Reviewed by Dan

This is a Series Review of Deep Magic (Books 1 & 2)

AUTHOR:  Gillian St. Kevern

PUBLISHER:   Goodreads / Self-Published 

SERIES REVIEW: 

I really enjoyed this two book (for now) series.  I think that Ms. St. Kevern did a wonderful job with world building and character development.  The locales were well thought out and detailed, and I fell into both books.  I highly recommend them both!  The first book has very minor references to sex, and the second one has none, so I would say these books would be great for both Young Adult and Adult readers.  They are for anyone who enjoys a good fantasy, set in our own world, but with secrets that we normal humans aren’t usually let in on!  Both were fun, quick reads. 

SERIES RATING:

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TITLE:  Deep Magic

LENGTH:     326 Pages

RELEASE DATE:   May 11, 2016 (Mass Market Release)

BLURB:

Oliver Evans spent his youth spinning one tall tale after another until it got him over his head in trouble. Now he has returned to his grandmother’s cottage in Aberdaron, determined to put his past behind him and settle down. But the misty Llŷn Peninsula hides dangerous secrets and Olly is torn between the Longing, a powerful force driving him away from the only home he has ever known, and the growing conviction that the prince of his childhood make-believe is real and in need of Olly’s help.

There is more truth in Olly’s stories than he realises. If he is to have any chance of righting past wrongs and rescuing his prince, Olly must navigate the truth in his old stories and discover the magic right in front of him. But Olly has a powerful enemy on the ​Llŷn, an ancient king who would like to end Olly’s story-telling permanently.

Written for the M/M Romance Groups 2015 Don’t Read in the Closet event, Deep Magic was produced with the support and effort of members of the M/M Romance Group. You can find out more about the event and discover hundreds of other free stories at the group’s official site. Proceeds from the sale of Deep Magic will be donated to the Kumamoto Earthquake Relief Fund. Deep Magic contains adult situations.

REVIEW:

Have you ever read a book that you just adored, then popped over to Amazon for something and seen a 1 star rating from “Amazon Customer” insulting the book, calling it awful and wondering how it made it to print?  In this case it was a one line review, complete with an incorrect word smack dab in the middle of it, and in my opinion written by someone who has their head firmly embedded in their own backside.

Let’s talk about MY opinion of this book, as that is only one that matters to this review.  I loved it!  It was a slow, but steady moving story, that seemed to move at exactly the pace it should have, and I couldn’t put it down once I started it.  I adored the use of the Welsh language and locale.  And I was super happy that I remembered from my days hanging out and playing rugby with a bunch of drunk Welsh RAF personnel in the UK that LL is pronounced as KL, so I was pronouncing the peninsula correctly in my head!  Of course, I had to do that Google pronunciation thing to make sure I was right.  That’s just how I roll!  I would caution you though, a lot of the words in the book are incomprehensible if you, like I, don’t know the language.  But in most cases you can figure out what they are saying anyway since there is usually an English translation shortly thereafter.  Another note, it doesn’t have much in the way of sex but in my opinion it didn’t need it.

Deep Magic is the story of a young man named Oliver Evans (Olly) who grew up on the Llŷn Peninsula in northern Wales.  When he was a lad, he had a huge imagination and excelled at telling stories.  One day he met another young lad in the water of a forgotten smuggler’s cave.  Little did either know how much their lives would become entangled.

Olly left the peninsula with his mother when he was sixteen, but has suffered a longing for something that seems to be missing ever since.  It feels like something is missing in his life, or maybe someone? He and his mother have lived in Australia for several years, but Olly has returned to the peninsula because word has come that his grandmother has passed away and left him, not his mother who was her daughter, her cottage on the coast.

But there is a deep magic on the coast.  Something lives below the waves, and isn’t at all happy to see Olly back.  Who is the man that Olly keeps seeing, but can’t seem to place in his memories?  And what is up with the odd vicar who has been assigned to the local parish?

I enjoyed the touch of mystery, and the fantasy aspects of this work.  I would very highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy novel with m/m characters.  I personally loved it particularly because it was set in Wales.  Cymru am byth!

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

Amazon 

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TITLE:  Morgen Curse

LENGTH:     122 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  May 28, 2016

BLURB:

Ieuan is a young morgen in a lot of trouble. The storm he sung up to soothe his broken heart attracted the attention of the Cursed One, an underwater sorcerer exiled from the morgen group for a terrible crime. But the Cursed One wants Ieuan’s help to save a life — that of Zane, a sailor shipwrecked in Ieuan’s storm. Ieuan finds himself drawn into the Cursed One’s impossible task against his better judgement. But as his morgen kin mount a search for him, Ieuan’s help might be all of their undoing.

Set in the same world as Deep Magic, Morgen Curse follows a different set of characters. It is the start of something new rather than a true sequel although it opens the door to a return to the Llŷn Peninsula. Romantic elements, but no sex. HFN ending.

REVIEW:

This new book is related to Deep Magic, but not directly a sequel.  It is the tale of some of the Morgen who were driven away by the evil King, as was related in the history in the first book.  They have settled somewhere south of New Zealand, in a cold and inhospitable area not frequented by humans on a regular basis.

The main character’s name is Ieuan.  I know, right?  I googled it and there were FIVE different pronunciation recordings on one site alone!   The one I settled on was E-ou-win, and somewhere in the story someone mistakenly pronounced it Ewen, so I figured I was close enough.  Only someone as OCD as myself would probably worry about it.

Ieuan is on the run from his people.  He sung up a storm when he discovered his intended had thrown him over for the leader of their people.  Unfortunately, the storm did some damage, and he has run and hidden in the area where the Cursed One, a banished individual from his people, now resides.  The Cursed One is a sorcerer, and evil according to the group’s leader.

The Cursed One we come to find out is named Cedifor, which according to the end of the book, I totally mispronounced in my head the entire time.  Go figure.  Cedifor has discovered Ieuan near his home.  When he talks Ieuan into helping him with a human, Zane, who washed ashore after his ship was wrecked by Ieuan’s storm, can Ieuan continue to see Cedifor as a monster?  And what about the human Zane?  Humans are the sworn enemy of the Morgen.

I really enjoyed this short book.  In the very last chapter it bridges to tie back to Olly from book one.  I highly recommend this one as well.  The only problem I have is that it says in an announcement at the end of this book that the next installment Morgen Song, won’t be coming until late 2016….and I want it NOW damn it!

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

Amazon