Farfall

by J.C. Owens

Secrets. Rebellion. Two men drawn together by a bond that may change the land forever...

Captain Andon Grazon, the poor son of a prostitute, shares a rare bond with Ceris, the only wild-born griffon in the land to bond with a human. He and Ceris are part of the flight corp at Farfall, where he is treated like an outsider and abused by the noble-born riders at the base. When his only friend is killed on patrol, the loss has Andon spiraling down into darkness. The misery of his life leaves him cold and withdrawn, unable to interact with others, and isolated from everyone except Ceris. But after Captain Daren Phalnir and his wing of riders arrive to replace Farfall's lost griffon wing, the powerful and charismatic man brings complications Andon does not need. He doesn't trust the man, no matter how respectful he might seem. Andon has many secrets, and the closer Daren comes to them, the greater the danger to Andon...and to his heart.

After Captain Daren Phalnir arrives at Farfall with Gretnel, his grif, he remains wary. The border base's reputation is anything but pleasant—a place where griffons are considered mere property of the throne, little more than animals. Then he meets a legend: Ceris, the only wilds born griffon to imprint on a man, and her rider, Andon Grazon. Andon is a compelling mystery, keeping Daren at arm's length, remaining hostile, aggressive, and very, very alone. At least until Ceris and Gretnel mate...and discover they may share a true bond, the rarest in existence. Andon's isolation stirs Daren's curiosity and his compassion. He begins to uncover a dark secret, with Andon and Ceris at the center—a secret that may just reach all the way to the throne...

Reader note: contains intense emotional elements. Reader Discretion Advised.

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance, Romance, Historical, Dark, Abuse, Supernatural

318 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 21, 2017

About the author

Also known as J.C. McGuire.

J.C Owens lives in small town, rural Alberta and is a self confessed writing-a-holic. In the absence of help for this affliction…

I do indeed love to write and have now completed thirty published stories, along with over twenty books sitting idle in my computer, waiting… I love the genre of male/male stories and conflict in what a person thinks they want, versus what they truly need to become themselves. I think any writing that shows the beauty of men loving men is worthwhile.

I love to hear from my readers and always appreciate suggestions and comments for future books. Sharing a love of reading and good, hot sensuality between men is always a cause for celebration!

Reviews

[JenMcJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. Read it. The writing is always top notch, JC is a very talented writer that makes any story a pleasure to read, but the overall story was not as deep and thoughtful as her earlier books, again.

I am basically copying and pasting my review from the last JC Owen book Siren's Call because most of my issues are EXACTLY the same. I am so sad that this book wasn't as compelling as past books. Also, the cover of this one is TERRIBLE.

Sadly, they are definitely getting formulaic. The misunderstood virginal/somewhat asexual pretty boy with a core of steel from being abused and persevering and the enemy outsider that eventually sees past the surface are the base characters. I LOVE that trope. LOVE it, but the past few have been, I don't know, too easy. Not enough conflict between duty and love.

The older books, with much more psychological programming and intense internal struggles were more compelling to me and I miss them. The characters really had to abandon some close held dogma to get to the happy ending and the struggle to get there was fulfilling.

Additionally, the sex scenes were just not...fulfilling. While this one didn't have the same type of dubcon (at least not between MC's, there is a rape scene in this book of one MC late in the book), I really dislike the whole mating frenzy sex trope. If you aren't sure who you are even f*cking because you are so overcome by the drive to mate (in this case, not even your own mating drive), where is the erotica in that? I am open and expect some dubcon in my enemies to lovers story, which JC Owen EXCELLED at in past books, but hasn't been able to really do justice to in the past few books. I want to actually feel the resistance and the overcoming of the resistance on both sides. The sex scenes (I think there were two?) that were on page were unsatisfying and I felt no connection between Draiden and Rastay Andon and Daren while they were intimate together. When Andon very suddenly abandoned a lifetime of loneliness and isolation/mental and physical abuse to declare his love for Daren, I was very confused. It was just out of left field and did not match the character at all. Also, the 180 degree turn for one of the characters was absurd. Be warned there are a lot of loose ends that are not wrapped up...maybe a sequel?

JC Owen is an autobuy, this still doesn't change things but hopefully she gets back to her roots and gives us more ruthless men being only slightly tamed by their match and matches that have to dig deep to tame those men.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Loved everything about the griffin-salants, but wished for more backstory. Wished for more character development in the secondary players. Wished for more support for Andon amongst the cadets, which would have been more realistic and more interesting. Wished for more world building. Wished for a better ending... it felt so abrupt and unfinished. Yet, I still liked it. Would I read a sequel? I probably would.

Warning: This book contains a rape scene involving one of the main characters by an abusive fellow officer.

[llv · Rating 4 out of 5]

re-read: May 2019
Rating: 4 stars
I liked this story way more the second time reading it than I did the first. The first time I read it, I had some preconceived notions of what I wanted and when the story didn’t deliver, I was disappointed. This time, I knew in advance what was going to happen so I could enjoy the story for what it was. I wish the author would continue this series. I would be interested to see what happens after the events of the book.


Rating: 3 stars
There were definitely things that I liked about this story. The griffons being the main thing. I wanted to get to know more of them not just Gretnel and Ceris. I also liked the base commander and Daren’s wingmates. I really liked both MCs. I really felt for all that Andon went through in his life and thought that Daren made a good partner for him.

Now for the bad news. If you have read any of this author’s books in the past, you should know not to expect light and fluffy. This book went to a pretty dark place and there was an actual rape scene in it. Luckily it didn’t go on for too long, but I think there should have some sort of trigger warning. Also, I’m not sure I buy into the ending. It was a HFN ending to be sure. I also wouldn’t classify this book as a romance. There is very little romantic interaction between the two MCs.

The story did keep me riveted and I really was invested in what happened to these characters. While I think the author was going for a happy ending, it just left me feeling let down and not too optimistic in the future for the main protagonists.

[blub · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked getting to know both characters and reading Andon's coping mechanism and how Daren approached him. I enjoyed seeing the relationships between characters and their griffons.

I felt Andon's change in behavior towards Daren was rushed. Whie the book was pretty dark I felt it wasn't as dark as her other stories. It's not a bad thing and I had moments in which I cringed t the treatment Andon experienced.

[Feliz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't be deterred by that butt ugly cover - this book is actually a great read. Fantasy at its best - noble warriors and abysmally bad villains, a tiny little bit of magic and a great deal of heroism, epic battles and epic feelings, kings and kingdoms lost and found, and some cinderfella getting his strong alpha leader of men and beasts. Oh, and there are dragons, too. I love dragons.

[Qin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well executed tale full of lively characters, the fantastic beasts rather more so than the human cast, set with gusto in a wonderfully visual world and crisply narrated. That this is not a five-star book, though, stems first from the, thicker than is usual with this writer, layer of grammatical or stylistic blemishes. Those range in gravity from the use of improper words (for example, "inference" mistaken for "reference" in "the insult, an inference to Andon's less-than-noble background, made little impact upon him"; "weaving" instead of "halting", "hesitating", in "their weaving [sic] steps resembled a drunken walk home from a tavern"; and so forth) or the wrong grammatical tool ("a friendship is a very different thing than an intimate relationship" : read of course "from"; "he kept his face expressionless, cold, so that any watching would not be able to discern his reactions" : read probably "anyone"), faulty spelling (e.g., the verb "leech away" written "leach away"), incorrect temporal concordance of verbs even in cases that are so clear-cut that no hesitation should be possible (such as "he has no trust within him, never has"), or the solecistic replacement of an adjective or adverb by the corresponding noun and vice versa (e.g. "all this was part of the foolishness arrogance that had blindly followed tradition" ; "this place seemed to reek of the negative" ; "then Andon turned the knob and blissful hot water cascaded over them both"), to weird interversions of words ("“she asks that you see to her rider. He will be hurting, confused. He is not good with people and the situations that emotions bring to the fore”, in which one must restore "... the emotions that situations bring to the fore" ; "his grin was almost painful it was so wide" instead of "his grin was so wide it was almost painful" needed a comma after "painful" to be tolerable idiom ; and so on), instances of plain bad writing ("it was supposed to happen when Andon first imprinted the grif" is neither stylish nor correct and cannot be mended by adding "on" after "imprinted" since both rider and griffon imprint on each other, etc), and overarching yet tasteless inflections (I object to the proliferation of ponderously antithetic sentences such as "whether that was because that was all Andon had ever known, or because he simply had never experienced any good side of humankind, was difficult to say", all the more so since it comes with blatant cacophony and the hispid replacement of "humanity" by "humankind" despite the proverbial status of the locution). The latter kind of offence of course originates in the decision to cultivate at book length a conceited, if not ornery, style of writing. Let me adduce another example of this poor taste : in "this man could have power unimaginable, and with Andon’s upbringing, he would have no skills to survive within the court", we need to surmise that the man (viz. Byrant) will be more powerful than ever as the keeper of Ceris and her rider Andon, but what is the logical link between this tidbit and Andon's incapacity to be a courtier ? All the more so when the preceding sentences read as follow : "his nemesis looked like he would argue the point, but glanced at Palresen and subsided. After all, he had gotten what he wanted. Andon knew that he would have no protection once they reached the capital".

Beyond the indifferent quality of the writing, which makes the present book a let down from Mrs Owens' trademark literary chops, I was not pleased either by the less than multidimensional picture drawn of the protagonists, who turn out to be nothing special at all (Andon is the taciturn, former wild boy, now falling apart and who could well be mistaken for a damsel in distress, despite the ancient gods's favour coupled with his backbone of steel, for all the misery the script keeps piling on him in entirely too contrived fashion; Daren has not been fleshed out much beyond his fortitude, his all too easy acceptance of Andon's being his true mate that awkwardly covers up his lust at first sight for the other captain, and bond with his wing of riders) ; the preposterous sharpness of mind given to Daren when he first meets the commanding officers of the fortress (he is able at first glance to spot, from subtle nonverbal cues, who the bad apples must be and who the trustworthy ones ; other characters are similarly gifted with widely implausible perspicacity, witness snippets such as "“I think he needs us, Captain.” Paulsa was the soul of compassion. “Did you see the wariness? Like an abused animal. That is a man who hurts to the core”"); and a few too many issues redolent of the rather careless reuse by Mrs Owens of her most favorite plot devices (the mating frenzy of griffins and riders that pushes Andon into a true mate bond with Daren and the, thankfully not graphic beyond the use of twisted manacles, rape of the beta protagonist were but two of the tired tropes I hoped we would be spared, to no avail; both are rather cheap expedients meant to keep the plot moving). The same thing obtains for the personality of the villains (Byrant is a cardboard creep ; the king fares hardly better ; Habnin's irrational hatred for Andon goes too far and fails to convince ; the only nuanced character in this whole bunch is Vatner, who heroically redeems himself in the last act of the book and about whom I would gladly read more, in case a follow up on Farfall ever gets out), the political intrigue, which remains hanging up in the air with the strong HFN ending, and Andon's clichéd ability to have entirely too many men fall in lust with him (viz. Byrant, Vatner, Daren, and others unmentioned). Since I was thoroughly entertained, I ought not to grouse too much at being offered once more an old dish in a new sauce (Farfall indeed stands next to Mrs Owens' classic fantasy books as water soda compared to good, strong wine); but my rating rather reflects the sheer pleasure I had journeying through this universe than my actual appreciation for the originality, or lack thereof, and the more technical aspects of the story itself, including the atrocious and irrelevant artwork of the cover (neither Daren nor Andon look anything close to these ugly mountain men). So 3 stars 1/4.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A relatively ambitious fantasy tale compared to this author's other works. Shame that the good stuff like UST, chemistry, and the hot 'n heady scenes I know Owens can write, are banished to the backseat of the griffon.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like the story as I do most JC books, but I did have a few problems with it. As someone else said there was an actual rape scene in here, and there should have been trigger warning for unsuspecting readers. It also didn't feel like a whole story. It felt like half a story with a HFN ending that was rushed and unfinished. The romance aspect didn't feel complete emotionally from both characters. I still liked the book, but I'm left wishing for a sequel to truly see the relationship flourish and to have several unexplained things resolved.

[Lada · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the MCs and their grifs, but I think the pace of the first half was too slow, while the second half was too fast. Andon's change of heart was quite sudden, but maybe Andon and Daren's near-death experience influenced his feeling and attitude. The ending was HFN and abrupt, and I didn't get to see the griffs' future babies.

Overall, I did enjoy reading the story; there's not too much sex in it, and Daren's grif was amusing.

[E Varady · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fell flat

This book fell flat for me. I was intrigued initially, but then it felt like all the relationship development and healing was off page, something discussed but not experienced. Plot points were overly simplistic - Anton's surprise at getting captured made no sense given the warnings he'd received. His hesitation and confusion didn't fit. All done to move the plot along. I left the book feeling like the story was only partially told.

[Raj · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a tiger in the sack,it echoes with a wild untamed atmosphere of desolate places and beasts of legend. Be warned though there dark triggers and a HFN ending due to political upheaval.There is no cliffhanger as such and journey to the end is magical.

[Omega696 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andon was a great character - isolated by strong and ready to fight at any time. The story was good but I felt like there were several issues forgotten at the end of the book, some questions weren't answered so I would expect another book set in this world? Maybe. I would read it.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! I would absolutely love to see more of this world, Andon and Daren are amazing together, as are their grifs.

[Sherry F · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

I would like to see a sequel, to hear the baby grifs, how the coup went, etc etc.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, which feature griffons bonded to their humans. Andon is a captain in the military. Due to his low birth and jealousy of peers, he is often abused at his base, despite his talents and teaching young cadets. Part of the jealousy stems from the fact that he is the only one in modern history who has bonded with a wild griffon.

Daren, a captain from another base is sent, with his crew, to Andon's base to substitute for a group that was recently killed by wild animals. Daren is drawn to Andon, but Andon has walls of impenetrable distrust. The two men deal with the potential mating of their two griffons, betrayals, backstabbing, and political machinations.

This books ends as a HFN. I don't know if the intention is to make it as part of a series, but that is the only way it will eventually work. Future partnerships, matings, war, and more are hinted at, but the book is definitely not a stand-alone, if you're looking for a nicely-wrapped, complete story.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars
The beginning of this story was fantastic and had me hooked from page one. I was totally thinking that this was gonna be a 5 star read for me. Alas, it petered out before I was half way through and my initial excitement got a bit dampened.

Three reasons for that. First, the romance took a turn that I didn't like with the destined mates trope. I usually have nothing against it if it's done well. But it felt just wrong here. There was no sexual chemistry and the sex scenes had neither heat nor heart. I really missed the emotional connection. I wanted them to get to know each other better before jumping into bed because of a mating bond. It got better after their first encounter but Andon's sudden decision to trust Daren was just to abrupt to be believable after all he had gone through.

Secondly, I wanted there to be more of a plot. What happened in the book I could probably summarize in three sentences. Yes, it was a character driven book and I liked that. But the world was interesting enough that I would have liked to learn more about it. We never even get to see these enemy creatures that are the whole reason for the flight corps.

And third, the story felt like the middle book in a series. Maybe it's part of a series but it never said so anywhere. There seemed to be a story about Daren's commander at his former base that took place before the events here. And towards the end it felt as if half the story was missing because we didn't get to see much of the final battle. I can only assume, because a character in the next book will experience this and it would be redundant to write it twice, even from a different perspective. Maybe I'm totally wrong with all of that but it seemed like the only logical conclusion to me. The ending is also kind of open and leaves plenty of threads (and character arcs) unfinished. So yeah, like part of a series where you can't read one of the books as a stand-alone. That doesn't mean I felt totally lost during the read but it definitely felt like I was missing some background information.

Despite all this, I still enjoyed the story. I could really empathize with Andon. The way he was treated was abysmal and I love characters that stand strong despite terrible circumstances. I also loved everything about the griffons. Andon's and Ceri's bond was wonderful and I wanted to know more about it. Darren and his wing of riders were also very interesting. I would have liked to get to know them better, too. The mythology and history of the world was also intriguing.
The writing as a whole was really good. I had no trouble following the story and the two MCs thoughts and behavior was well thought-out and believable.

Slight warning: This is no fluffy book. A lot of bad things happen. There was especially a lot of talk about rape in the book. It happens to several people off page and once on page. That scene is not described in excruciating detail but if you're sensitive like me you might have a problem with it. The powerlessness of the victim always gets to me the most and makes me slightly queasy and terribly angry. I wanted the villain to die a much more gruesome death than he did in the end. Yes, I get quite vicious when it comes to rapists. Sorry, not sorry.
But I've read worse and it's just a short scene so it didn't diminish my overall enjoyment of the book. From reading the summaries of the authors other books it seems to be a theme with her, though. And I have to admit that is the reason I haven't picked up another of her books yet. But I might because for the most part I really liked this.

[Chancey "Does not give out 5's like candy" Knowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot but didn't love it. It did hold my interest, and I was saddened to see there was not, at least this point, another book from this world.

My biggest issue / concern was a very graphic rape scene that I was not prepared for ahead of time. Though not a trigger for me, I would have been very upset that I was not for warned if it was a trigger.

I was more than a little surprised by the extremely quick turn around of Andon's acceptance of the bond. I could reasonably justify it upon thought, but I did not think it was set up well enough to make me feel or believe it.

There were a few other small things I felt disrupted the flow, but didn't really effect my enjoyment of the story overall but kept it from being 5 stars. That and nothing other than the Grif's really set it apart from other stories.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another win for J. C. Owens!

Farfall is not the best that J. C. Owens has ever written, but it is close. You can not help but fall in love with the main characters and many of the side characters. There is a rape scene, though it is short and as tastefully done as such a horrific act can be portrayed. I do consider the book to be a HEA, but it has been left open enough that a sequel is a possibility.

[T-Bone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I was so drawn into the story and how the relationship between Andon and Daren developed. And, the grifs!!! I loved them and their personalities. I would love to see another telling from this world. Will we see the baby grifs? Does the king get overthrown?

Note: there is talk about and actual rape in the text. It doesn't bother me, but I could see where other readers might be affected.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I try not to give too many 5 star reviews, but with this particular story, once I started I had to read it through to the end, so to me that means it deserves that rating.

This was almost the perfect MM romance for me: masculine, strong MCs, fantastical beasts, hideously cruel enemies and an HEA. The only thing I missed was an epilogue. It would have been fantastic to read about baby grifs and maybe get one last glimpse of the MCs relationship.

[Julie Safford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

As usual...Owens delivered a great, and powerful story. Loved the grifs and the riders. This story has all the elements for a great read. Can't beat that. Description about the book is accurate and says all you need to know. Just loved it.

[miss natasha stokes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

I've read all of jc Owens work and I've never been disappointed. Can't wait for the next book whatever it is.

[Bogusia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hope we get another book in this world. I need to know if they overthrow the king. I also want to know about the baby grifs.

[Macky · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5*

[romanceandcoffee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay read, but I think some key story elements were skipped.

[Tünde Kasza tóth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow romance, abuse, animals that talk to people in their heads... What more do you need?

[Florient Calliste-Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

Love the story and characters- please write book 2-i have re-read this book multiple times- I hope the writer sees this review