Wick

Misfit Wick #1

by Megan Derr

Four tales of men who refuse to be molded... Swordwick is the story of a prince who dares to wield both blade and wick—until he must pretend to be something else for the sake of his sister. Odd Wick tells the tale of a wick of extraordinary genius who wants nothing more than the ordinary Captain serving as his escort. Songwick is the tale of a wick of incredibly rare ability, desperate to escape a miserable past and find a bright future... Flamewick relates the story of a man as fierce as the flames he controls, until that which he holds most dear is stolen from him, and one man alone is not enough to get it back.

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance, Romance, Magic, Anthologies, LGBT, Short Stories

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 13, 2012

About the author

Megan is a long time resident of queer romance and keeps herself busy reading and writing it. She is often accused of fluff and nonsense. When she’s not involved in writing, she likes to cook, harass her wife and cats, or watch movies. She loves to hear from readers and can be found all over the internet.

meganderr.com
patreon.com/meganderr
meganderr.blogspot.com
facebook.com/meganaprilderr
meganaderr@gmail.com
@meganaderr

Reviews

[Heller · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting fantasy anthology that focuses around Wicks, people who have certain innate abilities that manifest when they are children. It's a interesting fantasy concept these stories focus mainly around one group of men who know each other from the Academy where they were taught to control their power.

Some of the stories worked better for me but they're all nice little bits of fantasy if you're in the mood for a non-contemp MM. One of the best parts of the stories are the familiars that all the Wicks have, these are animals that bond to them when their wickpower is revealed. The conversations between Wick and familiar are fun. Loved them.

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall 3.5 stars

This anthology contains 4 short stories about wicks and while not all are on par with Megan Derr's best, I still enjoy most of it...

Swordwick: 3.5 stars

Hollowick is a swordwick and grade five mindwick -- but he must hide his being a swordwick for the sake of his sister that is getting married to the King of Draius. This is the shortest from all four, I think, and the conflict comes from Hollowick's hiding his real identity from his love interest, Fenwick, the King's brother. It's cute enough for me to enjoy it ... ALTHOUGH, I must say that the familiar animals (both Holly and Fen have unicorns) are more amusing than the men.

Odd Wick: 3.75 stars

Tokiwick is a charmwick, best friend of Hollowick. Roswick is the Captain of Swordwick at Kingdom of Draius. I like this story the most because both men are endearingly stupid *lol*. Both cannot talk about their feelings, think that they are not worth enough for the other. Tokiwick thinks he is not charming and beautiful enough for Roswick. Roswick thinks he is not smart enough for the genius Tokiwick. Again, their familiars are giving the entertainment here ^_^

Songwick: 3 stars

Lyrawick is a Lord Professor at the Academy and a songwick -- his ability is to enchant others with the power of his voice. But Lyrawick doesn't have an easy life, he is badly abused as student at the Academy. When the life of a songwick child is threatened, Lyrawick brings the child into Kingdom of Draius, where he meets again with Wenwick, who used to be his professor -- and one he had crushed on long time ago.

I feel that this one is the most underdeveloped. I don't have enough 'feel' for Lyrawick, even with his painful life. And I don't get his relationship with Wenwick that much. Wenwick is just a mystery for me.

Flamewick: 3.5 stars
Creawick -- Tokiwick's brother -- is ready to expose the bad things that has happened at the Academy, when his family is kidnapped. On the way to save them, he is badly attacked. Brought to Kingdom of Draius, Creawick must swallows his pride and let other people help him, including the kind healwick, Elawick, who seems to be one of the few person who can see him beyond the surface.

Creawick is notably the most frustratingly exasperating character from Megan Derr that I have read. He is so interesting because in Odd Wick he is introduced as a bastard, the big brother that gives Tokiwick heartbreak all his life. It's very interesting to read this story, because there are so much more to Creawick than just the bad guy. That he also endures pain and torture, but he strives to be the best. This story changes my initial opinion of him, which of course a lesson for me to remember that there's always two sides of a story. Unfortunately, the romance is not very convincing for me

[Query · Rating 1 out of 5]

I expected better from Megan Derr. Instead, we're treated to some hamfisted writing and overwrought plotlines. The first story is about the swordwick in the summary falling for a crystal wick, who calls him a bloodthirsty and greedy liar while he's fainting from blood loss after saving this crystal wick's life. The crystal wick's brother then orders the swordwick and his sister (the crystal wick's brother's fiance) locked up until they can be sent away. Our swordwick decides that this wonderful man is his sister's one shot at happiness in life and that he must run away to make it possible. The sister stays and lives happily ever after while sparing a thought or two for her brother. Eventually, our heroes make up and have their HEA.

The second story is about two people who spend the entire time going on about how they aren't good enough for the other. Their familiars speak in the same exact voice--a condescending and teasing tone. Actually, they speak in the same tone too, even though they're supposed to come from two completely different countries and opposite class backgrounds.

The third story is about a man who was beaten and abused by literally every adult in his life minus one. It's at this point that I stopped reading, because this was just way overdone.

[Jyanx · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just the kind of sweet fantasy I expect from this author. While not all of the stories were perfect they were just what I was in the mood for. The name of the familiar in the last story thought, Brightheart, sorry I'm a product of my generation so instead of a bad ass Griffon all I could think of was

[Natalie H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unintentional re-read 2020.

That moment when you buy a new book only to realise too late it’s a new edition to one you already own. Still I loved the small stories making a bigger picture, my favourite still being Flamewick. The only differences I could tell was the new shiny cover and the addition of Frostwick, so all wick stories are now together.

As per the first time around I enjoyed all the stories. I liked the familiars and the mind speech. The various wicks were interesting. Probably what I liked most was how you can like or hate a character in one story and then switch on the next. I’m looking forward to Massy’s story.


2018

A collection of four stories that are enjoyable and fun to read. My favourite is a toss up between the third and last. I’d say the last since everyone is in it. The first is about truth, the second insecurity, the third forgiveness and the fourth true colours. Misunderstandings cause a lot of problems. I would say my favourite character was Elawick. Favourite familiar was Harle.

[❂ Endless · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can I say cheesy?

I think I'll say cheesy...The first one was the best out of the 4...IMO.
For me, the best element of these stories was the world building and the different wicks and their familiars - not how they talked though..."my beloved" or "my melody"...ohh cheesy!

Okay you get the idea, but still, worth a read if you're looking for something sweet. :)

[Cole Riann · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Another treat to read. Solid Megan Derr.

Swordwick - 4 stars
Odd Wick - 4.5 stars
Song Wick - 4.5 stars
Flamewick - 4.5 stars

[Deeze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swordwick

A nice enough tale, but I was left slightly confused on the whole “wick” theme. A little more explanation of the different kinds and what the could do and how they were perceived would have been nice for me.

I can't say this was much more that a 2.5 stars read though.


Odd Wick

Now this was much more my taste. Absolutely loved Toki and Harle lol. Roswick and Toki were perfect too, and Waltz just added to the cast.

I love the under dog stories and this one was perfect, except again I did not get my full payback 4 stars


Songwick

Loved this one too. My only complaint is there is not enough detail. While these are lovely little shorts, I do find myself wishing I knew more of what happened in the past. For example just how did Creawick and Lyrawick become best friends? Still its a 4star read for me.


Flamewick

Never thought I could possibly like let alone love Creawick. Just goes to show you can never judge a person till you know all the facts. A wonderful tale, that I even got a teeny bit of revenge in. Massy stole the story though, albeit not till the end. I did have a small niggle regarding Elawick. Honestly at first I though he was a she, and in fact throughout the story Elawick could easily of been a female. 4 stars


Overall I really enjoyed this stories, but I can't help feeling so much was left out. A little more detail on Wicks and their power at the beginning would have been helpful. I also wanted more explanation on who was behind Toki's banishment, and why, as obviously my earlier assumptions were way off.

Going with a 5 star rating because despite my niggles and the first story not capturing me as much, the rest had me eager to read more.

[Deja Dei · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable. Cliche. Some good world building but the cheesy dialogue killed it.

[blub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swordwick...
Is a story about Prince Hollowick escorting his sister to a neighboring kingdom so she can meet her betrothed. Hollowick is a swordwick, a wick that is hated, feared and distrusted. Hollowick must hide who he truly is for the sake of his sister's happiness. During his visit at said kingdom he meets Fenwick...what will happen when the truth can't be hidden anymore?

Oddwick...
Tells the story of Hollowick's trusted friend Tokiwick. Tokiwick(Toki) is a genius with the knowledge of several languages. Roswick is the captain sent by Hollowick to fetch Toki to the castle. What will happen when two complete opposites come together?

Songwick...
Is the tale of Lyrawick, who is a songwick, a very rare wick that can influence people via song. Lyrawick must escape the clutches of the academy with another songwick, in doing so, he will need the aid of Wenwick, the professor he was once infatuated. What will become of Lyrawick and his mission and will he get his happily ever after?

Flamewick...
Focuses on Creawick, a powerful flamewick and brother to Toki and best friend to Lyrawick. Creawick quiet fight against the academy has finally blown up in his face. His family is taken captive and in the process of going to their rescue he is injured...how will this strong willed individual persevere?

I absolutely loved Oddwick the best out of all the stories. Megan Derr has a way of making reader's hate some of her characters and then twisting them so reader's will see them in a whole new light. This is a great read although I have to warn others that there is a few grammatical errors. Ignoring that, it is an enjoyable read and very hard to put down once you get started.

[TT · Rating 4 out of 5]

I accidently started reading Frostwick first and I was thinking as I did that I would love more of this world. The more characters introduced into volume 1.5, the more I realized there probably WAS another book! So I found this one and quit the other midway to begin reading this.

Loved the world building, the familiars especially; naughty unicorns, snarky dragons, patient and loving owls and panthers, and a very supportive Griffin. I liked most of the couples, like the two princes in Swordwick (each with carnal minded unicorns-I think Gary from the ‘Lightning Struck Heart’ would be proud). I also quite liked Oddwick, the absent minded scholar and the swordwick soldier, each thinking the other couldn’t possibly be interested, nice angst! Songwick was alright, the story of a youngish, abused music magic professor who is reunited with his mentor he crushed hard on from afar but was disappointed when his mentor appeared to have chosen another. And finally Flamewick, the story of a very proud/cranky (rude) man who expects a lot of others and of himself but who softens when confronted with a soft spoken but determined curly haired healer he just can’t resist. Too bad he’s in the middle of trying to save his family (and berating the ‘goodie-goodie’ brigade) to take time out for romance.

Overall a lovely collection and I quite enjoyed these!

[Eepa *mm loving bookworm* · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great collection! There are 4 stories and nice small cast of characters that the stories follow as each one of them finds that perfect other for themselves. It was great to find a collection of short stories/novellas that used the same setting and cast so that you can follow old couples at the same time you get a story for a new one. And also you don't have to try and learn a new world with each story but instead you get a much better overall understanding of the world with every story.

I really liked the world building and how the reader's knowledge of magic, the "wick" of this world was gradually expanded in the stories. It was much more varied and complex system than I first thought. I would have loved more knowledge about the different wicks and what those can do but these were shorts or short novellas so you can't have every detail explained.

I remember some people have complained about the names being too similar but I didn't have any problems with them initially. I memorized the first part of the name so I didn't confuse all the *wicks with each other. My problem became later when there was Fenwick, Wenwick and Kenwick all in the same story and I was misreading the names most of the time. They all ran happily together for me. x)

[Christine]

This is fairly typical Megan Derr, create a universe out of nowhere, add in a bunch of interesting characters, shake to combine. I love how Derr manages to take one set of events and present it from all sides, while allowing the characters to find love along the way. This is essentially the consequences of miscommunication, along with some bullying, and the long term consequences of these actions....with LGBTQ+ themes and magic throw in for good luck. I appreciate how Derr creates universes where two men, or two women, being together is not seen as unusual at all. In one of the tales within this book there is a character whose 'familiar' is of a different gender than the character themselves and this was said to be unusual...I feel that if she were to include that detail that should have been normalized as well, or something more made from it. However, these are just short stories/perspectives that make up the complete view of an event and Derr has a tendency to go back and flesh out these sort of tales in future updates. Hopefully she will continue that trend and the gender discrepancy can be fleshed out/explained/celebrated.
All in all, this was a good reminder of why I keep going back and reading the books that Derr writes.

[M'rella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raw? Unfinished? Rushed? All that and more, unfortunately.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, fantastical, uncomplicated read. Highly recommended, especially for a lazy-minded, curl up on the sofa, need to escape kind of day.

[pauliree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm, not sure about this one. Enjoyed but don't know what to say.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Megan Derr 's books are my drug. Once again she managed to brighten my day with stories about magic and friends and love, perverted unicorns and adorable dragons <3

[Relly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

This book consists of 4 interconnecting stories.
The first one was the slowest and hardest but it had to set the world and the subsequent stories furthered the world building and friendship group.

Hollowick and Fen's story actually annoyed me a bit. I understood he was hurting and took off but I couldn't believe Hollowick would leave his sister there when they were both accused of lying to the king.

My favourite was Lyra and Wenwicks story. My heart went out to Lyra and what he went through as a child. The way he protected Amanda was lovely.

I loved Toki and his dragon. when he was in the wrong he took it on board. Roswick was a great partner for him. When they both got out of their heads and understood the other was interested they were a great pair.

Creawick was an interesting character. Even seeing him through Elawick's eyes and knowing his back story he still came across rude and abrasive. I did enjoy the glimpses of real Creawick when he made an appearance.

[Justyna Małgorzata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but not great. I had a bit of trouble with characters' names, as they all end with -wick - I got them mixed up sometimes and had to pause for a moment to think who was Fenwick and who was Wenwick. The world building and the whole wicks concept could use a bit more polishing. The plot is rather simple and predictable. Adversaries and secondary characters are one-dimensional. The protagonist were mostly okay. Some of the romances were told form from two POV's. It was interesting to see another side of Creawick and Toki - especially in Lyra's eyes. I quite liked the familiars and the way they communicated. Elawick was my favorite character, I think. They all get their HEA, of course, but the way all eight of them are conveniently thrown together is a bit cliche. Overall, 3 stars.

[Kou Namiya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Megan Derr's world building and characters, but I agree with many others that short stories can never be as good as longer books. I prefer there be time for detailed world building, time for me to fall in love with the characters. Short stories are always over before I can get properly attached. They're just little glimpses, and they tend to leave me wanting more.

I found all stories okay, although they were kind of cheesy, and the familiars and their dialogue was cringey with the exception of Tokiwick and his little dragon - those two were endearing.

My favorite story was that of Creawick, the most interesting character in my opinion. I love characters that are misunderstood, come across as assholes when in fact they aren't even so bad.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Several paranormal action stories with MM romance. Each outing features a pair of men who think their love interest hates them. They are all set in the same world, with overlapping characters in each adventure. They all have familiars (animals) who are wiser than the ones they are bonded to. Some repetitive dialogue. All people have names that end in "-wick," which gets a bit confusing.
Typos: some missing or extra words or letters, spelling error, sentence fragment, misplaced quotation marks, missing comma, wrong verb tense, "eminent" for imminent (I believe the author has made this same error previously), "story book" for storybook, "If they connected themselves to him in anyway" should be "any way," two words.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of stories. Spanning across several men with magical abilities, or Wick, who have been outcasts in one way or another. They find their place in the world, or they make it, along with finding someone to share their life with along the way. I loved how the stories interconnected and one person's perspective didn't always match that of the person in the next story. It was fun and hot, yet beautiful and touching at times. Great book!

[Nix Buttons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple stories with varying characters, immediate attraction, lots of awkwardness, magic and familiars. I liked them and will probably read this book again in the future. The characters were nice and the familiars were fun. A good literature snack that is entertaining but also an easy read and rather simple as far as the writing goes.
Though I recommend reading it as a whole book.

[Shayla Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything written by Megan Derr is a winner for me (except Lucos Heat). Honestly this book was moy confuso for me in the beginning as the powers the characters possessed wasn't explained in a way that made sense but the further you read the more it'll come to you.

[Indira Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome as always.

[Omega696 · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was another interesting world and magic types.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

So interesting! The characters as are ridiculously fascinating to me, or maybe its the familiars I find fascinating.

[Emilye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wick1

A new magic system. An unusual range of familiars. A nice group of related stories.

[Soraya · Rating 5 out of 5]

These four stories are tightly interlocked, with shared characters and a progressing plot.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved all four stories. Thanks Carey. :)