Flamecaller

by Caitlin Ricci

When the emperor has his father killed, it's the breaking point for Haruo, who sets out from the island of dragon shifters where he lives in search of revenge. The tournament being held to marry off the emperor's son seems like a perfect opportunity—what better way to get close to the father than through the son, afterall.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Gay, M M Romance

45 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 14, 2018

About the author

Caitlin was fortunate growing up to be surrounded by family and teachers that encouraged her love of reading. She has always been a voracious reader and that love of the written word easily morphed into a passion for writing. If she isn't writing, she can usually be found studying as she works toward her counseling degree. She comes from a military family and the men and women of the armed forces are close to her heart. She also enjoys gardening and horseback riding in the Colorado Rockies where she calls home with her wonderful fiance and their dog. Her belief that there is no one true path to happily ever after runs deeply through all of her stories.

Reviews

[Atlas · Rating 1 out of 5]

"You father smiled when he died. Will you smile when death comes for you too?"

*
1 / 5


I liked the idea behind Flamecaller (also really dug the title and the cover): a guy called Haruo seeks revenge for the execution of his father by the emperor and finds an opportunity in the tournament the emperor is holding in order to find a wife for his son.

Unfortunately, Flamecaller feels really rushed and underdeveloped. At only 45 pages, I think it's better to concentrate on portraying a snapshot of life or a character development, but Ricci is ambitious and attempts to cover a massive plot including a romance, a tournament, and an assassination plot. It was really too much for so few words.

"There were a dozen people around him, all dragons in their second skins"

The setting of this story is also pretty confusing: it's clearly Japanese inspired with the Emperor and imperial elements, but the people can also shift into dragon forms (why? who knows) and the island appears to be alive. Flamecaller feels like a first draft: some good ideas, but very unpolished.

Read more reviews on my blog: http://atlasrisingbooks.wordpress.com

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was provided for free by Love Bytes in exchange for an honest review.

This review was first posted to Love Bytes: LGBTQ Book Reviews. It has been slightly edited here for content.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this story. I’ve read Caitlin Ricci before, but not her fantasy works, and the blurb kept the story details pretty vague. And to be honest, after reading, I’m not even sure how much of a story there actually was.

I really like “arranged marriage” types of stories, and the idea of Haruo, a commoner whose father is executed for trying to assassinate the emperor, battling for the hand of Kiyoshi, the enigmatic son of the emperor, makes for a story rife with political and romantic tension. But unfortunately, there is almost no romance in this! Haruo and Kiyoshi share little more than a passing look and possible feeling of attraction. And the blurb is a little misleading because Haruo does end up battling for Kiyoshi’s hand, but not for himself—for his female cousin Taka.

The setting and time is left pretty open-ended. It is modelled after imperial Japan and Haruo’s home/village seem to be set historically, but then modern apartments and appliances are mentioned in relation to Kiyoshi, throwing me off the story’s atmosphere. The backstory to the “island” is left vague, too—it is given female pronouns like it is a living entity, yet that’s never expanded on, either. I tend to take fantasy settings at face value, provided they’re well-written, but this one just left me with way too many questions. It’s like this is a setting I’m supposed to already recognize but definitely do not. Even the shifter elements are mentioned so casually that I had to re-read—wait, these characters are shifters? Now he’s a dragon? What is happening?

The pacing in this story is also an issue. Too much plotting and talking in circles. And I love plotting and deep conversation in fantasy, when it serves a means to an end. The balance between talking and action in this story was way off, and there never seemed to be a logical climax or boiling point.

I will say that there is a pretty decent plot twist for a short story—one that I really wasn’t expecting. It asks us to rethink how we see the main characters and their relationship. A believable plot twist is difficult for even longer works, so to have one here was a nice touch.

Perhaps fans of Ricci’s fantasy works will get something more out of this, but it just didn’t work for me. I had more questions than answers by the end, and the almost non-existence romance wasn’t at all satisfying.

[Tenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 *, rounded down. (based on my feelings, not math)

The premise of this book is very interesting and I think it could have been pretty good story. But at this point, it simply isn't, which saddens me.

This book is a novella, which I think actually hurts it - it would probably worked better, if the author had more words to explore the relationship between the two love interests. Instead, they go from "i will kill you" to "you are important to me" during like... one conversation, which feels really weird. Enemies to lovers storylines need time and space to work properly and there isn't any in this.

Another issue is the pseudo-japanese setting. If the Emperor was called a lord or some lesser rank, I would maybe be able to swallow he has basically no guards/servants, lets his son live like he does and decides to wed his offspring based on... tournament in a small island? That could work for some mayor, but Emperor? I am sorry, does not compute. Also, the whole "Tokyo" thing confuses me greatly - Tokyo has become capital of Japan only in recent history and was called Edo until year 1869, but the overall setting of the book seems to be much sooner, so why the heck is one of the main characters referencing Tokyo?
The setting just falls apart and even though this is fantasy, even fantasy should be grounded in reality. If the author doesn't want to do any research about real world japan history, fair enough, but don't base your fantasy books on them please.

All in all, this could have been a decent book with more words and more time to edit and polish it and do research. Since these things lack, I cannot recommend it with clear conscience as a good read.

[Serena Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and to the point, this story still manages to have a few unexpected twists, an interesting setting, and even though the world did not have many details, I was able to get into the spirit of what was happening. Imagine a culture inspired by Japan around the 17th or 18th century, add some mysterious spirits with their own agenda, and dragon shifters who are in charge of keeping the land healthy and things running smoothly. Except they are anything but… and as the details emerge, it becomes clear that something is very wrong.


Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

[Jaymie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful Cover that immediately drew my attention. The blurb was quite intriguing and I was excited to sink my teeth into this story. However I felt a bit let down to be honest and wish that the story had been longer and laid out better.

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

For the full review visit https://wp.me/p220KL-ddE

From that review: " What I found was more along the lines of an author's outline for a novella than an actual story that was complete with fleshed out characters, relationships that had some depth to them, back histories that went beyond the shallow, and a foundation that made some sense."

For all our reviews, author interviews and such, visit us at http://scatteredthoughtsandroguewords...