Review: Pretty Good for a New Published Author
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 19, 2013
First of all this is a m/m romance between a royal from another planet and a human.  The storyline is interesting, it's well put together, edited, and presented.  But it's missing something and I was thinking off and on about what it lacks.This isn't a young adult book, yet it's written like one.  The two men, Merek and Vance,  think, say, and act unlike any mature men in a committed relationship.  I can't picture any guy being so nice while standing up for himself and arguing life altering decisions.  There isn't any nitty gritty real life reality here -- Instead it's written and presented like a fairy tale.  Unrealistic.  The guys are just too nice, thinking such nice things about each other.  Always polite, showing manners. The characters push sunshine and roses.SPOILERS:I don't think I read one negative thing in this story.  Everything was presented with a positive spin.  Even the threat was treated quickly and was shoved to the background.The seer -- I kept thinking he was working with Delegate Kiernan, the one blamed for trying to kill the royal family.  I kept my eye on him.  But nothing panned out.  And even though Kiernan was sent off to his estate and watched, nothing was resolved.  Surely by now some proof would surface!I did enjoy having a full story, even a chunk of time past the courtship.  Nice to see them settled in their relationship.  But even with the years going by there still wasn't much said about the threats to the kingdom.  Especially when the King has said that's his number one priority -- Keeping his people safe.I did continue reading the second book in this series which was about one of Merek's brother's:  Magnus.  I enjoyed parts of this story, that a carpenter, basically a lower class citizen is now mated to a prince -- Showing change is happening amongst the social structure.  I enjoyed seeing Archie making carvings and working in his trade.I found it interesting that even if Archie was 'slow in thought' and had learning difficulties, he didn't act that way around Magnus.  Not until he visited the ruins on the other side of the lake, which was near the end of the book.  Then he has trouble walking, stumbles, can't function properly, barely makes it home.  I realize it was the over use of his powers and the shock of discovery. . . But he was shown from the beginning as lacking, that he wasn't of worth, that he overcame a lot but was still damaged.  He was always a step ahead of Magnus, pushing for the mating, coming up with the solution, showing his mate to do things together.  It was Magnus turning to the damaged Archie for answers.  Archie didn't come off as damaged at all thru this story. . . Not until that scene at the ruins.  If a character is damaged, portray him that way.  Archie came across as perfect in every way.The descriptions in this book are tender, heart felt, caring, full of love, expressions of thanks, and 'I'm so proud of you' moments.  So the two in this second story act a lot like those in the first.  Although I'm still wondering why Archie would like being tied up when he suffered physical abuse as a teen.  You'd think he wouldn't want to be contained, it'd cause flashbacks of being helpless.  But that never happens and he actually enjoys bondage with his mate.SPOILERSIt would have been nice to question the Legari warriors to see if they knew anything.  And why was the computer expert mentioned more than once but never any follow up?  Will it wait until his story to get some results?  It's like the evil is happening, people recovered, but the investigation just ends.  The children are sold off planet?  Just that comment?  What about turning the adults into spys?  And what about those assassins mixed in with the released prisioners?  It's like they're recognized and then killed - no further investigation . . . Or if there is, nothing is said.  None of the threats were resolved in this second book.Everything was second place to the courtship and relationship of Merek and Archie. . . Which was fine.  But there was a lot of room for improvement, especially to get Magnus and Archie to think, act, and speak differently than Merek and Vance.  It's like they were carbon copies, clones.  At least that's the way they appeared to me when I read the books back to back.  - Dan's Wife