Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Magic Runs Deep
AUTHOR: Alex Whitehall
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 182 Pages
RELEASE DATE: April 9, 2018
BLURB:
For the last five years, Veier has been chained to a king’s throne in his bear form. When a neighboring kingdom overthrows the crown, Veier’s imprisonment ends, but true freedom is not so easily earned. With blood on his hands, he needs someone with patience, strength, and trust to help him become the person he was before and prove to the invaders that he isn’t the monstrous king’s loyal pet.
Elrid, the invading king’s brother and a powerful mage, is everything Veier despises. He’s also the only thing between Veier and execution, because he thinks he can help Veier change from an aggressive bear shifter into a reasonable man. While the pair have a rough start, with long talks and mutual leaps of faith, they begin to care for each other.
However, the closer Veier gets to his freedom, the closer he is to losing Elrid. He must find balance in his heart and his life if he wishes to truly claim the freedom he’s been given — and the man he loves.
REVIEW:
I never use to like fantasy books, but I’ve had a great run of them lately.
This fantasy world appealed to me because while it was fantasy it was also familiar. There were knights and kings and mages and castles and all kinds of other delicious medieval things. Just with some shifters thrown into the mix. However, much of the story is spent in the confines of one room of the castle, where Elrid keeps Veier locked away while attempting to prove to the king that Veier is not the out of control animal he appears to be.
I’ll admit, it took me a while to like this story. Actually, the story was fine. It took me a while to like Elrid, was the problem. I wanted to like the guy. After all, he was one of the main characters. But the way he kept using his magic against Veier, someone who was already traumatized after being controlled by magic for five years…what an ass, right? But eventually, once he realizes the errors of his ways, well then I could like him and applaud them as a couple.
Veier, well I liked our poor abused bear right from the start. I was so angry about the way he was being treated by the people who had “rescued” him that at one point I was kinda cheering for him to rip of Elrid’s head then go find himself a nice bear to fall in love with. But like I said, Elrid sorted his shit out, and became an acceptable love interest for our angry grizzly. The confusion and anger and helplessness that Veier was experiencing was so…well, I won’t say realistic, because, you know…bear shifter. But the author did a great job of moving through a whole range of emotions to demonstrate Veier’s instability.
There really wasn’t much romance here, but that was okay. That worked, I think. Veier was in no state to be thinking of love or even lust really, and while the author used the growing connection between them to hasten along Veier’s recovery, there was no miraculous “love fix”. And if you’re hanging out for a sex scene, well you’ll be waiting right till the very end of the book.
If you’re a lover of Arthurian-type fantasy worlds with a nice, slow build to the romance, then this book should be just the thing for you.
RATING: 
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Sounds absolutely perfect!