Sola

Fantastic standalone story

Reviewed: 11-25-24

imaginative, hopeful, mature people who are wholly human and make real mistakes and still learn and grow towards each other. fascinating plot, world building, and twists. I wish it had been three times as long.

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Quality is a touch lacking in a fun story

Reviewed: 10-12-23

I love Nazri Noor and devour every book as soon as I can get my hands on it, and Greg Boudreaux is top-notch as always. The story is evocative and a ton of fun: I loved every character and every silly joke.


That being said, I really think this series could use an editor with a firmer hand. There are a lot of repetitive and outright repeated words and phrases, which is forgivable across a series, but in these books it often happens in one sentence after the next. By book 3, it's gotten to be grating at best.


These books are also a fair bit shorter than usual, especially book 4. As this is one of my favorite authors, I will gladly support them, but an omnibus will almost certainly be a better deal for a new reader.

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So happy to be back in Widdershins

Reviewed: 07-20-22

Truly delighted to be able to follow the Librarians at last, with a side of delicious tentacles.

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Absolutely adorable

Reviewed: 03-11-22

This book was the first I've read of the Magic Emporium series and that just because I've enjoyed so many of Maslow's other works, and it was a joy from start to finish. Darcy Stark is a new performer to me, but I was delighted by both the gruffness and sweetness he brought to the story. I really enjoyed the slow burn - ahem - and all the magical twists and turns. looking forward to more of Meghan's books and others in this series!

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Recording made it difficult

Reviewed: 06-05-21

Unfortunately I had to give up on this one. the narrator is very quiet and frequently unclear, with uneven levels, and I had to turn it up far past my normal listening volume in order to hear him reliably. This had the additionally unfortunate effect of making the whooshing noise in the background (sounds a lot like the ocean) much more prevalent.

The story, however, is fantastic, so I purchased it in the text edition and read it that way. I look forward to much more from this author.

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High Fantasy Delight, truly underrated

Reviewed: 05-03-21

Now that I've gotten through all three books, I'm honestly so mad at myself for allowing other reviews to delay me for even a moment in reading this series, but at least it meant I could devour all three of them in a row.

A satisfying, delightful wrap up, and the fate of a kingdom decided by the love, decisions, and commitments of those within her. I could read another two or three books exploring not just the relationships, but the ideas and premises set forth in this wonderful fantasy world.

if you're just looking for a sexy romance novel, maybe this series is not for you, although there is plenty of heat and depth of love. If you want a story where love is the engine that drives the world, and then yes, pick this up without delay, and may you have as much joy in it as I did.

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1 person found this helpful

Nail-biting!

Reviewed: 04-27-21

I feel this series truly hasn't gotten the attention it deserves: this second book has only fully convinced me of it.

This is what I always wanted from high fantasy that included tales of love: for the love and the tale to be inextricable, to truly support each other instead of one feeling jammed up against the other, and for the humanity of that love to be a sweeping as the story of the Kingdom itself, without even one false note of mawkish sentimentality.

Truly lovely. if I had read these books at 14 or 24, I might have had a different outlook.

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2 people found this helpful

Courtly Intrigue, Complex Personalities, & Dragons

Reviewed: 04-23-21

I hesitated on this book several times due to some of the other reviews, and now I REALLY wish I hadn't. if you're looking for a typical LGBTQ+ romance novel with the main focus on the couple, this isn't it. If you're looking for a shifter novel, this is not really that, either.

But if you're a big fan of high fantasy, complex court machinations, conflicted personalities, and impossible love, then this is the book you're looking for.

I was a little puzzled by the choice of two narrators alternating chapters at first, but with the structure of the book, it makes a lot of sense, and the readers have done such a truly excellent job that I had no trouble distinguishing what character was speaking, no matter who the narrator was at that time. Quite an astonishing feat of acting.

I didn't know this book was exactly what I was looking for until I found it. Instead of being thrust into some rollicking good time, this book makes you feel as if you stand behind a velvet curtain, listening to the inmost thoughts of the characters even as they act in the best way they know how, aching for them and with them. I'm moving immediately to the next book: I can't wait.

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1 person found this helpful

WHERE IS THE NEXT BOOK

Reviewed: 04-17-21

I'm absolutely dying here, I need the next book in audio. Sage and Fluke are such utter charming sweethearts, and we must know more about the mysterious Gideon.

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Surprisingly delightful

Reviewed: 02-15-21

I put this one off for a while thinking it would be rather serious and depressing, but it turned out to be, while still a bit on the serious side, but delightful exploration of the relationship between one anxious, traumatized person, and the patient person who loves them through it, but not without their own humanity.

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