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Danubian #1
Lantern
In the black night, I alone uphold the shrine of the seven lantern gods.
In the year 2448, Central Europe, after centuries of decline, has bottomed out into a brutal Dark Age. Warlords now rule the lands, fighting and dying to shelter their regions from near-constant invasions.
Hidden through secrecy, camouflage, and a touch of magic lies a monastery deep in the Alps where Wren of Helvetica has been training as an initiate mage for more than half his life. His quiet routine is overthrown when he receives a message from the woman who rescued him from being sold into slavery as a child. Ingeborg herself is a wandering mage but has found a warlord sponsor and is now his court magician.
In the mountains dividing this warrior king's land in half lies a solitary shrine where seven lanterns burn to the gods of an older world. The elderly mystic who manned the shrine has died; whether by murder or natural causes, no one knows. For the sake of appeasing these gods and protecting the peace of the region, Wren has been summoned to take this man's place.
Settling into a new life that is much more dangerous and lonely than he's used to, Wren takes up protection of the lanterns and tries to reestablish contact with the supernatural forces therein. One day he comes back from foraging to find a large man—Uli—filling the shrine, a man with humor in his eyes when Wren admits to not knowing who he is.
The two fall together and become not only fast friends but lovers. Within the power magnified by their love, seven lanterns tell Wren about Uli’s secret. As Wren begins to connect to the deep roots of the mountain shrine and the gods of earth and sky that watch over this gentle, sacred place, he finds himself taking his heart in hand and giving it to a brutal warrior.
Though society dictates they cannot belong to each other, Uli is determined that Wren be his.
By the light of the seven lanterns in a dark night with whirling stars, they hide away in each other and create a precious love that lights the world and gives them strength.
Lantern is a 56,000-word MM standalone romance containing magical realism, mystic mages, and dark age warriors. It contains no cheating and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.
The Danubian Series contains standalone MM love stories of the Danube River region, past and future, featuring the magic of this world and deeply spiritual men who find home in each other.
In the year 2448, Central Europe, after centuries of decline, has bottomed out into a brutal Dark Age. Warlords now rule the lands, fighting and dying to shelter their regions from near-constant invasions.
Hidden through secrecy, camouflage, and a touch of magic lies a monastery deep in the Alps where Wren of Helvetica has been training as an initiate mage for more than half his life. His quiet routine is overthrown when he receives a message from the woman who rescued him from being sold into slavery as a child. Ingeborg herself is a wandering mage but has found a warlord sponsor and is now his court magician.
In the mountains dividing this warrior king's land in half lies a solitary shrine where seven lanterns burn to the gods of an older world. The elderly mystic who manned the shrine has died; whether by murder or natural causes, no one knows. For the sake of appeasing these gods and protecting the peace of the region, Wren has been summoned to take this man's place.
Settling into a new life that is much more dangerous and lonely than he's used to, Wren takes up protection of the lanterns and tries to reestablish contact with the supernatural forces therein. One day he comes back from foraging to find a large man—Uli—filling the shrine, a man with humor in his eyes when Wren admits to not knowing who he is.
The two fall together and become not only fast friends but lovers. Within the power magnified by their love, seven lanterns tell Wren about Uli’s secret. As Wren begins to connect to the deep roots of the mountain shrine and the gods of earth and sky that watch over this gentle, sacred place, he finds himself taking his heart in hand and giving it to a brutal warrior.
Though society dictates they cannot belong to each other, Uli is determined that Wren be his.
By the light of the seven lanterns in a dark night with whirling stars, they hide away in each other and create a precious love that lights the world and gives them strength.
Lantern is a 56,000-word MM standalone romance containing magical realism, mystic mages, and dark age warriors. It contains no cheating and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.
The Danubian Series contains standalone MM love stories of the Danube River region, past and future, featuring the magic of this world and deeply spiritual men who find home in each other.
244 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 31, 2023
43 people are currently reading
210 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 12, 2024
Lantern by Charlie Godwyne was great. I had never read anything by this author but I was really excited. A King and Mage. several sex scenes. It was neat to kind of have a bit of reversal on typical experience levels of the characters presented. Give this story a shot I think you will really enjoy this :)
I received an advanced Review Copy of this book for free through Voracious Reads. I am submitting this review with no compensation or requirement.
I received an advanced Review Copy of this book for free through Voracious Reads. I am submitting this review with no compensation or requirement.
November 27, 2023
3.5* this was good but too heavy on the different planes of existence. It was also a bit insta for my liking. It's well written, bar some repetitions which have already been mentioned in other reviews, and I am sure a lot of people will like it a lot but it felt slightly short for my tastes. Will pause the series for now but I think I will eventually read the second book which at a first glance seems to be about a different couple. Bonus star for the dog. Arf, arf ;)
June 6, 2023
Reviewed for Love Bytes – 2.5 hearts.
Wren is tasked to take over the shrine of the seven lanterns, which is a connection to seven Gods. While there, he meets Uli, a warrior who is more than a burly bloke with a sword.
Lantern is the first in a series of standalone stories along the Danube River Region. With the promise of Gods, magic, and mystics, this was a futuristic story I looked forward to reading and desperately wanted to like. Unfortunately, for me, it fell well short.
The story is told in the first person, exclusively from Wren’s viewpoint. Technically, it wasn’t great. Among other things, there were phrases like ‘I would now’ (mixed tenses) and ‘I myself’ (redundant intensive pronoun). There is the argument for saying that these are merely turns of phrase, but they set off my irritation scale. Worldbuilding is also detailed, with Wren describing his actions down to closing a bolt and why. This level of detail seems to be a marmite thing among readers.
At the beginning of the book, there is a glossary of terms and a cast list - which I found helpful. From that, it was clear that being physical with others was permitted, and I looked forward to reading more. However, many explanations were repeated multiple times, as Wren tended to think and repeat something aloud. I also lost count of the times I was told Wren spent fifteen years at the monastery and that he and his lovers were no more, and when Wren left, Marit and Corbi, it was a truly emotional experience. However, at one point, Wren stated that he couldn’t return to the monastery three times over three paragraphs in a row.
The images of the area around the cabin were lovely, and I got a sense of the simple life surrounded by mountains and trees. Wren had to relocate from a monastery to a recluse’s hut with a dog, and the loneliness came through. But, he was also there to look after the Gods, or at least do something with them, which got somewhat lost between Wren’s moping for his old life, doing his laundry, and missing Uli.
The story is the authors' view of Austria three hundred years in the future. However, I think the author has tried to include too much. Less would have been more. The Gods are there, but they don’t feature much other than in a few visions, or a flickering candle, and there are multiple explanations instead of story progression. More could have been made from Wren learning to converse with people on a higher plane of existence and their influence over the King’s reign. E.g., the use of phantasms could have been put to better use.
For most of this story, I was overwhelmed with repeated explanations about astral planes and other things, which made me feel like an onlooker rather than a participant. All this interrupted the story flow, further disconnecting me from the characters. It is a shame because this tale had great potential. All it needed was more focus and a damned good edit – hence the mediocre marking.
This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for
Love Bytes.
Wren is tasked to take over the shrine of the seven lanterns, which is a connection to seven Gods. While there, he meets Uli, a warrior who is more than a burly bloke with a sword.
Lantern is the first in a series of standalone stories along the Danube River Region. With the promise of Gods, magic, and mystics, this was a futuristic story I looked forward to reading and desperately wanted to like. Unfortunately, for me, it fell well short.
The story is told in the first person, exclusively from Wren’s viewpoint. Technically, it wasn’t great. Among other things, there were phrases like ‘I would now’ (mixed tenses) and ‘I myself’ (redundant intensive pronoun). There is the argument for saying that these are merely turns of phrase, but they set off my irritation scale. Worldbuilding is also detailed, with Wren describing his actions down to closing a bolt and why. This level of detail seems to be a marmite thing among readers.
At the beginning of the book, there is a glossary of terms and a cast list - which I found helpful. From that, it was clear that being physical with others was permitted, and I looked forward to reading more. However, many explanations were repeated multiple times, as Wren tended to think and repeat something aloud. I also lost count of the times I was told Wren spent fifteen years at the monastery and that he and his lovers were no more, and when Wren left, Marit and Corbi, it was a truly emotional experience. However, at one point, Wren stated that he couldn’t return to the monastery three times over three paragraphs in a row.
The images of the area around the cabin were lovely, and I got a sense of the simple life surrounded by mountains and trees. Wren had to relocate from a monastery to a recluse’s hut with a dog, and the loneliness came through. But, he was also there to look after the Gods, or at least do something with them, which got somewhat lost between Wren’s moping for his old life, doing his laundry, and missing Uli.
The story is the authors' view of Austria three hundred years in the future. However, I think the author has tried to include too much. Less would have been more. The Gods are there, but they don’t feature much other than in a few visions, or a flickering candle, and there are multiple explanations instead of story progression. More could have been made from Wren learning to converse with people on a higher plane of existence and their influence over the King’s reign. E.g., the use of phantasms could have been put to better use.
For most of this story, I was overwhelmed with repeated explanations about astral planes and other things, which made me feel like an onlooker rather than a participant. All this interrupted the story flow, further disconnecting me from the characters. It is a shame because this tale had great potential. All it needed was more focus and a damned good edit – hence the mediocre marking.
This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for
Love Bytes.
August 19, 2023
4.5/5 This was exactly the sort of story that I like. I’m not a huge fan of politics, so I worried that this was going to get mired too much for me in politics and societal norms. I was very pleasantly surprised. This is very much the story of Wren who meets Uli when he starts his new position. I loved their interactions and how clear it was that Wren was exactly who and what Uli needed—someone who treated him simply as “Uli”. (Although I did laugh a little about how slow Wren was about it. It nevertheless felt like it came out as it needed to, though, for their relationship.)
It was a little disconcerting having Wren so freshly ending another loving relationship, but it actually worked for me here, in large part because both characters are used to sharing love and duty, so the idea that they care for past partners and friends (in whatever type of love) didn’t prevent them from loving new partners as well, love being infinite rather than finite. I’m sure this wouldn’t work for everyone, but I was convinced.
There were occasional repeated facts that I didn’t need to know that often (15 years at the monastery, got it, lol!), and I couldn’t quite tell if this was a small style flaw or if it was really meant to capture Wren’s preoccupations and in some ways the smallness of his world.
I very much enjoyed the setting of the shrine and Wren’s rituals. We don’t get all the answers about the gods and the higher planes, but that felt very deliberate, like there were a lot of mysteries that we aren’t ready for yet. Bello was adorable and mischievous and a very fun addition. (Actually, genuinely not sure how Wren would have managed without him.)
When Wren panicked hard about the solitude, I really worried a bit about how this could resolve. (That man is an extrovert if ever I met one. He really needed to draw his energy from people, and no people was a major problem.) But I liked the shift that took place the more Wren connected to the lanterns, as well as the solution for some of Wren’s loneliness and for him and Uli.
I don’t think what Wren and Uli have is what most people would consider a conventional relationship, but I can absolutely see it working for them.
I received an ARC from GRR. This is my honest review.
It was a little disconcerting having Wren so freshly ending another loving relationship, but it actually worked for me here, in large part because both characters are used to sharing love and duty, so the idea that they care for past partners and friends (in whatever type of love) didn’t prevent them from loving new partners as well, love being infinite rather than finite. I’m sure this wouldn’t work for everyone, but I was convinced.
There were occasional repeated facts that I didn’t need to know that often (15 years at the monastery, got it, lol!), and I couldn’t quite tell if this was a small style flaw or if it was really meant to capture Wren’s preoccupations and in some ways the smallness of his world.
I very much enjoyed the setting of the shrine and Wren’s rituals. We don’t get all the answers about the gods and the higher planes, but that felt very deliberate, like there were a lot of mysteries that we aren’t ready for yet. Bello was adorable and mischievous and a very fun addition. (Actually, genuinely not sure how Wren would have managed without him.)
When Wren panicked hard about the solitude, I really worried a bit about how this could resolve. (That man is an extrovert if ever I met one. He really needed to draw his energy from people, and no people was a major problem.) But I liked the shift that took place the more Wren connected to the lanterns, as well as the solution for some of Wren’s loneliness and for him and Uli.
I don’t think what Wren and Uli have is what most people would consider a conventional relationship, but I can absolutely see it working for them.
I received an ARC from GRR. This is my honest review.
August 16, 2023
LANTERN is the first book in the Danubian series, and we head to the future where we have gone back to the Dark Ages.
Wren has always known he would leave the Monastery and his lovers behind at some point, but when that time comes, he finds it harder than expected. Not only that, but the solitude of being high in the mountains with only a dog for company, is more than he can bear. Luckily for him, Uli comes along and it's a healthy dose of insta-love for both of them.
There is a lot of world-building and explanations of the spiritual side in this book, as you would expect from the first book in a series. I was enthralled by the descriptions of how life was, but would have liked more about Wren interacting with the villagers and trying to adjust to his new way of life, rather than his constant lamentations about being lonely. I would also have liked more descriptions of Ev and Soren and their relationship with Uli.
On the whole, though, this was a great read that I thoroughly enjoyed and can't wait to read the next in the series. Definitely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Aug 16, 2023
Wren has always known he would leave the Monastery and his lovers behind at some point, but when that time comes, he finds it harder than expected. Not only that, but the solitude of being high in the mountains with only a dog for company, is more than he can bear. Luckily for him, Uli comes along and it's a healthy dose of insta-love for both of them.
There is a lot of world-building and explanations of the spiritual side in this book, as you would expect from the first book in a series. I was enthralled by the descriptions of how life was, but would have liked more about Wren interacting with the villagers and trying to adjust to his new way of life, rather than his constant lamentations about being lonely. I would also have liked more descriptions of Ev and Soren and their relationship with Uli.
On the whole, though, this was a great read that I thoroughly enjoyed and can't wait to read the next in the series. Definitely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Aug 16, 2023
June 4, 2023
In the year 2448, the world is in the throes of a dark age. Warlords and warrior kings have arisen to bring peace to various areas. Wren is a mage studying at a hidden monastery and he has been asked to come to an area control by a warrior king to take over a shrine where the mystic who was manning it has died. Wren comes to this isolated shrine and begins to establish himself with the gods of the seven lanterns. He comes home one day to find a large man at the shrine, a man who is delighted that Wren does not who he is. The two become close and Wren realizes the shrine is to keep him safe and to maintain the peace in the area.
Wren is such a gentle soul. Found as a child, his mentor saved him from being sold into slavery. Now a new mage, he has his shrine to maintain and finds himself questioning. When Uli unexpectedly brings him some needed items, the two men find a connection. They get closer and closer until they both give each other their hearts. This is an amazingly romantic love story with excellent world building. I loved the interpretation of magician and the layers of individual. It made for great reading and would be excellent for anyone who enjoys a touch of mysticism in their reading. I highly recommend this one.
Wren is such a gentle soul. Found as a child, his mentor saved him from being sold into slavery. Now a new mage, he has his shrine to maintain and finds himself questioning. When Uli unexpectedly brings him some needed items, the two men find a connection. They get closer and closer until they both give each other their hearts. This is an amazingly romantic love story with excellent world building. I loved the interpretation of magician and the layers of individual. It made for great reading and would be excellent for anyone who enjoys a touch of mysticism in their reading. I highly recommend this one.
May 22, 2023
Wren has been all his life preparing to undertake his task to become a link between the gods and mankind. But facing the isolation of the seven lanterns shrine becomes too much, until he finds a friend and something more in a traveller, Uli. But will the mysterious gods accept their relationship?
There are some good things in this book. I like how it delves in the need of human contact to develop as a person, to keep balance and being able to function fully. The romance between Uli and Wren is cute, in a naive, uncomplicated way. But… First person narrative is tiresome for me, and this is not exception. Being reduced to a simple point of view makes the narration uninteresting. Besides, there is too much metaphysic explanation and theory about how the gods and humanity relate, the levels of the soul… I found myself getting distracted, losing interest in the story.
It is a cute story, but not my thing
I received an ARC and this is my voluntary review
There are some good things in this book. I like how it delves in the need of human contact to develop as a person, to keep balance and being able to function fully. The romance between Uli and Wren is cute, in a naive, uncomplicated way. But… First person narrative is tiresome for me, and this is not exception. Being reduced to a simple point of view makes the narration uninteresting. Besides, there is too much metaphysic explanation and theory about how the gods and humanity relate, the levels of the soul… I found myself getting distracted, losing interest in the story.
It is a cute story, but not my thing
I received an ARC and this is my voluntary review
May 30, 2023
Wren has been called upon by his old mentor to take over as the keeper of the seven lanterns and travels for days to reach the cabin in the Alpine woods. It is there he encounters the ghost of the former keeper and his dog who sit by the grave and waits. Lonely and unsure of what to do Wren cleans the area and undertakes to be the keeper despite the loneliness of the abode. One day Uli shows up and Wren is deeply affected by the man. This is their story that is so sweet and wonderful as Wren and Uli discover that they were meant to be. There is more to the story, and I don’t want to spoil it for you so all I can say is it will melt your heart and well worth the journey. A beautiful story of discovery and love that surpasses the multiple planes of the universe. A must read!
June 5, 2023
I loved the Augarten series, so I was overjoyed to see a new Charlie Godwyne series but this absolutely blew me away. It checked so many favorite boxes - Middle Ages/Dark Ages, mages in monasteries keeping powerful spiritual and magical traditions alive, romance between two characters who seem like opposites but have similar fire inside, the superb world building we've come to expect from this author that brings you right into the forests and mountains. Wren and Uli have a surprise meeting and watching their relationship develop amidst everything else going on was wonderful. The rest of these will be an automatic buy for me as soon as they are available as I can't want to meet more characters and see more of this world and what's going on in it.
June 6, 2023
This was a hard one to rate. It was interesting and held my attention however all of the history and background information became boring at points. I understand this is the first book set in this world so we needed to get our bearings but I little more action or even interaction between characters could have made this book really great. There were odd moments where the dialogue didn’t match at all with the overall pattern of dialogue that leaned more formal and historical. There was some instalove happening here and I wasn’t totally convinced either MC was over their previous loves. The writing was solid and the characters were well written so overall I enjoyed it,
May 29, 2023
3.5* in my opinion rounded up.
This is a technically very well written book, one that you will have to suspend belief and go with the flow when reading, there is lots of spiritual and material explanations, which do in my opinion slow down the read experience. My only real niggle with the book is I would have loved to have had Uli’s voice it’s not that Wren wasn’t entertaining, I just would have liked to hear the warrior King’s POV. This is not a book that I would call a beach read, yet it is entertaining and very sweet how Wren and Uli find each other in their loneliness.
This is a technically very well written book, one that you will have to suspend belief and go with the flow when reading, there is lots of spiritual and material explanations, which do in my opinion slow down the read experience. My only real niggle with the book is I would have loved to have had Uli’s voice it’s not that Wren wasn’t entertaining, I just would have liked to hear the warrior King’s POV. This is not a book that I would call a beach read, yet it is entertaining and very sweet how Wren and Uli find each other in their loneliness.
June 11, 2023
I am a fan of this author and thoroughly enjoyed the two previous series (Augarten and Sky Nymph). Part of my enjoyment of those two series was following the same characters through multiple books. With this book that isn't present yet, but I look forward to seeing what happens in the next book. I love the world-building the author does. I have no issues imagining the world the book takes place in. I only wish the names of the some of the characters came with a pronunciation guide as I want to say them correctly as I read.
September 23, 2023
This first book in the Danubian series left this reader a bit lost because of the historical references laid out in this book. I did like the MM characters of Wren, the newest mage of the 7 Lanterns, and the warrior Uli, who shows up at the shrine. Their progression from possible enemies to friends to lovers to king and consort is a steadily paced story. The sacrifices both make for the sake of the other make this a good read even though the history was daunting and interrupted the flow of my reading I found this an interesting work. Here you have my honest review.
June 3, 2023
There’s something almost achingly beautiful about the way this story weaves together a deeply spiritual premise and characters with a blend of magic and mundane and the simultaneously profound and quotidian need for human connection and love alongside purpose, in whatever form that takes. Wren and Uli’s bond is sweet and heartwarming and the world building here is immersive and thought provoking– well worth a read.
*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
dnf
August 25, 2023DNF at 60%. The setting has potential but the characters and world are too shallowly drawn for me to connect with them, and the romance is an unsatisfying form of instalove. Although both characters have a reason to form a quick connection with a new partner, it feels like they could have gotten similarly attached to basically anyone, so the romance feels convenient rather than fated. Maybe the second half of the book develops this better, but it didn't keep me engaged enough to find out.
July 7, 2024
I love the idea of a warrior king falling in love with a monk. I loved the world building and the magic system that is clearly modeled after real-world Buddhist and esoteric belief systems. Their relationship was sweet, for what it was, but I thought maybe the book sometimes got too bogged down in the narrator’s inner life and missed out on opportunities to introduce a more expansive and epic plot. It felt like a bottle episode that ended just before it was getting to the interesting part.
June 4, 2023
Sweet, fascinating and engaging new story by Charlie Godwyne. I love the way they weave their stories, so full of magic and mysticism and love. The one thing that would have made it better for me would have been a dual POV, not just Wren's. Still, a deep and moving story of growth, connection, and love.
I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
August 19, 2023
This story comprises a lot more than two characters falling un love. We have an Europe full of Magic, gods and goddesses, wars, mistycism...
It's told un first person, so you have a much better understanding of uQren feelings, but the authir is able of makibg us meet Uli and love him through how Wren sees him.
A great beginning to the series and a perfecto story on it's own.
Don't miss It!
It's told un first person, so you have a much better understanding of uQren feelings, but the authir is able of makibg us meet Uli and love him through how Wren sees him.
A great beginning to the series and a perfecto story on it's own.
Don't miss It!
June 4, 2023
A brutal dark age has been around for many years and he is about to be summoned to take a job. He will take the place of the man who has died and he must travel to get there. How will it all go? Will he succeed in his mission? What else will happen for him? See just what is going to happen
June 14, 2023
Magical
There is more magic here than the characters possess or display. The magic is the work of the author, creating this wonderful world and enticing characters. I became totally engrossed in it. I highly recommend reading it.
There is more magic here than the characters possess or display. The magic is the work of the author, creating this wonderful world and enticing characters. I became totally engrossed in it. I highly recommend reading it.
June 10, 2023
If you loved the Augarten series you will adore this book. The world-building is just as strong in this and I enjoyed every minute of it.
August 28, 2023
A Sweet Read
Another delightful book from Charlie Godwyne. Wren and Uli’s bond is sweet and heartwarming and the world building here is immense.
Another delightful book from Charlie Godwyne. Wren and Uli’s bond is sweet and heartwarming and the world building here is immense.
September 6, 2023
a beautiful magic world is being built and characters are showing us this magic in the series.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews