Averlon

Trident Cove #1

by Devon Vesper

Slave to a feared pirate captain, Faolan Davenport dreams of escape. Fate answers his plea in the form of a handsome mer prince. Pleasure slave Faolan Davenport longs for freedom from the infamous pirate, Captain Vincent Deverell. When the ship’s fishing nets catch two mermen, he’s determined to set them free. If he can’t find freedom for himself, he will ensure they return to the sea. Averlon, crown prince of the merpeople, knows his fated mate is aboard that ship. His plan to retrieve him? Get caught, grab his mate, and fight his way back into the ocean. But Faolan is human and afraid of his master’s wrath. So when the captain demands Averlon and his bodyguard retrieve a sunken treasure in exchange for their freedom, Averlon agrees, if only to give himself time to plot their escape from the obvious trap. Will Averlon and Faolan escape the dangers of their journey and start a new life together? Find out in Averlon, a heart-pounding, captivating gay romance. Don’t miss this tale of love, adventure, and the lengths two men will go to save the one they love. Buy now! Averlon is the first book in the mm fantasy series Trident Cove , but it does not need to be read in order to enjoy the series. Tags : Spoiled princes grow up real fast when their mates are in danger, Averlon promises to be a good boy, he is not a good boy, Revyn is grumpy because his best friend is not a good boy, Faolan is too shy for his own good until he finds a hottie, hottie happens to be a fishman, fishmen sure are pretty, wait there are no female mermen?, how do they make babies?, Faolan learns that practicing making babies is fun, too bad they’re stuck on a pirate ship, they should maybe remedy that

Genres: M M Romance, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal

302 pages, Paperback

Published August 25, 2023

About the author

If there’s one thing Devon likes most, it’s chaos. They have a chaotic mind and a messy house, and they throw their characters into every calamitous situation possible. When they aren’t writing, they’re editing or formatting other authors’ works, building websites, creating graphics, reading, playing video games, or watching Fortnite streams on Twitch. They like to stay busy. So yes. Chaos.

Working full time, Devon spends as much time as they can talking to their readers. So if you want to get in touch with them, join their Facebook Group Devon’s Dreamers’ Den, or their newsletter, or email them directly at devon.vesper@gmail.com.

Reviews

[Amur Thera · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good
    + Averlon risking it all to save Faolan
    + Revyn. He's a great friend
    + Faolan taking care of Averlon and Revyn as well as he can
    + Faolan's happiness whenever Averlon was proud of him for something
    + All the merpeople immediately thinking of ways to save Averlon's human mate. Nobody expected Averlon to give up on him


The neutral
    o I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. My review remains honest and unbiased
    o I didn't really like Averlon's surviving father. Who loses their mate and then denies their son the chance to find his own fated mate? I guess it was convenient for plot reasons, though…


The bad
    - Faolan was a pleasure slave, but he didn't get treated like one at all. It was obvious the captain was a horrible person, but because he didn't want to touch Faolan until he was healthy (out of sexual preference, not out of kindness) Faolan acted like he was a nice person. Even after the captain physically abused him and sexually assaulted him
    - Faolan had a horrible past and was traded and sold as a pleasure slave, yet the connection between Faolan and Averlon was 95% sex-focused. It's fine to be sexually attracted to each other, but it was like Faolan's trauma was conveniently forgotten by himself and completely ignored by Averlon just so they could think about dicks
    - There were quite a few plot holes and a lot of convenient circumstances
    - Faolan had access to the cells of Averlon and Revyn almost since the beginning, yet they never came up with a plan to escape until the very end. There was no reason that plan couldn't have been set in motion long before that


The plot didn't make a lot of sense, and the world building was very minimal. However, I still liked the characters and I enjoyed reading this book. There were many things that often annoy me, but didn't bother me as much this time. So yes, I would recommend this one if you're okay with pretending the plot makes sense and just want to read about cute mermen falling in love.

[S a n d r a · Rating 2 out of 5]

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Rating: ⭐✨

I'm sorry to say I didn't like this one. And it's a pity because the blurb sounded promising and the overall idea was real good! But the execution... Urgg.

This was one of those times when I feel like I'm reading fanfiction more than a novel. And not to say every fanfiction is bad or poorly written (there are pretty good ones, actually), but I'm referring to those fanfics where everything is so irritatingly convenient, things don't really make sense all the time and the characters are not that deep.

All those things could be applied here.

I mean, we have Faolan, supposedly a pleasure slave bought by an evil pirate captain... who doesn't "use" Faolan's services even once even though he's a slave for most of the books. Was it necessary to make him a "pleasure" slave? What was the point? Just make him a slave if you don't have the heart to make Faolan go through something like that!

And it's ok if the author wants the main character to be the pure virginal kind of guy... but be coherent with that and don't try to make his stay in the ship that of a sex slave. Because Faolan was mistreated, yes, but he never was that kind of slave. And it's ridiculous to try and make the super evil and aggressive captain to be "tender" and "understanding" of the boys' desires, boys he paid to own for...

Also, to call Faolan naive would be too gentle. He's plain stupid sometimes. When he tells the cap of Averlon's status, for once, but there are many more situations when he had me rolling my eyes.

Everything related to Faolan's half-mer status and the way they take him and the other half-mer to the depths of the sea was, again, too fckng convenient. As well as the captain suddenly being the same one who killed Averlon's Pater... and the only explanation for him and another two humans to be able to escape his Father's rage was that "they probably had some kind of artifact that made them invisible to his Father's wrath". For real?

Everything is conveniently explained in this book. Do we have a half-mer who can't breathe underwater? No problem at all! Do we need an explanation for him not to be aware of his half-mer condition? Worry not! Past memories unlocked and problem solved!

I could keep going but I find it unnecessary. This was my first time reading the author but it wasn't the only book I wanted to read by him... Now, I will have to check if this kind of style is a trademark of his or not, because if it is... I don't think I will be reading more.

[Joscelyn Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable series opener

Faolan's journey was kind of like the little mermaid, but in reverse. He and Averlon were wonderful characters, but I have to say that their sexy times decisions were a bit impulsive and ened in some dangerous fallout. They had to shed blood, sweat, and tears, but they got their happy ending. I'm looking forward to reading more of this underwater world.

[Heather♥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I wanted to love this book. It had so much potential. But I just couldn't suspend disbelief over certain things (a lot of which seemed to contradict themselves) and I also had way too many questions (like a lot) that never seemed to be answered.

The biggest issue I had was that Faolan was purchased for the sole purpose of being a pleasure slave by a man described as evil and cruel. And yet for months Faolan was able to avoid expected duties of a pleasure slave simply by telling the captain no?

Faolan was warned repeatedly about the captain's jealousy and that he wouldn't tolerate anyone touching his property. So he thought it was a good idea to have sex with Averlon in the brig where anyone could come down and see them?

Faolan was onboard for months and never knew there was a mer in the brig? Was Kragos held prisoner for the entire year after Averlon's omega father died? And how exactly did Kragos die? It was said that Miggins murdered him, but how? Miggins was being tortured daily by keelhauling. Why did Kragos have his tail on the ship when they usually had legs while out of the water?

If mer basically lived forever and were able to heal serious wounds, why couldn't Averlon's pater (who also had high priest magic) heal from a broken neck, and how exactly did he get a broken neck in a fishing net? I'm having trouble picturing a net closing under water with enough force to snap a mer neck. What did the captain do with his body afterward, especially since their ship was destroyed in retaliation?

Who was Faolan's mer father? There were no females in mer culture, and it was forbidden to impregnate a human female. Faolan remembered seeing scales on the wall of their home after his step-father apparently killed his mer father. So based on the color of the scales and mer magic, they were supposed to be able to identify who his mer father was. Especially when it became known that Faolan had mer priest magic.

If Faolan had mer priest magic and healed his raw bloody back after being whipped in a matter of hours, why did he walk around with bruises and a head injury for days/weeks?

Averlon and Revyn couldn't escape while the guard medallion was across the bars of their cells. But Faolan removed the medallion and unlocked their cells several times a day to give them food and clean their cells. And yet they never thought of escaping that way, especially after it was clear Faolan wanted to help them? Revyn was released from his collar to work on bringing treasure up to the surface. With the medallion removed by Faolan surely Averlon could pulse enough magic to break the chain to his collar without needing the keys worn around the captain's neck?

What happened to Karn once they made it back to the underwater kingdom?

Then there were simple editing/continuity issues. (1) Revyn had to be carried to bed due to sheer exhaustion after each long day of bringing up sunken treasure. But on the last night he suddenly had the energy to give Faolan lessons on how to fight with his trident and to spar with him? (2) During the battle Averlon told Kelphar, the captain of the royal guard, that his mate was still on the ship. Then several paragraphs later Kelphar asks where Averlon's mate is. (3) After the battle Averlon fretted about how to bring Faolan back to his kingdom. When his guard Vracen suggested putting him in an abyss bag, Averlon told him he was a genius. Did Averlon forget the conversation he had with Revyn where Revyn suggested the very same thing right after they met Faolan?

The bones were there but unfortunately it felt incomplete because my mind still wanted additional answers. :(

[Gabriela · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved!!

Each new Devon Vesper book I read is like a warm hug. Always with high adventure but I swear like love bombing in book form in the best way possible! Would pay all the monies in the world for more trident cove.

[Elizabeth D · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 I don’t know how to feel about this book. I liked the bones of this world, the idea of the mer, their alpha and omega gender and their peaceful, positive society. I liked both Faolan and Averlon, as well as Revyn and Karn. Otherwise, fully 80% of the book is spent with Faolan in captivity (and nearly as long for Averlon). So there is nearly unrelenting threat of violence and assault for almost the entire book. (A content warning at the front of the book would definitely not go amiss!) Almost every single person on the ship is terrible, and this is interspersed with tiny moments where Faolan and Averlon get to spend a tiny bit of time together. So it was really hard for me to enjoy what I was reading.

I was very relieved that the Captain didn’t actually assault Faolan (I couldn’t have read the book if he did), but I found it completely inexplicable for his character. He is mean, regularly kills his own crew for crossing him, and actively enjoys hurting people. But he won’t touch Faolan unless he is willing? Even though that’s his sole purpose as a pleasure slave the Captain purchased for this reason? This strained credulity for me (even though I was grateful from a reading content perspective).

Averlon and Revyn really didn’t seem to try that hard to get free (I guess they were waiting for the guard and/or Faolan to be ready?), and it seemed truly unbelievably foolish to me that Averlon and Faolan risked making out when anyone could see them and they knew it would enrage the captain. (Especially right before they’re about to try for their freedom. I mean, come on, you couldn’t wait one more day.) The fact that Averlon dove over the side of the ship without checking his beloved mate was actually with him boggled my mind. Also, he seemed to make no real attempt to find Faolan underwater despite it becoming pretty quickly apparent that the message of what he looked like did not make it to all the warriors. Faolan was under constant threat from the pirates and the mer in a way that I just found bizarre.

Then we finally arrive at the fascinating mer world where the following happens:

The very first day that Faolan wakes up, he’s taken to be changed into a mer. Then Averlon spouts a nice line about it being all his choice, but it’s literally as he’s surrounded by the priests. They ask if he has questions and he has many, but he can’t get them out, and just gives the go ahead. Not even a day to think on it? The chance for them to provide him with info?

Then, he’s apparently not prepped for what the wedding ceremony will be like (he says he doesn’t know what to expect except that he’s learned telepathy), and then the King ambushes them with the fact that he’s stepping down and it’s now a coronation.

And *then* Faolan goes into a heat he didn’t know about and learns he can get pregnant. His first question is if they can do this at the dry palace instead of in the water, he’s assured that his alpha will do what he wishes … and then Averlon immediately proposes starting in the water. (He does say that it’s with Faolan’s permission, and Faolan accepts, but … really?)

Faolan is supposedly a beloved fated mate, but let me tell you how absolutely none of that makes me feel like his mate is respecting the autonomy (bodily and otherwise) of someone who was recently sold into slavery and couldn’t call their life their own. (On top of, you know, common courtesy.) I mean, I do like all of these characters, and Faolan seemed way less upset than I am, but I felt like it was a tone deaf section where someone who is apparently multi-millennia old could surely be more patient and more thoughtful towards his partner.

The mer magic is fascinating, but it’s never made clear how it works and how it’s tied to the amulets (which made some of the imprisonment and healing very confusing, not to mention that one of the greatest healers of the mer can apparently have his neck snapped by a jerking fish net underwater, this was impossible to envision), and we never find out more about Faolan’s actual parentage. I would have really liked a decrease in just how long they were stuck on the ship and more time in the mer world where we could have learned more and gotten some answers and some more sweet moments.

I received an ARC from GRR. This is my honest review.

[Ashley -Goldstarreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tale of Averlon and Faolan is filled with angst, abuse, pirates and in the end love and soulmates and wondrous things. We start our journey with Faolan in the slave pens, being trafficked as a pleasure slave. He was sold by his family to help pay their debts. A pirate purchases him and off the sail. Averlon feels his soulbond mate call out to him and goes to save him. Except, he gets him and his brother Revyn in a sticky situation where they are also now captives of the pirates. That is when Averlon and Faolan start to get to know one another. And that is a beautiful thing.

Faolan is smart, he plays and manipulates those around him to help save himself. He is fierce, determined, sweet and kind. He’s been given a rotten lot in life but it turns out for the best. If not for his rotten lot, who knows if he would have ever met Averlon. Sometimes you have to go through hell to find. Heaven and get your HEA.

Averlon is a kind and gentle warrior prince of his people. He is well loved and loves others. He and his kingdom are still grieving the loss of Aveon’s omega parent. You can feel their grief, it was well written to wrap that emotion around your heart. And again we see where fate worked it’s magic to help bring Averlon and Faolan together.

This story had so many different emotions. You had to deal with the reality of human trafficking back when a time it was out in the open. It’s such a hard topic to read about. It helps add a layer of emotion that is evoked in the readers. This story is a slow burn, though still high heat when we get there. These two were hot together. It is told in dual first person POV. Strict top/bottom. Alpha and Omega, mpreg, though not shown in the book. There are heats and knotty fun. The Mers are described so beautifully that I could see their elaborate and stunning scales and fins in my mind. I loved the descriptions of their graceful movements. It is an excellent start to a wonderful world building. I was left with a few questions at the end…some of the side characters just disappeared once they were off the boat and it left me confused. I won’t say anything further cause I don’t want to give spoilers to the story away. And that is the only complaint I have and it’s not a very big one. I very much enjoyed reading this mer tale though. These warrior alpha and omega mer people were fascinating. This world was intriguing and I want more of it. The writing was very well done.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Averlon is the first book in a new series, Trident Cove, by Devon Vesper. In classic Vesper style, we get action, a bit of darkness, and cuddly sweet romance. It appears that the world in which this book transpires also ties into a few of their other works, so that will be interesting to explore.

Sold by his family into what they believed to be indentured slavery, Faolan is put in the pleasure slave pens and up for auction. He catches the eye of a man he immediately knows is evil; Pirate Captain Deverell. Once on board the ship, he is guided by the medic, Karn, in ways to stay safe, but his life is full of abuse and fear. He lives each day hoping he will not have to lay with the dreaded man.

Averlon is the crown prince of Zilacen, the mer kingdom under the sea. His father is in deep mourning following the death of his consort, Averlon’s pater. As the king’s depression begins to become too much, Averlon feels the pull of his true mate.

I really liked this book. From the darkness of Faolan’s experiences onboard The Hanging Witch to the bond between Averlon and his best friend and bodyguard, Revyn, to the battle between humans and mers on the open sea, the story kept me engaged. The fated mates romance was overly sweet at times, but I’ve come to expect that in Vesper books, and it hasn’t turned me away yet. The sexy times were steamy once they started, but that was a bit on in the book. Mpreg is definitely a part of the mer world, but it was only discussed in this installment. I found their explanation of the origins of the mer interesting, and I’d like to dig deeper into that, but I’ll have to see what comes in the series.

Overall, I’m excited to see where this story leads to next. The book ends rather abruptly, but it’s definitely a HFN, if not a HEA. I didn’t see a lot of foreshadowing toward the plot of the next installment, so I’m not sure what direction the next book will take, but I’ll be sure to pick it up when it comes out.

Happy reading!

* I received a free copy of this book and am leaving my honest review. *

[Merissa (Archaeolibrarian) · Rating 4 out of 5]

AVERLON is the first book in the Trident Cove series and it is a wonderful beginning to the series!

We start off with Faolan in the slave pits. This was a heavy start but really well-written. Faolan gets sold to a pirate captain who is paradoxical in many ways. He has bought a 'pleasure slave' and gets insanely jealous if anyone else touches him, BUT he doesn't want to touch him himself unless he is free of bruises and/or injuries. Being as most of the crew don't like the fact the Captain has a pleasure slave at all - when they have to wait for shore leave - this means Faolan has injuries most of the time, which is good for him!

Averlon is the Mer prince, together with his bodyguard and best friend, Revyn. When he feels the mate bond, he goes in search of his mate. His plan is to be captured by the pirates so he meets the Mer onboard. Of course, it isn't a Mer but Faolan instead.

There were a few examples of behaviour not making much sense - for example when they escaped from the boat. I couldn't understand why Averlon would jump off first, leaving his mate in possible peril, as the biggest danger was behind them (the pirates/captain etc.) not in front of them. I would also have liked Faolan to have had more of a voice at times. I felt he needed more time to understand becoming a Mer, but didn't say anything. I also understand he was in the honeymoon period, but I wish he had spoken up when Averlon went against what Faolan wanted. If there is a good reason it had to be done a certain way - great! Tell Faolan about it so the reader can find out too.

All in all though, this was a great book that made me realise I haven't read a good Mer story in far too long. I look forward to finding out what happened to Karn once they hit the water. 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!
Sep 10, 2023

[Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faolan cannot believe his family sold him into sexual slavery. His master is a pirate, Captain Vincent Deverell and all he wants is to escape. When two merman are captured, Faolan is determined to set them free. Averlon is the Crown Prince of his people while Revyn is his bodyguard. He feels strangely and powerfully attracted to Averlon, but he must concentrate on setting them free even if he is not. When Deverell demands they retrieve some sunken treasure, Averlon agree to give them time to plan an escape. Averlon knows the escape will be for all three.

There are so many delights in this story that start with Averlon’s appearance. Faolan had been sold into slavery by his family and left him with deep feelings of betrayal and sadness. He felt very little until Averlon appeared. Then he had a goal. Averlon has a goal as well and Faolan was his goal. It also turns out that there are only mermen. This fact confuses Faolan and then he is surprised to learn the truth. This was quite an enjoyable read with a new world for me to appreciate. I am looking forward to more books set in this world and I do wonder what happened to the good doctor.

I received an ARC of this book and voluntarily reviewed it to my pleasure. The opinions are my own.

[Theresa Derwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Hot Water and Finding Home

Set during an historical pirate era, Faolan is sold by his family as a slave and bought by a doctor - Karn - for his pirate boss Deverell, who wants the young redhead as a pleasure slave.
Fao has always felt at home in the sea, so at least ending up in a ship is a bonus. However Dev is cruel and though he doesn't force Fao to bed him, Fao knows he's running out of time whilst being a basic shiphand slave.
Merman Averlon and his bodyguard Revyn are captured by the captain and Revyn is put to work salvaging treasure whilst Alveron is kept caged and looked after by Fao, who is his mate.
There's a lot more to the story than that, and involves attempts to escape and recover artifacts the captain uses to control the mermen and Fao.
There are some issues with pacing and editing, otherwise it's a decent read.
However it picks up when we enter the mer realm and find out more about some of the characters
The chemistry and intimacy is handled well, and the potential for a modern spin off is appealing.
The found family element is always welcome. Despite some minor niggles it's an enjoyable book.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Averlon is an enjoyable adventure on the high seas.

Faolan has been sold into slavery, and a pirate captain with evil in his eyes is his new master. Dreaming of escape, he tries to make himself useful on the ship while refusing the captain’s advances as best he can.

Averlon is the mer crowned prince, and his father wants to step down. But he refuses to take the throne until he finds his fated mate, just as his ancestors have done for generations.

When Averlon feels his mate’s distress, he sets out to find him and bring him home.

If you enjoy drama, scheming, family secrets, epic showdowns, and sweet fated mate love, you’ll enjoy this.

Note that the beginning starts off dark – triggers for grief over the loss of a parent, as well as slavery of minors with mention of their prospective (terrible) fates.

[RN · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story – I absolutely loved it. Beautifully written, I was absorbed into this world from the beginning. The merfolk were pure and good, and their love for their prince was heart-warming. Averlon and Revyn’s relationship transcended that of prince and bodyguard, and they were more like best friends or brothers. The prince’s delight in his mate, and his care and concern for him were beautiful, never pushing him, never having expectations. It was surprising Faolin survived as long as he did with Deverell’s unstable behaviour. There was behaviour I thought was reckless and there were unexpected twists. I felt sad about the lost merfolk, but the sad or dark elements of the story weren’t laboured on. All in all, it was a great adventure, a great love story, and a very satisfying ending. I’m so glad I read this book and I can’t wait for more in this series

[Suzanne Irving · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many inconsistencies

There was some interesting world building under this clunky story. Too many inconsistencies and repetitive comments that I felt like giving up reading this book about a third of the way through. I feel like it needs a harsh editing and some major plot holes filled in. The biggest problem for me is that Faolan is a pleasure slave bought by an infamous pirate and yet he remains a virgin? Not even a hand or mouth? Not in anyway believable and then the author goes to great lengths to explain why nothing happens and then explains again and again and comes up with more incidents to keep the pirate from even touching Faolan who sleeps in his bed every night. Not believable! It seemed to me like Ms Vesper was trying to write a dark scary book but still keep it sweet and clean. Didn’t work.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ Good start to this new series. I’ll be honest I’m not a fan of merman mm stories so I wasn’t sure about this one but I was pleasantly surprised. Overall I love the paranormal/shifter genre and this world building was really interesting. The beginning is actually much sadder than I expected and leaves you worrying about those kids:( there was also a lot of contradictory information and loose end that I found really frustrating. There’s a lot of unanswered questions that I need answered in the next book. I think better Beta readers are needed. This took some unexpected turns which was nice and the overall writing was solid. This is only the second book I’ve read from this author and I’ll read another in this series but I’m hoping the inconsistencies are an abnormality.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an Advance Reader copy of this book and WOW it did not disappoint. I love a good merman fantasy story and with the way this opened I was a little worried with where it was going as it started at a pleasure slave auction. I should have known better then to doubt this author, once again he did not fail to keep me engaged and wanting more. What happens when the Mer Princes fated mate is human, and not where your think he should be? This is an interesting adventure from the beginning full of nasty pirates, an unwilling slave and a merprince doing what he must to find his fated mate! It states that it’s book 1 of a series and I for one can’t wait for the next adventure.

[Kkhmonrai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this first book in the Trident Cove series, but I would have liked more information on the magic of the sea people and how it all worked. Sometimes it seemed almost limitless, while other times it seemed very restricted. I also found Faolan's sudden flip from lamenting the thought of having a (death) on his conscience to killing everyone he came across odd and against character, although the author tried to explain it away later. It just didn't fit. Still, I did enjoy the story, and I would like to know more about the secondary characters, like the pirate doctor.

I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 ⭐

I was skeptical when I picked this book, as any books with merpeople are extremely difficult to write. They require much more thought-through world-building and an eye for detail than books that can use the real-world environment around us.

• Great world-building
• Main characters with personality and good backstories
• Endless opportunities for a long book series
• 4/5🌶️🔥

I loved the attention to detail all the characters had, from horny Averlon to the ship crew. I would love to read the story of Karn, Revyn, or even Kai finding a new mate.

I received a free copy of this book from Booksprout.co and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Danna Iuliana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this is my favorite, that said this was pretty boring to me. It has alot of narration instead of dialog which I never enjoy but the main thing was the story, I didn't like it much.
1st, the way Averlon& his commander were captured was so silly & anticlimatic. Second, 60%of the book is them in a cell. They felt like silly kids not mythological, powerful creatures. Yeah, yeah they were kept there by magic but there are ways to make the reader understand how powerful a character is. Also, Avi's mate learning to fight in 5 minutes & then being able to kill in cold blood half the crew😂what was that foolishness😃

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a trip, this book has a quite a punch, with Faolan beginning his story being sold as a pleasure slave. Meanwhile his mate Averlon feels his distress and goes to find him with his guard Revyn.
Both MCs end as prisoners in a pirate ship and start to fall after the other in between agressions and threats.
The descriptions of the characters create a good mental image and the story is engaging, with a great cast of characters to put you in situation.
A HEA well earnt to Faolan and a new world full of stories waiting to be told. Don`t miss this new universe.

[Raven and Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was so good! Faolan is a slave, sold by his family to be a plaything for who knows what type of depraved person. Little does he know that he will discover mers and even a secret of his own once he is sold to a merciless pirate and trapped on his ship. Averlon is his fated mate and a mer prince, determined to rescue his true mate from the clutches of the evil pirate. Pirates and merfolk and magic of the sea make for a fantastic tale. Averlon and Faolan have to fight for their chance at happiness and it was so good! I want to know what happens to Karn though!

[Nina Diab · Rating 5 out of 5]

'I finally understood what home meant.'

I loved this book! I read a umber of Devon Vesper's books- all about elves and really enjoyed them. But this book is my favorite so far. Great world building and wonderful characters. Merpeople have always fascinated me, and I loved the world Devon created with them here. I loved Faolan and Averlon. Despite the dangers, I wanted their happy ending. I also liked the supporting characters. The story was exciting and suspenseful and I was completely captivated. What a beautiful ending! A wonderful start to what I hope is an amazing new series! 5 stars.

[Cynthia M Brow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Averlon is the first book in the new Trident Cove series by Devon Vesper. This is the story of Faolan a pleasure slave and Averlon a mer prince. This story has so much happening in it that you want to keep reading until you get to the end. I love how sweet and caring Faolan is. Averlon is a strong headstrong prince. I loved all the characters. We have good guys and bad pirates. I can't wait for the next book in the series. I would definitely recommend this book.

[Demetra Roussakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy this authors book and this did not disappoint. It starts with Faolan being sold and purchased by a pirate. Averlon, is a mer prince who lost his pater in an accident. He is with his father when he feels the soul bond with his mate. After finding the ship, he and his bodyguard Revyn get on board. This started the story with how they overcame the baddie captain to their happy ever after. Great world building, chemistry and heat. Cannot wait for the next book in the series

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I’ve read by this author, it’s the first book of a new series and I enjoyed the story it starts out a bit dark and there is trigger warnings so please read them, but I thought the story was interesting and it kept my attention from start to finish, I liked Faolan and Averlon as characters and I also liked Averlon’s long suffering friend and bodyguard Revyn can’t wait to read his story.

[Tonya Kloiber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, an enjoyable and well-written story with plenty of adventure to keep the plot moving. My only gripe, and it's small and deals with the very end of the book, is that the other person who gets off the ship with them is never mentioned. I realize it's not his story, but I felt like he was a pretty important character. Maybe he's next? Either way, looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Deb Kel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not normally a lover of Mermen books nor historical romances but thought i would read as i do like Devon's writing style and loved previous books and i am so glad i did. Though the story starts out a bit dark it was interesting and kept me hooked until the end. The MC Faolan and Averlon are great characters as were some of the secondary ones which i hope will lead us into more in this series.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[MM Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn’t read the entire blurb before diving into this book, Averlon, because I saw sold into slavery and I was sold. I love dark reads and I was hoping there was something with the antagonist, the feared Captain Deverell and the main character, Faolan. As it turned out, it wasn’t what I thought. But it the story was still enjoyable to me anyway.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

He has been sold into slavery on a pirate ship but he is about to learn he has a soul mate who is a prince of the merpeople. They will need his help and they are also being told to take the throne. What is going to happen? Can he save them? Can love form? Follow him to find out how it will all go

[Nicole Deanne Veracruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a little hard to read about what Faolan had to go through. But I love him and Averlon. Even if they made some stupid choices in my opinion.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.