The Wrong Familiar

Carnival of Mysteries

by Megan Derr

Ninos has been training all his life to be a sylvan mage. Trees, plants, herbs, flowers, fruits, berries, nuts—he knows them all, and he intends to use that knowledge for the good of his home, a village he has not seen in more than a decade.

The final step to becoming a full-fledged mage is the conjuring and binding of a familiar, a faithful companion and guide who will supplement his power and remain at his side the rest of his life. Instead of a sylvan familiar, like a unicorn or stag, however, something goes horribly awry and Ninos finds himself bound instead to Sinn, a raven familiar meant for dark magics.

Neither is happy about it. Ninos wants a familiar who can help him with life, with growing and restoring a place destroyed by fire and plague. Sinn should be helping to raise the dead or cast blood workings. They were never meant to meet, let alone be bound.

Bindings are permanent, however, and cannot be broken. Their only chance at setting this wrong to rights is to locate the dark mage that Sinn was meant for, hope they in turn have Ninos' true familiar, and perform a rare but not impossible switch...

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance, Magic, Paranormal, Romance, LGBT, Shapeshifters

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 17, 2024

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

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been a while since I enjoy Megan Derr's novels - probably because some of her latest books didn't interest me because of the trope she used. This one, I wholeheartedly enjoyed! I loved the whole explanation about how getting familiar was important - and the magic society as well!!

I loved the SLOW-BURN relationship part between Ninos and Sinn. Basically because Ninos thought that he got the wrong familiar - but as they traveled, the connection was getting stronger. It was ADORABLE to see Sinn being so jealous of other people who paid Ninos attention *laugh*

But again, my biggest disappointment is the the carnival itself is barely existed. Not even the NAMES of the people I know about the Carnival is mentioned here 😭

[Verdelite · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love bird bois and shape-shifting familiars, so I was all ready to love The Wrong Familiar.
However, it fell into a slightly awkward place between feeling like an adventure and a slice-of-life novel. It wasn't exciting enough for an adventure but the tone also didn't feel right for a slice-of-life.

Speaking of tone, this was one of my bigger gripes with this novel. Considering that Ninos is portrayed as someone with a kind heart, the novel felt surprisingly... bitter?
There were scenes that to me felt they didn't contribute to the story at all, such as the waiter being rude to Ninos. Since the author decided to include this part, did they consider it so important to the story to hammer in that some people suck?
And then, the repeating message of "some people are just rotten to the core, they're better off dead" was one that I was not comfortable with. Maybe in a different type of story and genre, but not in what seems to be marketed as a whimsical fantasy romance.
I like angst and edginess in my stories if they're done correctly, but the... uncharitableness in a story that should be about love felt like a tonal mismatch.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, this one is quite good. Great worldbuilding, engaging MC and other characters, and a never-boring plot. My favorite aspect, among the many good aspects, is emotionally intelligent MC and familiar. They make mistakes, they're not perfect, but they communicate, and there's none of the dorky angst too many romances fall back on. The plot's not at all what I was expecting. I loved it. It could use a line edit, mostly for missing words, but that didn't slow me down at all. :)

[Elizabeth D · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 Another reviewer described this as an uncomfortable mix between slice of life and adventure; I agree about the mix, but I actually thought it worked fairly well as long as you’re willing to mix those two. There’s also a sort of whimsical fairy tale quality, as well as a twist of a darker fairy tale style. We get our HEA, but the world still has villains and prejudice and greed.

I enjoyed the way that Ninos really gets to come into his own through the course of the novel. From a sheltered existence at his magic school, he’s suddenly confronted with a lot more real life. He and Sinn are hilarious together, and I very much enjoyed their tromping through the countryside. I didn’t expect things to unfold the way they did (though in retrospect, I should have!), and I really enjoyed it. I also liked how things were resolved with Ninos’s family. This was quirky, and I liked the place they found for themselves at the end.

[Kassu · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-⭐

It's another high fantasy Megan Derr story with a nice setting and magic. I was really pulled into this, luckily the glaringly obvious murder "mystery" wasn't the mystery here, but this turned out to be a wonderful fantasy adventure. Somehow towards the end all the great tension just sizzled off. I'm still leaving this almost 4 stars for the great two thirds or so.

Not only was the tension lost, I really didn't get the family stuff in the end at all. These people had barely been in contact with Ninos for almost two decades and there was a brother he knew nothing about, but they were just big happy family after two seconds. I don't usually get hung up on unsatisfactory endings if the rest of the book was good, but this one bugs me. I'm 🤏 close to dropping it to 3 stars.

[Mhor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sinn was adorable and Ninos was clueless

[Deeze · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love entering Megan Derrs worlds and this one did not disappoint.

I loved learning about Ninos and his plant magic. I loved the little mystery about Sinn.

The tie in with the Carnival was the only disappointing part. It really didn't feel like part of the story.

[Natalie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

September 2025
Kindle edition

This was a whole journey to get to the destination that wasn't much of a secret. It got dangerous with the imprisonment and got the MC out into the world a bit. The miscommunication bugged me, but I did like the characters. The family were pretty fun, ready to pack up and move on and the flower thing was cool.

[Christina]

2.5 Stars

[LWM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ninos & Sinn are just delightful, especially once Ninos accepted his destiny...

Great storyline, with an effortlessly magical and wonderful segue into the common attraction tying this series together. As always, I am struck by the brilliance and.creative genius that is Megan Derr. Such an amazing, imaginative master storyteller. [WARNING: a few spoilers persisted in making their appearance below!]

As a mage and his summoned magical being who was supposed to be his familiar (the summoning went awry when someone intended Ninos to die, but instead managed to send out a call for something dark, monstrous, instead getting Sinn, a manifestation of mischief in the form of a raven) Ninos and Sinn set forth on quite an adventurous journey after Ninos' mentor and advisor is discovered bludgeoned to death by a young man Ninos had considered his best friend, all because he was a lazy, cheating failure of a water mage himself. Ninos and Sinn encounter thieves, brigands, miserably wet, stormy, and frigid weather, and a near death experience that nearly costs Ninos his life had Sinn not managed to heal him. For his trouble, Sinn is taken prisoner and locked up, while Ninos later is held against his will and locked in his room, all because Sinn is discovered to be a summoned spirit of mischief.

Without revealing even more spoilers, I want to make it clear how wondrous and entertaining this book is! I have never regretted any book written by this author, and have purchased nearly every book she's written. Her world building and character development are exceptional, fantastical, magical, and riveting. The attention to detail and expansive, captivating imagery are unmatched, in my opinion. Five stars seem inadequate, but this author deserves every shining gold star awarded.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

great characters and plot

Rating: 4.5🌈

“Once more we bid you Welcome, Travelers, to Errante Ame's Carnival of Mysteries! Join us for another round of fantastic, space-and-time spanning tales by a talented group of some of the best authors to be found in M/ M romance. Whether you enjoy mystery, action, danger, or just sweet romance, there is something for everyone at the Carnival!”

Many of this author’s books are on my fantasy rec list, and I always look forward to her novels. So when I saw that the multi-authors series, Carnival of Mysteries , was releasing a 2024 group of stories, I was excited to see The Wrong Familiar: Carnival of Mysteries 2 by Megan Derr among them.

The Wrong Familiar is a story that carries so many of the great qualities that I think of when reading a Derr novel. It has a great story, as well as characters that tug at you emotionally by their depth of personality and often angst-laden histories. The themes of loss, grief, self discovery, and love are woven together in a magical journey that culminates in a dramatic ending and our heroes happily sharing a home and a future.

As with so many of Megan Derr’s characters and the worlds she has created for them to inhabit, one book isn’t enough for all the exploration i want in this world and story. There’s so much detail and depth I needed to learn more about. That cave? We don’t see them returning there?

And it’s also the main characters themselves. Ninos, a sylven mage who has spent his whole life, since the age of 5, under the care and supervision of the professors and Headmaster of Havenbright Academy of Magic in the Iron Strike Mountains. He undergoes a tremendous transformation, from the insulated, naive young man he is at the beginning to the strong, independent, intelligent and powerful mage we recognize at the end. One who has just begun to learn how to connect with and explore the range of his abilities. More, I definitely have to read more about Ninos.

And with him, that’s Sinn, his Raven familiar, partner in all things magical and a mischievous mind of his own. Sinn’s journey is part of the story’s twists and turns here but he’s a fabulous character. Sinn too needs further exploration.

Derr’s narrative delivers action packed sequences, lovely animals as side characters, her usual wild imagery in terms of aspects of elements that effect the characters, and just intriguing notions thrown hither and yonder that subtly make you wonder.

Is the plot and overall story perfectly crafted? No, the family that all but abandoned Ninos is embraced without question or hesitation. The family themselves barely outlines. That section needed further attention.

Also when the villain appears, where’s his familiar? Although Derr gave us the answer as to what happens to them afterwards. That was a very good idea. Tie up that part beforehand.

My other concern was either an editor issue or possibly printing one. But it does show that even a small mistake shouldn’t be overlooked.

Towards the beginning, on one page a secondary character’s name is Tarsok. But several paragraphs later and he appears as Tarkan. Later on when he’s come back into the narrative, his name has reverted back to Tarsok. It’s a small mistake , one that could have been easily corrected. But wasn’t. And it made me doubt and double check every single name and title in the book instead of totally investing myself into the journey as I should have done.

Things like this take me out of the story and disconnect me from the characters. And it’s a quick fix. FYI.

The Wrong Familiar: Carnival of Mysteries 2 by Megan Derr is a book I highly enjoyed and one I’m recommending. Check it out alongside the new stories in this series.

Again, terrific covers.

Carnival of Mysteries 2 -2024
🔹Rook's Time by Kim Fielding (sequel to Crow’s Fate-2023)
🔹The Wrong Familiar by Megan Derr✅
🔹The Villain Who Wasn't by Liv Rancourt
🔹Blue Lightning by BL Maxwell
🔹Magic Escaping by Kaje Harper (sequel to Magic Burning 2023)
🔹Lighting the Darkness by Eden Winters - Aug 14,2024
🔹You Can Save Me by R L Merrill-Aug 21,2024
🔹Airs Above the Ground by Rachel Langella-Sept 10,2024
🔹Go for the Climate by Ander C. Lark
🔹 Flames of the Arcane by Nicole Dennis
🔹Midnight on the Midway by Morgan Brice
🔹Dust Bowl Magic by Zam Maxfield 🔹Dragonspark by Elizabeth Silver

[Ulysses Dietz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: five stars
Review By Ulysses Dietz, Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
Name of Book: The Wrong Familiar
Series: Carnival of Mysteries
Author: Megan Derr
Publisher: the author
Release date: summer 2024
Page Count: 200
Genre: m/m paranormal

It’s a wonderful story, very well written. A young earth mage is sent off at the age of five to a private magical academy to get him away from a scene of death and disaster. Twenty years later, at the moment when his hard work is about to pay off, betrayal and tragedy leave him with a raven for a familiar—a completely inappropriate sort of creature for an earth mage.

So Ninos and the raven, named Sinn, head off on a quest into the forbidding mountain country of Darkfell to seek out blood mages, in the hopes that they will be able to correct the error and find appropriate matches for both the young mage and his wrong familiar.

Of course, it doesn’t work out that way. Not only is Sinn helpful and amusing—if mischievous—but he listens to Ninos, whose whole world has been shaken to the core, along with his ability to trust others.

Interestingly, the Carnival of Mysteries has a very small, but critical, role in this book. Oddly, it is never referred to by name, but only as “the circus.”

Ninos and Sinn are the main focus of this story, and their characters are appealing and vivid. Clearly Sinn knows things about Ninos, and seems to understand his reluctant human better almost than Ninos knows himself. Ninos is a profoundly good person, but unaware of why that might be significant. Bereft of meaningful relationships, more or less given away by his family (even if it was to save him), Ninos needs Sinn to better understand himself.

As in every chapter of the Carnival of Mysteries series, the Carnival is found where it needs to be at the right moment. But the magic of the carnival can only do so much; it is up to Ninos and Sinn to take what the carnival gives them and choose the right path.

A compelling, amusing, and often touching story about the shape of magic in the world

[Kaje Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Megan Derr writes great high fantasy and this was another wonderful adventure. Ninos is in school training to be a Sylvan mage- one who can use their power on crops and trees and other living plants- and is close to graduation when things begin to go deeply wrong. His beloved mentor is murdered. The ceremony intended to bring Ninos his lifelong familiar lands him with a raven who represents dark magics, not sylvan ones. Suddenly, the simple path forward he envisioned, to return with his powers and help his family and home village, is changed all out of recognition.

When Ninos finds out even his best friend is not the person he imagined, he sets out alone with his familiar, Sinn, to find the dark mage who presumably got stuck with the sylvan familiar intended for Ninos, and to swap them back where they belong. Except as they travel, he and Sinn gradually build a friendship that feels real and hard to give up. The road to the mountains is neither safe nor easy. And the mountain home of the dark mages may not be much like the school that felt like home.

I liked the slow burn relationship building, the adventure plot, and the worldbuilding. The Carnival shows up, but it plays a very minor role in this story. You don't need to know anything about the Carnival or Derr's other books to enjoy this one as a stand alone.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping paranormal MM romance and adventure. The two protagonists, Ninos and Sinn, make a brief stop at the carnival on their travels, where something vital occurs. Ninos thinks that Sinn is meant to be a familiar to another mage, and that his "real" familiar is waiting for him elsewhere. Thus the reason for some of their travels. This hurts Sinn's feelings.
The two are attracted to each other, but are each afraid to make the first move.
There are plenty of surprises in the plot, but also some repetition. How many times do we need to hear that Ninos left home at age five? One of the villains also makes a final appearance, right when I expected them to do so.
Typos: Commas are used as all-purpose punctuation. They're used to offset parenthetical phrases instead of dashes or parentheses, and are used for periods and semicolons too. Sometimes a comma is actually called for, but is missing. Once a period is used for a comma. There's an extra or missing word a couple times. Meaningless Arabic and lower-case Roman numerals are randomly strewn throughout the text. One sentence starts with a lower-case letter. "Low-key" is missing a hyphen. "Straight forward" should be is one word. "Laid" is used for "lay."

[FairyG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story

The other reviews lead me to downloading this book and reading it immediately and so I can't really add more to them, except to say this is a beautifully written and imagined story.

It is rare to get good worldbuilding, characters to love, witty banter and an interesting, unexpected plot all in one but this book has it all. One I will happily reread and if made into an audiobook, could become a favourite listen too. I would be very happy if there was a sequel.

As another commenter said, it was like a slice of life book plus and adventure book. It is also a lovely romance without being overly soppy or angsty. There is no sudden contrived break up at 70%, that is just as quickly resolved, but every part is a surprise and yet seems as natural and obvious at the same time. Thoroughly enjoyed it and left with such a good warm feeling after.

Megan Derr is an author that I have read frequently, she writes mainly fantasy but all sorts of tropes, some have been particularly dark, not always my taste, but she is a great writer/author. I will always give her books a look and a try and when the trope lines up with my taste, I find a gem like this.

[Cmdrtekk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy fun strait forward entertaining read

This was an easy fun entertaining read. it really says something about stories these days, when good things happen to the main character and in the back of your head you’re thinking, yup, and just when does this happy turn come and bite. The story was really that strait forward. Aside from the character twist to kick the whole story adventure off in the beginning, simple and good was simple and good. I say this was simple, and yes it was because so many reads now a days seem to have a dozen plot twists constantly popping up and causing the main character or characters, but this was a simple, take it all as it appears. I really really really enjoyed that aspect. it did have one very short, explicit, though not overly explicit sex scene.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

not a typical “chosen one” story

Ninos’s story is well crafted. His been in magical boarding school his whole life. Now he’s in his mid-20s, leaving school, planning on doing what is expected of him (as he’s done his whole life) when fate changes everything.
What’s fun about the writing is that, as the reader, I felt like I was in the same shoes as Ninos. It wasn’t clear what his story would be, but I was enjoying his journey & curious about what he would discover about himself.

[Christine]

I was not sure that this would be a book I liked. I'm so happy that I was proven wrong. For me it was a little harder to get through, and it probably took me longer than it should to realize what was going on, but the ending was simply delicious. There were plots, naivety, hidden depths, misunderstandings, miscommunications, and so much more going on in this book. If you are looking for an LGBTQ+ book set in a fantasy world with great character development and just a peek into a circus, then this is a great book for you.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful book! I loved Sinn (obviously), and I really liked their relationship.

Spoilers ahead!!

The only thing was everyone else: the family hadn’t seen him for 10 years, but travelled otherwise? Why wouldn’t they go and see him? I realize it was for him to have the best relationship with his mentor, but really, they could have had some sort of obstacle. Also, with Kina, why would everyone graduate if the prof was murdered? Didn’t they have any other professors? Doesn’t make sense. The last scene with Kina was really unventful, so that kind of fell flat. Otherwise, great book! 4/5

[~TheBlasian~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved! ❤️
Another winner by one of my most favorite authors!!!!!

I was intrigued the entire way and appreciated the simplicity of delivery. While there was plenty enough interesting elements and story build, we didn’t get any unnecessary flare of drama or cliched bits to carry the story.

This was simply a journey with a couple potholes in the road that the main characters were able to navigate through.

[Derrick W Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story in the series. Loved all of it!

A nice easy read. Not a lot of extreme highs or lows. Enough magic to keep it really interesting. Love the lore about spirits and how it played out. Great happy ending. I also love how all the books are different with a small thread. This one has the least to do with the carnival.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

down to earth

A sheltered mage’s graduation marred by death, betrayal and magic gone awry prompts a journey where nothing goes as planned, in many right ways.

I like how little attention is given to blood and death, it’s tragic and pitiful to end a life, not flashing swords and fireballs.

[Josephine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I didn’t find the main character very relatable. I think the problem is that it’s hard to emphasize with his struggles when every problem he faces is so easily resolved. Like, so easily resolved that there’s basically no tension or climax in the story. Add to that a cast of one-dimensional characters with weak motivations, and you get a rather lacklustre book.

[Chanelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wrong Familiar

Great writing once again from Megan Derr.
Ninos is a sylvan mage who get's betrayed by someone really close. While doing his summoning for his familiar things go wrong. In the end though, they actually did not go as wrong as thought.
Loved every minute of this!

[Laura Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Megan Derr’s characters. This book had less emphasis on romantic tension and more explores identity and self-knowledge and what makes us connect with the people we do. The writing is just lovely. Definitely recommend.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't go wrong with this author

I love this story. Can never go wrong with this author. I love how she writes about magic and her world building. This story was so much fun and I loved characters. Great read.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I liked the book although it got really annoyingly over the top with the picture perfect "and it all worked out in the end." I know it's fantasy and I do want things to work out well for the characters but something about this story made it all seem a bit much.

[Miriam]

My brother-in-law never says that food is bad, if it is inherently edible he will find the kindest thing he can say about it.

I'm borrowing that approach for this book, which is mostly inherently readable, and the kindest thing I can find to say is that it didn't have any obvious editing issues.

[Robert J · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Delightful Tale by Megan Derr!

A delightful tale by Megan Derr! Her story telling is always top-notch, creative and engaging! This story is no different. A fun read by an excellent author! Enjoy! I know that I did?

[... · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delight, which is no surprise with this author. The story felt more focused on the wholesome fantasy adventure plotline than the actual romance, but Sinn and Ninos were still lovely together. 🥰