Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: A Naiad’s Promise
SERIES: A Naiad Romance
AUTHOR: Gigi Rivers
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 257 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 30, 2023
BLURB:
An MM fantasy romance with a human virgin, a naiad pirate, a failed one-night stand, age-difference, hurt/comfort, magic, and a kraken.
Ratherin is a virgin who dreams of a world beyond his small island. When pirates visit, Ratherin is captivated by the older water nymph and pirate Aneya. They share one passionate night. But as the sun rises and Aneya departs, Ratherin is left with nothing but memories. And a promise. A promise that Aneya will return and seek Ratherin out.
But when Aneya comes back, Ratherin’s world has been engulfed by grief after the death of his beloved uncle. On an impulse, Ratherin leaves his home and travels to Temple Island. Unable to leave Ratherin alone with his sorrow, Aneya stays by his side, offering solace and comfort.
Their connection and passion deepen, and Ratherin realises he wants more than just a temporary respite from his pain. He wants a love that will last a lifetime. And he wants that with Aneya.
But Aneya only planned for their relationship to be temporary. After all, Ratherin is too young and his grief is too deep for him to truly know his own heart.
Will Aneya open his heart to Ratherin? Or will fear cause him to hold back?
REVIEW:
Note: This is the fifth book in this series. As such it does contain some spoilers for the first four books and is part of a longer story arc. It can be read as a stand alone, but may be better as part of the series.
Ratherin, a young human and Aneya, an older Naiad meet when Aneya is sent ahead of this pirate ship, Naiad’s Revenge, by Captain Silas. They are clearly attracted. Ratherin would like to see the world but he’s got to take care of his great uncle who has helped raise him. Aneya promises to return though.
Ratherin’s uncle Orin dies and Rath is heartbroken and deep in depression. He’s not eating, barely leaving his house, not taking care of himself at all. Even Aneya’s return cannot shake his state of mind. A wedding is taking place and the entire village is attending and Rath is still melancholy.
Captain Silas is looking for anyone who can possibly help the Naiad’s and the humans uncover something that will counter the now magical weapons that The Order have. The Order kidnap and abuse Naiad’s and nymphs to steal their magic. But what is powering these new weapons? Can the pirates discover something that will help them take down The Order for good? Perhaps the answer lies on Temple Island. Aneya offers for Ratherin to join the pirates and see if they can find anything to help.
Ratherin’s uncle had been to the island and the sister island is where he met his husband. His uncle never got to return there so Rath is going to go for him. Visiting the temple gives him peace and meeting those who are working and studying there is surprising to everyone for various reasons. And when he is invited to stay and work with the nymphs and naiads there, he decides to take the chance. He definitely feels something to the magic there and he also gets to hear more about his Uncles. Aneya is worried about Ratherin’s state of mind though and offers his friendship. Ratherin feels guilty that he’s not the same person as when they first met and maybe friendship is all he can handle then.
When Rath is feeling a bit more steady, he would like more than friendship from Aneya. Rath is a virgin though and Aneya wants to do the right thing by him. They spend a lot more time together and it seems like they might be able to have real relationship – maybe even one like Rath’s uncles. But the temple and it’s lake have more to teach them. Aneya is deeply affected as well, but in a totally different way. They are told a kraken lives in the lake, but no one sees it. I don’t want to spoil the story, so I’ll leave it there for now.
Ratherin and Aneya are definitely made for each other. But like most of the other couples in this series they are going to have to work for their happy ending – and this one is especially trying. Rath recovering from the grief of losing his Uncle and Aneya keeping close his own loss and trauma make their paths difficult. The new twist in this series is fascinating and I actually really enjoyed the connection. Both Rath and Aneya discover their abilities and while it causes some issues for them, they get closer only to be pulled apart. Aneya’s actions were caused by fear and while understandable, also cause Rath pain. It takes time for things to work out. There are a few other surprises that have to do with the issues with the Order and stopping them for good that I really enjoyed 😉 The ending was really perfect.
While this story was a bit longer than most in this series, there is a lot of ground to cover. With new dangers and new characters and new powers, it takes more time to discover and describe everything that we learn. I’m not sure what’s coming next, but this was a very nice addition to this series and these magically beings. Recommended!
RATING: 
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