Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Equinox
SERIES: Augarten
AUTHOR: Charlie Godwyne
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 336 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 27, 2019
BLURB:
Waking up with no memory is just the beginning of his troubles…
Not knowing who he is or how he ended up naked in a park in Vienna, Gabriel struggles to reclaim his past while still moving forward into an uncertain future. It isn’t long before he realizes that not having an identity isn’t the only thing that makes him different. Plants and people glow with magic all around him, and he’s actually able to speak to his very own guardian angel—even though the angel won’t tell him anything about who he really is.
As he tries to learn something about his prior life, Gabriel finds himself inexplicably drawn to two very different men: Solomon, the exorcist priest who found Gabriel and has been helping him try to remember who he once was; and Florian, an occultist coffee shop owner whose own tragic past allows him to accept Gabriel even without memories.
But without the foundation of a past, Gabriel worries the life he’s building will crumble around him. As Gabriel’s health begins to dwindle—and not even his angel can explain why—he scrambles to find answers before he’s taken away from the happiness he’s found and the men he loves.
Equinox is the first in the Augarten series and is an 88,000-word MMM romance with magical realism, an amnesiac willing to try just about anything to remember, a priest with unpriestly thoughts, and lots of espresso.
The Augarten series is now complete and is best read in order: Equinox, Syzygy, Hiraeth, Florian, Newyddian, and Eviternity.
REVIEW:
Gabriel (is that really his name?) wakes up naked in the Augarten in Vienna with no member of his past. A priest named Solomon has discovered him and taken him into the facilities of the gardens. It’s clear that this man is educated, but it’s not clear where he’s from or what has happened to him. Andrea, a caretaker at the gardens helps him as well as he stays in one of the storerooms there until he can get his bearings and maybe find out who he is.
Solomon helps him with the police and try to get paperwork so that he can maybe get a job and maybe they can find out where he’s from and if anyone is looking for him. No luck there. He finds peace in the garden and discovers another man there, Florian, who is praying in a protective circle. He finds he can understand the words even though he doesn’t know what language it is.
Florian owns a coffee shop and a mobile espresso business. As Gabriel is helping with the City Farm at Augarten and the Harvest Festival, he sees Florian again. He is attracted to Florian and eventually he becomes friends and then more. Florian has a tragic past though and somehow he is tied to an angel. Gabriel has contact with his guardian angel as well who is not being very helpful to him in discovering his past and who he used to be, who might be looking for him, etc.
Florian and Gabriel become lovers and Gabrie is fairly content with his lot – although he still wants to find out about his past. Solomon continues to be his friend and Gabriel loves him as his best friend. Solomon is a priest, so of course that is the love he must settle for.
Things change over time and it’s clear that not all is as it seems. Perhaps Gabriel has a higher purpose. Perhaps Solomon has a change of heart. Perhaps Florian needs Gabriel and Solomon to help him as well.
I have to say this was one very mysterious book. I love Vienna and that was a hook for me getting to read about some of the beautiful places there. There is nothing straightforward about the book. The writing style is quite interesting because there are times when the language seems like it’s not written by a native English speaker and it’s a little stilted like it’s English as a Second Language grammar/idiom. I actually kind of appreciated that characteristic because these are not English speaking characters. I was surprised by quite a few things in the book and I would maybe classify it almost more as a literary fiction book even though there is romance, sex , love and we get a HFN at the end.
There is nothing at the end of the book to indicate that there is more coming, but indeed there are 5 more books in this series – 4 published and one to come this fall. I’m generally not one to read books that include a lot of religious themes, but I would say this book falls into the realm of exploring spiritual traditions rather than religion per se. It’s kind of a long book and there were a couple of times when I thought it dragged a little, but I was really intrigued by the concepts and I really did want to know what was going to happen to Gabriel and Florian and Solomon. I’m still not sure exactly what I read, but that’ not necessarily bad. I’m on to Book 2 and I’m sure I’ll continue to be surprised. Recommended.
RATING: 
BUY LINK:
Amazon
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