The Forest King

Green Labyrinth #2

by Alex Faure

After the destruction of the Roman army in Hibernia, Commander Darius Lucilius is taken prisoner by Fionn, a newly crowned Celtic king. Darius’s only desire is to return to his people, yet he finds himself increasingly captivated by the beautiful, dangerous Fionn, and caught up in the strange politics of a foreign and ancient world.

Meanwhile, Fionn has plans of his own for Darius. As the two men navigate the fragile trust building between them, Hibernia dangles on the edge of a new war. If he hopes to survive, Darius will have to work out where his loyalties—and his heart—truly lie.

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance, Historical, Enemies To Lovers, LGBT, Fae, Historical Fiction

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 21, 2019

Reviews

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh. My. God. I need more!!
This series makes great use of cliffhangers. I need to know how it continues, but the next book 'The Soldier Mage' isn't available yet!!

Roman Commander Darius Lucilius is held hostage by a Celtic tribe and learns a few extremely interesting bits about his Celtic lover - many of them dark and not exactly in favor of Darius' unexpected feelings for his enemy. 

Yet, Darius' love seems to root deeper than our Roman soldier would deem possible, judging by the short time he's known the man. It's almost as if some higher powers are at play.

Maybe - and I'm taking a wild guess here - they are soulmates from a former life?

A deep betrayal forces Darius to fight his way back to his Roman peers, but the cost seems too high to bear, knowing that even the idyllic groves of his beloved Sicilian home would feel empty if he left his heart in Hibernia (which is today's Ireland). 

What an epic adventure. I absolutely love this.

Yes, it's cruel in many ways, people are killed off like flies. I like how our guys aren't purely good or bad. After all, Darius *is* an invader in Hibernia who ordered his people to murder Celts, while Fionn is a skilled assassin who does the same to Darius' men.

Some details would have needed more research (like the delicious buttery potatoes that were served in Ireland in 82 AD... yeah, right), but all in all, I enjoyed the hell out of this story.

I can't wait to see its resolution and what is behind the supernatural beings that appear every now and then. 

All in all, definitely a beautiful story with a likeable, albeit often a bit clueless main character.

5 stars!

[Gabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book picks up exactly where book 1 ended, right in the middle of the action. I loved the fast-paced storyline. Fionn of course shows up again. I love the mysteriousness about him. Darius, as always, charms almost everyone around him.
It was interesting to see how they navigate their relationship and the fact that they are on opposing ends in the war. And on top of that they barely know each other.
I loved Fionn's inner circle, just as Darius's seemingly only friend, Marcus. And you know who would make a good pair?... mwhahaha I have a prediction. lol :)
There is a bit (okay a lot) of angst at the end.

[AngelFire · Rating 2 out of 5]

EDIT: Having just finished reading Book 3 (The Soldier Mage), I'm happy to report that Book 3 is back to the epic awesomeness that Book 1 was. If you feel as unimpressed with Book 2 as I did, please don't hesitate to continue because the author is back in full form in the next book!

xxxx

This was a crushing disappointment after the epicness that was the first book. I do want to give the author credit for wanting to keep things varied by making the second book very different from the first but I think that effort also backfired. While the first book was a suspenseful, intense blend of history, romance and lots of magic, this book was a pretty routine historical romance with barely any magic and the majority of the conflict came from forced drama and the author butchering the characterization of Fionn (IMO). Even worse, many of the plotlines I was eager to see continued from the second book were abandoned or lackluster. I also hated what the author did with the MCs romance.

The Positives

There weren't many. One of things I liked is that the Roman's attempt to conquer Hibernia pretty much fizzles out near the start of the story. The author continued the trend of having the Celtic tribes use trickery to defeat the Romans and make them look like morons. Darius is quickly separated from the other Romans and he spends most of the book living in Fionn's village as a 'prisoner' and I loved how frustrated and annoyed he was that Fionn and the other Celts quickly move past the 'Roman rubbish' and go back to their usual tribal squabbling over territory which has been their main occupation for hundreds of years. The speed at which the Celts put the Romans into their past was hilarious and I completely sympathized with Darius' offense at this attitude, since he's never come across it before.

I also loved the implication that the Roman Generals in Britannia were so embarrassed by this Hibernia blunder that they would choose to erase all reference of the invasion and never talk about it again. This had some plot holes in it - if the Romans all fled immediately then the remaining rubble of their three forts would be left behind. Unless the Celts also wanted to eliminate all signs of this little episode and they physically dismantled the forts entirely, there would still be evidence of these three forts in modern times and that would go against what the author was trying to achieve. Basically, I loved the author's idea that this entire story isn't actually alternate history but that the Romans did try to conquer Hibernia but they were defeated so badly that the humiliation made them wipe all record of it from the books and history would end up having no idea that they ever stepped foot on Hibernia. I wish this idea had been more thoroughly dealt with because I loved it!

Another thing I loved is how Darius behaves himself as a 'prisoner' in Fionn's village. Once he accepts that the Romans are done in Hibernia, he refuses to spend his days sitting on his ass, doing nothing while he waits for Rome to negotiate with recently-crowned-King Fionn for his ransom. So he demands permission to walk around and within a few hours, the man is helping villagers build houses, he's teaching some youths Roman-style battle tactics and later, he helps train horses. I loved it because it fit his characterization so well. I especially loved this progression because I hoped this would be how Darius learns to fall in love with Hibernia and why he decides to stay in Hibernia at the end of the story (I read the summary for the third book so I knew he doesn't leave at the end). Unfortunately, the author pretty much destroyed all of this wonderful progress near the end but I'll get to that later. I loved how Darius slowly connected with the villagers and how they fell in love with him very easily.

Now onto the negatives. Brace yourself.

Change Of Tone/Focus

What made the first book so unique and 'magical' (pun intended) was that the author leaned hard into the Celtic traditions of nature-based magic. The majority of the first book took place in the forest where lots of magical shenanigans were happening. But the second book takes place almost entirely in Fionn's Celtic village, which is on the edge of a lake in a mountain valley. Maybe it's historically accurate to have them living on the edge of a lake and yes, the scenery descriptions were gorgeous and very different from the forest but removing the forest connection from the narrative almost entirely meant the depiction of Fionn's people and the narrative was no different from any other historical romance that involves a tribal village of ancient people. I found this sudden tone change jarring and it meant the second book felt boring. I probably wouldn't have been as bothered by this if the author had done the same thing in the first book but the completely change from one to the next made this setting a letdown.

The Lack Of Magic

Connected to my previous point, I was shocked at how little magic there is in the second book. In fact, asides from some minor magical things happening during one battle, there was no other magic. And the magic stuff that we do see during that battle are just repeats of what we saw during Book 1. What was especially a letdown is that many of the magical elements that were introduced and teased in the first book were never properly explained or utilized here, which is what I was expected.

The biggest casualty of this - what was the point of making Fionn be a half-owl shifter?! There was such a fuss made in the first book when Darius discovered how exposure to moonlight forces Fionn to shift and Fionn's explanations of how his mother was seduced by some owl-demon-spirit thing was so interesting! But in this book, Fionn never shifts once and there's no further exploration of any of this. The man doesn't even fly and he has gorgeous, enormous wings! And look at the book titles! The first book was specifically called The Owl Prince and the second book is The Forest King. While Fionn's progression from Prince to King did happen in Book 2, the titles imply that Fionn's magical ability/status will also change but that didn't happen. What was the point of Fionn being a half shifter if that was never used in the story?!

In fact, the author seems to forget their own canon near the end when Fionn's sister (Brigit) tries to mend the problems between Fionn and Darius (oh, we'll cover those in depth later, don't worry) by telling Darius that Fionn basically has their father's temper and malicious love of cruelty. But...Fionn's 'father' wasn't his biological father! Because Fionn's father is an owl-spirit creature. And Brigit is one of the few people who know that so why is she saying their dad has given Fionn biological traits when she knows they're not related by blood?!?

Why did the author seem to lose interest in all the intense, creative magical fuckery that they included in the first book?! Having a half-owl shifter, the whole situation with the spider, the evil forest creatures (etc) were all incredible additions to the first book but in this one, the forest creatures are only shoved in for a short appearance and there's no other focus on magic. Darius even notes near the end that he's learned nothing about Fionn's culture or had any of his questions about magic answered, despite spending weeks/months living in the village. I was as disappointed as Darius because getting more answers to the questions from the first book was the whole point.

Also connected to this point - I was incredibly disappointed at the lackluster reveal for why Fionn rescued Darius in the first book. This is a huge deal and Fionn refusing to explain why is something that kept me and Darius on the edge of our seats. Based on how the first book went, I was sure the explanation was magic based. Probably some fated-mates thing or maybe a past-lives thing. But in this book, the explanation is just that Fionn had seen Darius around the Roman forts during their various battles and I guess he was attracted to him and...that's it? Maybe I missed something but this was such a massive letdown.

Fionn and Darius' Romance

This was by far the biggest failure in this book. Since the conflict in the first book had all been external (magic, Roman vs Celtic battles), the author must have decided to switch things up and make the conflict internal in this book. Unfortunately, the route they took completely destroyed my love for Fionn's character and made me stop rooting for his and Darius' romance.

The conflict the author chose was having Fionn betray Darius. Not once. Not twice. But THREE times. And these were serious betrayals. As in - things Darius would seriously struggle forgiving Fionn for and two of them are things I would flat out refuse to forgive.

Betrayal Number 1:

We find out Fionn was the mastermind behind all of the Celtic trickery that resulted in the Roman invasion failing. So he's responsible for the massive orgy at the beginning of the first book and tricking the Romans into slaughtering the village filled with women, elderly men and youths at the start of this book. Personally, I was fine with Fionn's actions and I thought they demonstrated his intelligence. While I sympathized with Darius' being upset that Fionn's actions led to the loss of many Roman lives, I agreed with Fionn when he pushed back with the point that Darius had also killed lots of Celts (Darius had ordered that entire group of Celts to be executed at the start of the first book, which had included lots of Fionn's friends). They had both committed atrocities in the name of war and it's a situation that they had to live with and move past. My problem is how the author approached these situations.

Essentially, Fionn is completely remorseless about the lives he'd taken. At the beginning of this book, he 'gifts' the other Romans captured with Darius to his tribe's enemy tribe, knowing the men would be made slaves, tortured and/or killed (this is tough on readers as well as on Darius because we know some of those Roman warriors). While Fionn's behavior is normal for that time period, the author has always made it clear that Darius has certain principles that he's not willing to compromise. He doesn't tolerate the mistreatment of women, children and the elderly and he doesn't tolerate the use of torture or other degrading treatment for others. And he also doesn't tolerate people who allow these things.

So when Fionn demonstrates he's willing to do these things, he's done these things in the past and he demonstrates a strange, malicious enjoyment of doing these things - it was a situation that left Darius disgusted and hating Fionn. And I completely believed him. That version of Fionn is somebody Darius could never be with or support. It goes against everything Darius stands for. Brigit tries to smooth things over by saying that Fionn's cruelty is a genetic trait (I already mentioned this is nonsense) and Darius appears to kind of accept this, which made no sense to me. The way Fionn was depicted in this book makes him a character that somebody like Darius would never want to be with.

Betrayal Number 2:

Darius breaks into Fionn's bedroom while looking for a map to aid his escape attempt and he randomly finds a portrait of his (Darius') father on Fionn's desk. Readers have never heard of this portrait before so we're supposed to assume that Fionn had stolen it from the Roman fort where Darius had been Commander at the start of Book 1 and Darius hadn't had time to grab it when he'd fled the fort. This portrait is apparently the only one that Darius has of his father and it was made clear in the first book how much Darius still grieves for his father and how close they had been, so this portrait is one of the most important possessions Darius has. It would have been nice for the author to reference the loss of the portrait in the first book to add to the emotional pay-off and not doing so is just sloppy lack of planning on the author's part, but I could live with that.

What I couldn't live with was the reveal that Fionn had stolen this portrait and kept it for his own purposes (I guess because Darius' dad looks a lot like Darius). Fionn would KNOW how much this portrait means to Darius and the fact that Fionn stole it FROM DARIUS and NEVER TOLD HIM ABOUT IT is unforgiveable IMO. Maybe the author didn't realize what sentimental value that portrait would truly have but if I only had one photo of my father (who is also deceased) and somebody I loved stole it from me and kept it from me, that's unforgivable. Nobody who loves somebody would do something that cruel and I was left shocked.

I was especially surprised because the author treats the situation quite lightly, as if they didn't understand the full emotional weight behind such an action either. Darius is upset but not overly so. And when he sees Fionn later, he decides to RETURN THE PORTRAIT TO FIONN. Are you kidding me?!? So it's implied that Fionn's desire to have a reminder of Darius (who he's known for a few months and betrayed in horrible ways) is more important to Darius than Darius keeping the one reminder of his beloved father?!? This made no sense to me. IMO, this entire plotline was a major miss for the author and it shouldn't have been included.

Betrayal Number 3:

When Darius gets upset about Fionn's lack of remorse over the horrible things he'd done during the Roman invasion, Darius wants to leave. It's understandable because he's disgusted by Fionn and no longer wants to be with him. So what does Fionn do? He stops negotiating with the Romans for Darius' ransom and makes Darius a permanent prisoner. So Fionn literally refuses to let Darius go. He puts him under constant guard and while he's not physically harmed, it's clear that Darius is now a prisoner and he's under Fionn's control.

This entire situation disgusted me. Brigit again tries to smooth things over by saying Fionn is impulsive and he's young but I'm sorry - abusing your authority over somebody you love in such a way requires a level of cruelty that I don't want in a character like Fionn. This isn't the type of person Fionn was depicted as being in the first book. He's a badass assassin but turning him into a cruel, abusive, malicious man went against everything I liked about him. What Fionn's immediate reaction should have been to Darius' outrage was to let him go. The story would have gone the same way - Darius would have left, he would have realized Fionn's tribe was in danger and he would have returned out of concern. But having Fionn literally keep Darius as prisoner went way too far IMO. Again - I don't think the author realized how severe the situation actually is because the speed at which Darius changes his mind about coming back and how he decides he no longer hates Fionn was way too sudden.

What makes all of these betrayals even worse is that they're not dealt with properly. They're all crammed into the last part of the story and Brigit's attempts to justify Fionn's horrible actions seem to be sort-of accepted by Darius. The conversations are unclear, the emotional progressions are confusing and I was left not understanding how Darius feels. But also - Fionn never apologizes, there isn't a period of groveling or anything like that. Darius just randomly decides at the very end that he still loves Fionn so he's going back to him. The whole thing was rushed and IMO, it was terribly plotted. It didn't fit with the MCs characterizations, the situations weren't given the narrative space they deserved and the conflicts were way too serious to have them brushed aside so easily. I guess kudos to the author for coming up with really great third-act conflicts, which is often not the case in romance novels. But these were handled poorly.

There were loads of other things I was left disappointed by. Some examples:

+ The whole weird 'protector' plotline was done in a sloppy way and it wasn't even necessary because Darius was doing a really great job making the villagers fall in love with him anyway. Fionn was always getting himself into scrapes anyway so over time, Darius would have naturally saved his life. So having Fionn orchestrate such a situation while also risking everybody's lives was dumb.
+ Why were there so many references to the old Roman General in Britannia thinking of Darius as a surrogate son when we've never seen the guy on page in two books and he and Darius have never had a single scene together? That's the kind of dynamic I love so I wanted to see the old man!
+ It's really damn convenient how Marcus keeps popping up near the end of the books to save Darius' behind. But it would be even nicer if Marcus had a more significant role in the story because he's a really great character and he's being badly underused.

Overall, I was left disappointed by this installment. It barely had any of the things I was expecting and hoping for and instead, the author handled the plotlines that were included in messy, rushed or unsatisfying ways. I'm going to try the third book but my expectations aren't nearly as high as they were at the end of the first book.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Okay, that was pretty great. The story picks up steam here as Darius and Fionn's lives become more enmeshed and some horrifying secrets are revealed. Loving the push and pull of their relationship, I see now why comparisons were made to Captive Prince, it has a lot of the same themes, and personality-wise these MCs are so like Damen and Laurent. But the setting is very different and beautifully realized, so happy there's more to this.

[Chiara D'Agosto · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5, but I am going to round it up to 5 because yes
(Reviewing both books in the series here, possible spoilers ahead)

OMG!!
WHERE WAS THIS SERIES BEFORE? HOW COME I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT IT NOW?

There was so much I loved here. SO MUCH:
- the first interactions between Fionn and Darius. I loved them. The scene in which Fionn offers Darius the rabbit's heart is still in my mind. And I do love seeing people getting to know each other and understanding each other without speaking the same language, is so fascinating to read when done well. This was done well.
- The setting was amazing. I was a bit doubtful when I started reading, because I am a massive Roman history nerd and I do like historical fiction a lot more than fantasy. The promise of this mix-up kind of scared me, and I wasn't sure whether I was going to like it. I loved it!! So much! The historical part, although "fictional" at the same time (since the Romans never really attempted a Hibernian conquest), worked perfectly, and was really plausible. The personality of Agricola shone even from afar, from his soldiers' words, and I could really see a lot of Tacitus reading going on there so kudos, Mx. Author 😂 The way this Roman setting was developed then merged beautifully with the fantasy element of the story, and with the description of the "barbarians" customs and way of living, and in delineating the different tribes. I really loved it.
- FIONN. I fell in love with him since Idk, the first second? And never stopped. The more of a strategic mastermind he proved himself, the more I loved him. The more "inhuman" he showed himself to be, the more I cared for him. I think the author here was also really good at conveying Fionn's feelings on multiple levels: his intelligence, and his inhumanity; his loneliness, because he's different, and all the ways he craves love and company and acceptance. I found so endearing the scene where Darius doesn't flinch away from Fionn's true nature, while - we learn later - not even his best friend or his sister can bear to look at him in that form.
- It was so fucking romantic omg. And hot. Really hot, but in a subtle way. It wasn't just a fuckfest (like the beginning of the book kind of promises 😂) but it was sensual, and erotic, and beautifully written. All the sex scenes are perfectly balanced inside the plot and always support the growth of the characters and their relationship, and especially Fionn I think gained a whole dimension in his most human - and at the same time inhuman - moments. The scene of their reunion after Darius is taken captive (the one with the finger on his lips, to be specific) moved me so much. One of my favourite lovemaking scenes ever. WELL DONE
- THE PLOT TWISTS? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA this story had me on the edge of my seat, I couldn't stop reading I NEEDED TO KNOW and there's so much that happens!!

Things I didn't quite like, or I thought could be done better:
- I didn't like the very beginning, the abovementioned fuckfest. It sets such a weird tone for the book, it would have been easy to omit/alter, and I have the feeling many readers might have been misled by that starting point.
- I wish there was a bit more info given about this relationship between Fionn and Darius! Fionn gives us snippets, crumbles. Are they fated soulmates from another lifetime? Are they what? I'm not saying the full cup of tea needed to spilled, but just a bit more would have helped in the pacing and focus of the plot.

And that's it really. Read this series, give it chance. It's so worth it. And come and wait with me for the third book because I'm dying here 😂

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little let down by this sequel. The first book had loads of potential, but this fell flat for me. I felt that the plot was predictable, the character's motives unclear or simplified, and the characters themselves less fleshed out than in the first book. A big gripe for me is that I'm not a fan of insta-love, and the romance went in that direction in this book. I really enjoyed the build up of romantic tension in the first one, but I felt like much of the stakes were lost here. Nonetheless, supporting emerging queer authors is important to me, and there's definitely loads of potential here - I'll be reading the third book when it comes out, as I'd love to see this writer grow and improve as their career continues.

[PaperMoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent follow-up book in this series ... I enjoyed the author's ancient-world building, the continued attract-repel dynamic between Darius and Fionn with a solid cast of interesting supporting/secondary characters. I'm definitely looking forward to the next offering in the series later in the year.

[Tanni · Rating 5 out of 5]

CANNOT WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT BOOK. To anyone skeptic about reading these books, I can’t quite articulate why I loved these books so much but I will say that they were all I thought about the next day and the next week. I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

[◦•-luiza-•◦ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 stars the first one was incredible, this one was just as good.

i will say only this.
⋙mm + fantasy + beautiful writing.
are you honestly able to not read this? what are you? crazy?

[gorgonapelides · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot begin to express how very obsessed I've become with this series. Dari and Fionn live in my head rent free and I need to keep reading about them. It's 2am and I keep ruminating about these two. I will lose my mind if the next book isn't published soon. Please, I don't ask for much.

[Leonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, the angst! Doomed love, wonderfully realised slightly a/u setting of 2nd C Ireland, and so much angst! Oh, thank goodness book 3 is out. There better be a happy ending!

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes Darius, go get your man!

[Animjatk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this so much, especially the many dimensions of fionn. Most of the time I can’t work out what he’s thinking!

[Leela Reardon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t wait to read the next. I didn’t expect to become so attached to the characters as I did.

[♑ Daniela Pepes ♑ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meu Deus, cadê o terceiro livro, pelo amor de Deus!!!!!

[Chara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much like the prequel, I can see that it's a good book. It's well written, well thought, etc. I actually liked it a bit better.
It's just that... I don't know, I wanted to fall in love, and I'm probably just frustrated because I couldn't. Everything was there for me, but I couldn't.
Maybe Darius is the problem. Or Fionn is the problem. Or I'm the problem, since I could feel lukewarm chemistry at best between them.
Also. Marcus is elsewhere for the most part of the book, thank god (and the author) for that. Sadly, this guy never dies, and I swear I can't stand him. He makes everything worse. So maybe he's the actual problem. Hell if I know.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good and entertaining book in the series.

Although I had already guessed quite a few elements of the plot in the first book, I still liked the story. The characters are quite loveable, especially Darius. What missed here was a bit of subtlety in the way the enemies/lovers relationship was handled. And this book was a bit heavy on sex at times.

The ending was better executed than in the first book and I had to read the third right away.

[Trefoil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is soo good. I'm attached to the characters! I am looking forward to book number 3 thats supposed to be coming out in the spring. This world is rich and I enjoy learning about it and its people.

[ancientreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anticipating a cliffhanger, I stopped reading last night at 90% and then couldn't sleep. ISTG this series is killing me and if the author doesn't return with the 4th installment I may wail and rend my garments

[Ralia · Rating 5 out of 5]

💙💙💙💙💙6+++