Waylaid

by J.M. Snyder

It's only supposed to be one night. Until it isn't.

When the Queen's guardsman enters my inn, the last thing I expect is to be propositioned. But this far north, it can get lonely at times, and my bed fits two easily enough. The guardsman is lithe and fae, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested. Besides, what's one night between grown men?

I don't expect to see him again. But rumors of war bring him back to me, and what starts as a one-off soon blossoms into so much more ...

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance, Fae

168 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 4, 2024

About the author

An author of gay erotic/romantic fiction, J.M. Snyder began in self-publishing and worked with Amber Allure, Aspen Mountain, eXcessica, and Torquere Presses.

Snyder's highly erotic short gay fiction has been published online at Amazon Shorts, Eros Monthly, Ruthie's Club, and Tit-Elation, as well as in anthologies by Alyson Books, Aspen Mountain, Cleis Press, eXcessica Publishing, Lethe Press, and Ravenous Romance.

In 2010, Snyder founded JMS Books LLC, a royalty-paying queer small press that publishes in both electronic and print format. For more information on newest releases and submission guidelines, please visit JMS Books LLC online.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slight MM romance with some slight fantasy elements, composed of scenes of the MCs meeting and having sex over an undetermined time span (presumably a couple of years). For what it is, it’s not bad.

There was one EXTREMELY glaring comment made during one of their encounters. The technology of the period is of travel by horse, yet one of the MC’s suggests the other “call in sick”! What????

[Ulysses Dietz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waylaid
By J.M. Snyder
Published by JMS Books, 2024
Four stars

What struck me most about this charming book is its intentional smallness. It is a fantasy, but not an epic—although it may all take place within the context of some larger epic story what we never experience.

What do I mean by that? The narrator of the story (whose name we never learn) is the owner of a waystation—an inn that both serves as a local tavern and a shelter for travelers. The entire story unfolds in or near the waystation.

The innkeeper inherited the waystation from his father, and has led a contented life there, at the center of his community, which is focused on farming and salt mining. It seems that humans tend to the farming, while dwarves are in charge of the mines.

In a classic “stranger walks into a bar” moment, a handsome uniformed soldier appears one day, He is on a mission for the queen, and needs a place to stay. The innkeeper points out that the rooms are unavailable because of damage from an early snowstorm. The soldier—whose name we also never learn—is a quarter elf. After a brief flirtation, he chooses to sleep with the innkeeper. I think the only significance of his being part elf is that he’s older than he looks.

That initial little seduction is no accident, and it becomes the single epic event that triggers the rest of the tale. This is a love story. It is quiet, poignant, and ultimately profound. Things happen to the elfin guard, and history happens in the world outside the innkeeper’s village; but ultimately the story is about these two youngish men in this out-of-the-way place. They are changed by their first encounter, and nothing else is ever the same

I kept expecting something to happen. Something did happen, but it happened while I was looking for something different. For all its inevitability, this love surprised me. The way love does.

Of course there’s plenty of sex in this little book, because that’s the genre and the audience. However, Snyder makes the innkeeper a gently fascinating character, and getting to know him through and through is the essence of the book. It is oddly satisfying.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this! Having the POV of the person staying in one place, and then having parts of the story brought from the guard visiting him was a cool concept and the romance was very cute. The soap scene is on thin ice though at least they mentioned it wouldn’t be ideal

[Lynn P · Rating 4 out of 5]

very sweet and enjoyable

I really enjoyed this book. It was a sweet story about love between two mature main characters. And I don’t mean mature in age, but I mean, mature in careers and emotions. It’s really very enjoyable and I highly recommend it.

[AGD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly good! Really hit the spot for me and left me feeling happy.

[Gabbi Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unexpected (an audio review)

I’m always up to trying a new author and although I don’t listen to much fantasy, this book piqued my curiosity. We have an innkeeper. A man who lives apart. He has the women in the kitchen and the tavern who do the work, but he doesn’t have anyone in his bed. The inn is so isolated that travellers who find their way to him are often on their way elsewhere.

Thus is the case of the Queen’s guardsman who enters the inn one night. The innkeeper could have sent the man on his way, but they shared one passionate night. In the morning, the gorgeous guardsman, who is fae, disappears. As the drums of war beat, though, the guardsman returns. There is an attempted assassination. The old queen passes. And still the guardsman will appear for yet another night of passion.

This could have been a repetitive and boring book, yet it wasn’t. I truly enjoyed it. Something different. I’ve spotted another book and so will be interested to see the progression of the relationship of the innkeeper and the guardsman…

Nick Johnson is a new-to-me narrator and I thought he was just amazing. I can’t wait to hear more of his work.

[R E · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely, endearing short novel with quite a few steamy scenes. We never learn the name of the narrator, a tavern keeper in a remote part of the kingdom, but we do experience his yearning, anxiety and loss. Over the course of a year and a half, a series of one night stands with a royal guardsman leave him deeply in love - but knowing that each infrequent visit by the guardsman might also be the last. In a sense, this is the story and experiences of those left behind as the heroes go on their grand adventures. Rather than thrilling escapes, daring do and a dramatic climax, we see the everyday grind and building anxiety as scraps of news finally reach the outer edges of the kingdom weeks after the events happened. Has the guardsman been killed? Has he moved on to a new love? For all that, the story remains tender, sweet, and engaging, a small jewel of a book that provides tantalizing glimpses of a much larger epic.

[Lillian Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly sweet and gentle story considering it is a series of hook ups stretched over many months or several years. It's fantasy but not on an epic scale. All of the action takes place in a way station in a small village far removed from the capital city. And we only get the point of view of the innkeeper, a man who never leaves the village.
Each meeting of the innkeeper and the Queen's guard who keeps appearing to share his bed involves them hooking up, so this story has a lot of intimate scenes, but each has something to say about the progression of the relationship. Consequently I never found the abundance of them too much.
While the background story ongoing behind them is epic in true fantasy style, the story we are given is very narrow in focus, almost selfish in its details. This fit the story perfectly.

The narrator is new to me and gave a good performance. I would definitely listen to more of his work.

[ButtonsMom2003 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook Review:
Overall – 5
Performance – 5
Story – 5

Great story and great narrator!

This is the first book I’ve read/listened to by this author. It’s also the first book I’ve listened to performed by Nick Johnson. The story grabbed me right from the start and didn’t let go. I felt the longing the innkeeper felt waiting for word from the guardsman he became so enamored with even though he thought they’d only have one night together.

Nick Johnson did a fantastic job performing this story and I will definitely look for more audiobooks that he performed. I will also be looking for more stories from J. M. Snyder.

It was a quick listen but it packed a punch for me.

A complimentary copy of this audiobook was provided to me at my request; my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author and/or narrator.

[Saskia Veldhuis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook - very good narration with a very pleasant voice.
Story - interesting plot technique with POV only of the tavern owner who doesn't travel and doesn't get much news from the happenings elsewhere in the kingdom. Lots of understandable pining, not knowing where the guardsman is and if he will ever be back. He was rather too busy making assumptions sometimes, although I liked how he treated his employees. Really weird sentence that really didn't fit - how could he suggest the guardsman could call in sick? Quite light on plot but pleasant listening nevertheless.

[Jerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story. There are inconsistencies in the language in places, where it includes modern phrases in a rural fantasy setting. Still, it’s a comforting kind of story. The MCs are in their early 40s or thereabouts. The whole thing happens on the tavern’s grounds and centers on the relationship building between the two.
The narration by Nick Johnson is amazing. This is the first book of his I’ve listened to, and there will absolutely be more! The voices, the accents, all fit together beautifully. Well done!

[Cathy Brockman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is interesting tale about a ways tatian owner and one of the princesses guardsman.
The setting is beautiful, story interesting, characters intriguing and it's really hot.
I personally wouldn't have minded a bit less intimacy and more visits and showing of their growing love than just telling of feels.
I did like the narration and accent. I think it really gave a lot of ooph to the story.

[Ellie Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful fantasy story with great worldbuilding and a captivating central romance.

I really enjoyed how this was from the lonely innkeeper's point of view, confined by his work to a remote village, with world-changing outer events personified by the Queen's guardsman he longs to stay for more than one night. A thoroughly engrossing read.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly delightful fantasy story, a wonderful read with romance, intrigue, adventure, and war. The blossoming love between the tavern owner and a Queens Guard is sweet and sexy, but their brief times together are sadly between many weeks or months apart. The emotions here of love, loss and passion kept me glued to this story.

[Fancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

adored it. the tension, the emotion, the need and passion, the quiet desperation and yet not *too* frustrating. it was about the MCs with background worldbuilding. a lot of sex but not too much.

[Ro · Rating 3 out of 5]

The connection is immediate when the green and golden-eyed guardsman comes into the bar. The barman, who is the narrator and is never named, wants this guardsman. As the story progresses, they end up in bed. This is despite the tavern having no roof due to a storm. “So, you have no beds here?....”. Well, “Only mine…”.
So begins a sort of affair. The tavernkeeper and the guardsman. One is stuck in a remote village, waiting for his man (fae) to show up, and the other is constantly out in the world. The fantasy aspect here is just slight, it is mostly these two and how a tavernkeeper falls in love. I liked them together, even though sometimes there were months when they were apart and the loneliness of our tavernkeeper was palpable.
Just an aside – the cover model looks exactly as I would have expected.
This is the first time I’ve listened to Nick Johnson narrate, and I was not disappointed. He speaks accents with ease and has enough differing voices for each character to make each individualized. This is one of the problems I sometimes have with audio—I listen on my commute to work, and if I can’t differentiate, I get lost. That didn’t happen here. His voice is melodious, and I enjoyed listening.
Reviewed for Love Bytes Reviews

[Ζωή Παππά · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the romance and the chemistry between the two main characters. I also found the setting very cozy. The world was interesting but I wish the author had included a little more world building. There was a very interesting subplot too and I'm disappointed that I didn't learn more about how things got resolved and what was going on. I liked how the narrator voiced the characters and the quality of the audiobook was great!
3,5 stars