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Black Snow
Prince Brier Snow has lived in the shadow of King Snow’s exalted memory. However, his fate changes when he nears his majority and Lirend’s steward queen attempts to dethrone him by exploiting an obscure requirement in the late king’s will: a yearlong sabbatical.
Brier travels to the desolate land of Aire to train under the Ceve guild, scorned refugees of war, including their guarded leader, Roland. Brier’s skillful master unlocks hidden potential, and what begins as a dutiful bond turns into ill-fated affection. When Brier returns to the capital, he’s carrying proof of his indiscretions with Roland—and his condition grows more apparent with each passing day. An affair with the huntsman is a scandal Brier’s enemies can use against him, but the birth of an heir is a burden even Brier is not sure he can bear.
Roland Archer, a man with a murky past, is skeptical of the contract to train the prince but willing to do anything for the guild’s freedom. Despite his best intentions, he is smitten by Lirend’s future king. Roland has resigned himself to solitude, but fate has other plans—for him, for Brier, and for Lirend’s oppressed subjects. Can Roland help Brier face a power-hungry queen and a country torn asunder? Either they will bring equality to a land that desperately needs it, or they’ll be thwarted by cunning enemies and an illusory curse.
Brier travels to the desolate land of Aire to train under the Ceve guild, scorned refugees of war, including their guarded leader, Roland. Brier’s skillful master unlocks hidden potential, and what begins as a dutiful bond turns into ill-fated affection. When Brier returns to the capital, he’s carrying proof of his indiscretions with Roland—and his condition grows more apparent with each passing day. An affair with the huntsman is a scandal Brier’s enemies can use against him, but the birth of an heir is a burden even Brier is not sure he can bear.
Roland Archer, a man with a murky past, is skeptical of the contract to train the prince but willing to do anything for the guild’s freedom. Despite his best intentions, he is smitten by Lirend’s future king. Roland has resigned himself to solitude, but fate has other plans—for him, for Brier, and for Lirend’s oppressed subjects. Can Roland help Brier face a power-hungry queen and a country torn asunder? Either they will bring equality to a land that desperately needs it, or they’ll be thwarted by cunning enemies and an illusory curse.
350 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 7, 2016
27 people are currently reading
571 people want to read
About the author
E.A.B.
4 books45 followersEAB is an airline steward/stewardess, depending on the day, who loves writing erotic fiction/ romance. This translates to: serving Wild Turkey bourbon at 38,000 feet and writing smut at 3am. EAB spends free time role playing and reading. While EAB’s true passion is writing, EAB also enjoys reaching high scores in nerdism, spending time with family(cats included), and watching anime. An east coaster at heart, EAB loves New York Broadway and greasy, heart burn inducing pizza. Feel free to drop a line or recommend some good reads! Always looking for a new book to devour!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
January 19, 2018
So, I loved it. I don’t know why I started this book thinking I wouldn’t. I guess it’s because I didn’t expect 500 pages to live up to the incredibly beautiful book cover. IMO it did. The blurb, which gives a great description of the story, also led me to believe the angst would outweigh the romance. Thankfully, that was not the case. I found it to be very well-balanced story. I guess some readers would consider the less angsty parts of the story to be a bit of a drag, but I didn’t. I liked the fact that I got to breathe a little easy and enjoy the MCs loving each other before shit got real.
I’ll admit the political intrigue part of the story confused me some, and there are a lot of characters to get used to as well. Whatever confusion I experienced didn’t last long and didn’t take away from my enjoyment of what really matters to me when I read a romance novel…the relationship between the MCs. There were struggles and times of separation, but there were also heartfelt, swoony moments that totally won me over.
I’m wondering if EAB is going to write a Quintin and Braedon story. I seriously need the answer to be YES!
I’ll admit the political intrigue part of the story confused me some, and there are a lot of characters to get used to as well. Whatever confusion I experienced didn’t last long and didn’t take away from my enjoyment of what really matters to me when I read a romance novel…the relationship between the MCs. There were struggles and times of separation, but there were also heartfelt, swoony moments that totally won me over.
I’m wondering if EAB is going to write a Quintin and Braedon story. I seriously need the answer to be YES!
Read
December 5, 20165 HEARTS!!!!!
Wow and wow again. This book was something else and that is a high compliment with lack of better words. I am going to try and review this with some sort of meaning but there was a lot going on in this story. Beware, this shall be Rambling Review by Red.
First, this is a long book but now that I look back at my notes, it almost reads as three books in one. You have the beginning which is about Brier being sent on his sabbatical and all he learns in life and love with Roland. You have Brier’s return to Avenough and the whole Mpreg deal that I LOVED from the realization the King is knocked up to the birth *smirks* and what Brier’s body allows him to do. And then you have the reveal, the lies brought forth and all the deceit that comes with it to the end. BUT… there is an epilogue and at first I wasn’t buying it and full on side eyed it but what I was given at the end… OH HELL YEAH. *grabby hands* Gimme the next book.
I have to gush about the cover for a bit because it’s gorgeous. Honestly, it’s what drew me to the book but when you realize how well it fits, when you actually get those moments of intimacy with Roland and Brier, the cover is so damn swoony. I just can’t take it.
So, from the prologue we know this is a tale based upon the Snow White fairy tale with a twist. I adored how we got a young prince Brier being told the story and how at the end, he declares he wants to be kissed by a huntsman rather than a prince. I mean, why wouldn’t he when the huntsman wouldn’t kill Snow White because he fell in love with her heart and the prince fell in love with her beauty. It was adorable to see Brier’s reaction and it gave foreshadowing to the story, even if you didn’t know the tale of Snow white.
So Prince Brier who has not yet reached his majority to take the throne as king, is sent by his evil queen and step mother on a sabbatical to learn how to hunt, fight and all that stuff you need to learn to be a man. *grins* He is sent with Roland Archer, a huntsman whom he will live with for the year. Brier is intrigued and quite quickly has a crush on his new, “Master” but Roland is so stand offish. *sigh* There is a total teacher/student as well as a May/December and maybe a bit of Dom/Sub going on with these two and let me tell you it’s beautiful. I loved every single slow burn moment of the sabbatical and it broke my heart.
I won’t go into too much detail because I think it is total plot spoiler but this book is gorgeous.
Prince Brier has silver leaf markings on his skin that have grown from a single leaf at birth to cover most of this body. Brier has been told they are an abomination by his step monster and he is ashamed of the marks or as he calls them scars and is careful to hide them. Yet Brier remembers being told they are more, a gift and would be known once their magic is revealed. Yeah, I know. What the hell are you talking about Sara? I am just trying to throw the fact out there that they exist and are magic and yup. There is a point and maybe you could read the story to find out, eh?
So anyway. Brier and Roland spend almost a year together BUT... directly after the little prince’s swoony birthday aka his majority and becoming a man, a knock at the door comes at the crappiest time. Brier is being fetched early for his coronation and taken away from Roland with a crumbled note from the queen. Ugh. What was in that note? What is Roland hiding? Oh boy, when we find out I was shocked and then fell in love with how this story blends that of Snow White with this all together new tale of Prince Snow.
Here is where part-one ends and my heart begins to break. Goodness. There was angst in this book I was not prepared for but the blurb does tell us Brier goes back and is knocked up with Roland’s baby. *rubs hand together* I was dying for the pregnancy part to begin and hoped it would take the pain of angst away for a bit.
Alone and without one another, the men struggle. Roland reveals what was asked of him after he left the queen and that he couldn't go through with it. IF you know the story of snow white, you’ll know what was asked and what decision THAT huntsman made. Sigh. This book hurt my heart after it built it up with such a slow burn romance. I hated the men apart but seeing Brier come into his own as King Snow was lovely and how he began to indeed put forth all he told Roland he would, hurt my heart. I wasn’t a fan of the separation and really just wanted to get to the part where Brier finds out he is knocked up and oh holy hell, how will Roland take that news.
When the couple are reunited once again and learn of Brier carrying their unborn child, they decide to be together and leave it to the wit of Marietta to decide that Roland shall be Brier's guard, giving him immediate and constant access to the man he loves and his king. But Brier still does not know of the contract Roland took and the shame he feels and I did not want him to ever find out.
I’m not a fan of lying in real life. It’s the worst thing you can do to me but in fiction, in fantasy, I get why characters do it even if I don’t like it. But this, I felt the shame and the uncertainty Roland felt of telling Brier the truth and losing his love forever. They have this connection the King and the Huntsman that wove its spell around my hopeless romantic heart and I wanted nothing more for them to be together happy and in love.
I’m going to toss this out there, I was never a fan of Prince Quintin and quite seriously side eyed him throughout the book. I thought he was always the bad guy, I felt as if he was lying 99% of the time and I don’t know why but I never felt his declarations to Brier. They felt false and maybe I was just biased because I was head over feet in love with Roland but I wanted to just shove my hand in Quintin’s face and push him back to Menlor where he belonged. I do know his reason for being there, wanting and loving Brier for his beauty just like the prince with Snow White but he bothered me. His forever company of Lord Renli who I was certain from the first meeting had to be a snake did not help his campaign with me either.
Ugh.
I have to say that my first official Mpreg book was amazing. I was excited to be with Brier and Roland as they found out Brier was pregnant and how it was possible. I loved Brier going through pregnancy and loving the suffering we women go through to give birth and then the birth came. I don’t know what I was expecting but I freaking love how it was handled and how Brier’s body adapted afterward. The bit of kink tossed in with Brier’s new body is not something I had every read before but it worked for me because it worked for them and really, Roland that way was sexy.
Like I said, this is a pretty long book and felt like three in one so long book, long review.
After the birth, the couple decide to move on with their relationship even though Roland would never be accepted on the throne because Brier is Aurelian - A person of noble birth. Usually wealthy Lords and Ladies. Have immense influence in the court and Roland is Thenian or Xenothian - A derogatory name for a refugee from Thenia. Low class, with no rights. So you see, the king can’t marry a low class citizen but thankfully Brier doesn’t fucking care what anyone else thinks because he is in love and the man he loves adores him but… the man he loves still has a secret and like all good secrets, they are revealed in dramatic form.
Now we come to part three and another session of ripping my heart out. This part was painful and I read a good part of it through my fingers. The love Brier and Roland have should not be put asunder and though I know Brier’s reason for his actions, they hurt me dammit. But it was necessary to go through to get to the end and that’s all I am going say about part three…sigh.
The end was amazing and exactly what I wanted and then I turned the page and got an epilogue. As I said before it was NOT what I was expecting and when we get WHO our MC wants… I wasn’t thrilled and then a kiss happened and I was all FUCK YEAH! I am all in how long do I have to wait???
So if you can’t tell by the many, many words I have rambled through on this review, I loved this book. Brier and Roland are gorgeous. The side characters were amazing and I adored the guild and those who Brier held close to him. This was such a wonderfully rich and romantic story that I am exhausted from it now in the best possible way.
Le Sigh.
Wow and wow again. This book was something else and that is a high compliment with lack of better words. I am going to try and review this with some sort of meaning but there was a lot going on in this story. Beware, this shall be Rambling Review by Red.
First, this is a long book but now that I look back at my notes, it almost reads as three books in one. You have the beginning which is about Brier being sent on his sabbatical and all he learns in life and love with Roland. You have Brier’s return to Avenough and the whole Mpreg deal that I LOVED from the realization the King is knocked up to the birth *smirks* and what Brier’s body allows him to do. And then you have the reveal, the lies brought forth and all the deceit that comes with it to the end. BUT… there is an epilogue and at first I wasn’t buying it and full on side eyed it but what I was given at the end… OH HELL YEAH. *grabby hands* Gimme the next book.
I have to gush about the cover for a bit because it’s gorgeous. Honestly, it’s what drew me to the book but when you realize how well it fits, when you actually get those moments of intimacy with Roland and Brier, the cover is so damn swoony. I just can’t take it.
“But how did she come to love the prince who had only loved her for her beauty when the huntsman had loved her for her heart?
“How indeed.”
“And the poor huntsman, who had died, rather than to disgrace himself with the blood of his beloved. ’Tis a sad story indeed, Marietta.” Brier pouted. “Although you said it was a happy end.”
“Well….” Marietta sighed, bemused. “I did not think of it in that way, little prince.”
“I think that I should marry a huntsman over a prince,” Brier decided as he flopped his head into the mountain of pillows, smiling softly.
“And why not a princess?” the nurse questioned, crossing her arms.
“That is because I should like to be kissed by a huntsman,” Brier answered matter-of-factly.
So, from the prologue we know this is a tale based upon the Snow White fairy tale with a twist. I adored how we got a young prince Brier being told the story and how at the end, he declares he wants to be kissed by a huntsman rather than a prince. I mean, why wouldn’t he when the huntsman wouldn’t kill Snow White because he fell in love with her heart and the prince fell in love with her beauty. It was adorable to see Brier’s reaction and it gave foreshadowing to the story, even if you didn’t know the tale of Snow white.
So Prince Brier who has not yet reached his majority to take the throne as king, is sent by his evil queen and step mother on a sabbatical to learn how to hunt, fight and all that stuff you need to learn to be a man. *grins* He is sent with Roland Archer, a huntsman whom he will live with for the year. Brier is intrigued and quite quickly has a crush on his new, “Master” but Roland is so stand offish. *sigh* There is a total teacher/student as well as a May/December and maybe a bit of Dom/Sub going on with these two and let me tell you it’s beautiful. I loved every single slow burn moment of the sabbatical and it broke my heart.
I won’t go into too much detail because I think it is total plot spoiler but this book is gorgeous.
Prince Brier has silver leaf markings on his skin that have grown from a single leaf at birth to cover most of this body. Brier has been told they are an abomination by his step monster and he is ashamed of the marks or as he calls them scars and is careful to hide them. Yet Brier remembers being told they are more, a gift and would be known once their magic is revealed. Yeah, I know. What the hell are you talking about Sara? I am just trying to throw the fact out there that they exist and are magic and yup. There is a point and maybe you could read the story to find out, eh?
“Does this mean you’ve taken a liking to me after all, little prince?”
So anyway. Brier and Roland spend almost a year together BUT... directly after the little prince’s swoony birthday aka his majority and becoming a man, a knock at the door comes at the crappiest time. Brier is being fetched early for his coronation and taken away from Roland with a crumbled note from the queen. Ugh. What was in that note? What is Roland hiding? Oh boy, when we find out I was shocked and then fell in love with how this story blends that of Snow White with this all together new tale of Prince Snow.
Here is where part-one ends and my heart begins to break. Goodness. There was angst in this book I was not prepared for but the blurb does tell us Brier goes back and is knocked up with Roland’s baby. *rubs hand together* I was dying for the pregnancy part to begin and hoped it would take the pain of angst away for a bit.
Alone and without one another, the men struggle. Roland reveals what was asked of him after he left the queen and that he couldn't go through with it. IF you know the story of snow white, you’ll know what was asked and what decision THAT huntsman made. Sigh. This book hurt my heart after it built it up with such a slow burn romance. I hated the men apart but seeing Brier come into his own as King Snow was lovely and how he began to indeed put forth all he told Roland he would, hurt my heart. I wasn’t a fan of the separation and really just wanted to get to the part where Brier finds out he is knocked up and oh holy hell, how will Roland take that news.
His whole life he’d worried about his image and his kingdom. To ignore the whispers about his scars, and his kingship? He’d never thought of it that way.
When the couple are reunited once again and learn of Brier carrying their unborn child, they decide to be together and leave it to the wit of Marietta to decide that Roland shall be Brier's guard, giving him immediate and constant access to the man he loves and his king. But Brier still does not know of the contract Roland took and the shame he feels and I did not want him to ever find out.
I’m not a fan of lying in real life. It’s the worst thing you can do to me but in fiction, in fantasy, I get why characters do it even if I don’t like it. But this, I felt the shame and the uncertainty Roland felt of telling Brier the truth and losing his love forever. They have this connection the King and the Huntsman that wove its spell around my hopeless romantic heart and I wanted nothing more for them to be together happy and in love.
I’m going to toss this out there, I was never a fan of Prince Quintin and quite seriously side eyed him throughout the book. I thought he was always the bad guy, I felt as if he was lying 99% of the time and I don’t know why but I never felt his declarations to Brier. They felt false and maybe I was just biased because I was head over feet in love with Roland but I wanted to just shove my hand in Quintin’s face and push him back to Menlor where he belonged. I do know his reason for being there, wanting and loving Brier for his beauty just like the prince with Snow White but he bothered me. His forever company of Lord Renli who I was certain from the first meeting had to be a snake did not help his campaign with me either.
Ugh.
I have to say that my first official Mpreg book was amazing. I was excited to be with Brier and Roland as they found out Brier was pregnant and how it was possible. I loved Brier going through pregnancy and loving the suffering we women go through to give birth and then the birth came. I don’t know what I was expecting but I freaking love how it was handled and how Brier’s body adapted afterward. The bit of kink tossed in with Brier’s new body is not something I had every read before but it worked for me because it worked for them and really, Roland that way was sexy.
Like I said, this is a pretty long book and felt like three in one so long book, long review.
After the birth, the couple decide to move on with their relationship even though Roland would never be accepted on the throne because Brier is Aurelian - A person of noble birth. Usually wealthy Lords and Ladies. Have immense influence in the court and Roland is Thenian or Xenothian - A derogatory name for a refugee from Thenia. Low class, with no rights. So you see, the king can’t marry a low class citizen but thankfully Brier doesn’t fucking care what anyone else thinks because he is in love and the man he loves adores him but… the man he loves still has a secret and like all good secrets, they are revealed in dramatic form.
Now we come to part three and another session of ripping my heart out. This part was painful and I read a good part of it through my fingers. The love Brier and Roland have should not be put asunder and though I know Brier’s reason for his actions, they hurt me dammit. But it was necessary to go through to get to the end and that’s all I am going say about part three…sigh.
The end was amazing and exactly what I wanted and then I turned the page and got an epilogue. As I said before it was NOT what I was expecting and when we get WHO our MC wants… I wasn’t thrilled and then a kiss happened and I was all FUCK YEAH! I am all in how long do I have to wait???
So if you can’t tell by the many, many words I have rambled through on this review, I loved this book. Brier and Roland are gorgeous. The side characters were amazing and I adored the guild and those who Brier held close to him. This was such a wonderfully rich and romantic story that I am exhausted from it now in the best possible way.
Le Sigh.
November 11, 2016
Just for clarification, Brier is not transgender. He is biologically male, and identifies as a gay man. This is a high-fantasy novel, with male pregnancy (m-preg), and elements of supernatural. Hope this helps with any confusion regarding his gender or sexuality. Thank you all for your interest in Black Snow!
-EAB
-EAB
February 6, 2017
4.25 Stars Weird-arse rating, I know, but it is more than 4 stars and less than 4.5 stars.
I have 37 status updates on here, that should give any prospective reader a fair indication of the writing.
This is a long book for what is essentially a MM romance. However, it kept me entertained the entire way. It's primarily a character and romance driven fairy tale reimagining, fantasy/alt-historical book with some action, a bit of angst, some obstacles, mpreg and a whole lot of love.
Full review here-
http://ontopdownunderbookreviews.com/...
I have 37 status updates on here, that should give any prospective reader a fair indication of the writing.
This is a long book for what is essentially a MM romance. However, it kept me entertained the entire way. It's primarily a character and romance driven fairy tale reimagining, fantasy/alt-historical book with some action, a bit of angst, some obstacles, mpreg and a whole lot of love.
Full review here-
http://ontopdownunderbookreviews.com/...
November 12, 2016
*sigh*
Beautiful. Stunning. Heart-ripping.
~
Book – Black Snow
Author – EAB
Star rating - ★★★★★
No. of Pages – 350
Cover – Gorgeous!
POV – 3rd person, dual POV
Would I read it again – Yes!
Genre – LGBT, Fantasy, MPreg
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine
*It is impossible to talk about the plot without the risk of SPOILERS. So, please be forewarned that there MAY BE SPOILERS AHEAD*
Okay, so this is a really long story, but I get it now. It's like a trilogy of around 100 pages, all put into one novel and it's frickin' fantastic!
For me, it's split like this →
Part 1 – Brier's year long sabbatical with Rolande and the Ceve Guild.
Part 2 – Brier returning to his life and then the whole mpreg storyline.
Part 3 – Brier and Quintin's storyline, as well as the sneaky little Epilogue at the end ;)
I have so many conflicting emotions that I'm going to have a serious book hangover now that it's over. First...a glossary at the front? Awesome! Thank you. Why is this important? Because I don't read Contents pages, because in cases like this, where chapters have titles, they can often give spoilers away if you peek them before their time. I avoid that, because I like to be surprised. So I often don't see if there's a glossary at the back until I reach the end of the book, which is pointless, because I've just floundered through it all. Not in this case. It's right at the beginning, so I bookmarked it and it came in so handy when I needed to flick back to check that a word meant what I remembered it meant.
Next up, the whole Snow White gig? Loved it! Right from the start, when the entire Prologue was dedicated to a re-telling of Snow White, with a twist, I knew it was going to be important and I wasn't wrong.
There were so many 'moments' in this story that my head is in a bit of a spin. First of all, the whole Rolande's hands in Brier's hair was beautiful:
“Brier felt gentle hands in his hair. He closed his eyes and wished they did not calm his spirit so effortlessly.”
The chemistry between our MC's, Rolande and Brier was palpable and then explosive and then downright gutwrenching. They had this slow build of trust, friendship and then romance. It all came together perfectly.
There is a very tame Dom/sub element, a hint of voyeurism, a May-December romance, and definitely plenty of Mpreg in detail (from discovery of birth, to pregnancy, to labour and beyond). Oh, and let's not forget the eww!
Beautiful. Stunning. Heart-ripping.
~
Book – Black Snow
Author – EAB
Star rating - ★★★★★
No. of Pages – 350
Cover – Gorgeous!
POV – 3rd person, dual POV
Would I read it again – Yes!
Genre – LGBT, Fantasy, MPreg
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine
*It is impossible to talk about the plot without the risk of SPOILERS. So, please be forewarned that there MAY BE SPOILERS AHEAD*
Okay, so this is a really long story, but I get it now. It's like a trilogy of around 100 pages, all put into one novel and it's frickin' fantastic!
For me, it's split like this →
Part 1 – Brier's year long sabbatical with Rolande and the Ceve Guild.
Part 2 – Brier returning to his life and then the whole mpreg storyline.
Part 3 – Brier and Quintin's storyline, as well as the sneaky little Epilogue at the end ;)
I have so many conflicting emotions that I'm going to have a serious book hangover now that it's over. First...a glossary at the front? Awesome! Thank you. Why is this important? Because I don't read Contents pages, because in cases like this, where chapters have titles, they can often give spoilers away if you peek them before their time. I avoid that, because I like to be surprised. So I often don't see if there's a glossary at the back until I reach the end of the book, which is pointless, because I've just floundered through it all. Not in this case. It's right at the beginning, so I bookmarked it and it came in so handy when I needed to flick back to check that a word meant what I remembered it meant.
Next up, the whole Snow White gig? Loved it! Right from the start, when the entire Prologue was dedicated to a re-telling of Snow White, with a twist, I knew it was going to be important and I wasn't wrong.
There were so many 'moments' in this story that my head is in a bit of a spin. First of all, the whole Rolande's hands in Brier's hair was beautiful:
“Brier felt gentle hands in his hair. He closed his eyes and wished they did not calm his spirit so effortlessly.”
The chemistry between our MC's, Rolande and Brier was palpable and then explosive and then downright gutwrenching. They had this slow build of trust, friendship and then romance. It all came together perfectly.
There is a very tame Dom/sub element, a hint of voyeurism, a May-December romance, and definitely plenty of Mpreg in detail (from discovery of birth, to pregnancy, to labour and beyond). Oh, and let's not forget the eww!
November 26, 2016
Ok, ok. Let's start with the truly lame cover for this book. If that is supposed to be two men (based upon the story), I think we need a new design. In this case, the cover definitely leaves one questioning whether this is a m/m love story or a m/w love story. I suppose the lousy cover makes sense when considering the poor editing job that was done on this book.
This is a "Snow White" story, except told from a male point of view. Brier is the soon-to-be king. Because he is underage, his step-mother has been running the kingdom since the death of his father. Part of the former King's will require Prince Brier to live with peasants throughout the countryside. The Ceve Guild, ruled over by Rolando, has agreed to take in the prince for one year pursuant to a contract with the Queen. There is a second "contract", however, involving a death hit on Prince Brier. Of course, the death hit never happens, and there is never any real discussion about it in the book. But, out of no where, the drama queen/prima donna of this story, Prince Brier, throws a fit when he finds out that no one ever told him about for contract on his life.
By the way folks, every character has multiple nicknames and you are supposed to keep up with them all. It is best to say that any character with a name starting with "B" is the prince, and any character starting with an R is Rolando.
During his time with the Ceve guild members, a mutual bond is formed between Brier and Rolando. It starts as mutual respect, but it is clear that there is much more just under the surface.
As the story continues, Brier and Rolando run the Ceve Guild's legitimate business concerning the sale of firewood. Brier is told to cut much of the wood to develop upper-body strength. Upper body strength, as the story develops, is a necessity for accurately using a bow and arrow in hunting. Our two main characters go hunting as winter approaches to build a stockpile of meat to make it through the winter. During the hunt, Brier learns how to handle a bow to bring down the food necessary for their survival. It is also during this three week hunt, that Brier reveals the feelings that he has for Rolando, who is twice Brier's age.
Ultimately, love wins out and our two main characters become lovers, and that moves the story forward as Brier becomes pregnant (yes, a male pregnancy -- remember it's a novel, so willing suspension of disbelief.).
Ultimately, on Brier's 20th birthday, guards from his kingdom come to pick him up at the Guild headquarters (Rolando's house) to be crowned as King, and Roland just let's him go without much melodrama. And so ends the first part of this story. (The first 120 pages of this book is basically a short story about the relationship between Brier and Roland.)
The next portion of the book concerns Brier's actions surrounding his coronation as King. This portion of the book has Brier tied to a relationship with an apparently smarmy man named Prince Quintin. During this portion of the book, Brier's pregnancy starts to show. Well, he has the baby - don't ask how - and then he decides that he will announce that Roland is the father of the child. It was at this point that now King Brier is advised that there was a plot to kill him that never went anywhere at the beginning of the story, and our King (or should I more properly say our Drama Queen) has a hissy fit and expels his lover and father of his child from the kingdom. (This was just a little too much soap opera for me.)
The rest of the book goes on . . . He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not . . . . And on and on and on and on like that for nearly 150 pages. It became nauseating. Finally, and I am not giving anything big away here -- Brier and Roland get married and live happily ever after, having a brood of children. (And there is one plot "twist" involving the Main Character's son and smarmy Prince Quintin. I just hope there is no sequel involving that relationship.).
This book needed some editing by a good editor with a red pen to hack out chunks of this book to reveal the decent story that is somewhere under all of the melodrama. I just thought the book would never end at times. Because of that, this book gets 2 stars from me.
. . .
This is a "Snow White" story, except told from a male point of view. Brier is the soon-to-be king. Because he is underage, his step-mother has been running the kingdom since the death of his father. Part of the former King's will require Prince Brier to live with peasants throughout the countryside. The Ceve Guild, ruled over by Rolando, has agreed to take in the prince for one year pursuant to a contract with the Queen. There is a second "contract", however, involving a death hit on Prince Brier. Of course, the death hit never happens, and there is never any real discussion about it in the book. But, out of no where, the drama queen/prima donna of this story, Prince Brier, throws a fit when he finds out that no one ever told him about for contract on his life.
By the way folks, every character has multiple nicknames and you are supposed to keep up with them all. It is best to say that any character with a name starting with "B" is the prince, and any character starting with an R is Rolando.
During his time with the Ceve guild members, a mutual bond is formed between Brier and Rolando. It starts as mutual respect, but it is clear that there is much more just under the surface.
As the story continues, Brier and Rolando run the Ceve Guild's legitimate business concerning the sale of firewood. Brier is told to cut much of the wood to develop upper-body strength. Upper body strength, as the story develops, is a necessity for accurately using a bow and arrow in hunting. Our two main characters go hunting as winter approaches to build a stockpile of meat to make it through the winter. During the hunt, Brier learns how to handle a bow to bring down the food necessary for their survival. It is also during this three week hunt, that Brier reveals the feelings that he has for Rolando, who is twice Brier's age.
Ultimately, love wins out and our two main characters become lovers, and that moves the story forward as Brier becomes pregnant (yes, a male pregnancy -- remember it's a novel, so willing suspension of disbelief.).
Ultimately, on Brier's 20th birthday, guards from his kingdom come to pick him up at the Guild headquarters (Rolando's house) to be crowned as King, and Roland just let's him go without much melodrama. And so ends the first part of this story. (The first 120 pages of this book is basically a short story about the relationship between Brier and Roland.)
The next portion of the book concerns Brier's actions surrounding his coronation as King. This portion of the book has Brier tied to a relationship with an apparently smarmy man named Prince Quintin. During this portion of the book, Brier's pregnancy starts to show. Well, he has the baby - don't ask how - and then he decides that he will announce that Roland is the father of the child. It was at this point that now King Brier is advised that there was a plot to kill him that never went anywhere at the beginning of the story, and our King (or should I more properly say our Drama Queen) has a hissy fit and expels his lover and father of his child from the kingdom. (This was just a little too much soap opera for me.)
The rest of the book goes on . . . He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not . . . . And on and on and on and on like that for nearly 150 pages. It became nauseating. Finally, and I am not giving anything big away here -- Brier and Roland get married and live happily ever after, having a brood of children. (And there is one plot "twist" involving the Main Character's son and smarmy Prince Quintin. I just hope there is no sequel involving that relationship.).
This book needed some editing by a good editor with a red pen to hack out chunks of this book to reveal the decent story that is somewhere under all of the melodrama. I just thought the book would never end at times. Because of that, this book gets 2 stars from me.
. . .
December 25, 2016
4.5 STARS
February 10, 2017
4.5 Stars
Full Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher. This has in no way influenced my review.*
To put it simply, this book was a complex and beautiful love story. The characters were imperfect, and their relationship was imperfect, but they fought for each other, not just against outside obstacles but also their own inner demons and all the struggles that came up between them. There were mistakes and secrets and betrayals, but there was also love, and that was what counted.
This is difficult to review though because the first half (well, more like 35%) and the second half felt really different. I would actually give the first half 4.5 stars and the second 4 stars, but the whole thing was very well-written and I think the minor problems I had with the second half were just personal taste type things, so I rounded up. It still makes the review a bit difficult though, so I'm going to split it up a bit.
In the first half, Brier was sent away and was living in a cabin in the woods, learning things like healing and fighting from Roland and the Ceve guild. It may not sound exciting when I describe it, but around 25% I stopped for a moment and thought to myself how glad I was that I was still only at 25% because I didn't want the book to ever end. I was so immersed in the world and the story and the characters. While I was reading, I wasn't home on my couch, I was there with them.
This was also one of the most realistic buildups to a romance I've ever read. Since it was high fantasy they ended up in different types of situations than romances set in our world, but the pacing, the way things happened, the struggles, the obstacles, the length of time, the feelings---it was all perfect.
Also, I love when characters do something (in this case it was camping) in which it's just the two of them or a small group, and they're in close quarters (like a tent) whether they want to be or not, forced to interact and get to know each other even if things aren't going well between them. It makes things super character-focused, and there was a lot of that in the first half.
The second half, however, took place back in the palace, so it didn't have that same cozy intimacy of the forest. It also had a lot more politics---literally, since Brier was running a kingdom.
The second half was also where the mpreg came in. I had never read mpreg before, but it was surprisingly easy to suspend my disbelief. I think the fact that the male pregnancy had a magical explanation and wasn't a normal thing to the characters either made it easier for me. Really, if I can accept magical abilities and creatures, why not magical mpreg?
What really kind of threw me in the second half though was Roland. In the beginning he seemed so docile and kind and level-headed (that one thing in his past aside). But then he was suddenly bad-tempered and violent and jealous. Don't get me wrong, I liked that he was legitimately flawed rather than "beautifully flawed," and in many ways he was so realistic that it weirded me out a little because he reminded me of someone I know in real life. And barring one scene that I was not ok with, he still cared about and supported Brier. It just would've made more sense to see that side of him in the first half too. And both Roland and Brier could be a little overdramatic at times but were, for the most part, developed and believable given their situations.
Oh, and that epilogue surprised me. *POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT* *END SPOILER ALERT* And it did leave the possibility for a sequel involving different main characters.
One last thing, I want to give major props to the cover artist because not only is the cover gorgeous, it perfectly embodies who the characters are on both the outside and the inside!
So overall, the whole book was intricate, detailed, well thought-out, and complicated, not in a confusing way but in the way that real life would be. The pregnancy and the politics also brought the story in interesting directions sometimes that I didn't expect but that made sense. Also, the story seemed to be loosely based on or inspired by Snow White (I didn't realize there were seven guild members until after I finished, that was cute), but it's not a direct retelling. And now this review has gotten really long so I'm just going wrap this up by saying things were not easy and definitely not perfect for these characters, but I'm so glad I got to read their story!
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes very character-focused high fantasy and m/m love stories with obstacles that come from both outside and inside the relationship.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
Full Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher. This has in no way influenced my review.*
To put it simply, this book was a complex and beautiful love story. The characters were imperfect, and their relationship was imperfect, but they fought for each other, not just against outside obstacles but also their own inner demons and all the struggles that came up between them. There were mistakes and secrets and betrayals, but there was also love, and that was what counted.
This is difficult to review though because the first half (well, more like 35%) and the second half felt really different. I would actually give the first half 4.5 stars and the second 4 stars, but the whole thing was very well-written and I think the minor problems I had with the second half were just personal taste type things, so I rounded up. It still makes the review a bit difficult though, so I'm going to split it up a bit.
In the first half, Brier was sent away and was living in a cabin in the woods, learning things like healing and fighting from Roland and the Ceve guild. It may not sound exciting when I describe it, but around 25% I stopped for a moment and thought to myself how glad I was that I was still only at 25% because I didn't want the book to ever end. I was so immersed in the world and the story and the characters. While I was reading, I wasn't home on my couch, I was there with them.
This was also one of the most realistic buildups to a romance I've ever read. Since it was high fantasy they ended up in different types of situations than romances set in our world, but the pacing, the way things happened, the struggles, the obstacles, the length of time, the feelings---it was all perfect.
Also, I love when characters do something (in this case it was camping) in which it's just the two of them or a small group, and they're in close quarters (like a tent) whether they want to be or not, forced to interact and get to know each other even if things aren't going well between them. It makes things super character-focused, and there was a lot of that in the first half.
The second half, however, took place back in the palace, so it didn't have that same cozy intimacy of the forest. It also had a lot more politics---literally, since Brier was running a kingdom.
The second half was also where the mpreg came in. I had never read mpreg before, but it was surprisingly easy to suspend my disbelief. I think the fact that the male pregnancy had a magical explanation and wasn't a normal thing to the characters either made it easier for me. Really, if I can accept magical abilities and creatures, why not magical mpreg?
What really kind of threw me in the second half though was Roland. In the beginning he seemed so docile and kind and level-headed (that one thing in his past aside). But then he was suddenly bad-tempered and violent and jealous. Don't get me wrong, I liked that he was legitimately flawed rather than "beautifully flawed," and in many ways he was so realistic that it weirded me out a little because he reminded me of someone I know in real life. And barring one scene that I was not ok with, he still cared about and supported Brier. It just would've made more sense to see that side of him in the first half too. And both Roland and Brier could be a little overdramatic at times but were, for the most part, developed and believable given their situations.
Oh, and that epilogue surprised me. *POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT* *END SPOILER ALERT* And it did leave the possibility for a sequel involving different main characters.
One last thing, I want to give major props to the cover artist because not only is the cover gorgeous, it perfectly embodies who the characters are on both the outside and the inside!
So overall, the whole book was intricate, detailed, well thought-out, and complicated, not in a confusing way but in the way that real life would be. The pregnancy and the politics also brought the story in interesting directions sometimes that I didn't expect but that made sense. Also, the story seemed to be loosely based on or inspired by Snow White (I didn't realize there were seven guild members until after I finished, that was cute), but it's not a direct retelling. And now this review has gotten really long so I'm just going wrap this up by saying things were not easy and definitely not perfect for these characters, but I'm so glad I got to read their story!
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes very character-focused high fantasy and m/m love stories with obstacles that come from both outside and inside the relationship.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
November 14, 2016
The cover was pure love. And I'm a big fan of mpreg. And this take of Snow White story looked incredibly fascinating in theory. But the book was just not for me. Maybe it was the writing, I don't know. But it just dragged and I felt bored. There were some emotionally charged moments but too few for my taste. And I really didn't find the main characters likable.
Read
January 31, 2017DNF. I'm sorry I tried but I just have zero interest in this one now.
I hit the half way mark and became totally confused as to the ruling of this kingdom.
The story is far to dragged out for my taste and I'm just bored now.
No rating.
I hit the half way mark and became totally confused as to the ruling of this kingdom.
The story is far to dragged out for my taste and I'm just bored now.
No rating.
November 7, 2016
Black Snow is a high fantasy, suspenseful, romantic, mpreg story. Now, I haven’t read a lot of mpreg stories in my life so they are still a new sort of thing for me. I adore high fantasy and I’ve come to see a lot of MM high fantasy books seem to be venturing to the mpreg area. It’s not a bad thing I’m just still trying to get used to it.
When the story opens Prince Brier Snow is being read to by his nurse maid. She’s reading Snow White. It’s not until the story progresses that I see so many parallels. However, the author absolutely made it their own and the story does not follow it to the T. There were some similarities and I found that to be quite wonderful.
Brier’s evil stepmother sends him away to be trained for a year before he is to take the throne as king. The end result of this finds the Prince falling in love, learning hard life lessons, and becoming stronger than anyone ever knew.
I was intrigued with Brier; he has an ethereal beauty about him but he’s also covered in silver scars shaped like leaves all over his body. I was curious about them and when it’s revealed what they are it’s very cool!
Roland… He tore my heart out. TO PIECES! Life has not been kind to Roland Archer in any way. And when he sees an opportunity to free his people by training the Prince, the huntsman takes it. He had no idea how much that would change his life.
We follow Brier and Roland through the span of years in Black Snow. We’re talking over 20 years. The huge jump comes at the epilogue and that epilogue was everything!
Black Snow is wildly entertaining. I gasped and cried, I held my breath and picked up the pieces of my broken heart a few times. The epilogue does leave this open to be a series or at least have a book two. I would be very interested in reading that. It gave us so much hope and showed us so much love.
Brier and Roland truly fight for their love in this book. Almost everyone is against their union. There’s war and deceit. There’s strong love and weak alliances. It’s really got just about everything you’d look for in a high fantasy story.
I very much enjoyed this.
When the story opens Prince Brier Snow is being read to by his nurse maid. She’s reading Snow White. It’s not until the story progresses that I see so many parallels. However, the author absolutely made it their own and the story does not follow it to the T. There were some similarities and I found that to be quite wonderful.
Brier’s evil stepmother sends him away to be trained for a year before he is to take the throne as king. The end result of this finds the Prince falling in love, learning hard life lessons, and becoming stronger than anyone ever knew.
I was intrigued with Brier; he has an ethereal beauty about him but he’s also covered in silver scars shaped like leaves all over his body. I was curious about them and when it’s revealed what they are it’s very cool!
Roland… He tore my heart out. TO PIECES! Life has not been kind to Roland Archer in any way. And when he sees an opportunity to free his people by training the Prince, the huntsman takes it. He had no idea how much that would change his life.
We follow Brier and Roland through the span of years in Black Snow. We’re talking over 20 years. The huge jump comes at the epilogue and that epilogue was everything!
Black Snow is wildly entertaining. I gasped and cried, I held my breath and picked up the pieces of my broken heart a few times. The epilogue does leave this open to be a series or at least have a book two. I would be very interested in reading that. It gave us so much hope and showed us so much love.
Brier and Roland truly fight for their love in this book. Almost everyone is against their union. There’s war and deceit. There’s strong love and weak alliances. It’s really got just about everything you’d look for in a high fantasy story.
I very much enjoyed this.
Read
March 29, 2017The editing on this was awful and I'm sorry for this author. There were some yaoi tropes I could have done without. All in all, I'd say this author has certain skills that are excellent but needs work from a competent editor who's willing to really get tough with her. I'd read this author again, but I'd be sorely disappointed to find the same editing issues. I'd also like her to be more aware of what she's writing. Anyway, I don't know. I'd totally read the sequel based on the epilogue if she wrote it, though. It's that kind of book.
December 15, 2016
This review was written for Joyfully Jay Reviews and can be accessed here: http://joyfullyjay.com/2016/12/review...
4.5 Stars.
Crown Prince Brier Snow is a nineteen-year-old shut-in, barricaded within his own castle under the guardianship of his stepmother, the Queen. He’s not used to being near anyone but his beloved nursemaid, and is unhappy that the Queen is sending him to Aire, a region of his land that’s populated by criminal exiles and dishonored Thenians. Roland, a huntsman and former Thenian lord, is tapped to be Brier’s Master for a year, to teach him to be a warrior. Brier knows his “sabbatical” is nothing but the latest attempt to shame him, yet he stoically rises to the challenge.
During the course of the next months of travel, hunting, and training, Roland and Brier develop a mutual regard. Roland thought the prince haughty, like all Aurelians. But, he learns Brier’s hesitance was insecurity, not arrogance. Brier’s training is aided by six of Roland’s comrades, who mostly take to Brier as well. Brier’s affection is greater than as student for his teacher, however, and he makes it clear that he has grown to love Roland, even if Roland will never accept him. Roland’s got a secret, however, about his training—that Brier was never meant to survive.
I think readers will quickly catch on that this is a take on (Brier) Snow White and the Seven (Thenians) Dwarves. It’s not much like the tale, excepting Brier is widely regarded as exceptionally fair and the huntsman being too smitten with the Prince to kill him. Just as Roland and Brier acknowledge their love, Brier’s fetched back to his castle and coronation. Not like a King could keep an outcast twenty-plus years his senior as consort, Roland thinks, but neither man is happy apart. Brier’s melancholy is compounded by his remarkable physiology. He’d been sequestered for years and hidden his “scars,” a slivery pattern of leaves that grow over his alabaster skin. These markings are not common, but three men of Brier’s lineage have exhibited them in the past few hundred years. And, those men seemingly became pregnant. Like Brier. Can he bear raising Roland’s child alone? He has a suitor at court, a young, beautiful prince from a friendly nation, who wants to be his consort. It would make surviving in his unstable court easier to allow this man to take credit for Roland’s bastard, but Brier’s heart is pledged. And Roland returns, taking a position as King’s Guard, since his rightful place as consort is unlikely to be accepted by the nobles who find Thenians completely unsavory.
This fantastical epic is bittersweet. Both Brier and Roland have had lonely lives, and Roland has a mountain of regrets. He feels responsible for the subjugation of his people, for the death of his wife and unborn child, for his brother, for accepting a contract on Brier’s life. He’s a man of honor who’s lost everything more than once, and he loses Brier more than once, too. His inability to trust Brier’s love leads to his disgrace, yet again.
I really liked the story. It had great elements of fantasy that were fully integrated into this tale of love and political intrigue. The mpreg business was described well, with real-life stakes that were heart-tugging at times. Brier’s a good man, and he learns to be a great leader. He has a fractured nation, and a scheming stepmother, and courtiers who are unhappy with the positive social justice changes he’s making. He’s vulnerable in many ways, but he makes decisions that keep him in the people’s favor, even winning over the Thenians—eventually. Expect there to be giant obstacles to overcome, for both Brier and Roland, and for there to be long separations, too. Roland does make the right choices in the end, and he saves Brier’s life on many occasions. But, can he rescue Brier’s shattered heart and restore his family?
It took me just a bit to get the hang of all the speech changes, as Brier learns to speak Roland’s native tongue. It was handy that there’s a glossary in the very beginning. It set the mood for exploration and open-mindedness for the reader. The imaginary setting was crafted with care, but I struggled with timing just a little. Some of the time frames seemed conveniently long or short, and this varied inexplicably in parts. That said, I didn’t feel short-changed on the world building or the culture-building, and felt very much transported into Brier’s world.
The Epilogue was so spectacular I want another book. Now. I think people who like fantasy, and are willing to give license to the Snow White fairytale, would really enjoy this one. It was also kind of sweet to watch Brier and Roland in parental roles. The characters are compelling, and the story doesn’t bog, much, having a span of more than two years from beginning to end—add a whole lot more for the Epilogue. There’s no doubt that the end is happy.
4.5 Stars.
Crown Prince Brier Snow is a nineteen-year-old shut-in, barricaded within his own castle under the guardianship of his stepmother, the Queen. He’s not used to being near anyone but his beloved nursemaid, and is unhappy that the Queen is sending him to Aire, a region of his land that’s populated by criminal exiles and dishonored Thenians. Roland, a huntsman and former Thenian lord, is tapped to be Brier’s Master for a year, to teach him to be a warrior. Brier knows his “sabbatical” is nothing but the latest attempt to shame him, yet he stoically rises to the challenge.
During the course of the next months of travel, hunting, and training, Roland and Brier develop a mutual regard. Roland thought the prince haughty, like all Aurelians. But, he learns Brier’s hesitance was insecurity, not arrogance. Brier’s training is aided by six of Roland’s comrades, who mostly take to Brier as well. Brier’s affection is greater than as student for his teacher, however, and he makes it clear that he has grown to love Roland, even if Roland will never accept him. Roland’s got a secret, however, about his training—that Brier was never meant to survive.
I think readers will quickly catch on that this is a take on (Brier) Snow White and the Seven (Thenians) Dwarves. It’s not much like the tale, excepting Brier is widely regarded as exceptionally fair and the huntsman being too smitten with the Prince to kill him. Just as Roland and Brier acknowledge their love, Brier’s fetched back to his castle and coronation. Not like a King could keep an outcast twenty-plus years his senior as consort, Roland thinks, but neither man is happy apart. Brier’s melancholy is compounded by his remarkable physiology. He’d been sequestered for years and hidden his “scars,” a slivery pattern of leaves that grow over his alabaster skin. These markings are not common, but three men of Brier’s lineage have exhibited them in the past few hundred years. And, those men seemingly became pregnant. Like Brier. Can he bear raising Roland’s child alone? He has a suitor at court, a young, beautiful prince from a friendly nation, who wants to be his consort. It would make surviving in his unstable court easier to allow this man to take credit for Roland’s bastard, but Brier’s heart is pledged. And Roland returns, taking a position as King’s Guard, since his rightful place as consort is unlikely to be accepted by the nobles who find Thenians completely unsavory.
This fantastical epic is bittersweet. Both Brier and Roland have had lonely lives, and Roland has a mountain of regrets. He feels responsible for the subjugation of his people, for the death of his wife and unborn child, for his brother, for accepting a contract on Brier’s life. He’s a man of honor who’s lost everything more than once, and he loses Brier more than once, too. His inability to trust Brier’s love leads to his disgrace, yet again.
I really liked the story. It had great elements of fantasy that were fully integrated into this tale of love and political intrigue. The mpreg business was described well, with real-life stakes that were heart-tugging at times. Brier’s a good man, and he learns to be a great leader. He has a fractured nation, and a scheming stepmother, and courtiers who are unhappy with the positive social justice changes he’s making. He’s vulnerable in many ways, but he makes decisions that keep him in the people’s favor, even winning over the Thenians—eventually. Expect there to be giant obstacles to overcome, for both Brier and Roland, and for there to be long separations, too. Roland does make the right choices in the end, and he saves Brier’s life on many occasions. But, can he rescue Brier’s shattered heart and restore his family?
It took me just a bit to get the hang of all the speech changes, as Brier learns to speak Roland’s native tongue. It was handy that there’s a glossary in the very beginning. It set the mood for exploration and open-mindedness for the reader. The imaginary setting was crafted with care, but I struggled with timing just a little. Some of the time frames seemed conveniently long or short, and this varied inexplicably in parts. That said, I didn’t feel short-changed on the world building or the culture-building, and felt very much transported into Brier’s world.
The Epilogue was so spectacular I want another book. Now. I think people who like fantasy, and are willing to give license to the Snow White fairytale, would really enjoy this one. It was also kind of sweet to watch Brier and Roland in parental roles. The characters are compelling, and the story doesn’t bog, much, having a span of more than two years from beginning to end—add a whole lot more for the Epilogue. There’s no doubt that the end is happy.
December 5, 2016
4.5 Stars ~ I am enamored with this story. From beginning to end it held my attention, and I went through a gamut of emotions. I had moments of “Aw, how sweet,” to ones of “Oh no he didn’t!” to then where I simply was heartbroken for Brier and Roland.
I took the time before jumping into this story to read the glossary (which is at the front of the book), and I am really glad I did. Though even without the glossary, the author did a fair job of using the terminology in a way where I believe I still would have been able to follow. Still, it made it a little easier when jumping right in so I could focus on the adventure I was about ready to consume.
This story starts off with a particular fairy-tale being told to a young Brier, and although it’s mildly different from the one I grew up with, it sort of gives the reader a little insight as to the characters that will come into play. While there are parallels to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs through the story, and some of the situations are somewhat similar, make no mistake—this story takes on a life of its own. It somehow manages to preserve the feeling of the fairy tale, yet adds a level of intrigue which wasn’t previously there; all the while, changing the dynamic of the characters to the point I wasn’t sure what would happen next.
The descriptions are poetic, giving the reader a vivid image of the lands in which the story takes place. The world building is intricate, and I was fascinated with the social hierarchy and overall political undercurrents of Lirend (where the story takes place).
This is not a whirlwind love story. Roland and Brier’s relationship spans years as they navigate the obstacles in their paths, which are formidable. From their age difference, social standing, political adversaries and a host of other complications (which I won’t go into or I would be giving away too much), they are in a constant state of struggle and fighting to be together.
If you read the blurb, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there is an mpreg (male pregnancy) element to this story. Some people are really put off by the idea, and in some stories it may not work, but let me tell you; in this story, the way the situation and pregnancy was presented, it worked. There is a mystical component at play which brings to fruition the situation and added to the value of the story. The pregnancy is something that enhances the difficulties Ro and Brier face by creating additional political repercussions, which are depicted realistically given the world Roland and Brier live in. The pregnancy is not glossed over, yet it isn’t the sole focus, as there are so many different pieces of the story converging.
As the story develops, there is a fair amount of character growth. Brier initially is a nineteen-year-old sheltered and innocent youth with little understanding of how the world around him really works, and he sees the choices his forefathers made as the right ones—without really understanding the effect they created outside the palace walls. As the story progresses he matures with each day. He makes mistakes, but proves he learns from those mistakes, and is willing to face unrest to follow his heart. When Roland first meets Brier, it is with a dark past; he holds onto guilt and looks at every situation with a pessimistic view. Ro does his best to remain uncaring and holds people, including the Guild he is the leader of, at a distance. His time with Brier slowly cracks the walls he has built around himself, but self-loathing and guilt are hard to outrun. He goes from distant and nearly uncaring to being one of the most loving individuals I have read, putting his heart and his pride down for Brier, again and again.
Black Snow is a beautifully written, complex, and suspenseful love story. Highly recommended for readers who love high-fantasy.
Reviewed by Lindsey for The Novel Approach Reviews
I took the time before jumping into this story to read the glossary (which is at the front of the book), and I am really glad I did. Though even without the glossary, the author did a fair job of using the terminology in a way where I believe I still would have been able to follow. Still, it made it a little easier when jumping right in so I could focus on the adventure I was about ready to consume.
This story starts off with a particular fairy-tale being told to a young Brier, and although it’s mildly different from the one I grew up with, it sort of gives the reader a little insight as to the characters that will come into play. While there are parallels to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs through the story, and some of the situations are somewhat similar, make no mistake—this story takes on a life of its own. It somehow manages to preserve the feeling of the fairy tale, yet adds a level of intrigue which wasn’t previously there; all the while, changing the dynamic of the characters to the point I wasn’t sure what would happen next.
The descriptions are poetic, giving the reader a vivid image of the lands in which the story takes place. The world building is intricate, and I was fascinated with the social hierarchy and overall political undercurrents of Lirend (where the story takes place).
This is not a whirlwind love story. Roland and Brier’s relationship spans years as they navigate the obstacles in their paths, which are formidable. From their age difference, social standing, political adversaries and a host of other complications (which I won’t go into or I would be giving away too much), they are in a constant state of struggle and fighting to be together.
If you read the blurb, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there is an mpreg (male pregnancy) element to this story. Some people are really put off by the idea, and in some stories it may not work, but let me tell you; in this story, the way the situation and pregnancy was presented, it worked. There is a mystical component at play which brings to fruition the situation and added to the value of the story. The pregnancy is something that enhances the difficulties Ro and Brier face by creating additional political repercussions, which are depicted realistically given the world Roland and Brier live in. The pregnancy is not glossed over, yet it isn’t the sole focus, as there are so many different pieces of the story converging.
As the story develops, there is a fair amount of character growth. Brier initially is a nineteen-year-old sheltered and innocent youth with little understanding of how the world around him really works, and he sees the choices his forefathers made as the right ones—without really understanding the effect they created outside the palace walls. As the story progresses he matures with each day. He makes mistakes, but proves he learns from those mistakes, and is willing to face unrest to follow his heart. When Roland first meets Brier, it is with a dark past; he holds onto guilt and looks at every situation with a pessimistic view. Ro does his best to remain uncaring and holds people, including the Guild he is the leader of, at a distance. His time with Brier slowly cracks the walls he has built around himself, but self-loathing and guilt are hard to outrun. He goes from distant and nearly uncaring to being one of the most loving individuals I have read, putting his heart and his pride down for Brier, again and again.
Black Snow is a beautifully written, complex, and suspenseful love story. Highly recommended for readers who love high-fantasy.
Reviewed by Lindsey for The Novel Approach Reviews
February 28, 2017
*A copy of this book was provided for free by the author in exchange for an honest review.*
This is an interesting retelling of Snow White with an M/M twist. There's intriguing differences so it's fresh, not just a gender/name replace. I liked Rolande, I liked Briar (mostly). The tweak of the Seven Dwarfs was funny, I enjoyed it even if I didn't like them personally. Where it goes left for me is the introduction of Quintin. My mind keeps circling around to the word "disgusted" and I can't quite get over it. I do not like him one bit. I don't think he was altruistic at all. I don't think he was being a friend. I think he saw a king and wanted him and refused to take no for an answer, and I hate that Briar thinks he lead him on (at first) because he didn't. He was firm in his "ain't never gonna happen". Quintin refused to listen. He pushed and pushed and pushed, then got all butthurt when Briar reunited with Rolande. His "covering" for Briar wasn't out of the goodness of his heart, he saw an opportunity and took it. And right about that point is when I started to judge and dislike Briar for playing into it, and never seeing the dark side of him. And it just got worse and worse as I read. Briar became someone I didn't like any more. He was cruel and fickle and callous. The ending hints with Braedon just further my disgust. HOWEVER I FULLY BELIEVE NOT EVERYONE WILL REACT THIS STRONGLY. I think most will enjoy this and not bat an eye at that. It's totally a personal thing. Roland is not innocent. He does bad things. He does stupid things. But his are easy to forgive because there's reasoning, I can understand why and how he made his choices. I wish we'd learned more about Briar's markings and the story behind them. I didn't like all the names, it got confusing at about the third/fourth nickname for each MC. The political machinations were interesting. So I say overall, give it a chance. I think it's good, even with how I feel about the mid/last 40%.
This is an interesting retelling of Snow White with an M/M twist. There's intriguing differences so it's fresh, not just a gender/name replace. I liked Rolande, I liked Briar (mostly). The tweak of the Seven Dwarfs was funny, I enjoyed it even if I didn't like them personally. Where it goes left for me is the introduction of Quintin. My mind keeps circling around to the word "disgusted" and I can't quite get over it. I do not like him one bit. I don't think he was altruistic at all. I don't think he was being a friend. I think he saw a king and wanted him and refused to take no for an answer, and I hate that Briar thinks he lead him on (at first) because he didn't. He was firm in his "ain't never gonna happen". Quintin refused to listen. He pushed and pushed and pushed, then got all butthurt when Briar reunited with Rolande. His "covering" for Briar wasn't out of the goodness of his heart, he saw an opportunity and took it. And right about that point is when I started to judge and dislike Briar for playing into it, and never seeing the dark side of him. And it just got worse and worse as I read. Briar became someone I didn't like any more. He was cruel and fickle and callous. The ending hints with Braedon just further my disgust. HOWEVER I FULLY BELIEVE NOT EVERYONE WILL REACT THIS STRONGLY. I think most will enjoy this and not bat an eye at that. It's totally a personal thing. Roland is not innocent. He does bad things. He does stupid things. But his are easy to forgive because there's reasoning, I can understand why and how he made his choices. I wish we'd learned more about Briar's markings and the story behind them. I didn't like all the names, it got confusing at about the third/fourth nickname for each MC. The political machinations were interesting. So I say overall, give it a chance. I think it's good, even with how I feel about the mid/last 40%.
February 7, 2017
“And why not a princess?”“Black Snow” is a romance based on the fairy-tale of Snow White but it takes a more interesting turn because in this story, Snow is a man with long, auburn hair who falls in love not with a prince but with a hot huntsman.
“That is because I should like to be kissed by a huntsman.”
The first half of the book was also the best part for me. Although we have plenty of secondary characters interacting with the protagonists, it is quite obvious that both Roland and Brier were living a lonely life before they met each other. They might come from completely different backgrounds and might have had different experiences in life but their painful pasts is what brought them together. That part of the story where we see them slowly fall in love was really heartwarming.
The second half of the story though was not my favorite, the plot slowed down a lot and there was too much drama between Roland and Brier for my taste. Plus, there was Prince Quintin, Brier might had serious reason for his separation with Roland and he might have told Quintin that he saw him as a friend but I still didn’t like the fact that he let Quintin kiss him quite a few times.
Instead of all this relationship drama I would have preferred If the conflict was more focused on the court. Roland belong to one of the lower classes, almost everyone was treating Thenians like him as if they were criminals, relationships between two men were not well received in the court and Brier miraculously got pregnant and yet Brier was able to present Roland and his relationship with him to the court very easily, without having to face many negative reactions or any opposition from most of the aristocrats. It would have been nice seeing Brier and Roland work together to overcome the obstacles and manipulations we usually see in historical courts.
I voluntarily reviewed the free copy that I received
December 14, 2016
A Joyfully Jay review.
4.5 stars
I think readers will quickly catch on that this is a take on (Brier) Snow White and the Seven (Thenians) Dwarves. It’s not much like the tale, excepting Brier is widely regarded as exceptionally fair and the huntsman being too smitten with the Prince to kill him. Just as Roland and Brier acknowledge their love, Brier’s fetched back to his castle and coronation. Not like a King could keep an outcast twenty-plus years his senior as consort, Roland thinks, but neither man is happy apart. Brier’s melancholy is compounded by his remarkable physiology. He’d been sequestered for years and hidden his “scars,” a slivery pattern of leaves that grow over his alabaster skin. These markings are not common, but three men of Brier’s lineage have exhibited them in the past few hundred years. And, those men seemingly became pregnant. Like Brier. Can he bear raising Roland’s child alone? He has a suitor at court, a young, beautiful prince from a friendly nation, who wants to be his consort. It would make surviving in his unstable court easier to allow this man to take credit for Roland’s bastard, but Brier’s heart is pledged. And Roland returns, taking a position as King’s Guard, since his rightful place as consort is unlikely to be accepted by the nobles who find Thenians completely unsavory.
Read Veronica’s review in its entirety here.
4.5 stars
I think readers will quickly catch on that this is a take on (Brier) Snow White and the Seven (Thenians) Dwarves. It’s not much like the tale, excepting Brier is widely regarded as exceptionally fair and the huntsman being too smitten with the Prince to kill him. Just as Roland and Brier acknowledge their love, Brier’s fetched back to his castle and coronation. Not like a King could keep an outcast twenty-plus years his senior as consort, Roland thinks, but neither man is happy apart. Brier’s melancholy is compounded by his remarkable physiology. He’d been sequestered for years and hidden his “scars,” a slivery pattern of leaves that grow over his alabaster skin. These markings are not common, but three men of Brier’s lineage have exhibited them in the past few hundred years. And, those men seemingly became pregnant. Like Brier. Can he bear raising Roland’s child alone? He has a suitor at court, a young, beautiful prince from a friendly nation, who wants to be his consort. It would make surviving in his unstable court easier to allow this man to take credit for Roland’s bastard, but Brier’s heart is pledged. And Roland returns, taking a position as King’s Guard, since his rightful place as consort is unlikely to be accepted by the nobles who find Thenians completely unsavory.
Read Veronica’s review in its entirety here.
February 5, 2017
* I received a free copy of this book from the author for an unbiased review.*
This is a re-imaging of the Snow White tale that has several elements from its many different versions incorporated in a well written and clever way. The writing style is fluid and not overly floral like some fairytale re-imaginings, with only a few minor slips in language continuity, and there are many enjoyable elements in the story, including the world building, how the author handles the politics/class system and a steady and noticeable character/emotional growth in the MCs Prince Brier Snow and Roland, at least until around 60% of the book.
However, it could have been a great read and was tripped up by the way certain plotlines dragged down the already slow pacing and the fact that EAB relied so heavily on the “BIG SECERET” trope and used it in a way that not only did NOT move the story forward but placed the narrative in previously covered territory and in a really unsatisfactory and almost contradictory way.
***********SPOLIERS************
I really enjoyed the first part of the book that covers the 10 months Brier spent training with Roland. It developed the characters and showed fully and unhurriedly how each man effected the other and helped them grow in important ways.
The second part was also enjoyable, highlighting how Brier has grown but still remained true to his good nature and big heart. It also does a good job of explaining the inner politics at work in Lirend and again illustrates Brier’s new confidence and adulthood, even when he struggles with heartache, political doubt and being conflicted about the affections of neighboring prince, Quintin.
The next part sees the reintroduction of Roland into Brier’s life and does a good job of showing the reality of how incompatible their love is within the constraints of the class system in Lirend and Brier’s station. The story does drag here a bit, but it is understandable because of the inevitable love triangle and its emotional struggle and, of course, the several times discussed and foreshadowed consequences of the secret Roland is keeping from Brier.
Now, it is not to say that I hate all uses of the BIG SECRET plot devise, but the way it was executed and the lack of consequences for Quintin for the shameful and almost hateful way in which it was done just so Quintin and Brier could get together again felt ridiculously contrived. Until now, Quintin has made a point of reminding Brier that he would NEVER hurt him the way Roland had and that he loves him and wants the best for him and his kingdom. Yet, when he exposes Roland, he does it in the MOST HURTFUL, HUMILIATING and politically damaging way to Brier that he can…and Brier says nothing about it-just rolls with it and once again turns to him for comfort. Even though Quintin's callous actions not only hurt Brier but put Brier’s daughter future and standing in jeopardy.
I understand that Quintin was hurt, jealous, worried, etc. about Roland being back in Brier’s life, but he did not have to tell Brier in front of all the aristocrats, courtiers and political enemies in the kingdom, especially in a way that basically painted Brier as a foolish child and would isolate him even further than the unpopular policies which made these same people dislike and some outright despise him. If Quintin wanted back up, he could have requested that Brier’s chief council come with him and ambushed Roland in Brier in private. Roland still would have had no defense, in his mind, and Brier still would have been hurt that Roland didn’t trust him and banished him. But then you wouldn’t have had Brier forced into a position where his only option was to marry Quintin, and since you can’t have him do it with bad feelings toward Quintin, you completely gloss over how hateful that whole thing was.
To me, that was a complete cop-out and made it a trial to sit through dozens more pages of Brier’s lukewarm feelings towards Quintin and Quintin again being willing to be second best until we get to the climatic and symbolic wedding crashing. And of course since it IS a fairytale, Quintin gets his own potential happy ending with a Brier clone in the form of Brier and Roland’s only son, Braedon. *Sigh*
As I said, the book had the potential to be great and I’m sure it is for many people, but I could not get on board with how something that ugly could be ignored. I get Brier being too heartbroken AGAIN to deal at first, but there really was no excuse for how Quintin handled it except for being excused by the writer to put the characters in a certain situation, and that kind of flagrant contrivance, when pretty much everything else was done with care, negatively colored the rest of the book for me.
This is a re-imaging of the Snow White tale that has several elements from its many different versions incorporated in a well written and clever way. The writing style is fluid and not overly floral like some fairytale re-imaginings, with only a few minor slips in language continuity, and there are many enjoyable elements in the story, including the world building, how the author handles the politics/class system and a steady and noticeable character/emotional growth in the MCs Prince Brier Snow and Roland, at least until around 60% of the book.
However, it could have been a great read and was tripped up by the way certain plotlines dragged down the already slow pacing and the fact that EAB relied so heavily on the “BIG SECERET” trope and used it in a way that not only did NOT move the story forward but placed the narrative in previously covered territory and in a really unsatisfactory and almost contradictory way.
***********SPOLIERS************
I really enjoyed the first part of the book that covers the 10 months Brier spent training with Roland. It developed the characters and showed fully and unhurriedly how each man effected the other and helped them grow in important ways.
The second part was also enjoyable, highlighting how Brier has grown but still remained true to his good nature and big heart. It also does a good job of explaining the inner politics at work in Lirend and again illustrates Brier’s new confidence and adulthood, even when he struggles with heartache, political doubt and being conflicted about the affections of neighboring prince, Quintin.
The next part sees the reintroduction of Roland into Brier’s life and does a good job of showing the reality of how incompatible their love is within the constraints of the class system in Lirend and Brier’s station. The story does drag here a bit, but it is understandable because of the inevitable love triangle and its emotional struggle and, of course, the several times discussed and foreshadowed consequences of the secret Roland is keeping from Brier.
Now, it is not to say that I hate all uses of the BIG SECRET plot devise, but the way it was executed and the lack of consequences for Quintin for the shameful and almost hateful way in which it was done just so Quintin and Brier could get together again felt ridiculously contrived. Until now, Quintin has made a point of reminding Brier that he would NEVER hurt him the way Roland had and that he loves him and wants the best for him and his kingdom. Yet, when he exposes Roland, he does it in the MOST HURTFUL, HUMILIATING and politically damaging way to Brier that he can…and Brier says nothing about it-just rolls with it and once again turns to him for comfort. Even though Quintin's callous actions not only hurt Brier but put Brier’s daughter future and standing in jeopardy.
I understand that Quintin was hurt, jealous, worried, etc. about Roland being back in Brier’s life, but he did not have to tell Brier in front of all the aristocrats, courtiers and political enemies in the kingdom, especially in a way that basically painted Brier as a foolish child and would isolate him even further than the unpopular policies which made these same people dislike and some outright despise him. If Quintin wanted back up, he could have requested that Brier’s chief council come with him and ambushed Roland in Brier in private. Roland still would have had no defense, in his mind, and Brier still would have been hurt that Roland didn’t trust him and banished him. But then you wouldn’t have had Brier forced into a position where his only option was to marry Quintin, and since you can’t have him do it with bad feelings toward Quintin, you completely gloss over how hateful that whole thing was.
To me, that was a complete cop-out and made it a trial to sit through dozens more pages of Brier’s lukewarm feelings towards Quintin and Quintin again being willing to be second best until we get to the climatic and symbolic wedding crashing. And of course since it IS a fairytale, Quintin gets his own potential happy ending with a Brier clone in the form of Brier and Roland’s only son, Braedon. *Sigh*
As I said, the book had the potential to be great and I’m sure it is for many people, but I could not get on board with how something that ugly could be ignored. I get Brier being too heartbroken AGAIN to deal at first, but there really was no excuse for how Quintin handled it except for being excused by the writer to put the characters in a certain situation, and that kind of flagrant contrivance, when pretty much everything else was done with care, negatively colored the rest of the book for me.
January 12, 2017
4/5 Stars for Black Snow. This was a pretty good book and it was extremely welcomed into my reading nook after the month of Christmas shorts I read in December. Black snow could actually be split up into three books and still be in good shape, so if you’re looking for a longer book, then this one might be one to add to your list.
Just from reading the blurb, I knew that this book was going to be loosely based on Snow White and it followed that tale pretty closely but there were also a few twists that definitely made this book stand alone as a separate novel. It took a hot minute to get my head wrapped around all of the locations and different names but a lot of topics came up repeatedly, especially in the beginning, so it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it was going to be after reading the blurb.
Our first MC in this book is Prince Brier Snow. He seemed a little… naïve at first. He went to live with the Huntsman, Roland Archer, and he seemed immediately taken with him. It was a little too “love-at-first-sight” for my liking, but as the book progresses, Snow becomes his own man and his character is much more developed so he no longer gives that kind of impression. About half way through the book, Snow seems like a completely different person and I really loved seeing him grow and become a man worthy of the King title.
Roland was standoffish, but in that still-sexy kind of way. He was a little quiet and seemed cold at the beginning of the book, but I still immediately clicked with him. It took him a while to warm up to Snow, but once he did it was full steam ahead, all engines go.
Roland and Brier were good together. I didn’t get that feeling that they were absolutely perfectly made for each other, which is good in some aspects and not so good in others. It’s easy to cross that line and make two characters so perfectly fit for each other that I can’t help but roll my eyes when I’m reading about them, but at the same time, I really love the connection between two people who are absolutely amazing together as long as that line isn’t crossed. I think E.A.B. could have pushed a little more with these two and that would have pushed this book from a 4 to a 4.5 and maybe a 5 for me. The mpreg wasn’t my speed, but to each his own.
Overall, this was a really good book. It was my first E.A.B. read and I was pleasantly surprised. It was a fantastic rendition of Snow White and the characters, though they took some warming up to, were really well developed. I’ll be keeping my eye on E.A.B. for future releases and I’d recommend this book to anyone who is really into m/m fantasy novels or the Snow White tale with a twist.
Reviewed by Jordan at Alpha Book Club.
Disclaimer: This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own and not influenced by the author or the publisher in any way.
Just from reading the blurb, I knew that this book was going to be loosely based on Snow White and it followed that tale pretty closely but there were also a few twists that definitely made this book stand alone as a separate novel. It took a hot minute to get my head wrapped around all of the locations and different names but a lot of topics came up repeatedly, especially in the beginning, so it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it was going to be after reading the blurb.
Our first MC in this book is Prince Brier Snow. He seemed a little… naïve at first. He went to live with the Huntsman, Roland Archer, and he seemed immediately taken with him. It was a little too “love-at-first-sight” for my liking, but as the book progresses, Snow becomes his own man and his character is much more developed so he no longer gives that kind of impression. About half way through the book, Snow seems like a completely different person and I really loved seeing him grow and become a man worthy of the King title.
Roland was standoffish, but in that still-sexy kind of way. He was a little quiet and seemed cold at the beginning of the book, but I still immediately clicked with him. It took him a while to warm up to Snow, but once he did it was full steam ahead, all engines go.
Roland and Brier were good together. I didn’t get that feeling that they were absolutely perfectly made for each other, which is good in some aspects and not so good in others. It’s easy to cross that line and make two characters so perfectly fit for each other that I can’t help but roll my eyes when I’m reading about them, but at the same time, I really love the connection between two people who are absolutely amazing together as long as that line isn’t crossed. I think E.A.B. could have pushed a little more with these two and that would have pushed this book from a 4 to a 4.5 and maybe a 5 for me. The mpreg wasn’t my speed, but to each his own.
Overall, this was a really good book. It was my first E.A.B. read and I was pleasantly surprised. It was a fantastic rendition of Snow White and the characters, though they took some warming up to, were really well developed. I’ll be keeping my eye on E.A.B. for future releases and I’d recommend this book to anyone who is really into m/m fantasy novels or the Snow White tale with a twist.
Reviewed by Jordan at Alpha Book Club.
Disclaimer: This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own and not influenced by the author or the publisher in any way.
December 8, 2016
This is an extremely long story, not just by page count, but it takes a long time for a number of things to eventuate. Which makes sense considering **minor spoiler** one of the men becomes pregnant. I realize some readers love MPreg so if it’s for you, grab a copy of this story. However if it’s not then you’ll probably be best to pass. Me, had I known it had such content, including breastfeeding and lactation play, I would’ve given it a wide berth – no pun intended.
I enjoyed the prologue, Brier’s nurse maid’s retelling of the story of Snow White. Moving forward the story of the Thenians and Aurelians is interesting and one has to wonder for a longtime how, or if, it’s even possible for the two main characters to have a happy ever after. Their relationship is tested time and time again. Quentin causes havoc more than once.
Around the 75% mark, accusations of treason are thrown around and loyalties are tested. I actually found Braedon’s meltdown rather childish considering how many times Roland had declared his love. Speaking of Braedon, most characters have more than one title so it makes it feel like there’s a bigger cast than there actually is.
People who enjoy lengthy, high fantasy, suspenseful, romantic, mpreg stories, with interesting characters, and an evil stepmother, will more than likely enjoy this story.
Copy generously provided by the author
I enjoyed the prologue, Brier’s nurse maid’s retelling of the story of Snow White. Moving forward the story of the Thenians and Aurelians is interesting and one has to wonder for a longtime how, or if, it’s even possible for the two main characters to have a happy ever after. Their relationship is tested time and time again. Quentin causes havoc more than once.
Around the 75% mark, accusations of treason are thrown around and loyalties are tested. I actually found Braedon’s meltdown rather childish considering how many times Roland had declared his love. Speaking of Braedon, most characters have more than one title so it makes it feel like there’s a bigger cast than there actually is.
People who enjoy lengthy, high fantasy, suspenseful, romantic, mpreg stories, with interesting characters, and an evil stepmother, will more than likely enjoy this story.
Copy generously provided by the author
November 10, 2016
I’m very sorry to say I had high expectations for this book, which were not met. Don’t get me wrong, it was not bad, it just wasn’t the great book I was hoping it would be.
The very first thing I noticed when I started reading this gay Snow White retelling, was the writing style. More specifically, the language. The use of certain words like “Verily”, “Mayhap” and such, which are not at all usual, reminded me strongly to the way the author Eressë writes (she writes The Chronicles of Ylandre series, a fantasy mpreg).
I have to admit one of the biggest reasons for not enjoying this book was that I could never connect to Brier. I was at times uninterested in him, and there were some parts where I plainly disliked him. He was overly dramatic and unfair towards others, particularly to Quentin. And though in the last chapters he has a reputation for being a great king, what we got to see of him as a sovereign was far from great.
The court intrigue and royal dealings, which when done properly are really engaging and entertaining, just didn’t interest me in here. There was a big part of the book I felt dragged.
The mpreg part was nice. I appreciate the author took the time to give us some context and explanation as to why it would be possible.
Side characters were ok, some of them I found more interesting than others.
All in all, not bad, I just came into this expecting something else.
The very first thing I noticed when I started reading this gay Snow White retelling, was the writing style. More specifically, the language. The use of certain words like “Verily”, “Mayhap” and such, which are not at all usual, reminded me strongly to the way the author Eressë writes (she writes The Chronicles of Ylandre series, a fantasy mpreg).
I have to admit one of the biggest reasons for not enjoying this book was that I could never connect to Brier. I was at times uninterested in him, and there were some parts where I plainly disliked him. He was overly dramatic and unfair towards others, particularly to Quentin. And though in the last chapters he has a reputation for being a great king, what we got to see of him as a sovereign was far from great.
The court intrigue and royal dealings, which when done properly are really engaging and entertaining, just didn’t interest me in here. There was a big part of the book I felt dragged.
The mpreg part was nice. I appreciate the author took the time to give us some context and explanation as to why it would be possible.
Side characters were ok, some of them I found more interesting than others.
All in all, not bad, I just came into this expecting something else.
February 3, 2017
3.75 Stars Rounded Up. I really enjoyed the book. It's perhaps a bit overlong but not so much that it lessened my enjoyment. I love to read but I am lousy at reviews. I agree with what most of the other reviewers said better than I could so please don't get me wrong when I mention a few of the things that bothered me.
The big "secret" that Brier nearly let destroy his relationship with Roland to me was no big deal. In fact given what we know of his step-mother it's should have been expected.
This may be a personal taste sort of thing but the author often used words that weren't quite right. It was almost like he/she (not sure) was using a thesaurus to try to use uncommon words just to use them.
i.e. "Roland's head swam as Brier's fingers melded through his mane." (melded?) "Brier needed the pith of Roland, and the raw passion to release his burdens..." (pith?) "When Meade showed up, Roland clamored to Brier's side." (clamored?) Not that big of a deal but those kinds of things tend to make by brain "stutter" when I'm reading and throw me out of the story for a second.
Minor points and as I said probably just my personal taste. I would still heartily recommend this book to anyone that likes epic fantasy and especially if you enjoy a retelling of a classic fairy tale with a twist.
The big "secret" that Brier nearly let destroy his relationship with Roland to me was no big deal. In fact given what we know of his step-mother it's should have been expected.
This may be a personal taste sort of thing but the author often used words that weren't quite right. It was almost like he/she (not sure) was using a thesaurus to try to use uncommon words just to use them.
i.e. "Roland's head swam as Brier's fingers melded through his mane." (melded?) "Brier needed the pith of Roland, and the raw passion to release his burdens..." (pith?) "When Meade showed up, Roland clamored to Brier's side." (clamored?) Not that big of a deal but those kinds of things tend to make by brain "stutter" when I'm reading and throw me out of the story for a second.
Minor points and as I said probably just my personal taste. I would still heartily recommend this book to anyone that likes epic fantasy and especially if you enjoy a retelling of a classic fairy tale with a twist.
November 7, 2016
Fantastic!
An amazingly well done retake on Sleeping Beauty. Seeing it through different eyes, with different characters was refreshing and beautiful. Fully developed characters, enough difference in the story line to avoid boredom and a fascinating glimpse into a magical world where love can sometimes overrule politics.
An amazingly well done retake on Sleeping Beauty. Seeing it through different eyes, with different characters was refreshing and beautiful. Fully developed characters, enough difference in the story line to avoid boredom and a fascinating glimpse into a magical world where love can sometimes overrule politics.
January 8, 2017
I loved getting to know both Roland and Brier in this wonderful story, their start, the bumps in the road, the tears I cried and the ending was wonderful. I can only hope that the story continues with Prince Braedon.
December 3, 2017
4 1/2 out of 5 stars. Review to follow
July 5, 2017
DNF at 12%.
Incredibly dragged out...
Incredibly dragged out...
Want to read
August 17, 2021That cover is sooooooo perfect 🤩
November 14, 2016
A ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords Review. This review can also be found here.
Brier Snow is the heir to the throne of Lirend. He has been imprisoned in the palace, isolated for much of his life. When his stepmother finds a clause in the contract regarding his succession that requires him to fulfil a year-long sabbatical away from the palace he is thrust out into the wildernesses of Aire with an unknown companion.
Roland Archer is hired by the queen to supervise her stepson’s year away from the palace. Roland has been alone for a very long time but he never expected to find a reason to live in Brier especially, as he was hired to do something very different. He pushes Brier away because he fears that Brier could never love him if he knew the truth.
But as things stand, fate isn’t done with these two, there’s something quite unexpected brewing and the journey to true love was never going to be easy.
This book is an interpretation of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and it was an amazing one to boot. What I loved about this book was that it managed to retain that fairy tale glow despite being very different from conventional fairy tales. The story also managed to capture a lot of the nuances of its parent story, reworking them in ingenious ways to serve the purposes of the plot. Another aspect of this book I loved was that the legend of Snow White actually exists in Brier’s world albeit with a wonderful, seemingly irrelevant twist. In a way Brier’s opinion on the story sets the stage for Black Snow.
“But how did she come to love the prince who had only loved her for her beauty when the huntsman had loved her for her heart?”
But things don’t turn out to be so easy when the prince is a salve for a broken heart and a relationship between a king and a Thenian huntsman is frowned upon by all the courtiers even without Roland’s secret seeing the light of the day.
Black Snow has a very political background which influences the story a lot, especially the plight of the Thenians and the social hierarchy of Lirend. The story is very rich and there are just so many amazing things happening that it is hard to mention each one.
I absolutely adored this book. I loved how the stage was set for all the events in this book and how the story enfolds. One of the things I liked about this book a lot was how long it was, while a good book is never really long, this book surely has the pages to be considered long and I loved that because not only does that enable the author to explore every nuance that helps set the stage for this epic love story but it also allowed me to really spend time in the world of this book soaking up all the wonderful details.
For me one of the most amazing things in this book is how Brier and Roland fall in love the entire part of the story that takes place in Aire feels especially magical in an already magical story.
This story spans years so there is a lot going on but the best part of this story being spread across years was that we actually get to see characters grow during this years, especially Brier. Brier starts out as an inexperienced nineteen year old prince isolated by the Queen, completely out of his element in Aire. As he spends more and more time in Aire we see him grow, fall in love and then fight for that love and then we see him as King and it is quite amazing seeing Brier transform from a prince to a King because it really brought forth so much of his hidden potential because in that one moment that he became King he grew the most and it was amazing because in fairy tales we rarely ever see the political aspect of Kingdoms and maybe for good reason because politics is rarely free of treachery and corruption. But I loved how the author managed to make it such a central part of Brier’s development.
This book is kind of my dream come true. A long book which happens to be a romance (as romantic books are very rarely long a fact I never knew I resented till I could get my hands on this book and really appreciate how wonderful it is to be able to spend hours on end immersed in the world of your favourite characters) that is a reimagining of one of the world’s oldest fairy tales that happens to be an mpreg (a fact that is made possible in this story by that seemingly irrelevant alteration to Snow White’s story as it is told in Lirend).
This book is magic!
Cover Art by Natalya Sorokina (j-witless). The cover is beautiful. It is so amazing if I am not wrong I think it depicts the scene between Roland and Brier at the festival of Yensira because when I see the cover it reminds me of that scene and I end up squeeing uncontrollably.
Brier Snow is the heir to the throne of Lirend. He has been imprisoned in the palace, isolated for much of his life. When his stepmother finds a clause in the contract regarding his succession that requires him to fulfil a year-long sabbatical away from the palace he is thrust out into the wildernesses of Aire with an unknown companion.
Roland Archer is hired by the queen to supervise her stepson’s year away from the palace. Roland has been alone for a very long time but he never expected to find a reason to live in Brier especially, as he was hired to do something very different. He pushes Brier away because he fears that Brier could never love him if he knew the truth.
But as things stand, fate isn’t done with these two, there’s something quite unexpected brewing and the journey to true love was never going to be easy.
This book is an interpretation of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and it was an amazing one to boot. What I loved about this book was that it managed to retain that fairy tale glow despite being very different from conventional fairy tales. The story also managed to capture a lot of the nuances of its parent story, reworking them in ingenious ways to serve the purposes of the plot. Another aspect of this book I loved was that the legend of Snow White actually exists in Brier’s world albeit with a wonderful, seemingly irrelevant twist. In a way Brier’s opinion on the story sets the stage for Black Snow.
“But how did she come to love the prince who had only loved her for her beauty when the huntsman had loved her for her heart?”
But things don’t turn out to be so easy when the prince is a salve for a broken heart and a relationship between a king and a Thenian huntsman is frowned upon by all the courtiers even without Roland’s secret seeing the light of the day.
Black Snow has a very political background which influences the story a lot, especially the plight of the Thenians and the social hierarchy of Lirend. The story is very rich and there are just so many amazing things happening that it is hard to mention each one.
I absolutely adored this book. I loved how the stage was set for all the events in this book and how the story enfolds. One of the things I liked about this book a lot was how long it was, while a good book is never really long, this book surely has the pages to be considered long and I loved that because not only does that enable the author to explore every nuance that helps set the stage for this epic love story but it also allowed me to really spend time in the world of this book soaking up all the wonderful details.
For me one of the most amazing things in this book is how Brier and Roland fall in love the entire part of the story that takes place in Aire feels especially magical in an already magical story.
This story spans years so there is a lot going on but the best part of this story being spread across years was that we actually get to see characters grow during this years, especially Brier. Brier starts out as an inexperienced nineteen year old prince isolated by the Queen, completely out of his element in Aire. As he spends more and more time in Aire we see him grow, fall in love and then fight for that love and then we see him as King and it is quite amazing seeing Brier transform from a prince to a King because it really brought forth so much of his hidden potential because in that one moment that he became King he grew the most and it was amazing because in fairy tales we rarely ever see the political aspect of Kingdoms and maybe for good reason because politics is rarely free of treachery and corruption. But I loved how the author managed to make it such a central part of Brier’s development.
This book is kind of my dream come true. A long book which happens to be a romance (as romantic books are very rarely long a fact I never knew I resented till I could get my hands on this book and really appreciate how wonderful it is to be able to spend hours on end immersed in the world of your favourite characters) that is a reimagining of one of the world’s oldest fairy tales that happens to be an mpreg (a fact that is made possible in this story by that seemingly irrelevant alteration to Snow White’s story as it is told in Lirend).
This book is magic!
Cover Art by Natalya Sorokina (j-witless). The cover is beautiful. It is so amazing if I am not wrong I think it depicts the scene between Roland and Brier at the festival of Yensira because when I see the cover it reminds me of that scene and I end up squeeing uncontrollably.
December 29, 2016
Original review on Molly Lolly
Five stars!
Oh my gosh. This book was amazing. I loved everything about it. From start to finish I couldn’t put the book down and had to know what happens and how Brier and Roland end up. It was a rollercoaster ride for sure. But oh so worth it. The ups and downs they encounter as they go have you wondering if they’re going to make it or if the entire thing will end in heartbreak. But the end. Oh how I loved it.
Right from the beginning my heart went out to Brier. His emotions leapt from the page. His loneliness and despair when isolated from everyone and then again while in Aire. Watching him grow and become a true king both in name and demeanor was wonderful. I adored how Brier slowly started to stand up for himself. He was so timid at first but gained confidence in himself the more time he spent in Aire and when he returned as King. It was hard seeing his heart get broken more than once. He was so strong to keep going even if he was hurting. His friendship with Prince Quentin was good for Brier. Even if it confused him at times. While I liked how the storyline with Prince Quentin turned out in the end, you could tell it hurt all three men as it progressed. By the last chapter, you could tell Brier had settled into his skin and was content with his life. I absolutely loved seeing the stolen scene with him and Roland when they don’t think anyone is listening. You can feel their love coming off the page.
Roland was such a dynamic character. he struggled so hard to deal with his feelings. First his self induced seclusion. Then his growing love for Brier and jealousy and insecurity. His commanding attitude is so sexy. But his vulnerabilities are just as attractive. His journey to being able to be with Brier openly and accepted by the Aurelians was long and emotionally trying. My heart hurt for everything he went through and how he was treated by others. His past haunted him for a while and I loved getting to see him deal with it and embrace what happened as something he couldn’t have changed. His love for Brier was all encompassing and beautiful to see. By the end of the story you could feel his contentment.
The journey we embark on throughout the book is one that kept me engaged the entire time I was reading. I loved watching all of the characters grow in the book, not just Brier and Roland. The cast surrounding these two made a great family for them whether by blood, bond, or requirement. The world Mr. EAB created was immersive. You can tell large amounts of time was invested created the land itself, the politics, the language, and everything that goes alone with the world and her citizens. I would love to visit this world again. I want to see more stories set here. I got attached to the world and didn’t want to leave. There are a few questions I’d love to have answered. But they’re not part of Brier and Roland’s story. I hope there is a sequel at some point because I now want to see more about Brier and Roland’s children. There is more adventure and more story. But Brier and Roland are completely happy and content in their life. They have a long love together and will continue that way for the rest of their days. And I am glad for having had a chance to read them.
Five stars!
Oh my gosh. This book was amazing. I loved everything about it. From start to finish I couldn’t put the book down and had to know what happens and how Brier and Roland end up. It was a rollercoaster ride for sure. But oh so worth it. The ups and downs they encounter as they go have you wondering if they’re going to make it or if the entire thing will end in heartbreak. But the end. Oh how I loved it.
Right from the beginning my heart went out to Brier. His emotions leapt from the page. His loneliness and despair when isolated from everyone and then again while in Aire. Watching him grow and become a true king both in name and demeanor was wonderful. I adored how Brier slowly started to stand up for himself. He was so timid at first but gained confidence in himself the more time he spent in Aire and when he returned as King. It was hard seeing his heart get broken more than once. He was so strong to keep going even if he was hurting. His friendship with Prince Quentin was good for Brier. Even if it confused him at times. While I liked how the storyline with Prince Quentin turned out in the end, you could tell it hurt all three men as it progressed. By the last chapter, you could tell Brier had settled into his skin and was content with his life. I absolutely loved seeing the stolen scene with him and Roland when they don’t think anyone is listening. You can feel their love coming off the page.
Roland was such a dynamic character. he struggled so hard to deal with his feelings. First his self induced seclusion. Then his growing love for Brier and jealousy and insecurity. His commanding attitude is so sexy. But his vulnerabilities are just as attractive. His journey to being able to be with Brier openly and accepted by the Aurelians was long and emotionally trying. My heart hurt for everything he went through and how he was treated by others. His past haunted him for a while and I loved getting to see him deal with it and embrace what happened as something he couldn’t have changed. His love for Brier was all encompassing and beautiful to see. By the end of the story you could feel his contentment.
The journey we embark on throughout the book is one that kept me engaged the entire time I was reading. I loved watching all of the characters grow in the book, not just Brier and Roland. The cast surrounding these two made a great family for them whether by blood, bond, or requirement. The world Mr. EAB created was immersive. You can tell large amounts of time was invested created the land itself, the politics, the language, and everything that goes alone with the world and her citizens. I would love to visit this world again. I want to see more stories set here. I got attached to the world and didn’t want to leave. There are a few questions I’d love to have answered. But they’re not part of Brier and Roland’s story. I hope there is a sequel at some point because I now want to see more about Brier and Roland’s children. There is more adventure and more story. But Brier and Roland are completely happy and content in their life. They have a long love together and will continue that way for the rest of their days. And I am glad for having had a chance to read them.
April 15, 2019
4.75 stars, rounded up because of COURSE
I really liked this book. Perfect book cover, honestly. Would that I one day design a cover this wonderful.
I really liked this book. Perfect book cover, honestly. Would that I one day design a cover this wonderful.
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