Siane has dreamed of attaining the dark queen Callai’s hand for most of her life. Callai is a mystery, and she holds many secrets, some of which involve Siane herself. Centuries ago the goddess of light was defeated by Callai and the other demon lords, who split the world between themselves to rule. Siane grew up in the Dominion of Shadow, and from an early age she dreamed of becoming Callai’s consort. Fortune favored her, and she managed to become one of the handful of students and potential suitors of the queen who resided in the Palace of Shadow. When she’d given the opportunity to impress Callai and have some time alone with her, Siane jumps at the opportunity. Little does she know that Callai has her own motives, and secrets which are entwined with Siane’s past as well. This is a short story, not a full-length novel.
I was born in October, 1985. Not much of my history would likely be of interest, but I grew up primarily in Utah, a land of ultra-conservative people, and yet oddly open to Science Fiction and Fantasy.
I started trying to write in high school. That didn't go well, and I mostly lost the spark for a long time, only rarely finishing writing a story, as most of my inspiration instead went into tabletop role-playing games, like Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder. In the process I developed a possibly unhealthy obsession with elves and succubi. If I ever write a story without either, it's probably Science Fiction...and there are even odds that someone will body-mod themselves to look like an elf. Trying to be honest here.
My writing tends to focus on the relationships between characters, though it may not seem like it at times. The stories in the background are just that, a backdrop for the development of the characters and situation. I try to fully think them through, but it's not always the case.
Anyway, not much more to be said. I'm an oddball, and I know it. I'm also somewhat stunned at the success my work has attained thus far, and am trying not to panic over it.
I barely ever give two stars because I don't have the heart. I really had to here though, I was so bored. I'm not sure if it would've been better if I read the book vs listened to the audio...
The audio was nice, I liked the narrator. She did a good job differentiating the voices, but the overall story didn't grip me.
The beginning had a large info dump which isn't so bad. The world building was the best part and has potential to become a full length novel based on it.
But the characters...I just couldn't get attached. I didn't care. I didn't like anyone no matter how hard I tried.
The romance was cute at least. And yet, I didn't really feel that either.
A short story, with a great deal of info dumping. Very light read. A lopt of story for too few words. I'd have loved to read a properly worked version of this story. It is intriguing.
I didn’t know what to expect but upon reading it, I have to say: it was pretty good. The characters were interesting and mostly well fleshed out. The story and world is interesting too. How the past and present’s tied into the main characters are well explained. I also though the romance was well built up.
I really wish Saile kept her powers and tried to learn how to control them. Despite what the author says I wouldn’t mind there being a sequel to this. The possibilities are endless. If you like elves I highly recommend this. It’s a short story but one I think you’ll enjoy.
Siane an apprentice magician studies at the court of dark queen Callai, a rare privilege to learn form her countries leader as wel as the chance to become her consort.
This is a quiet F/F romance set in a fantasy world. Medrano's writing is good as always and the characters sweet if left a little undefined due to the novella length of the story.
Medrano indicated he would likely not revisit this world, but I would enjoy it if he ever did.
It felt like this story line would have done better as a longer novel, or maybe without some of the points. There seemed to be a lot of 'every-day life' involved and not a lot of the 'getting together' kind of thing (at least considering the small number of pages of the story). From the story itself I didn't get much of an impression that Siane really wanted to be Callai's consort - like she was interested but not really the way the blurb implied?
A nicely done (if a little ambitious for the length) short fantasy story with a fateful F/F relationship at its heart. Nothing too deep and serious, maybe a little unfilfilling in that it didn't really seem to go anywhere beyond the big reveal, but an enjoyable and well-written story. The only downer is that it feels like there should have been so much more in this fantasy world!
A sweet and quiet read with a burgeoning romance between a demonic queen and one of her magical apprentices, with a slight twist that I'm not going to spoil. Would've loved it to be a little longer, perhaps see Siane grow into her new-found abilities or have them spend time together after everything had settled. The world seems quite interesting, too. A pity it wasn't explored more.
Oh if only you would entertain us with more installments of stories containing Siane and Callai . Perhaps one that causes Siane to need to save either Callai or a threat to their dominion ?
Even though it was edging the predictability factor, I absolutely enjoyed this piece. Sweet and subtle. I would love to read a full length of this one day.
A short self contained story. I have enjoyed all of his books, I have kindle unlimited and was able to read them for free, I chose to purchase them all.
Short and sweet. I liked the demon queen’s unrequited love for the goddess Leanna, but wished the lengths she went to to preserve the goddess’ power and life (lives?) would’ve induced some character development in the protagonist once she’d regained her memories and became Leanna anew. That way, their romance would’ve acquired new depths from all their shared history! Maybe. Anyway, this was fun, even though I thought the way things unfolded kind of invalidated the fact that a prior link had existed between the two lead characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Too short. This book has so much potential. I love where it was going with the magic system and back story and a lot of potential conflict and drama.
Reading it felt like reading a draft plot line that could be so much more. There was just not enough words and time for me to get the feel for the characters, for me to care what they think and what they intend on doing, to understand the magic system and the world they are in. But it really got me curious. I could see this becoming one huge epic story and I'm excited for it and wish the author would consider going back to it and expanding it or writing a lengthier book with a similar feel.
I don't know why author chose to write it this short. If it was to get some attention, he definitely got mine. This story as it is isn't great but there's definitely something there. I'll be watching out for more work form this author.
It was extremely short, with not much plot. But it was sweet and nice. I liked the characters, the romance, and the worldbuilding was in my opinion (for such a short text) pretty good. Plus the cover is absolutely gorgeous! But I still think it would be a great book if the author decided to write a full, more complex version of this story. It has great potential.
Siane an apprentice magician studies at the court of dark queen Callai, a rare privilege to learn form her countries leader as wel as the chance to become her consort.
This is a quiet F/F romance set in a fantasy world. Medrano's writing is good as always and the characters sweet if left a little undefined due to the novella length of the story.
Medrano indicated he would likely not revisit this world, but I would enjoy it if he ever did.