Fairy Compacts: The Trilogy by Katey Hawthorne #LGBT #Review #Guestpost #Giveaway

Sam reviews  Fairy Compacts: The Trilogy by Katey Hawthorne . This book was Self-Published on March 24th, 2015 and is 172 pages long.

Read the exclusive excerpt, guest post and comment on the post for the chance to win the set with all three books of this series as eBook. More details below. Good Luck!

This book was provided free of charge for an honest review by the author

Why I read this book: I haven’t had the chance to read a fantasy book about fairies before.  So when I was given the opportunity to read and review this I figured it would be a great time to see if it was something I would enjoy.

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Synopsis:

Aeron stepped through the tear in the worldfabric to meet his destiny at last. Instead, he found a shy young forest-priest with halting speech and a ridiculous smile—who claimed to know absolutely nothing about why his voice had been stuck in Aeron’s head for decades. Not to mention why they both have the strange feeling they’ve been bound, somehow, for a very long time.

 

Tammas tries his hardest to unravel this riddle—and not to be too pleased by Aeron’s presence. That voice in his head was his only friend for long years, and Aeron’s magic both complements and augments his own in the most beautiful ways. But just as their affection for each other is deepening, they discover the origin of the bond is darker than either of them imagined.

In this omnibus edition of all three Fairy Compacts novellas, follow the adventures of the earnest, mendicant mortal Tam and the snarky, winged fairy Aeron. Together, they navigate their growing affection and the sins of their parents in The Dangers of Fairy Compacts; investigate fae court intrigue and the unsettling practice of thralldom in Life as a Fairy Thrall; and face their own greatest fears and mortal prejudices to fight for their home in Fairy Bound.

Life as a Fairy Thrall and Fairy Bound contain beautiful illustrations by Ruxandra Lache.

EXCERPT:

Aeron ambled toward the edge of the garden where Tam knelt, only stopping when his bare toes skirted the podina—the plant Aeron calledsweetmint—patch. He cocked his head, wispy hair falling into his eyes. His wings rose again, feelers uncurling.

It had always been impossible not to stare. Not only at Aeron’s body, his boyishly pretty face, but oh gods, those delicate silver-black wings when they caught the sunlight like that. He said, “My whole body’s stiff. I want to sleep all day; I need a good flyabout.”

The impossibility of Aeron having a good flyabout so close to town was just one of many things that made Tammas uneasy for his happiness. “We have all we need for a few portal spells, if you want to visit home.”

Aeron nodded thoughtfully. “It’s been nearly a moon. Awela must miss me.”

Tam grinned. “Who wouldn’t?”

“Just so.” Aeron came around and squatted gracefully next to him.

The ever-present berry smell of his magic almost made Tam swoon. He leaned nearer, breathed of it deeply, and kissed Aeron’s smooth cheek. “Good morning.”

Aeron turned to kiss him on the mouth. He gave a little, “Mmm,” which ended when  he bit at Tam’s lower lip.

Predictably enough, this treatment made Tam feel as if he were melting. In a lovely way.

They drew apart just enough to look one another in the eye. Aeron’s were large and pale green, like the fuzzy leaves that sprouted just before winter. Aeron ran one finger over the tiny patch of a beard beneath Tam’s lower lip, grown out at his request, and asked, “What are you trying to do? I smelled you spilling magic, but I don’t see any difference.”

Tammas nodded to the podina patch. “Trying to protect your favorite. It’s getting too cold for it, but I don’t know what to do.” “Just what you said:  protect.” “How?” Aeron curled his pale fingers between Tam’s brown ones from behind, so Tam’s palm faced outward, fingers splayed. Now it wasn’t just the tips that tingled; Tam’s entire hand prickled with magic, as if strawberry lightning played across his knuckles. “Think of the warmth it needs.” Aeron murmured into Tam’s ear, sending goosebumps down his near side. “The sun is still high and bright for much of the day, but it lacks warmth. Shelter the plants, as your house shelters you from the frost. Lets you breathe and grow.”

Aeron’s magic pulsed through his hand; Tammas felt it like a ghost, or perhaps like he was the ghost, intangible in the face of that familiar, dizzy-ecstatic wave of power. Instinctively, he focused it, wrapped it around his own, and formed a hemispherical, invisible enclosure over the garden patch. He thought of his own warmth, in his belly, in his head, in his heart, and funneled it into the hemisphere, siphoning it off until he shivered.

“Perfect,” Aeron whispered. His fingers straightened, then brushed down the back of Tam’s frigid hand.

Tam felt it:  the sweetmint would survive another week or two, even if an early frost came. “You don’t need me for that, anymore,” Aeron readjusted to kneel beside Tam again.

“Y—yes I do.”

“No. You haven’t for two moons, at least. All I do is speed things; you manage the hard part yourself.”

Tam shook his head, still dizzy. He wanted to tell Aeron not to talk like that, but was afraid of sounding desperate. It had been a fine, contented four moons since Aeron had left Faerie and settled into this mundane life with him. Tam couldn’t help feeling that it was too fine, too content to last. That someday, Aeron would realize what everyone at the monastery school had, what Tam’s own mother had:  Tammas was woefully, incurably average.

Tam shivered again, perhaps at the thought, perhaps with the aftereffects of magic.

Aeron smirked. “You need warmed up.”

One of my favorite things about writing the Fairy Compacts trilogy was the magic. As a longtime lover of all things fantasy, the opportunity to play with both fae and human magics was just waaaaay too good to pass up. As a lover of romance, who loves to make sure everything either reflects or progresses the central relationship… double whammy when it comes to a couple with magic.

This excerpt is from the second novella in the trilogy. Tam’s a human, and has never had a great opinion of his own magic, but Aeron, who’s fae (the wings are a giveaway, right?) has his peoples’ natural ease with it. Throughout the stories, he encourages Tam to develop his own magical potential… but the cutest part to write is when they work their magic together. For me, it echoes the way they work together personally, through all their trials, and is just flat out fun to get onto the page.

Of course, it’s much easier to work together when their bond is active. But that’s another story for another time. Let’s just say having this capability ripped away from them changes things up in a way they both pretty much hate.

What do you think? What books have your favorite magical systems and uses in them? 

Buy @  Amazon

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This was my first fairy fantasy book and I was pleasantly surprised how much I loved reading it. The adventure begins in the first book, ‘Danger of Fairy Compacts’, with a fairy named Aeron and a mortal named Tammas.  Aeron has had a voice in his head for over 20 years usually while he is asleep. He never mentioned it to anyone not even his twin sister Awela, fearing they may think he has gone mad like his mother. One day the voice in his head comes to him while awake and leads him to a mortal portal.

This is where he meets Tammas. Aeron realizes that it is Tammas’s voice that has been in his head for so long. Tammas is a shy forest priest. He takes off running when Aeron tries to speak with him. Aeron waits for him to reappear. It takes 7 days before Tammas and another lady, Kamala, appear again. Tammas apologizes to Aeron saying he didn’t mean to summon him that he thought he was summoning berries, the aeronberries. He promises he will find away to fix his mistake and send Aeron back home to Faerie.

That night Aeron stayed at Tammas’s house. The next day they traveled to Kamala’s to start searching for a way to get Aeron home. This became their routine they would spend the afternoon at Kamala’s and return back at Tammas’s before dark. By the second sevenday it was impossible to fight the amazing pull they had towards each other. After spending a night together and giving into their attraction Tammas lets Aeron know that he has also had a voice in his head ever since his mother died almost 20 years ago. That voice belongs to Aeron. Tammas thinks he may know why they have each other’s voice in their head but isn’t for sure so needs to show Aeron to see if he can figure it out.

Tammas takes him over to Kamala’s house to try to figure out what the bond they have is about. As soon as Kamala reveals the compact Aeron recognizes the magic sent and the signature on it. Once he reads what is written and translates it to Tammas and Kamala the pieces come together. What he finds out leaves Aeron hurt and angry. He lashes out at Tammas even though he knows that Tammas was also betrayed and hurt just as much as himself. They come up with a ritual to send Aeron back. Then he can confront the person who betrayed him and end the compact.

Once they get the ritual figured out Tammas and Aeron go back to Tammas’s house. Aeron knows that it wasn’t Tammas’s fault and feels bad for being angry. Aeron ends up apologizing to Tammas. The attraction is so strong between them and for one night they decide to make the most of it and end up making love several times. Tammas tells Aeron he loves him and probably has since he first heard Aeron’s voice in his head. The next morning as they walk to Kamala’s to perform the ritual Aeron admits he is also in love with Tammas. They both know that Aeron has to go back and try to fix the bond that was cast upon them in order to see if the love they have for each other is real or part of the magic.

Will the ritual work? What will happen if it does? Will the bond break or will they forever be bound together? If the bond is broken with their love for each other still be there?

Life As A Fairy Thrall and Fairy Bound are the other two books in this trilogy. Both of these follow-up books were written just as well if not better than the one before it. I don’t like giving any spoilers so I won’t go into detail about the last two books.

With that said, the journey the mortals and fairies go on was such a joy to read. This was a refreshing love story even with aspects of uncertainty, suspense and betrayal. I absolutely loved the main characters Aeron and Tammas. They are both beautiful and very sweet. The sex scenes were full of detail but not over the top. I enjoyed reading about the secondary characters, Awela and Kamala as well.

The author did an amazing job creating a the vivid description of the two worlds and the characters within. The illustrations that are included are stunning. I am thrilled I was able to read these books as a trilogy set since the first two books ended in cliffhangers.  The third book in the set brought every thing together giving it a satisfying conclusion.

If you love M/M fantasy books or have never tried one before I highly recommend reading Fairy Compacts: The Trilogy.

10/10 pots of gold

*****

Katey Hawthorne is an avid reader and writer of superpowered romance, even though the only degree she holds is in the history of art. (Or, possibly, because the only degree she holds is in the history of art.) Originally from the Appalachian foothills of West Virginia, she currently lives in Ohio. In her spare time she enjoys comic books, B-movies, loud music, Epiphones, and Bushmills.

Author Contacts:

Website, Twitter, Tumblr, Goodreads

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‘Fairy Compacts: The Trilogy’ by Katey Hawthorne.

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