Paperback, 431 pages
Published Nov. 13, 2019 by BOATK Books.
Once upon a time, in an alleyway in the slums of the City of Lockes, a young and somewhat lonely boy named Sam Haversford turns a group of teenage douchebags into stone completely by accident.
Of course, this catches the attention of a higher power, and Sam's pulled from the only world he knows to become an apprentice to the king's wizard, Morgan of Shadows.
When Sam's 14, he enters the Dark Woods and returns with Gary, the hornless gay unicorn, and a half-giant named Tiggy, earning the moniker Sam of Wilds.
At 15, Sam learns what love truly is when a new knight arrives at the castle - Knight Ryan Foxheart, the dreamiest dream to have ever been dreamed.
Naturally, it all goes to hell when Ryan dates the reprehensible Prince Justin, Sam can't control his magic, a sexually aggressive dragon kidnaps the prince, and the king sends them …
Once upon a time, in an alleyway in the slums of the City of Lockes, a young and somewhat lonely boy named Sam Haversford turns a group of teenage douchebags into stone completely by accident.
Of course, this catches the attention of a higher power, and Sam's pulled from the only world he knows to become an apprentice to the king's wizard, Morgan of Shadows.
When Sam's 14, he enters the Dark Woods and returns with Gary, the hornless gay unicorn, and a half-giant named Tiggy, earning the moniker Sam of Wilds.
At 15, Sam learns what love truly is when a new knight arrives at the castle - Knight Ryan Foxheart, the dreamiest dream to have ever been dreamed.
Naturally, it all goes to hell when Ryan dates the reprehensible Prince Justin, Sam can't control his magic, a sexually aggressive dragon kidnaps the prince, and the king sends them on an epic quest to save Ryan's boyfriend, all while Sam falls more in love with someone he can never have.
Or, so he thinks.
I will admit that this book is full of completely juvenile humor and is written for "young adults", but I loved it either way. It will not be for everyone.
A Fantasy comedy obviously meant for young men who fit some of the contemporary urban gay stereotypes.
The jokes had me laughing out loud several times. The realistic perspective of sex that's still too uncommon in m/m romances was gratifying (although—note—it's not especially erotic despite the plethora of sexual references and would've been overly uncomfortable if it had been especially erotic with the YA tone).
Cons: Shitty political commentary, apathetic violence of the wizard (apprentice), insistence that the Darks as dangerously out of control more than the main characters are when that's not how they're shown, and homogeneity of most of the characters' personalities increasingly bother me as I think about them.
However, focusing too much on negatives would be missing the value of the story.
It's funny and stuffed with subtle subversions of old fantasy tropes. But this novel is also about real-world survival. This is a book about …
A Fantasy comedy obviously meant for young men who fit some of the contemporary urban gay stereotypes.
The jokes had me laughing out loud several times. The realistic perspective of sex that's still too uncommon in m/m romances was gratifying (although—note—it's not especially erotic despite the plethora of sexual references and would've been overly uncomfortable if it had been especially erotic with the YA tone).
Cons: Shitty political commentary, apathetic violence of the wizard (apprentice), insistence that the Darks as dangerously out of control more than the main characters are when that's not how they're shown, and homogeneity of most of the characters' personalities increasingly bother me as I think about them.
However, focusing too much on negatives would be missing the value of the story.
It's funny and stuffed with subtle subversions of old fantasy tropes. But this novel is also about real-world survival. This is a book about gay empowerment.
This is needed for more of its intended audience to survive in our world.
