Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: In The Valleys Of The Earth
SERIES: The Watchers #1
AUTHOR: R R Pearl
PUBLISHER: Independently Published
LENGTH: 233 Pages
RELEASE DATE: May 21, 2020
BLURB:
The only thing more dangerous than their chemistry…is their enemies!
Mild-mannered Xenoarcheologist Dr. Alec Coimhead and his best friend, Dr. Clemy Armistead, are certain that they have just found the ancient location of an apocryphal battle between demons and angels. Whisked away on a rollicking adventure, Alec finds himself under the watchful eye of Rafe, a taciturn mountain of a man with a mysterious past.
Working with the enigmatic Praesidium, which claims to have protected humanity for generations, Alec clashes with his ethereally handsome bodyguard. As the New Watchers pursue the rambunctious pair across the globe, Alec and Rafe will have to battle ancient terrors and mythical creatures come to life. Racing to the ancient tomb of a fallen angel, Alec and Rafe may lose it all – and each other – to save the world. The Watchers: In The Valleys Of The Earth is the first book in an MM Action Adventure paranormal romance series.
REVIEW:
In Israel, Scottish Xenoarchaeology specialist Alec and his American best friend Clementine (Clemy) find an artifact that proves certain ancient folk tales are true. The revelation also plunges them into a world of secret organizations with different agenda’s regarding the release of demons upon the earth. Mixed in with the mayhem is the gorgeous warrior, Rafe, who vows to protect Alec.
What follows is an outside-the-box, action-packed tale of historical myths proving to be true, forbidden love, and secrets being kept by just about everyone.
The story is told in the third person from predominantly Alec and Clemy’s viewpoints, with others sneaking in as the story permits. I also found a couple of spelling errors where massage was misspelled as message, and every door seems to open silently. The world-building is detailed and as good as transported me to several countries from the Scottish Highlands to Egypt and a few in between.
For the most part, the tale is dialogue-based. Thus, Alec is a walking encyclopedia, with periods of verbal diarrhea, in the weirdest of situations, which gave me cause to worry about his sanity. So, it is clear the author has done their research. As for the extended cast – there is a colorful range of people, including Clemy – the classic snarky underestimated woman, whom I loved. Rafe – the delicious hunk of few words with a great body, which anyone with eyes knows is more than he seems, and a pompous AI.
The opening chapters are packed with drama, hallucinations/visions, and the promise of things to come. When Rafe enters the mix, sexual tension is ratcheted up a notch, although as the story progressed, the emotional tennis match between him and Alec gave me a bit of a crick in the neck. I enjoy a good emotional battle, but some of the occasions felt a little over-engineered. There was enough drama without putting the men on a roller coaster, too. Rafe and Alec can’t seem to venture outside without being attacked. In the beginning, the action was great to read. However, the continual battering became a touch much for me as the encounters lost the element of surprise and any emotional anticipation. I had to wonder how many battles with bombs, guns, and serpents could happen in secret, without collateral damage, or credible cover stories – especially given their locations.
I began reading In The Valleys of the earth with a ton of enthusiasm loving what I was reading. I then went through a phase of WTF before an interesting ending that provided a bridge to the next book in the series. Some areas were consistently inconsistent, adding to a mixture of sheer brilliant entertainment laced with the irrationally bizarre. Up to a point, I felt like I was reading the archaeological version of the Wacky Races, with the Praesidium being the Anthill Mob and the New Watchers being led by Dick Dastardly.
The rating signifies a good book, better than average, although I expect some will disagree, believing it should be higher. I can see many eating up every word and I can only comment on how I felt when reading. I found it overly busy and somewhat frayed at the edges – meaning aspects that could be questioned. But as the first in the series, I hope answers will follow.
RATING: 
BUY LINK: