Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Windbrothers: Desert
SERIES: Windbrothers #1
AUTHOR: Sean Michael
PUBLISHER: DSP Publications
LENGTH: 301 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 24, 2016
BLURB:
2nd Edition
Windbrothers: Book One
Banished from his homeland, Surial is sent to Azize to run the family business. When he wins a slave, Kade, in a dog race, Surial is unsure what to do with him, as he doesn’t believe in slavery. Kade’s way with horses leads to him being relegated to the stables, where Surial becomes drawn to the big, quiet man.
A proud warrior at heart, Kade has been a slave for too long, and when he is passed to yet another owner, he goes without a fight, no hope left in him. When he discovers Surial’s secret, a fragile friendship blossoms between the unlikely master and the unwilling slave as Kade shows Surial that what lies within him is not a curse but a gift.
In a world of magic, Surial and Kade face their fears and hopes amid dangers that threaten both of them as their friendship is put to the test. What lies at the end of their trials is something more precious than either of them has ever dreamed of.
1st Edition published as Windbrothers by Torquere Press, 2007.
REVIEW:
This book…was so much more than I thought it would be and by the end of it I was fairly amazed at the story I’d just finished reading. I never got around to reading the first version of the Windbrothers books and while I’m disappointed in myself for that fact, I’m also so very pleased to have the opportunity to read the re-release now.
Kade, once a proud warrior for his tribe has been taken and sold into slavery, a fate worse than death as far as he’s concerned. Nearly broken by the harsh treatment and failure to escape, he’s wholly unprepared for when he’s lost in a bet and given to a man that owns no slaves and finds the practice horrifying. Surial, on the other hand, grew up within a life of privilege and even when he was banished from his home and sent across the sea, he never really lost sight of that. When he ends up winning the one thing he didn’t expect and doesn’t want, he isn’t quite sure what to do but is entirely positive he wants nothing to do with any of it. What starts out as merely an inconvenience, however, slowly morphs into a friendship that changes both men in ways neither expected. Kade comes to respect the man he now calls master and even finds himself pledging to protect him while Surial finds within himself the strength to take the moral high ground and stand up to those long used to pushing him around.
I found the changing relationship between the men was kind of like watching a flower open up; it was a slow process but rewarding to see and, in the end, you’re left with something beautiful. There is no romantic relationship portrayed here but the beginnings of it could be seen by the end and I very much look forward to seeing it happen in the next book. In truth, I didn’t miss not having a relationship here as it was more rewarding to see how each man brought the best out in the other, even just as friends. There was so much more to the story than just the relationship between Kade and Surial, however, as there was family drama, political machinations, and a threat that neither man saw coming to contend with.
There was a little drag to the story in the very beginning as I struggled with unfamiliar terminology and just getting settled into the pace and setting of the story but I was very quickly drawn into the world the author created and found myself lost to it. The series, according to the author, is going to be expanded out to four books and after reading this first one I am extremely excited to see what’s coming next. I HIGHLY recommend this one, even if it doesn’t seem like your typical read at first; I felt that way as well but was completely in love with it by the end.
RATING: 
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