The Returned 1

by Dante King

Toby Adams saved the world once before. Now he must do it again.

The catch? This world isn’t Earth. It’s Eclipsia, a fantasy realm Toby visited as a kid. And he’s having a bit of trouble remembering how he accomplished his world-saving mission the first time.

Magic was involved, he’s sure of that. Powerful companions, too. Possibly even a magical weapon of some kind.

What Toby didn’t have the first time was a friend alongside him. Anna Coombes might be a human just like Toby, but she’s his best friend and would do anything for him. Including convincing a mature and alluring queen to ally with them (and commit some deeds that young Toby would never have considered).

Eclipsia might be familiar, but Toby isn’t a kid anymore.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Magic

454 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 16, 2024

Reviews

[Chance · Rating 2 out of 5]

That artcover was all I came for

Ever wonder what the Wizard of Iz would’ve been like with a male protagonist then imagine they made a sequel on C list material set 20 years later and thus is the story you get.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of an odd fantasy story about a young guy returning to the realm that he saved as a child, together with his female best friend. Obviously the new surroundings quickly force them to re-evaluate their feelings for each other, and in the mean time there's a realm that needs saving. Again. Unfortunately Toby has forgotten how he did it the first time.. The premise is a bit lame, but the resulting story is a gentle, silly, charming adventure. Unfortunately it's a bit too predictable, and the dialogue too clumsy at times to be fully enjoyable or really grab my attention. In addition it's tongue in cheek but not really funny, so after smiling a few times while reading I nevertheless put it away unfinished.

[Dp2k · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an affront to woke culture, so if that bothers you, you'll hate this one. It was pretty funny though. I especially enjoyed the commentary on realtors.
There's no magic system, it's just the type of book that's all "the flower sneezed on his leg" and "he was turned into a turnip" and nothing else is said about it. The towns are quintessential medieval fantasy with all the same fantasy species. So basically there's no worldbuilding, which was a disappointment.
Frank the comedy relief sidekick was annoying at best, infuriating at worst. Sometimes he was actually funny but this is a case of "the sidekick ruins everything".
I dropped it because it got too ridiculous and it made no sense.

[Magnús Friðriksson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was so bad that it actually did become somewhat good. Cringe-laughing became a returning theme while going through this otherwise forgettable piece of literature.

I'd probably enjoyed it even more if I'd gone on a thirteen-hour slow-burn drinking binge.

I would not recommend it to my more respectable bunch of friends, but if you enjoy below-the-belt cringe jokes, it should fit the bill.

[Mike Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit of never ending story going on here and it makes for a fun story, and it helps that you can bring a friend when your needed again and can go back.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

who is Mark?

Great book as always, but who is Mark and why does he show up in the spicy scenes? I gotta know.

[Paul Kellett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Childish.

[Mark L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the other books that I have read

The book was too slow for me and I just couldn't get into it, I will continue to try anything else he writes as I have enjoyed his other books.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting!

Well several secrets are going to come out. Toby will find out about his blood and who his mother really was.

[William Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

That’s how the cookie crumbles

I’ll just say this.

If I met a giant gingerbread man with eyes made out of chocolate drops…

Let’s just say he would never see the sun rise again.