Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Chevalier
SERIES: Romanus #2
AUTHOR: Mary Calmes
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 118 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 27, 2016
BLURB:
Fireman Mason James thought finding out he is a Romanus—a rare class of gargoyle—would be the surprise of a lifetime, but he’s proven wrong when he discovers he is the son of a comte and goji nobility. But his newly discovered family doesn’t think his gargoyle lover, Luc, is good enough for a goji of Mason’s stature—how could a warrior ever be? But despite the Moreaus’ uncertainty and elitism, they are Mason’s only chance to unravel the mystery behind his mother’s death, find a solution for the class divide that might separate him from Luc, and discover what it truly means to be a Romanus.
REVIEW:
After the events of Romanus, Mason and Luc are further settling into their relationship and even though Mason hasn’t quite figured out the whole Romanus thing yet, things seem to be going well. With the unexpected arrival of the siblings he never knew he had, however, Mason finds himself whisked away to meet the father he isn’t quite sure he wants anything to do with, especially with the prejudice his so called family is already showing for Luc. The chance to find out more about his mother and what a Romanus truly is and does is a lure that’s hard to resist though and if he has to meet the man that sired him then so be it. With the class divide between him and Luc, however, and moves being made to use Mason to gain more power the trip goes from one to gain information and instead becomes one they need to survive.
I never actually expected to see a sequel to Romanus so I was both surprised and pleased when Chevalier was released. I enjoyed seeing both Mason and Luc again and it was nice having a longer story to find out more about what a Romanus truly is. Aside from the main characters, however, you don’t really get to see many of the characters from the previous story at all; the new characters weren’t bad, and I enjoyed the Guardians quite a bit, but it would’ve been nice to have seen more familiar faces this time around. Also while Chevalier is over twice the length of the previous story, it almost felt a little incomplete to me for some reason and the worst part is that I really don’t know why. The story is complete but it felt as if some things were a little rushed or glossed over in places and that could account for my feeling as though something was missing at the end. The story had a good pace overall and I loved reading about the Gargoyle origin story; it was also great seeing Mason find purpose by the time he left to go home but I find myself still wishing for more in this universe. Things don’t feel resolved for me yet so I’m hoping, really hoping, that there will be more to come. If you enjoyed the first book, you should enjoy this one as well, and if you haven’t read Romanus yet, you can find my review of it here.
RATING: 
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