The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior

The Lost Arts #1

by Ellie Ash

Can a vicious attack thwarted by an unexpected rescue by the hottest Mage Warrior in the world turn into a new beginning for Perian?

Perian’s life is transformed utterly when powerful Mage Warrior Brannal saves him from an attack, then brings him back to the castle and straight to his bed… to recuperate. As Perian heals, desire flares hot between them, and Brannal asks him to stay longer. Perian starts to think this could be the start of something wonderful.

Only it turns out that Perian might be stepping on more toes than he realizes. That angry redhead who doesn’t like him? Second in command of the Mage Warriors. Renny, the little girl hiding in the garden whom he befriended? Her secrets could endanger both of them. And Brannal? He isn’t just the Mage Warrior who rescued Perian—he’s the head of the Mage Warriors.

Perian can’t fight to save his life (literally—Brannal had to do that), he doesn’t have a lick of magic, and he doesn’t have any responsibilities. Could someone as ordinary as him really find a place here with such an extraordinary Mage Warrior?

The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior is a 90K cozy MM fantasy romance with plenty of steam. Told in single POV, it features a HFN for a lonely young man and the powerful Mage Warrior who rescues him—as well as a bossy little girl, an opinionated horse, and meddling friends.

Genres: Fantasy, Magic, M M Romance, Romance, Cozy, LGBT, M M Fantasy

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 16, 2025

About the author

Ellie has had a life-long love affair with books. She graduated from university with an English Literature Bachelors and Masters—as well as an avid appreciation for MM romance thanks to all the slash fanfiction she read and wrote. Around 2021, she realized that the kind of MM romance she enjoys was now being traditionally and indie published, and she has not looked back.

From devouring ARCs to betaing and editing while writing in her spare time, Ellie was inspired by a reader and writer conference in 2024 to take the plunge and put some of her own stories out in the world. In her spare time, she reads, writes, plays D&D, and pursues other geeky interests.

Reviews

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF ~30%

This was... off. The pacing here was really weird, I didn't particularly care for either MC, and by 30% there didn't actually seem to be any sort of plot at all. From other reviews it seems that holds for the rest of the book and its basically just a slice of life, which is fine for fanfic, and less fine for an actual novel. Meh on all fronts.

[ancientreader]

I'm not giving a star rating, because "The Lost Art [Etc.]" is pretty obviously written from the heart, by an author who gives the impression of being very young and having cut her teeth on other very young writers' fanfic and on Tumblr.

I originally followed that up with several examples, but whereas I'm happy to snark when I smell profiteering by a hack, in this case it just felt cruel. I'll leave the above, because this is an ARC and I'm supposed to review it. Thanks to GRR and the author, who has potential and should keep working at their craft.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 3.5 stars ⭐️

“I’m not ‘many people’,” Brannal said simply. “That is entirely obvious,” Perian agreed.

✨ A powerful mage warrior saves your life and nurses you back to health AND wants you to stay in the castle with him? How can you say no? 🏰

Oooh, so this was a fun cozy fantasy!
Although I enjoyed following Perian and Brannal as they figure out how to make a relationship work for them, Perian’s charm and his castle adventures, and they were sexy & sweet and complex, something felt off.

Maybe it was the abundance of inner monologues, the fact that these men really struggle with communicating, or the solo POV.
I’m not quite sure, BUT I did still end up enjoying this fascinating world and the characters, and I’m most definitely invested enough to pick up the next installment and see these two get their HEA.

Perian might not know what was coming, but he knew this was a future he wanted to fight for.

I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest review.

CW and NSFW info (spoilers):
- Violence
- Injury caretaking
- Trauma response during sex, unexplained Brannal briefly chokes Perian. Doesn’t actually hurt him, and we get no explanation yet to why it happened.
- Top/bottom
- Rimming
- HFN ending

[Kelsey Rhodes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cannot stand when love interests make decisions for their partners without getting consent. CONSENT is king. Besides this, it felt more like fan fiction or a first draft.

[Courtney Bassett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A debut I’m happy I took a chance on!

I saw this book recommended in a FB group, saw that there was a prequel through the author newsletter, and took a chance on it. SO good that I immediately joined the author’s group and picked up this book.

Honestly, this had me riveted start to finish. While I am a little wistful that there were so many unresolved issues that I wanted answers to (I didn’t realize this would continue into the next book until I started eyeing the percentage like… guess this isn’t going to wrap up this time), it’s not a cliffhanger or anything. I’m just a curious and impatient person who wants all the answers lolol.

The editing was great, the pacing was fantastic, and there was a good blend of humor and seriousness. This is definitely an author to keep your eye on! Especially recommended if you enjoy Tavia Lark.

[Ay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying this series. Perian is comfortably off, attractive and charming. Brammel is quite delightful too. The story is narrated from Perian's point of view and I like him as much as everyone else. He's very much a Mary Sue, but so likeable and funny!

This fantasy series follows the couple through three books. I have only read the first two. Good plot. proper world building. excellent character depiction. recommend.

[BookGeek1987 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great potential but sadly lacking in execution. For a debut novel it isn’t bad but it isn’t good either, I think ‘meh’ would be the right was to describe it.

I really enjoy a fantasy book, plus here we had a magic system (elemental based) and warriors who prepare to fight off demons, so in theory I thought this would be a winner. Yet it just didn’t work. Nothing happened, and I mean that. Plot wise our MCs, Perian and Brannal, are in the same position as at the start of the book - living in the castle going about their daily lives. There is no plot happening, we’re just left little clues for the next book as it’s a HFN.

We had big info dumps periodically throughout the book. Yes we needed explanations of how the magic system worked and past events, but it didn’t feel natural. It was ‘let me tell you about XYZ’.

As this is single POV from Perian, who isn’t the most interesting of characters, we simply listened to his internal monologues, followed him on picnics, exploring the castle and eating meals with Brannal. We also get a lot of ‘telling’ about what they’re doing, instead of actually being there whilst they’re ’doing’ it. Given how atrocious their communication skills are in we seriously needed Brannal’s POV as well.

I actually didn’t like them as a couple. Perian had the spine of a jellyfish, just accepting an apology every single time when Brannal acted like an ass - and there were a few times. Examples:

⭐️Brannal practically kicked Perian out of his rooms the morning after they had sex, despite caring for him for nearly a week after being injured.

⭐️Brannal thought Perian was involved with other men, didn’t talk to him and just sulked like a child.

⭐️Brannal choked Perian during sex, to the point he couldn’t breathe, and ran away afterwards. Yes there’s a CW on a ‘sexual incident’ but seriously, who just chokes someone during sex with no warning and then doesn’t explain at all. Despite no explanation Perian decides to have sex with him again at the end of the book. Just accepting Brannal will talk when he’s ready….

⭐️Brannal, instead of behaving like a leader, allows his second-in-charge (who hates Perian) to ‘capture’ Perian during a training exercise, burning him in the process. Perian gets understandably upset and Brannal berates him and tries to prevent him leaving their rooms. He then cries when he realises Perian is hurt, causing Perian to comfort him. It’s like textbook abusive behaviour (deny the incident was that bad, attack Perian’s viewpoint aggressively, get defensive and turn this around on Perian, realise he’s messed up and tries to justify it) , and he’s meant to be the romantic lead!

I got to the end of the book and was like ‘that was a waste of time’. I’m all for a book that is what a call a slice of life, but tailor your blurb appropriately! I thought I was getting an exciting fantasy plot, and instead I read about picnics….

I sadly got this as an ARC - so felt the need to push through - from gayromancereviews.com. This review is 100% my own thoughts.

[b00ks_in_nature · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5
This is book one of a new series. There is less development of plot and world building than I would expect, but I'm hopeful that comes in future books. This was more of a fantasy slice of life. I just never fully connected with it; I wasn't invested. But there is enough there that I want to give the next book in the series a chance.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh yes! I really liked this book. the storyline was well done, the characters interesting and the writing was engaging.
I liked that Brannal and Perian really talked with each other - not only as a first option, but they did it.

I also loved the secondary characterst and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

While a little slow in spots, this is a sweet, easy story with interesting characters. There are a lot of unanswered questions - although I’m sure I know a few answers - and I’ll definitely pick up the next book to find out.

[Cynthia M Brow · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior is the first book in The Lost Arts series. This is the story of Perian and Brannal. I loved the characters and world building in the story. I love that Perian and Brannal have to work through things and and not just have everything go perfect from the start. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Kate Berry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm conflicted. I think there's some interesting world building happening in the series except it's not fleshed out well enough, it's got potential but there's a LOT of repetition and the names for things are so blah it's like they're placeholders for when the author decides on a better term - Mage Warrior and Warrior - it would have been way less awkward to just call them mages and soldiers or guards. the extra capitals are just weird when no other jobs are like that. including the doctor that as of the end of book two still has no name when every other repeat character does.

The "villains" are wraiths and demons (standard) and.... carnalions. which is the only made up term in the world building and essentially sound like either an incubus or succubus type situation, and would make way more sense to use an existing word for it for a myriad of reasons not the least of which was every time I read it, I was distracted trying to decide if it was pronounced like a combo of carnal and lion or more like chameleon. it seems pretty obvious that perian probably is one and/or a Life Mage.

I do think it's interesting that the world has no bias against poly relationships and seems pretty sex positive, but feels like it goes almost too far that direction for me and turns back around do an ick - particularly that at a dinner with friends where they go into detail about their first times, it's supposed to be really cool of the main character's dad that for his first time at 15/16, he brought his son to a "pleasure house" to learn about all the ways to have sex. like....that's a big ick for me, your parent should not be bringing you to sex workers at any age, much less that age. "oh we live out in the country, there's not a lot of other people my age around so he decided to bring me to the city and take me to a lose my virginity to paid workers" - that's not really a situation a 16 year old can consent to, in my opinion. bc the sex workers couldn't possibly be in a situation that wasn't coercive to them unless they were fully cooked adults and a fully cooked adult shouldn't be having sex with a 16 year old for free much less for money. just no.

incident two is that there's a non consensual choking situation at the end of a sexual encounter between the two main chars that was apparently triggered by some prior trauma. this gets addressed sort of by them taking a brief hiatus from their sex life bc the one who did the choking says he needs to figure it out - this part was when I was like "oh good, they're going to work thru it and he's not ready to discuss until he figures out what the cause was, that feels healthy ' except then they get back to being intimate like no time later and the one convo they have about it, the one who was choked is like "you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but can you tell me what the trigger was so I don't do it again?" and the response is basically "I don't want to talk about it but don't worry about it anymore NBD" which is just... absolutely not. this is not safe for either partner. it's like the author thinks the fact that being respectful of someone's trauma means they don't have to communicate anything about it - recipe for disaster when it triggers violence against your partner

on top of all that, while it's apparently totally cool with everyone that plenty of people including the best friend couple of the main characters often bring others into their relationships, everyone is incredibly slut-shamy towards the main character.

final sex related point is just my personal preference - stories with such a big focus on non-monogomy in the main pairing aren't my thing and there's way too much happening with the best friend couple for me to enjoy it.

in terms of writing, there are interesting pieces but I think this trilogy could have cut out a ton of repetition and a bunch of the sex scenes which were also very repetitive and maybe made one solid interesting book - book 3 has yet to be released and this remains true - but the way it stands, this leaves a lot to be desired

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.5 stars

The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior is the first book in Ellie Ash’s The Lost Art series. Ash sets up some interesting world elements here, with Mage Warriors who can control the various elements. We get a few scenes where we see them use their skills and there are some fun moments where Brennal uses his considerable abilities to aid in the bedroom antics. We also learn that most of the what the Mage Warriors deal with is fighting against various types of demons and there is mention of a past demon attack that killed many people, as well as a sense of people fearing demon attacks. However, while I think the framework is nice here, there isn’t a ton of depth to the world building, more of just the basic overview.

Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.

[Sandy Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I had loved this book as much as I thought I would! So much of it is really good, but, then it began hinting at things that just don’t work for me, which made me continually so unsettled I couldn’t enjoy what I had been enjoying anymore. And one MC did something truly awful and then didn’t make it okay. 😡

BUT! Seriously, much of this is so fun and delightful, a chance rescue from vicious assault and possible sexual assault leading to healing and developing wonderful strong chemistry and an unexpected potential future neither MC had been looking for but now want more than anything. Ooooh, I ate it UP.

Perian is living his best life and dancing and enjoying himself when he’s viciously attacked outside a pub...and rescued by a powerful mage. Swept away to Brannal’s quarters in the castle to heal, Perian spends several days getting better...and then...Perian and Brannal give in to what’s been simmering between them. But a delightful...um...I mean...unfortunate misunderstanding ensues, and Perian leaves, only to have someone run back and bring him back...the push-pull at first was terrific, and then Perian and Brannal start talking like grownups and I just adored these two together!

Perian winds up staying with Brannal—who turns out to be THE mage of all castle mages!—to get to know him, and explores the castle and makes an unusual friend, a relationship that causes much consternation and shenanigans due to unavoidable misunderstandings. But again, communication FTW! And the romantic tension keeps ratcheting up despite these two living together from jump, and I loved all that.

Brannal introduces Perian to people in the castle, including some self-defense lessons with mage warriors (warriors who have magic abilities) and warriors (same without magic abilities, the queen has both under her command). And the secondary characters are well drawn and intriguing, with Nisal as well as Perian’s unusual picnic lunch friend being a particular favorites. So many good ones! And one antagonist who’s a really good enemy to both Perian and this relationship. Loved it. There’s royalty and mage rivalry and all kinds of Good Stuff in here.

Perian’s new friend, who also has an unusual...friend...also leads in strange ways to a marvelous horse, with terrific Perian and Brannal riding together scenes, and I am HERE for all the horse stuff. The horse’s name is hilarious and I won’t spoil it.

It was going SO WELL! But...unfortunately this is one of those sex positive worlds that for me becomes sex negative. To be clear, there is NO OM action/drama in this book, the MCs are with only each other, but, the author is hinting at future encounters, opening and keeping that door open, in ways that made me anxious for too long and were just not my thing, ruining some of the romance dynamic for me. Brannal seemed more like he’d want to be only with Perian, but at the same time, also seemed open to Perian playing with their good friends, and Perian seemed open to whatever so long as they talked about it. Which is great! Positive! Just...not my kind of romance, I far prefer MCs who want only each other. Again, nothing happens in this book, but, it could go there in the next, and I’m not here for it. An entire dinner with the open-to-others close friends at the end turned into one long conversation about sex, like everything was all about sex, including talking about everyone’s first times (Brannal’s made a lot of conflict fall into place though!) and it just...squicked me out, and made me uncomfortable and wary of what might happen. And it was already an incestuous friend group, which blech. (I also guess there are no STIs in this world...? Safe sex did not come up, but, that’s typical in romantasy. Still, Perian’s story of his first time and how his father did the “sex talk” by sending him to a brothel to learn about sex was just...way too much for me. Just icky.)

But what really ruined the book for me was the aforementioned thing Brannal does that puts Perian at risk. Yes, he felt awful about it all, once he realized what had truly happened. And it should have been a strong relationship development beat. But Brannal’s excuse for why he’d set it up at all, and without Perian’s consent, was dreadful, and then...he did NOTHING to ensure it would never happen in the future. There were NO consequences, leaving unspoken permission for it to happen again. I was so, SO angry. I wanted Perian to leave and go home. F this situation.

Overall I had such a good time, but, the hints at future sexplorations and the lack of any consequences or restraints on the antagonist left me reeling with unhappiness and I can’t even give this potentially great read 3 stars, only 2. Sigh. I don’t know if I’ll try the author again. I’ll have to research reviews first.

But! If you are far more sex positive than I, and less petty/more willing to forgive, this book is otherwise hugely entertaining, great connections between the MCs and other characters, an addictive world (if less developed than it could be, actually. Who is taking care of Perian’s home? Is he ever going back? Does he need to? Why didn’t he ride a horse to town, how did he even get here? How big is this kingdom? Is it the only kingdom? Are we in the mountains, plains, both..I could go on. Hmmm) then definitely give it a chance! There is a LOT here to enjoy.

HFN that is left in a good place but clearly there’s a lot of work to do. Protector/rescued hero swept off his feet, to lovers, powerful mage, castle/royalty backdrop. No OM action, some misunderstandings around OM drama that really isn’t (and that was fun!), hints at future action with others; unknown what might play out. Recommended for those less squeamish than I; I mostly had a really great time! Just...ugh. Me.

[Casey MacKenzie]

DNF @ 13%

There was a lot of telling rather than showing and the pacing is off. Having scanned a few other reviews, I’m glad I decided to quit while I am ahead.

[Viki · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a nice book! A truly nice and yes, cozy romance.

Cozy can actually go either way for me, I not only need to be in the right mood to be cozied up to, the coziness also needs to have at least some solid foundation and I definitely found it here - there is a young lady of twelve but she is a side character in her own right, with agency and her own mystery. There is a horse but he does not possess the ability to talk, he's just a very pretty, proud stallion who shows other characters... well, I can't help thinking that Perian has a secret, even if it's never said outright. He turns out to be pretty special and I can't help thinking there is magic involved. It's not a spoiler - there were hints only and it's only a guess.

I cannot go higher than three because as cozy as it as, it occasionally also got kinda boring, the pace was very sedate and that made for some rougher (too calm) patches. The art of seduction was not lost nor found. Their relationship was a very good example of what I come to want in my romance - there is communication, resolution of conflicts, negotiating and respecting boundaries... On its own, I am a fan. There was no seduction, however. The two meet, and once the MC is well enough, they get naked and do things. Grade A seduction right here. I did miss some kind of "pursuing", because their relationship starts off so soon so strongly, they have to backtrack a few times to talk about the most basic things. Not to mention the book made both of them into a bit of special snowflakes. Perian does one astonishing thing after another, looking all innocent and oblivious to his "specialness" the whole time. Characters so universally liked can be problematic but it wasn't too over the top. His Warrior Mage was not just anyone - he is the head honcho and serves directly under the queen, who actually lives in the same place because obviously putting a lot of capable people in your castle is the way to go when demons are about.

Demons... I think I liked the air-bender magic system, nothing too fancy, it had a purpose - there's nothing quite as embarrassing as making people powerful and have nothing special to fight, am I right? The demons, however... well, I suppose I need to say there was a possibility to interject some action to this very cozy plot and we didn't get it. The only action happened at the beginning, when Perian was attacked and I am going to be very IMAO and say that was a mistake. The introduction to the world is fairly violent, I even skipped the worst part yet that scene did NOT set the tone for the book. The opposite. I feel like that introduction set a bit of a bad example - it would turn away some people and set expectations for the rest but after that one scene, they only talk and deal with relationship (of all kinds, not just romance) stuff. Even that one training...

Anyway, I do think this is a solid debut. I have read/came across books by more experienced authors who wrote worse books - that's the thing about announcing or marketing something as a debut, you see, every problem is because of inexperience. *eyeroll* You know Sherwood? This book feels like a more... something, a bit different version of Sherwood and I assure you she write stuff like this on purpose.

All in all, while I am not going for the four stars, I am very happy with what I found and look forward to reading more.

[Siobhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior is the first book in Ellie Ash’s The Lost Arts series, and it is a story that had me conflicted. A part of me wanted to give this a four-star rating, yet another part of me kept arguing for a three-star rating. This was a very solid three-point-five-star rating that I ended up rounding down due to the cumulation of little things.

The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior is a cosy story that is sure to have many people hooked. It certainly hooked me with ease, ensuring I was happily powering through the pages, which meant it was only when I put the book down that I really noticed the things that were not quite working fully for me. It is this addictive nature that had a part of me considering giving this a four-star rating, and I can certainly see the future books in the series getting such a rating from me, but this one did not quite manage it. The big thing (the thing I also noticed while reading) was that the book relied heavily on telling rather than showing, which made it difficult to feel all the emotions. Not all – there were certainly many things that I found adorable – but the heavier hitting elements did not hit as hard because readers were told rather than shown, thereby preventing them from experiencing the depth of the emotion. A part of this was made stronger through the heavy information dumps. While these happened mostly at the start of the book, they also happened often throughout the story when new information was needed. It meant, at times, there was information provided only when it was relevant to a specific scenario when it would have been useful to have it before. I enjoyed the story enough that this was not consistently bothering me, but it was certainly noticeable while reading. The aspect that was more noticeable when I put the book down and came back to it was the lack of consistent plot throughout. Most of the book felt like it was focused purely on the vibes. I know this works for a lot of people, but I wanted much more from the plot. There were so many hints of extremely interesting things – elements I have lots of theories about – yet they never seemed to be the central focus. Instead, they floated around all the sweet moments that were very vibe heavy. It was certainly enjoyable and kept me engaged, but I did finish reading the book with a feeling that nothing other than a mass of vibes happened. This was why I opted to round my rating down. I am certainly curious to see if the next book offers more plot – and I really hope it does, as there are lots of interesting aspects I want to dive deep into – but there was not quite enough of it with this first book.

All in all, The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior was an enjoyable start to the series. This is certainly a story that focuses more on the vibes than the plot, so be aware of that going in, but it has certainly left me curious to see how things develop across the rest of the series. My fingers are crossed I will be sucked in much deeper as the story progresses.

[Flick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing - this has already become a favourite series!

TL;DR this is a wonderful cozy fantasy with a great plot, loveable and intriguing characters that makes you desperate for more.

This was absolutely fantastic. I am honestly blown away that this is Ellie’s first book. Beyond the fact that it was beautifully written, the characters were detailed, nuanced, and captivating. It read extremely well, so much so that I was almost surprised it was over I was so absorbed in reading it and wanting more. The world it’s set in is lots of fun; I love that gender is such a non-issue, people are free to identify as they wish and it’s as simple as which bead to braid into your hair. I liked that there wasn’t a big explanation too. It was simply addressed as fact because in a world like that there wouldn’t need to be a big fuss about it. The magical elements of the world are really cool; we don’t delve deeply into it yet but I can see how it’s going to build throughout the series. That to me is great world building; we know enough to understand what’s happening but we also get to unravel the mystery as the characters do. It’s obvious that magic is fairly simply understood (especially if you’re not someone who is actively using it) so it works well.

Now the characters. Be still my heart but I love these people so much already. There’s definitely a sense of the classic trope of the MC is beautiful and everyone loves him but it’s done so freaking well. It’s acknowledged that people fall over themselves rather with Perian but Perian also explains it well and in a way that honestly makes sense. He’s such a sweet person too. He’s kind and gentle but also entirely willing and capable of standing up for himself. He takes help where it’s offered without feeling the need to refuse on some misguided belief it makes him weak but similarly also does things for himself when he wants. Brannal was delightful. He’s that perfect combination of sweet, strong, vulnerable and desperately wanting to work things out with Perian. I don’t always love miscommunication but it is does really well here in that it’s genuine. People in new relationships (especially when they haven’t really had them before or have trauma to deal with) make mistakes, they can assume the worst or jump to conclusions. What counted was that they talked about it and they worked together to make sure they did better.

The secondary characters were awesome too. They were well-formed and truly loveable. I already devoured the prequel (which I highly recommend) but I am so, so excited to see more of them and to see a certain someone perhaps have a redemption arc (although he also deserves a touch of his own medicine haha!).

What I think I love most though is that there are tendrils of a larger plot artfully woven through the story. For me, a great cozy fantasy has you thinking oooh I think this might happen or oh, I’m sure xyz is going on. It allows those little maybes and what ifs o that you stay engaged throughout. I have my own little theories and I’m really excited to see what happens next!

[Sabby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clunky, but the series has potential

Like another reviewer, I struggled to determine a rating for this book. While I enjoyed many aspects, I also found myself very frustrated at times. The strength of the novel definitely lies in characterization; each character feels very distinct and fleshed out. The problem was that only one character, Renny, got any real “screen time” so to speak. The other just kinda popped up here and there as they were needed for the plot. But that being said, almost all the major side characters were really well done.

The weakness is that the author tends to just tell what’s happening without immersing the reader in the world. We are exposed to a fantasy world and while we get some world building, it’s very surface level. Nothing is fully explained (like this is a medieval castle but with modern plumbing... I know it’s odd to fixate on fantasy plumbing but like, how does that even work? Even a single line of world building would help. There are also apparently elemental mage warriors but also normal mages with no explanation on how they differ aside from that the former just fight stuff. There are demons but we know nothing about how or why they exist). In general, the world building is seriously lacking. We know nothing about it aside from vague references.

As for events in the plot, sometimes it felt like I was reading a summary events instead of experiencing the events. There were brief moments where I was very immersed in the character emotions, but a majority of the book was almost like events were being narrated. The spicy scenes were brief and lacking in depth, character interactions were often cut off and the rest of interactions summarized, and emotional moments were often cut short or not fully explored. Everything was rushed and brief and un-immersive.

And finally, there were major frustrations. The miscommunication between the two main characters was relatively realistic for two people who moved in with each other after only a day or two of interactions, but the problem is that the author resolved almost none of the major underlying issues in the relationship (and that being said, not a single major plot point was actually resolved in this novel). Additionally a side character was able to get away with deliberately hurting the MC, insulting the royal family, and openly threatening the MC and he just got away with it for no other reason than that everyone just wanted to let it go so the guy wouldn’t do worse things (how is that okay???)

This book had a lot of potential but needed a really good content editor to help the novel feel more immersive and alleviate some of the frustrations. I

[ivanareadsalot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank GRR for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior turned out to be the cutest thing and I enjoyed it! From its lusty start, to gently flowing into a world of magic, relationships, and facets of grieving that I really resonated with, I thought this intro to The Lost Arts series was a sweet and sincere one.

The MCs were soft darlings and I loved them for each other. Mage warrior, Brannal, swooped in to save Perian from the kind of night out that leads to nightmares for most. And Perian, still grieving his father's passing, found a home and love and friendship at the castle while in Brannal's healing care. There was drama and relationship complexity between them and others, but Perian and Brannal were lovely together. I really enjoyed their "thorns to bud to blooming" energy, and loved that their hearts unfurled with both sunshine and storm.

About halfway through, the sexy intensity turned into a cozy sort of flowing, and the worldbuilding started to take shape. There was a high-strung grieving horse called Prince Horsey, who refused to be pleasant to anyone since his human had passed on. But Perian was drawn to the aching beauty needing a good gallop, and horses k n o w how to lean into a kind, pure heart, and I MELTED for their connection! Perian continued to be marvellously adored by every hurting soul needing an extra bit of love and compassion and I simply could not get enough of this precious v i b e!

Overall this was a charming read, and I'm happy that I was able to relax into the storytelling, which was more suffusive than forceful. I'm very much looking forward to where this series is headed to next, because this book's vibe felt like an indulgent respite amidst a very wild and hectic ARC schedule for me, and I really loved that!

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

THE LOST ART OF SEDUCING A MAGE WARRIOR is the first book in The Lost Arts series and does NOT give you everything all at once, which I loved!

Perian is a charismatic character, effortlessly drawing others to him. He is aware of this but doesn't weaponise it. When he is attacked by three men who don't understand that "No" is a complete sentence, he thinks his time is up. Instead, he is rescued by Brannal, a Mage Warrior, who takes him back to the Queen's castle to recover. If Perian is the sunshine one, then Brannal is the grumpy one, although this description doesn't fit either of them perfectly.

There are plenty of misunderstandings between Perian and Brannal, which I actually loved to read. They are at the beginning of a new relationship, with lots of things going on and different characters in the mix, so, surprisingly, they're not that good at communicating. When they do speak to each other, they both admit it is something they need to work on, and that neither of them will get it right all the time. It made a refreshing change to read that, rather than unnecessary angst.

The ending was satisfying for now, but I oh-so-desperately want more! Lots of loose threads that I want tying up! A great story and a brilliant beginning to the series. Definitely recommended by me. 4.5 rounded up.

** 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!
May 9, 2025

[Bretton Coppedge · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very impressive debut! The author layered in a fair number of subtle mysteries that has me wanting the next book now(and I am kinda hoping there will be several more to finish our Perian's story).

The author was right to describe this as a cozy fantasy but that doesn't mean that there isn't a hint of action, a hint of angst or hint of upcoming conflict. Both Perian and Brannal clearly are besotted but have no idea how to be in a relationship(hence the hint of angst) however they are able to talk through most things fairly quickly, there is just some underlying trauma that they need to heal from. Brannal is a warrior and is constantly training(hint of action) but its implied there will be real action in the future. Finally, there are some villians(hint of conflict) that might make moves in the future.

I am usually fairly ambivalent to child characters in books, much like Perian, but Renny was pretty awesome. She was depicted as age accurate and clearly there's more to her story. Prince Horsey is much the same, I think there's more to learn about the mysterious horse and his connection to Perian.

Overall, I highly recommend that you check out this book and new author. I can't wait for more. Perian is usually getting into to some kinda trouble and Brannal seems like he wants to take the role of white knight so he can keep up with the chaos.

[isthisakink · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5. You can definitely tell this is the author’s debut. There’s a lot of repetition, overuse of words (looking at you, ‘glorious’ in the first chapters), and a bit of clunkiness. It’s definitely a contender for a redo with bonus content in future, and would be an amazing way to get a special edition out there. However, aside from the typical finding-their-voice/first-book blues, there’s a sweet and interesting story in there. It’s got a down-low, neat mix of old world and new, magic and realness, and there are several little tendrils of intrigue to follow that entice you to keep going. It’s very chill and focused on the smallest things building into the bigger ones, including the relationship. It may be steamy, but they’re putting in good work for a believable HEA. The side characters are fucking gold and everything works. I’m enjoying the break from heavy plots and lots of scheming/drama. The (almost) slice-of-life energy is doing it for me. Perian being the ultimate “I said what I said” guy is also doing it for me. I like his penchant for not playing silly ass games with words and/or people. Good noodle, Perian. Anyway, I’m rambling, this book is an easy, delightful read, and it wouldn’t have taken so long if my family would let me rot for five minutes once in a while, so that means it’s a good binge sesh choice because it wouldn’t take more than a couple hours to devour.

[Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perian was not sure he was going to survive when three men jump him, severely beating him. Mage Warrior Brannal comes upon them and saves him, and taking him home to nurse his injuries. As Perian heals, he finds himself falling for Brannal who turns out to be the head of the Mage Warriors. Not only that but someone, or maybe more than one someone is not happy that Perian and Brannal may find happiness together. Perian befriends a young girl, Renny, who has secrets of her own that could be hazardous to his health. Not only that but miscommunication is also an issue. Perian is not sure he will survive long enough to realize a new life.

Brannal and Perian were great together. Both of these men were new to relationships and as such made more than a few mistakes, almost derailing their new relationship. Add that to Renny’s few secrets and you have really exciting reading. Perian had his own non traditional brand of magic which was a delight to observe. He may not be like a mage, but it did not matter. Great characters, a great plot and lots of excitement make this one perfect for readers like me.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Jeanette Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior is the first book in The Lost Arts series. The writer describes it as "a cozy mm fantasy", and it really is a sweet book. Perian and Brannal are two lost lonely men who find what they need in each other. Brannal, a Mage Warrior rescues Perian from three attackers, and nurses him back to health. There certainly is spicy steam between the pair, and the two give in quite early on in the story. Perian is delightfully innocent, Brannal is a bit of a stick in the mud. Their relationship was fraught with miscommunication, and the seduction of the title wasn't them falling into bed, but what comes next in building a strong connection.
The world building was quite well done. Brannal's fellow warriors provide some needed color and texture. Which was helpful because I found the love story to be quite banal. I did enjoy the author's take on elemental magic.
Ellie Ash is a new writer to me. I'm rather on the fence as to whether or not that she's a perfect fit for me. I really struggled with a 4 or 5 rating. This was a wavering 4.5 for me.
I received an advanced copy of this book and this is my review.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perian and Brannal meet in an alley when Perian has been attacked, and Brannal saves him. But he's so badly injured that Brannal takes him home to care for him. Unbeknownst to Perian, Brannal is a big cheese in the palace ...he's the head honcho of security, aka the Summus Mage Warrior. The story sort of meanders through their various relationship escapades, some bad, some good, with Perian meeting people he'd never have thought he would in his life, and having an impact he'd never considered he could. It's a fine enough story, but not a whole lot happens other than them finding out they want to be more than just convenient lovers. Each has a learning curve to adjust to when it comes to being part of a couple, but both are sufficiently invested in it, despite the many--sometimes challenging-- hiccups to make the ending unobjectionable. I do wish both men had been drawn as more mature than they sometimes behaved, though both are still rather young. Brannal is six years older, but given his position, he should know better than to make some of the really poor decisions that he makes. Also, they seem to make a lot of excuses for having sex, making me wonder how an important guy like Brannal finds time for shenanigans so often, sometimes during his work day.

[Raven and Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok I am LOVING this one! These two are . I have already signed up for the author’s newsletter to get the prequel novella too. I will be stalking this author’s socials watching for book 2. Our MC, Perian, is a sweet, gentle soul who has lived a very quiet and uneventful life. He doesn’t realize just how lonely he has been until Brannal storms into his life and he finds himself staying with the man in the castle of all places. This is a very nice and cozy fantasy story with a genuinely good guy finding himself a little in over his head with mages and someone who doesn't like him very much. I love the other warrior mages in the castle, with one notable exception of course, and can’t wait to get to know more about all of them. Brannal and Perian are learning how to grow and be in a serious relationship and juggle the job of protecting the kingdom.

[Kandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing

It was hard to figure out how to rate this book. It was well written and well paced, with almost no editing issues. Very impressive for a debut. I liked the world it was set in, and very curious to learn more. Where I had trouble was the book didn't quite feel complete. It felt like it ended on not quite a cliff hanger but almost. It felt truly like a beginning to something really amazing. There were a few issues with another character that weren't really resolved, more temporarily handled. There was an intimacy situation that wasn't really explained/resolved. There was the opening to several possible storylines. All in all, it really felt like the author wrote an epic long fantasy novel, felt it was too long and cut it in half and called it book 1. I am looking forward to book 2.

[Tashyka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine a realm dominated by a queen in the style of the Middle Ages. The people, aristocracy, soldiers, and magicians make up the bulk of the population . Perian is assaulted while returning home from a nearby pub. He is rescued and nursed back to health by Brannal, a warrior magician. Perian is an engaging protagonist because he is intelligent, humorous, affable, and a little irreverent. He wins over everyone he meets, but Brannal, who Perian learns is actually the leader of the mage warriors, asks Perian to spend the night at the castle with him after a small misunderstanding. I thought it was interesting how Perian interacted with the book's main characters; their exchanges revealed their personalities and gave me a sense of who they are and what to expect from them in the following installment.I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest review.

[dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the author’s debut novel. Congratulations, author!

It’s not bad. There’s a lot of detailed world-building, which at times feels a little like I’m reading the author’s notes and not experiencing it with the characters. There are a few too many cliches (the surprise that the girl Perian meets is a princess, the fact that Perian is the only person who can ride the late prince’s horse, etc.). And I kind of wish the sex writing were a little more plot-relevant. (Though, honestly, the one time it is relevant, it’s messy and not consistent with the charzcter’s normal behaviour.).

But the characters genuinely are interesting, and the dialogue is entertaining. I think this book is a little long, for what we get, and the plot doesn’t resolve even a little bit. So, like, there’s possibility! Good luck to the author!