by Annette Gisby
Page Count: 200 pages
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Publication Date: June, 15 2013
Genre: M/M Fantasy Romance
Format: E-book, Paperback
Amazon Buy Link: HERE
Amazon UK Buy Link: HERE
Smashwords: HERE
Barnes and Noble: HERE
All Romance: HERE
Goodreads Link: HERE
Em's Rating: ★★★
Book Blurb:
The neighbouring kingdoms of Oscia and Arcathia have been at a tentative peace for three years after centuries of warfare. Prince Severin of Arcathia has been brought up to put duty before all else and as the only son of the King and Queen, it is his duty to marry and produce an heir. His parents want him to marry an Oscian princess to cement that tentative peace. Unfortunately Severin isn't interested in princesses. Now, if he had his pick of princes that would be another matter. Havyn has been a slave all his life. When his aptitude for wizardry is discovered, he finds himself purchased and freed by Prince Severin and apprenticed to the royal wizard, Ildar. His duty is to stay chaste to keep his powers strong, but his feelings for Severin sorely test his resolve. With kingdoms at war, the throne hanging in the balance, magic in the air, and outside forces trying to keep them apart, can the two men find happiness together, or is duty more important than love?
Em’s Review:
WOW, Annette Gisby has an imagination on her. Her world she built around this story...let’s just say I wish there was more so I could have enjoyed the world she was painting. From the guards and their attachment to The Raven and more about Oscia and how people lived when they couldn’t marry. Just everything! She could go back and play more in her universe.
But, with most people that want to read a review on a romance story, you want to know about our two main lovers, don’t you? I know you will love Severin and Havyn. Both, are deep down, kind people that want to do right to their country, people and positions. It makes for the classic ‘I want, but can’t touch’ troupe. No matter how many times they find themselves in positions where it makes it hard to just NOT not touch, giving us some steamy scenes.
The Chosen is an enjoyable read. A hot cocoa, curl up on the couch, read. My only issue is I wanted to read it more like a high fantasy and not a romance set in a fantasy world. This is to do with so many things the author brought to her world I wanted to explore. However, it is a very fun, adventurous, book that will have you loving Severin and Havyn almost from the first page.
Like this excerpt when we first meet Severin:
Severin pulled his hood closer around him despite the stifling heat. He must keep himself disguised at all costs. Oscians did not take kindly to strangers, and his icy blue eyes and silvery hair marked him a foreigner among the swarthy-skinned, dark-haired native population. Severin turned to his companion, a grey-haired man carrying the staff of a wizard. "Ildar, do we have enough gold?"
Ildar clucked his tongue. "It's a bit late to be worrying about that now, isn't it? You've already entered into the contract. Yes, we have enough, but only just. What's your father going to say when you bring home a slave?"
Severin smiled at his former tutor who was now one of his most trusted advisors. "Do you know me so little, Ildar?"
"You mean to set him free?"
"Of course. You know slavery is illegal in Arcathia. It's a pity we can't afford to free them all." Severin's eyes swept over the dais set up in the middle of the square where slaves of all ages stood or lay curled in their chains. Some were shackled to wooden stakes while others were bound to each other or had chains binding their arms and legs together so they could hardly move. Their tunics were stained, ill-fitting, and ragged around the hems, their arms and legs bare. Some held their heads high, yet others looked so despairing that Severin's heart lurched for them. He couldn't save them all, no matter how much he wanted to. Almost all of them were bruised and scarred in some way, testifying to abuse from previous owners or perhaps from the slave trader himself.
The slaver was a burly man with biceps the size of hams and thighs so thick they almost looked like tree trunks. He was bulging out of his leather jerkin and trousers. Sweat dripped down his face while he continued with the auction. Severin cringed. None of the scrawny slaves would have stood a chance against him if he decided to lay into them.
Severin looked at Ildar, raising his eyebrow in question. The two of them had known each other for so long that sometimes they didn't need words. Ildar nodded and cast a notice-me-not spell. It would shield them from prying eyes—there was no reason to make it easy for pickpockets. Once the shield was in place, Ildar counted out the requisite gold coins. He sighed every time he dropped a piece into Severin's open palm. "I hope we have enough left for lodgings for the night," said Ildar, his reluctance obvious.
"We could always camp out," said Severin. Ildar shuddered. For a wizard,he had a terrible aversion to nature and loved his home comforts. Perhaps you should just conjure more gold pieces?"
Ildar gave a long-suffering sigh. "You see, this is why you were so hopeless at studying the Magical Arts. You can't conjure something from nothing. Magic is all about balance. It can only be used to assist nature. If you have a fire, you can make it warmer, but you can't conjure fire from thin air."
"I've heard the Aldari can do that and more."
"The Aldari? Well, if it's fairy tales you're after rather than reality, yes they can. But the Aldari have long since died out, and most of what is said about them is complete myth. They don't exist."
Author Bio:
Annette Gisby grew up in a small town in Northern Ireland moving to London when she was seventeen. Being a very small town there were no bookshops and a small library. When she’d devoured every book she could get her hands on in the library, she started writing her own stories so she would always have something to read later. When not writing she enjoys reading, cinema, theatre, walks along deserted beaches or wandering around ruined castles (great places for inspiration!) She loves travelling to distant places to see different cultures first hand, even though she gets travel sick on most forms of transport. She currently lives in Hamsphire with her husband, a collection of porcelain dolls, cuddly toys and enough books to fill a library.
And you can kindly stalk her an any of these social sites.
http://annettegisby.weebly.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/252221.Annette_Gisby
http://www.amazon.com/Annette-Gisby/e/B002BLL62C/
https://uk.pinterest.com/annetteg2/
https://twitter.com/havyn
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I would like to thank both Enchanted Tours and Annette Gisby for a chance to let me be apart of this blog tour, and to read The Chosen.
Thanks for hosting me :)
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