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Under Her Spell
Keme Dumont, a history teacher, comes from a long line of Master Cubists with expectations that appear unreachable. Under the constant shadow of his older brother, Keme struggles to find himself and his place in the world. A mysterious woman enters his life and shows him a love he has never known. Surrounded by a world of colorful magic, shifters, and elemental enemies…Is this new love powerful enough to shine into his darkness and bring him out? Or will he be lost forever to the darkness and shadows.
78 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 27, 2019
6 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Elani Roman
59 books49 followersElani Roman started writing early in life through poetry. Well into her adulthood she discovered a fiction world inside of her imagination that consisted of fantasy, science fiction, and romance characters.
There is so much more to come from this Author. Follow Elani to stay on top of the latest projects, events, and new releases.
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There is so much more to come from this Author. Follow Elani to stay on top of the latest projects, events, and new releases.
Connect With Author Elani Roman:
https://linktr.ee/ElaniRomanAuthor
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 8, 2022
3 to 3 1/2 stars
April 28, 2019
I was 'lucky' enough to receive part 2, 'Clouded Hearts' from the author, and I will write a full review once I have finished reading this.
I still stand by comparing it to, 'A Brave new World' because people are categorized much like they were in said story. There is also sexual freedom, much like there is in Huxley's work, and the fantasy part, for me, justifies its comparison to Rawling's work, or similar books that cast spells and potions.
I am very much looking forward to reading part 2, and learning whose voice it was that Kem heard in the sacred woods
I still stand by comparing it to, 'A Brave new World' because people are categorized much like they were in said story. There is also sexual freedom, much like there is in Huxley's work, and the fantasy part, for me, justifies its comparison to Rawling's work, or similar books that cast spells and potions.
I am very much looking forward to reading part 2, and learning whose voice it was that Kem heard in the sacred woods
March 27, 2019
This isn't the type of book I would usually read, but I found it fairly entertaining and easy to read. This is a prequel to a series of books the author is working on. If you like Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Mystical creature type books. You will probably enjoy this series of books. I'm not sure I will be reading the rest of the series in the future. It's just my mental taste buds I guess. I prefer to read real world, true story books or history, rather than these weird fantasy world books... It just seems that we are inundated with these kinds of fantasy books nowadays... Sometimes I wish we could go back to the days of Samuel Clemens and Nick Carraway......TJ
April 8, 2019
The Perils of Young Love...
In a world where people are divided into strict social and cultural groupings, Keme Dumont is a young man finding his place. As a younger son he has less expectation placed on him than his older brother, but like his brother he is caught up in a cross-cultural relationship their parents would regard as dangerously inappropriate.
What I really enjoyed:
The author has a very deep and well-realised world, into which this prequel to the main series gives a few tantalising glimpses. There was a sense of a very well thought through setting which provides a powerful backdrop to the story. There were a lot of original ideas. Through descriptions of everyday happening, like teaching lessons in school, the reader was able to relate to this strange world which is hinted at by the author rather than described.
The romance in the story was not typical. It was more lust driven and lacked the kind of hearts and flowers style one might expect in a book listed as fantasy romance. For me, that gave it an unexpected and intriguing gritty edginess.
The main character, a very naive young man, was on the whole well portrayed. I particularly liked the way the author conveyed so well that he believed himself to be worldly wise and in control, but all the time the reader could tell from his words and actions that he really was anything but.
The whole promises an ongoing series with a complex setting and intrigue and duplicity to the fore.
What I struggled with:
The writing style. I did understand that the main character was a naive individual, but he was also supposed to be very well educated. The writing style was definitely naive, but to me failed to reflect the age and educational level of the main character. It came over more like the voice of a teenage high-school student than the teacher of high-school students.
This felt like a bolt-on prequel. Whilst it was obvious this setting is indeed complex and well thought out by the author, in this story there was both too much and too little information provided about the world setting. There was a tendency to deliver information about the history of the world through large doses of exposition whilst neglecting some needed aspects of description about what the world actually looked like in the story present.
Overall:
This is a book for anyone who enjoys their science fantasy in a unique setting, rich with intrigue and a focus on the harder edge of romance.
In a world where people are divided into strict social and cultural groupings, Keme Dumont is a young man finding his place. As a younger son he has less expectation placed on him than his older brother, but like his brother he is caught up in a cross-cultural relationship their parents would regard as dangerously inappropriate.
What I really enjoyed:
The author has a very deep and well-realised world, into which this prequel to the main series gives a few tantalising glimpses. There was a sense of a very well thought through setting which provides a powerful backdrop to the story. There were a lot of original ideas. Through descriptions of everyday happening, like teaching lessons in school, the reader was able to relate to this strange world which is hinted at by the author rather than described.
The romance in the story was not typical. It was more lust driven and lacked the kind of hearts and flowers style one might expect in a book listed as fantasy romance. For me, that gave it an unexpected and intriguing gritty edginess.
The main character, a very naive young man, was on the whole well portrayed. I particularly liked the way the author conveyed so well that he believed himself to be worldly wise and in control, but all the time the reader could tell from his words and actions that he really was anything but.
The whole promises an ongoing series with a complex setting and intrigue and duplicity to the fore.
What I struggled with:
The writing style. I did understand that the main character was a naive individual, but he was also supposed to be very well educated. The writing style was definitely naive, but to me failed to reflect the age and educational level of the main character. It came over more like the voice of a teenage high-school student than the teacher of high-school students.
This felt like a bolt-on prequel. Whilst it was obvious this setting is indeed complex and well thought out by the author, in this story there was both too much and too little information provided about the world setting. There was a tendency to deliver information about the history of the world through large doses of exposition whilst neglecting some needed aspects of description about what the world actually looked like in the story present.
Overall:
This is a book for anyone who enjoys their science fantasy in a unique setting, rich with intrigue and a focus on the harder edge of romance.
April 9, 2019
His name means Thunder, but he goes by “Kem.” He lives in Chroma—Greek for “color” (and how can I not love that??)—(where colorful magic is a norm) and works in the Black Ward museum, an irony which I absolutely love. He’s 24, not as close as he’d perhaps want to be with his slightly older brother, and his world is about to be flipped upside down by the femme fatale who mysteriously shows up and nearly deep-freezes the museum.
And about her? She’s got red stilettos, the power to turn blue, and sensual eyes with winged lashes that, if batted any faster, will set her flying. Say hello to the ultimate seductress. It seems every Ward has its share of women like her. It’s an excellent start and it aligns with the book’s gorgeous cover completely.
My beef with the story is that the protagonist often comes across as 14-year-old instead of a hard-working 24-year-old who’s praised as being the best historian in the region. Phrases like “My chest was tight, and I started the butterfly chant that my mama taught me to calm down” and other such references to “mama” and “pops” clashed with the perception I wanted to form of him—and they also clashed with the raunchier or more mature moments and scenes peppered throughout the story. There are some grammatical and transition issues that had me stumbling, too. Sometimes I couldn’t figure out where each character was located (e.g. Sephena is over in the lobby and less than a punctuation mark later is in Kem’s arms… on a couch… somewhere… before they go to his room. Is this a house, a hotel, a… what?).
I did enjoy the history of Chroma’s making, as described at one point by Kem to his students. I also appreciated the interspersing of futuristic elements (windows contract like fish gills! love!) that helped keep me grounded in the knowledge that this story is out of this world. There are twists and turns, and the dosage of magic only gets bigger and heartier as the story evolves.
Hiccups aside, this story is an easy read, fast-paced and pleasant, with a number of delicious metaphors and entertaining internal dialogue on the narrator’s part. My favorite lines included:
The words fell from my mouth like a suicide jumper.
Studying my face like she was looking for vital signs before she spoke.
I had to take a detour in my lesson and try to clean up the spilled tea Carah carelessly poured out of her privileged mouth.
They picked me apart like vultures. Alcohol turned the councilors’ ordinary mouths into megaphones, and their piety oozed to the gutter of absurdity.
[Her heels] looked like woven tree branches and were studded with moonstone crystals.
I swear, if he touched a unicorn, it would shit gold blocks and cry gold tears.
And about her? She’s got red stilettos, the power to turn blue, and sensual eyes with winged lashes that, if batted any faster, will set her flying. Say hello to the ultimate seductress. It seems every Ward has its share of women like her. It’s an excellent start and it aligns with the book’s gorgeous cover completely.
My beef with the story is that the protagonist often comes across as 14-year-old instead of a hard-working 24-year-old who’s praised as being the best historian in the region. Phrases like “My chest was tight, and I started the butterfly chant that my mama taught me to calm down” and other such references to “mama” and “pops” clashed with the perception I wanted to form of him—and they also clashed with the raunchier or more mature moments and scenes peppered throughout the story. There are some grammatical and transition issues that had me stumbling, too. Sometimes I couldn’t figure out where each character was located (e.g. Sephena is over in the lobby and less than a punctuation mark later is in Kem’s arms… on a couch… somewhere… before they go to his room. Is this a house, a hotel, a… what?).
I did enjoy the history of Chroma’s making, as described at one point by Kem to his students. I also appreciated the interspersing of futuristic elements (windows contract like fish gills! love!) that helped keep me grounded in the knowledge that this story is out of this world. There are twists and turns, and the dosage of magic only gets bigger and heartier as the story evolves.
Hiccups aside, this story is an easy read, fast-paced and pleasant, with a number of delicious metaphors and entertaining internal dialogue on the narrator’s part. My favorite lines included:
The words fell from my mouth like a suicide jumper.
Studying my face like she was looking for vital signs before she spoke.
I had to take a detour in my lesson and try to clean up the spilled tea Carah carelessly poured out of her privileged mouth.
They picked me apart like vultures. Alcohol turned the councilors’ ordinary mouths into megaphones, and their piety oozed to the gutter of absurdity.
[Her heels] looked like woven tree branches and were studded with moonstone crystals.
I swear, if he touched a unicorn, it would shit gold blocks and cry gold tears.
April 6, 2019
I will admit to being a little confused when I first started reading, but that is my own personal bias. The main character is an artist who lives in a Cubist society. I thought it was going to be a book about Picasso and his ilk, but slowly, the plot and history started filling in and proved me wrong.
This is a short read, but action packed. I wished the sex scenes weren't faded to black and had been explored more, but that is just me personally. The book deals with futuristic societies, magic, spells, magically beings, curses. There is a lot going on for such a short read. I'm interested to see where the author goes with the rest of the series
This is a short read, but action packed. I wished the sex scenes weren't faded to black and had been explored more, but that is just me personally. The book deals with futuristic societies, magic, spells, magically beings, curses. There is a lot going on for such a short read. I'm interested to see where the author goes with the rest of the series
May 16, 2019
What really intrigued me about this book is its originality. The author has created characters and a setting that are uniquely interesting, luring readers into a fantastical, futuristic world of magic and legends... but more distinctive than the usual books of this genre. Though a short story, Under Her Spell, is filled with drama, lust and characters and dialogues that are well written and a plot twist that entices one to definitely read book 2!
May 3, 2019
Lots of cool sci fi, urban fantasy elements. Lacks direction.
Under her spell review:
In the distant future, the continents have fused together and a new society has been built where people are divided into separate wards. Kem (or Keme as it is sometimes spelled) is a teacher and a worker at a museum that catalogs the history of the 'Cubists'. When his brother, Kit, starts a relationship with a mysterious woman things start falling apart and it gets worse when the woman Kem is dating reveals that she might not be as trustworthy as he thinks.
I was reading a review of another book and the reviewer described it as, "an amazing imagination looking for a story." That is exactly how I feel about this book. There are a lot of really cool story elements flying through and the world the author created is intriguing. Unfortunately, it's really hard to pin down what the plot is exactly. The book flies through events that seem, to me at least, barely connected. It all comes hurtling toward a ending that, even after reading it twice, I don't completely understand. Maybe it's the pacing which, to me, felt manic. The good news is the author managed to cram A LOT into a very short read. But, in my opinion, I think I would have enjoyed a longer book where the story had a chance to breathe.
Part of the issue for me, as well, was that I had a hard time connecting with the main character. He is supposed to be a brilliant expert on the history of his people as well as a teacher but, to me, he comes across as an over-sexed frat boy. Toward the end of the book he goes off to a drinking party in the woods and I couldn't help but feel like he's somehow regressed back to high school. A lot of times the story feels like something that happens in the background while the main character lurches from one sexual encounter to another.
Fans of science fiction or fantasy that can get lost in the world without really needing a plot to follow would probably enjoy this book far more than I did. I would also recommend this book to a fan of science fiction who is looking for a short story told at break-neck speed.
Under her spell review:
In the distant future, the continents have fused together and a new society has been built where people are divided into separate wards. Kem (or Keme as it is sometimes spelled) is a teacher and a worker at a museum that catalogs the history of the 'Cubists'. When his brother, Kit, starts a relationship with a mysterious woman things start falling apart and it gets worse when the woman Kem is dating reveals that she might not be as trustworthy as he thinks.
I was reading a review of another book and the reviewer described it as, "an amazing imagination looking for a story." That is exactly how I feel about this book. There are a lot of really cool story elements flying through and the world the author created is intriguing. Unfortunately, it's really hard to pin down what the plot is exactly. The book flies through events that seem, to me at least, barely connected. It all comes hurtling toward a ending that, even after reading it twice, I don't completely understand. Maybe it's the pacing which, to me, felt manic. The good news is the author managed to cram A LOT into a very short read. But, in my opinion, I think I would have enjoyed a longer book where the story had a chance to breathe.
Part of the issue for me, as well, was that I had a hard time connecting with the main character. He is supposed to be a brilliant expert on the history of his people as well as a teacher but, to me, he comes across as an over-sexed frat boy. Toward the end of the book he goes off to a drinking party in the woods and I couldn't help but feel like he's somehow regressed back to high school. A lot of times the story feels like something that happens in the background while the main character lurches from one sexual encounter to another.
Fans of science fiction or fantasy that can get lost in the world without really needing a plot to follow would probably enjoy this book far more than I did. I would also recommend this book to a fan of science fiction who is looking for a short story told at break-neck speed.
January 29, 2019
Not my typical read
This prequel is a bit different from what I'd usually read. It seemed interesting enough to read in the future
This prequel is a bit different from what I'd usually read. It seemed interesting enough to read in the future
February 11, 2019
Wow!!!! How intriguing!!! Must read! I loved the detail! The down to earth point of view and lingo along with the futuristic technology and society worked in complete cohesion to create a reader friendly story while keeping the reader interested as well! The plot twist in the end was completely unexpected!!! I cant wait for another book to further the story!
April 16, 2019
She’s a seductive beauty…
And Kem is more than hooked!
In the future mystical land of Chroma, Kem is a respected history teacher, the museum curator and like his brother, he has a way with women.
But there’s something about his brother’s new squeeze that Kem doesn’t like.
Between that, a museum heist, keeping his ex-girlfriends at bay, and trying to please his family, Kem’s got a lot on his plate.
Will he be able to keep it all-together?
There’s only one way to find out...
You’ll love Under Her Spell because it is a fast-paced sensual delight with a twist at the end that will leave you wanting more!
Get it now!
And Kem is more than hooked!
In the future mystical land of Chroma, Kem is a respected history teacher, the museum curator and like his brother, he has a way with women.
But there’s something about his brother’s new squeeze that Kem doesn’t like.
Between that, a museum heist, keeping his ex-girlfriends at bay, and trying to please his family, Kem’s got a lot on his plate.
Will he be able to keep it all-together?
There’s only one way to find out...
You’ll love Under Her Spell because it is a fast-paced sensual delight with a twist at the end that will leave you wanting more!
Get it now!
February 1, 2021
This is an intense prequel
I can not express how much I need to get my hands on the sequel to this book! The history teacher/museum curator Kem starts out the story in a by the book manner. His brother Kit, is more reckless but is considered to have great magical strength. Kem has fallen in love with Sephena, while he sees his brother Kit flirting with a more dangerous woman from a different area of Chroma. One night, Kit wakes Kem up to go to a party. They arrive and the world that Kem knows gets flipped upside down. What happened? Read this prequel. Elani Roman builds high suspense all the way to the end. I know this is a series I won't want to miss reading.
I can not express how much I need to get my hands on the sequel to this book! The history teacher/museum curator Kem starts out the story in a by the book manner. His brother Kit, is more reckless but is considered to have great magical strength. Kem has fallen in love with Sephena, while he sees his brother Kit flirting with a more dangerous woman from a different area of Chroma. One night, Kit wakes Kem up to go to a party. They arrive and the world that Kem knows gets flipped upside down. What happened? Read this prequel. Elani Roman builds high suspense all the way to the end. I know this is a series I won't want to miss reading.
January 30, 2021
A well written prequel that makes you want to follow the story onwards, interesting characters, mystical creatures and magic. A little confusing in parts but a good one.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews