Reviewed by Anabela.m
TITLE: Of Scales and Fire
SERIES: Of Magic and Scales Book 2
AUTHOR: Natalina Reis
PUBLISHER: Hot Tree Publishing
RELEASE DATE: February 13,2021
LENGTH: 252 pages
BLURB:
Monks, magic, and mermen, oh my! The cast of supporting characters from Natalina Reis’s “Of Magic and Scales” are back and stronger than ever, and so are the pop culture references and silly jokes Aiden likes so much. As Aiden and his new family are joined by an unexpected antagonist that may yet prove to be their undoing, will their (un)domesticated new life as a couple be turned upside down?
Aiden Mercer’s life has changed dramatically since his days of being a man-whore, where he spent most of the time either running his coffee shop in sunny Portugal or man-watching at the beach. He now has Naël, a cranky merman to love and to hold, and his sister, Vee, and friends to care for. Life is good.
But life never seems to stop surprising the American ex-detective. A mysterious order of monks, a mermen poacher, shocking revelations about his parentage—and whoever is hunting him down—turn Aiden and Naël’s summer into one to remember. Or maybe one they’d rather forget.
REVIEW:
This is not a standalone so it wouldn’t make much sense without reading Of Magic and Scales first. The end of the first installment left Aiden with a mysterious figure who had tried to kill him and lots of questions about his origins but, thankfully, also blissfully in love with his hot merrow boyfriend Naël.
There’s no rest for the wicked, as they say, because Aiden’s life got even more adventurous in this second book. To kick things off dangerously, another attempt to kill him happened in the first pages, setting up the rhythm of the whole story. There was always something happening to keep Aiden from having a moment’s peace, either a threat directly at him, his boyfriend or one of his friends. It was never boring, that’s for sure. My favorite thing was Aiden’s voice recounting his misfortunes. An ironic, snarky drama queen, he gave a humorous feel to all the situations he found himself in, turning hilarious events that were almost dramatic.
Another thing I also like is was the way the author didn’t settle for a simple build to the fantasy world. Instead, there was a mix bag of mythology, going from Roman, Hindu and Celtic. Aiden’s parents, for example, are a Hindu goddess and a druid… which made him a demigod.
Aiden’s demigod status brings me to one of the few niggles I have about the story. Other than the fact he still had it against the magical community (despite being magical himself, having a merrow boyfriend etc), he didn’t even try to understand let alone use his abilities. Even when he could have used his powers in risky situations, he didn’t even consider it. I didn’t get his stubbornness to stay as un-magical as possible. Wouldn’t his life be more fun and easier if he’d make the best of his powers?
Also, I still don’t believe in Aiden’s and Naël’s romance, because they felt more like horny teenagers than adults in a relationship. Their time together consisted in having sex or saying two words to each other leading to even more sex. The lack of communication skills showed when, in a couple of situations, they created more drama than I felt was necessary…like teenagers lol. I never doubted their commitment to one another yet my hope is that in the future they’ll learn from their mistakes and create a stronger connection.
As a conclusion, I liked this second installment better than the first. It was fast paced and with moving elements that kept me intrigued, with lots of laughter, surprises and plenty of magic.
RATING: 
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