Valerin the Fair: Out of True, #1

Out of True #1

by Rien Gray

Follow a fellowship of sapphic knights as they're seduced by witches, queens, goddesses—and each other—in a dark, lush fantasy inspired by Arthurian legend.
 

Under the reign of King Theomacha the Exalted, the Land of Maidens flourishes. Her knights protect and explore the realm, seeking artifacts lost to time and fending off wicked, cunning magics. 

Born in the isolated Brocéliande Forest, Valerin is raised as a warrior by druids of great power. Her unusual strength and invulnerability is said to be the blessing of a goddess, but when Sebille, a sorceress empowered by fire and rot, arrives to challenge her claim, Valerin must come to terms with her true nature — or fall to the seduction of the woman she's destined to kill.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Lesbian, Queer, Novella, Adult, Fiction

69 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 12, 2022

About the author

Rien is a queer, nonbinary author of LGBTQ+ romance, erotica, and horror. They love writing charged sex scenes, consent-informed kink, and hot criminal love interests who revel in the above.

When not writing, Rien spends their time at the gym, making tea, or angling for yet another platinum trophy in a video game.

Newsletter: Free Novella Here!

Website: riengray.com

BSky: @RienGray

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

Arthurianish sapphic novella about a sort of druid knight and a sorceress. Lots of fighting, sex, and messing with gender. The atmosphere is lush and the imagination great, though the prose has a tendency to overspill from lush into slightly hard to follow at points. Still, the most interesting take on arthuriana I have read in a very long time, and we're all here for butch knights.

[Dani Finn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take the beginning of Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, make it lesbian, add tightly knotted modern prose and worldbuilding, and top it with exquisite intimate scenes and you have Valerin the Fair.

This is my 3rd read-through, and each time brings me closer to Nirvana.

[Bryn Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drop-dead gorgeous language, and a true feel of medieval romance-in-the-old-sense; I felt I had in hand an episode of Spenser (who was sex and violence) with the horizons possible today. Quite a confection, that, real Arthurian and about a third of the page count erotica (like I say, Spenser did as much of this as he had scope to do, and so did Tasso), the latter exceptional in its writing, and fitting into a story fore and aft so well that neither feels gratuitous.

[Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tired of the same old medieval literature featuring a bunch of stale dudes being oh so heroic in saving helpless maidens?
Try this awesome novella starring a genderfluid butch protagonist, a hot ancient sorceress, great sword fight scenes, dark magic, druids, a luscious forest and beautiful prose.
If sapphic knights, kings and princes is what you've been looking for pick up this book, you won't regret it!

[Dan Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invincible forest butch meets eternal flame destruction sorceress in the first installment of this Arthuriana-inspired sapphic series with gorgeous prose and genderfuckery galore. This is high fantasy the way the best of the medievals wrote it, Chrétien de Troyes and Marie de France but make it queer and steamy af. Anyone sleeping on this series is a fool.

[Peppa Targaryen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Valerin the Fair is a short, captivating fantasy novella. This 50-page tale is perfect for readers seeking LGBTQ+ inclusivity, featuring genderfluid and sapphic characters.

The novella’s strengths lie in its lush and vivid prose. The author’s writing is beautifully descriptive, evoking a timeless, classic fantasy feel. Unlike many of the (indie) fantasy books that are written way too modern 🥲

However, the main character’s encounter and romance with the sorceress felt rushed. The chemistry between them sparks instantly, lacking the slow-burn tension that I crave. While it’s understandable that a novella’s limited length imposes constraints on character and relationship development, the rapid progression of the romance felt abrupt. A bit more build-up would have lent more emotional depth and made the connection between the characters more satisfying.

I have a feeling that Martis the Brazen will be more my cup of tea 🤭

Overall, this novella earns three stars for its engaging prose, strong representation, and potential 🫶🏻

[Sydis0n · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not really sure how I feel about this. The opening was extremely slow and rather convoluted from the flowery language. In a longer story ,where this was paired with introducing the world and characters and gaining the readers interest, perhaps it would have felt less portentous. But, as it is, I could barely get into the story, as there was barely any story to get into.

There were only two points of real intrigue for me, and only one held up (in the most superficial use of the phrase.) The first was a fight and some interesting new characters, which quickly turned out to be for nothing because despite taking up a large portion of the only action in the book, they are never discussed again in any meaningful way, other than to segue to a sequel.

The other was—and I forewarned of its nature—the smut. It would have been better if I cared at all about either of the characters (which I didn't) and worse if I held any standards about such regards (which I don't.) In other words, lesbians doing lesbian things will almost always earn at least 1 star from me, no matter the quality.

[mall0rie666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

apparently, all I need to revitalize my interest in the concept of the smútty novella are: Arthurian aesthetics; immaculate prose; and a fast burn enemies to lovers arc between an immortal butch knight and a femme top goddess of death and rebirth.

[guiltless pleasures · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

Beautifully written novella (almost a short story) about an unkillable woman who is part of a Druid group that wanders an immense forest. It’s a hot sapphic fantasy world and the first in a trilogy of short novellas, and I’ll be reading the rest.

[meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

queer and silly (with druids)

[Natsora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the prose! It’s almost lyrical. And the smut? Hot af!

[sin · Rating 4 out of 5]

[3.5] where there are sapphic knights, i will be there.

[пташатко · Rating 5 out of 5]

ця книжечка got to me on a visceral level... ✋😔

10000000/10

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up based on a rec by author KJ Charles, since I'm always willing to give indie sapphic SFF a try. In Valerin the Fair, Valerin is a young warrior who has been raised by druids as their protector. When a sorceress threatens the forest, Valerin learns that the druids may not have told her everything...

At fifty pages of actual text, the story here felt bit scant and lacked the sleek directness of a good short story. It's hard to get into the abbreviated plot without spoiling the whole thing, but I will say that sapphic lady knights and a vaguely Arthuriana setting are a very promising concept. However, the story hardly got a moment to breathe in the compressed page count, especially with the extended sex scene, and I would have appreciated a bit more development. And on the style side, the prose was lushly ornate to the point of being overdecorated. Overall, I think that this story has some interesting ideas, but they weren't deeply explored, and I have mixed feelings about the execution. Although this story is obviously setting up more characters for their own romances later, I'm not sure I'd be interested in reading them.

[Sophia Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Rien does with Valerin the Fair is ambitious.

The prose is sculpted, not unlike a poet weighing every word, every sense of timbre in how words interconnect, and every interposition of image to create texture. At first, this amount of detailed ornamentation can feel like a veneer, but as you continue it's apparent that the wordcraft is load-bearing.

Everything about Valerin the Fair is meant to invoke an ancient, mystic world, completely unencumbered by the familiar. We, as readers, are the ones entering this world, and once you're in, Rien draws the story around you.

And yes, it does live up to its reputation for being spicy. That spice, like other interactions of characters, is woven with the same care as every other element. The pleasure, as a reader, is the experience of being inside what Rien has created, and it's well worth a revisit.

[marleywrites · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can I just start off by saying that the prose in this novella is seriously immaculate? Seriously, the flow of the author’s writing style is beautiful. I was hooked by all the descriptions of the settings, the outfits, and the feelings the characters were experiencing. I highlighted so many passages during my read through; the author has this way of pairing words and phrases together in a manner that you feel like you’re living in the fantasy world yourself. As an aside, the smut was incredible, it was emotional and passionate. On a differing note, the relationship between Valerin and the druids was interesting to read, and there were mixed emotions during the later scenes. Overall, this author is quite talented and I’m looking forward to reading more of their works!

[J Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt the narrative / plot is kind of rushed due to the nature of it being 50ish pages. (Marking as spoilers for the next statement I guess???) Tbh half this story was a sex scene but it was unexpectedly hot and super my jam so (once again I did not read synopsis and just went with random suggestions I see on social media). I also enjoyed the prose for the setting.

[Kelli Glazebrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is extremely my shit.

[avis03]

Flowery prose, didn't realize it was a novella

[Smut Report]

We read all books in the series and reviewed them together. Find more at Martis the Brazen and Seure the Tempered, and our full review can be read at The Smut Report.

Heat Factor: One extended explicit scene per book

Character Chemistry: Strong instant fate feel

Plot: Knight meets sorceress and reckons with their own magical legacy

Overall: These were really different from what I’ve been reading lately, which was first weird and then nice

Of the three novellas that are currently available (a fourth book is currently in the works), I liked Valerin the Fair the least. I’m not sure if it’s because I hadn’t yet sunk into the world and was distracted by the weirdness of Valerin (she is part tree, kind of, but also made of the blood of the witch) or because the tension is the least balanced.

Oh, and I guess it might be relevant information for some people that there seem to be no (cis) men in this world. As far as I can recall, everyone, including the secondary character peasants, are female or non-binary. (I mean, look at that cover art.) However, the only way we know this is because of the pronouns people use to describe themselves and each other—we still see a wide range of gendered presentations and vocations. But even if the knights might be somewhat masculine-coded (with swords, etc), because everyone is female, it allows the author to play, pushing these same knights out of their expected boxes of behavior. I found this to be a fun bonus.

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[orion · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a disclaimer, I received this book for free some time ago on Itch.io, offered by the author.

I **really** wanted to like this book given that it is based around sapphic knights (seriously, on paper that sounds like a great book) and the writing style itself was very enjoyable. That and coming off the back of Becky Chambers' "As You Wake, Break the Shell", I had pretty high hopes for this.

However, at times I was straight-up confused due to the lack of clarity in some parts and couldn't quite understand what was happening.

The pacing is also pretty off, it takes quite a while to set up the scene and once it's done it immediately turns into not just a relationship but a sex scene. I just found it very difficult to be emotionally invested in this story at all when it was over by the time it was getting anywhere.

At the end of the book there is also a preview of the next novella in the series which I thought would maybe make me more into it but ended up seeming like a lot more of the same.

[Margaux · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did prefer The Scales of Seduction for the sheer intensity of its sex scenes. I was especially captivated by the way the body is transformed and made monstrous, the prose lingering on flesh, metamorphosis, and that strange, aching sense of bodily yearning. There’s something wonderfully visceral about it.

Valerin has a very different dynamic, but I absolutely loved the pairing of a high-dom femme with a genderfluid butch knight. I also loved how that tension extended even into the fight scene, there was something almost erotic in the way their bodies moved against and around each other.

I also really loved the prose in general: lush, physical, and deeply attentive to the body. Both books have a way of making physicality feel inseparable from desire, which was probably what I enjoyed most.

[Alice Lorentino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duuuude this was so good! Like all of the Out of True novellas I have read so far, I would happily read a hundred more pages about the lives and adventures of these characters. I'm so fascinated by the dynamic between Valerin, the druids, and Sebille, I want to analyze them like crazy. The worldbuilding, as always, was top notch, and while the writing became a little over-flowery at times, it was still gorgeous and very enjoyable. And I will admit I enjoyed the relationship that blossomed between Valerin and Sebille (which, again, I want to analyze so bad). I also love how Valerin is genderfluid and how freely this series plays with gender, and the roles and expectations that often come with gender. This was awesome!

[Logan (loganslovelylibrary) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great queer novella with an interesting main character. I would have loved for this to be a bit longer, or for more of the content to be focused on Valerin’s character growth. The romance also happened really fast so a bit more build up would have been great! And lastly, the writing is excellent but a bit too metaphorical and flowery. Would be easier to read if that was toned down a bit, but overall a nice novella. I’ll definitely be reading the next one!

🌈Queer rep: FF main relationship, lesbian main character (possibly a trans woman, or genderqueer with changing genitals), queer female love interest. FF secondary relationships.

[ozias ♪ · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was just very meh. i mean, it was fine, but i didn’t care
this novella moves at a breakneck pace to the sacrifice of strong characterization and meaning, leaving it to feel undeveloped. if you want to write 15k word erotica (though i hesitate to call it that due to the very short, very mellow sex scene), that’s fine, just don’t try to build too much of a world at the same time because you won’t have the space to make it matter
the style of writing was nice, but a bit overwrought at times, with a lot of really obscure words just thrown in for what felt like the sake of it
i liked the fight with martis a LOT but it felt ultimately pointless

[Lioncasey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Every so often, I try to return to this author's work because I was a big fan of them when they were writing fanfiction. I do think this is my last try, though...

The Out of True series seems to be built on all the things that really don't work about their style: lush prose going nowhere, insta-love between the leads that leaves you begging for a spark, no story. The sex was good, but if I wanted erotica, I'd read erotica. As it stands, Valerian wants you to wade through thousands of words of moving from set piece to set piece lacking any narrative thrust or investment from the reader, all to arrive at the sex and then wrap everything up.

[lupine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I forgot I had this, but I am so glad I found it in my files! This was so well-written and it resonates so well in my brain! I didn’t know I was missing this but I know I’ll never forget it. I don’t reread stuff much (too much new stuff to read and all that) but I can see rereading this one often. If you have ever liked fantastical, vaguely medieval, nature-oriented sapphic romance, do yourself a massive favor and read this story!

[Calvin Coqui]

A beautifully sexy and luxurious start to a trans/nonbinary lesbian fantasy erotica series- starting with a druid prince butch and the flame sorceress femme whose spark of power was stolen to create her. Gray's prose, already beautiful when writing in a modern setting and voice, explodes into riotous color when unleashed into the high fantasy mode. If you like butch dykes with swords (which yes is a double entendre) and knight/liege kink then this one is for you.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a short book, and ends at the 75% mark; the rest is a preview of another book. There is an unusual and odd world with different kinds of people. A lot of characters are introduced, and some are intriguing, what with their origins and abilities. The prose is lovely but it seemed to end abruptly.

[Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't really like short stories that much, and this one is basically half setup and half erotica. But I'm rating this higher because of how overwrought the language is. The author never uses "shadowed" when "tenebrous" is available, and the sex is described with lines like "swollen folds glistened like treasure underneath". You've got to respect the dedication.