyed this book very much, I’ve seen Blaine’s name around, but haven’t read any of her books. It was wonderfully creative, with great characters, and a deep plot. Not at all what I expected for a fantasy book. My only complaint is I wish there were more details about the community and housing situation, I couldn’t quite get a grasp on how these elves live. But that is so minor, it did not at all detract from the story. I just had a few moments of curiosity. I’m off to read the next in the series, I see it is a much longer book. Maybe I’ll get my questions answered!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: Storm Moon Press Amazon Are
TITLE: The Forester II: Lost and Found
SERIES: The Forester Trilogy #2
AUTHOR: Blaine D. Arden
PUBLISHER: Storm Moon Press
LENGTH: 35900 words
BLURB:
“The Guide mentioned puddles, but I envisioned lakes, deep treacherous lakes, and I was drowning.”
One turn has passed, another Solstice is just around the corner, and having an illicit affair with not one but two lovers—smith Ianys and shunned Forester Taruif—is taking its toll on Truth Seeker Kelnaht.
If it isn’t sneaking around to find some quality time with his lovers, it’s heavy rainfall hiding traces of a missing stripling, or waiting for the elders to decide whether or not to set Taruif free.
And if that’s not enough, Kelnaht fears that in gaining one lover, he might be losing another, as Ianys seems to be pulling away from them, and it looks like someone is, once again, trying to frame Taruif.
REVIEW:
This review will probably contain bits that may spoil the first book if you haven’t read it. The characters in this book got together in the first book. I’m not sure how to talk about the plot in this one without mentioning things that happened in the first one. I apologize now! I’ll try to be careful…
This story picks up a turn after the last one ends. Kelnaht has been having a secret affair with two elves, Ianys, his former lover who dumped him for a female elf he knocked up. I’m not sure how I feel about him… He lied and cheated on Kelnaht, then his lover made him promise to stay away from Kelnaht before she died after having a child, then he started an affair with a shunned elf. Meanwhile Kelnaht was alone and devastated. Not cool! His other secret lover is Taruif, the shunned elf. We have learned what caused his shunning, and it is tragic. Taruif has been alone except for Ianys sneaking off to see him, pining for Kelnaht, as Kelnaht has been pining for him as well. It’s all just a hot mess. So that’s where we start with the relationship aspect of the book.
This story contains another mystery, there is a missing stripling that Kelnaht and Brem, with the assistance of a group of elves, are trying to locate. He’s vanished during a hunt with his father and some others. Again, Kelnaht and Brem are using observation, hunting for visual clues, and magic, hunting for traces of where the kid has passed. It’s very interesting, very modern feeling in their investigation. One of the many things I like about these books is the contemporary feeling they have, even though they arent. They have none of the flowery language some fantasy books have, sort of a fake medieval feel to them. These have names and words that are from Blaine’s imagination, but it’s not overdone and works well. The mystery is well thought out, the crime makes sense to me, I can understand why the perpetrator did what they did. Well, I can’t in my head, but I see why that person thought it made sense.
I did get a better understanding of the community in this book, it is longer and had time for more details. It’s a wonderful world I want to know more about! I’m still curious about some of the other characters and their roles in the community…
The relationship developing between the three elves is intriguing, I’m still having a hard time with Ianys. And I like that. I like that a writer can make me question whether I like a character or not. It’s ok to not like someone in a book, I’ve come to realize. I don’t exactly dislike him, I’m just not sure I trust him! I do have to mention I like a bit more intimacy in the books I read, I would have like a bit more sex between the three elves.
Anyway, this second book is as good as the first, great story, world, characters, mystery, solution, and writing! I can’t wait for the next one!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: Storm Moon Press Amazon Are
TITLE: Oren’s Right
SERIES: Tales of the Forest (all part the same world)
AUTHOR: Blaine D. Arden
PUBLISHER: Storm Moon Press
LENGTH: 18900 words
BLURB:
Veld, tree elf and Forester, fell in love with mute baker Oren, also a tree elf, when he first set eyes on him two turns ago, but Healer Haram, Oren’s vowed, made it clear that he had no intention of sharing Oren with Veld. Now, with Oren in mourning after Haram is killed, Veld is torn between Haram’s unwillingness to share and his desire to make Oren his. But when Haram’s death turns out not to be quite the accident it seemed to be, Veld is drawn into the investigation. At the same time, others appear to claim Oren’s independence, and Veld is forced to face his insecurities or risk losing Oren… again.
REVIEW:
Oh…. This one made me cry right at the beginning. It starts with the beautiful but tragic scene, Oren mourning his vowed Haram, at his funeral pyre.
Oren is a baker, living in the village with his vowed Haram. They are in the elven (elvish?) equivalent to a D/s relationship, adding in some scarification practices. Haram is Oren’s rock, when he is accidentally shot by a young hunter, Oren is lost and alone.
Veld has been a wandering Forester, coming to the village to find it without a Forester, and the villagers living in tents. He settled in, deciding this was his home. He has been watching Oren from the sidelines, being friends with Haram, and knowing he be can never have the man he loves. Haram doesn’t share.
The death of Haram changes everything. I’ll stop there with the spoilers! So this is a short but lovely story, Oren is very sweet and needy, Veld strong and lonely. We learn a lot about the elves in this story, in some ways more than the other stories. There is a wonderful scene with Veld manipulating a tree to turn it in to a house! Plus a scene where he shares strength with a healer. Then there is the subtle D/s aspect. I’m a big fan of BDSM in all forms, but the service side of a D/s relationship really fascinates me. This is a very different way to see it, you know what they are doing, but there is none of the trappings of a contemporary BDSM lifestyle. No leather, leashes, whippings, toys, etc. Yet there is the expected discent. The old bats in the village don’t get it, don’t approve, and want to “save” Oren. Some understand, the Guide is there to support Veld and Oren, plus Oren’s sister. But it’s a small village and will take time for things to settle down.
I liked this book, but it was short, I wish it had been as long as the second book. I know it was meant to be a short story, but I loved the story and characters a lot, and wanted more!
RATING:
BUY LINKS: Storm Moon Press Amazon Are