Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Zephyr and the Western Wolf
AUTHOR: Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 169 pages
RELEASE DATE: January 4, 2024
BLURB:
The prince is dead, and dragons are the stuff of storybooks.
That is, until a great shadow passes over the edge of the Tangled Forest. Rumor sent an intrepid adventurer to a tower in the middle of the woods, and the story he carried back changed everything: Prince Zephyr is alive, and he’s being held prisoner by a giant beast of a dragon.
The prince disappeared more than a decade ago, and the kingdom mourned his loss and set his crown on the wheat-blond curls of the young princess. But now, the race is on as every knight in the kingdom and the lands surrounding it have come to slay the beast and bring the prince home.
Macarius has travelled from the Western Wastes with nothing but his horse and trusty sword, but he isn’t interested in saving a scrawny prince—he wants to meet a dragon. If he happens to save the prince and take him home, then that will just be a happy accident. Or maybe an annoying one, since Prince Zephyr isn’t nearly as happy to see his savior as he should be.
Zephyr and the Western Wolf is an MM fantasy romance featuring one oversized drake, a young mage at the end of his rope (or vines, as it were), and a warrior determined to bring a miracle home for his people… or at least, one miraculous man. It was originally published on Burns & Fawkes’s Patreon page as the 2023 Fantasy Romance.
REVIEW:
Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes’ MM fantasy romance novella Zephyr and the Western Wolf is the culmination of the authors’ serial publication of the story on their Patreon page throughout 2023. The resulting novella reads fluidly, with a cohesive storyline and well-executed transitions. The only evidence of its initial serial form are some unresolved plot points. Otherwise, the sweet, poignant story of Prince Zephyr and Macarius, two sons of “royalty” trying to prove themselves to their families and their people, hits all the right notes and is an easy, enjoyable read from start to finish.
Presumed dead Prince Zephyr, the magician/mage who essentially abdicates his throne in order to stop continually disappointing his father, and Macarius, a revered warrior on a quest from his homeland in the Western Wastes to prove that he should be the next ruler of his people, are like night and day. Of course, they are more similar than it appears, and their kindred-spirits romance is squarely within Burns and Fawkes’ wheelhouse – one might say they have “a type”. Their stories tend toward alienated, lonely, underestimated men with good intentions and kind hearts, who then suffer through trials and tribulations, as well as miscommunications, as they fall in love and find their place in the world together. Zephyr is yet another example of this type of romance, executed with aplomb, which provides plentiful opportunity for heartstring pulling and the development of unique found family dynamics, including Elidi, Zephyr’s beloved mentor Ralph’s drake/dragon who is now Zephyr’s best (and perhaps only) friend.
The premise of Zephyr and the Western Wolf is creative and absorbing, with colorful, engaging characters, and it grabs your interest despite its fairly simplistic storyline. Sadness and violence permeate, but it never gets too heavy and there’s plenty of wit and humor (and a smattering of sexy times too) to keep things balanced. If you’ve read Burns and Fawkes’ stories before, you’ll find this story feels authentically theirs, including the inherent thematic messaging about believing in yourself and finding your place in the world with the family you make – which may or may not include those you are related to by blood. Recommended.
RATING: 
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