Seed of the Black Oak

by Christian Chiakulas

Synopsis TK

A barbarian warrior named Epi returns to her homeland years after it was conquered by an evil sorcerer when she learns that her first love, the princess of her tribe, Aly, is actually alive. Determined to rescue the princess, Epi joins a resistance movement to topple the sorcerer's rule, uncover the secret of why he has kept Aly prisoner all these years, and reunite with the love of her life.

Paperback

Published September 1, 2026

About the author

I was born in Chicago and grew up in Oak Park. My 7th-grade English teacher got me into fiction writing with the short story contests he held in class on Fridays.

I live in Chicago with my wife Sara, two kids, and too many animals.

I write fantasy and hardboiled fiction, tabletop RPGs, and history-related nonfiction.

Reviews

[shut.up.moms.reading]

Thank you to the author and publisher for a review copy. Check your tw before reading. This was a solid debut book with a very interesting premise. I had some difficulty settling into this book. The pacing was a little slower than what I enjoy but that is strictly a me issue. I don’t want to leave any rating because I don’t want harm this book from reaching its audience.

[Shelby Finger]

As mentioned in previous reviews listed here, it does rely heavily on a back and forth of the “present” story and flashbacks to better flesh out the relationship between Epi and Aly, while offering a glimpse into the events that lead to the political shift reflected in the story. I personally found the flashbacks useful, because the story starts very quickly with little time for emotional stakes to form between the characters and the reader.

The character of Aly, the love interest Princess and portrayed “damsel in distress” is the more interesting and flesh out character of the two. Sometimes it felt like Epi’s only defined trait was how she felt about Aly, and after a while I had hoped that the book would elaborate more on who she was outside of her romantic interest.

I felt that the main villain’s long-term ambition was a little muddy, and I finished the book not knowing for certain whether the bad guys were bad guys or not, or just not “the good guys.” The villain has amibitions to "unite" the region, but I never felt like it was clear why he wanted to do it, and if his intentions were just "classic bad guy evil." There is a hint of intention in this from the writer, with Epi herself recalling how morally grey her own people were about topics like human sacrifice, so this may have been left open intentionally.

I appreciated the effort the writer put into making a sapphic relationship feel real and fleshed out through the character’s history. I feel that the author portrayed a childhood crush between girls well, however, I wish that one of the main characters had been a lesbian. There were some questionable hook ups in the book that left me feeling kind of weird, but that’s more of a nod towards my personal taste and boundaries, not the overall quality of the book.

The whole book reads like a movie, with a quick plot, meaningful dialogue that moves the story, and a wide birth of travel between locations that is described in short paragraphs. The author clearly has a theatrical mind and knows how to paint big scenes into clear, no fuss wording. Considering the book is about a 4 – 5 hour read, this is a quick, digestible traditional fantasy story. I think the author took special care in building out the world and culture of so many different tribes and people, and this is a strong point for the book.

Overall, the book is well written, and it served as a good palette cleanser between more intense reads and hits the spot if you’re looking for good old fashioned sword fantasy, but with a unique spin.

I’m giving this book 4 stars because I think it succeeded in walking a fine line between the traditional fantasy I grew up reading and appealing to a new breed of fantasy reader without making the more progressive direction feel tokenized or pandering.

[Izzy]

Rating withheld for the sake of not ruining the publication day, but it's like a 2-star for me.

Thank you, GRR, for the arc! Always happy to see more sapphic books on the platform.

Despite being only 300 pages, this book dragged. The constant back and forth with flashbacks killed any pacing the book may have had. I understand why it was chosen, but I didn't enjoy the experience.
The reviewer who said there was "a lot of sex" was exaggarating. Sexual scenes were a minor element, maybe 3 ultra short scenes.
The book does contain a lot of triggers like murder, rape, injury.

[Gio.reads.sapphic]

A warrior's return. A love thouth lost. A kingdom under a shadow.

Reading this book I would never have guessed it was a debut if they hadn't told me before. The writing, the descriptions and narration make a person think of an experienced writer.

You'll start to love some characters right away and hate others – trust me you'll immediately understand who I'm referring to, btw I'm not one to like violence but that character deserves a lot of suffering 🙃.

It's all so well structured and planned that you won't see the plot twist coming until you're reading it.

Honestly, it wasn't quite what I expected. Not much space is given to depicting the actual love story between the two protagonists, in fact, even if it is precisely the feelings that Epi feels from the past that move the entire story, there are very few scenes between the two MCs in the present.

Don't get me wrong, the story works, I just wish there was an extra chapter once they found each other again.

It's a story about friendships, new and fortuitous acquaintances, girl power and love, but it also has very dark folds, so I ask you to check out the CWs before starting it. I myself, despite having read darker and more disturbing books, still think about some scenes – not all in a bad wayeh, after all I liked the book!

Over all it's a 4.5 ⭐ and 2 🔥(closed door)

Now the tropes:
-Dual timeline
-First love
-Second Chance
-Forbidden Love
-Touch her and die
-Romantasy
-HEA
-First time
-Princess × Commoner
-I would die to keep you safe
-Vengeance
-Lesbian with sword


CW:Human sacrifice - violence - assassinations - crude language - blood and gore - M/F & M/M/F sex scenes - cheating (not between MCs) - threat of rape - mention of a mother dying during childbirth - suicidal thoughts and actions - seeing and setting men on fire - seeing your whole family been slaughtered - decapitation - imprisonment - war

[Ida Umphers]

I enjoyed this immsensely. Flashbacks, especially the number required in this story, can be hit or miss for me, but I think they were critical for my enjoyment of this story. If the author had started at the beginning of Epi and Aly's story and written it chronologically I don't see how it could have been done in a single book and I think the world building worked better for me here as I found out things kind of on a need to know basis as the story went along. I enjoyed the characters and the political and military plotting and scheming that had happened to separate Epi and Aly. I've always been a fan of stories where one character discovers that a love they thought lost forever/deceased turns out not to be so this was a win for me. I'd have loved a long, detailed Epilogue showing us more but that's coming from a huge Epilogue fan.

[Bluesky39]

I enjoyed this fantasy from a new to me author. Epi's mission was to return home after a six year absence and save Aly. And have vengeance on the people on her kill list. Then, they would leave and live happily ever after. It didn't go according to plan. Everything is so much more complicated than Epi expected and she finds she is unable to leave without helping to fight the bad sorcerer who has taken over her hometown. The author does a good job switching between then and now and 5here was lots of action. Don't ignore TW's. There are some great side characters and I enjoyed reading their perspective. My only reservations are the age of Epi and Aly and the fact that Epi doesn't seem to grow as a person until the final chapters. I think the author left an opening for a series. If so, I will read it.

[kadairh]

4 epic.

Really well written and pretty brutal at times so read the content warnings, but this is a huge adventure following Epi, who lost her home 6 years ago and at 19 has survived to become a paid assassin. She is called back to her homeland by a mysterious parcel that is a dagger she only associates with her love, the princess Alywael.

I really enjoyed reading this book from a first time novelist, the only reason I didn't put 5 stars is because some continuity of side characters and also the ending had a little of a familiar feel to it but very minor points. Very interested to read more of this author. Enjoy!

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

[Kim]

Epic Fantasy combined with sapphic romance? A first for me, but I was pretty excited to start reading.

Overall I really enjoyed the plot and storyline and getting to know the characters. There were some surprising plot twists that kept me engaged, but the pacing did drag on a bit.

It also took me a while to get into, and even all the way to the end I had some trouble with the unfamiliar, I assume made up, terms in this book. Based on context it was mostly clear what was meant overall, but it still took me out of the story each time I read certain words and I do feel I missed out on some nuance.

That said, once I got more comfortable with the world, I mostly enjoyed reading it. 3.5 stars from me.

[isthisakink]

No rating. And, honestly, the nicest thing I can say is no thanks. Just … no thanks. It looks like I might never actually find a good sapphic epic fantasy. I keep trying, and it never happens. I’m disappointed and disheartened, but considering this was an ARC read and it doesn’t come out for months, I figure I just need to shut my mouth because no one wants my essay of a rant sesh or for my soapbox to come out. If it makes you feel better, you can pretend I DNF-ed it. Idk.


—I received an ARC from Gay Romance Reviews (GRR). All ratings, reviews, and very clearly unwanted opinions are my own.—

[Lissa]

The story of Aly and Epi is a very long saga with lots of details and going back and forth from the past to current time. It is not a book that you can just read in a day. Get comfortable and be prepared to spend the weekend devouring this book. It took me quite a few chapters to get invested in the story, but once I did I did not put it down until I was done. Fighting a battle to get back to the one she loved but thought dead, Epi will stop at nothing to rescue Aly and their lands. Battles, lies, betrayals, and magic fill their story. I am curious to see if there will be a part two.

[Bobbee]

Seed of the Black Oak is a love story, a story of lost love, a story of forbidden love, of love denied, a story of yearning, a story of duty and service to the Kingdom. Where intrigue and plot twists swirl around the reader. Brutality and barbarians abound. Treachery, revenge and freedom are sought. Myth and magic and legend direct everyday life. Betrayal occurs and darkness descends.
Easy reading, interesting story, lots of sex but not too graphic.

[Dee Layton]

This is a book that I really was jumping at the bits to read.
When I got the opportunity to advance read this book through GRR I literally pick this book up so fast it wasn't even funny.
This was just one of those books you read in your like wow because it's something that you can dive into and just not put down. Which is exactly what I've done I read this book from front to back very quickly and absolutely loved it so much.

[Sandy Rinartz]

The start of this book was a little difficult for me. There is a lot of cities and names I had real difficulty pronouncing. I got so wrapped on in trying to pronounce some names I forgot about the story. I did continue with the read and I really enjoyed the story line and characters. I’m happy I stuck with it.

[Tanya]

She is about to find out her lover is still alive and dead as she had thought. She goes back home to help free the people but what she finds is worse than she expected. Now she has more to do than she had expected but she will d what she can to get her lover back into her life. Follow her to see how she gets on

[Kayla]

I had high hopes going into this, however it was just not it. Will not rate this book to bring down a rating prior to release.