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Regret
What lengths would you go to save the only person in the world you loved?
Rubei lived a privileged life as a nobleman's son until he met his new best friend Vyrgil. As their friendship grows Vyrgil shows him the dark underside of their society. Can they escape it and find their freedom before it's too late? Or will they too become pawns in a game much bigger than both of them?
Rubei lived a privileged life as a nobleman's son until he met his new best friend Vyrgil. As their friendship grows Vyrgil shows him the dark underside of their society. Can they escape it and find their freedom before it's too late? Or will they too become pawns in a game much bigger than both of them?
241 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 31, 2020
17 people want to read
About the author
Samantha Kroese
19 books49 followersSamantha Kroese is the author of ten published Dark Fantasy novels including the best-selling Fading Lights Trilogy. She has also written The Assassins of Dakaal Series (Regret, Ladykiller, Niyx, Sephyrn), Restless Dreams of Darkness, The Darkest Sword, and Cursed Song.
She loves to write dark tales about hope surviving against impossible odds and brings a refreshing perspective to the genre. From a young age, her goal has been to write stories that will shine the light of hope for those living in the abyss. She has been writing fiction for nearly thirty years, ran a fantasy writer’s critique circle for fifteen years, and has edited works for other authors. She has completed writing dozens of fantasy novels and created thousands of detailed characters. She hopes to be able to present most of them to her reading public in due course.
Samantha is also an avid life-long gamer who enjoys story-driven role-playing video games. A big fan of comic books and superheroes, she enjoys exploring tales of characters who are larger than life and the ordinary people who interact with them. In addition to writing, she is an avid horse lover and an animal rescue advocate, often speaking out for horse rescue and feral cat causes. She writes from the frozen tundra of Minnesota where she lives with her Arabian stallion, that she is convinced is really a unicorn, and her army of delightful rescued cat minions.
She loves to write dark tales about hope surviving against impossible odds and brings a refreshing perspective to the genre. From a young age, her goal has been to write stories that will shine the light of hope for those living in the abyss. She has been writing fiction for nearly thirty years, ran a fantasy writer’s critique circle for fifteen years, and has edited works for other authors. She has completed writing dozens of fantasy novels and created thousands of detailed characters. She hopes to be able to present most of them to her reading public in due course.
Samantha is also an avid life-long gamer who enjoys story-driven role-playing video games. A big fan of comic books and superheroes, she enjoys exploring tales of characters who are larger than life and the ordinary people who interact with them. In addition to writing, she is an avid horse lover and an animal rescue advocate, often speaking out for horse rescue and feral cat causes. She writes from the frozen tundra of Minnesota where she lives with her Arabian stallion, that she is convinced is really a unicorn, and her army of delightful rescued cat minions.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 6, 2021
What a delightful read! I've been reading so many thrillers and horrors lately that a dark fantasy was exactly what I needed..yes it's a dark fantasy, but I did find it refreshing.
It was also a love story. Two young boys meet at a young age, despite their 'houses' being enemies. Pretty much an old money vs new money thing. So the boys are children and become friends, sneaking to see each other nightly. Mostly they hung out at a brothel, where the wild one of the boys sexed with women..oh yeah, both boys had mean fathers and no mothers. So that also secured their bond.
The wild one was on drugs. The calm one took care of the wild one. Then life happens, and wow... After being forced from their laps of luxury, so much really does happen
In the beginning of the book, I felt like I was inside this fake world. Further into the story I was totally rooting for the characters to finally pledge their love for one another. Being rich, their 'houses' would frown on homosexuality. Made me want them together even more.
Each chapter rotates between the two boys and Kroese did a fine job of pulling that off.
Oh yeah, I won this book in a giveaway on Twitter. What a great win!
It was also a love story. Two young boys meet at a young age, despite their 'houses' being enemies. Pretty much an old money vs new money thing. So the boys are children and become friends, sneaking to see each other nightly. Mostly they hung out at a brothel, where the wild one of the boys sexed with women..oh yeah, both boys had mean fathers and no mothers. So that also secured their bond.
The wild one was on drugs. The calm one took care of the wild one. Then life happens, and wow... After being forced from their laps of luxury, so much really does happen
In the beginning of the book, I felt like I was inside this fake world. Further into the story I was totally rooting for the characters to finally pledge their love for one another. Being rich, their 'houses' would frown on homosexuality. Made me want them together even more.
Each chapter rotates between the two boys and Kroese did a fine job of pulling that off.
Oh yeah, I won this book in a giveaway on Twitter. What a great win!
June 10, 2020
Regret is a novel about two noble elf boys/young men, their lives and how they develop a strong relationship.
The story is told in alternating chapters between the two main characters, Vyrgil and Rubei. Vyrgil being the more worldly of the two, and often tempting Rubei with new experiences, whereas Rubei is more innocent, although he has a core of steel, which the reader sees from time to time. Both characters are wonderfully told from their individual perspectives, and I found their evolving relationship and distinct personalities to be my favorite part of the novel. Vyrgil speaks with an accent, has a drug addiction, and is blunt with his feelings, whereas Rubei is more introspective, and both characters are voiced perfectly.
I found the writing to be extremely economical, which is usually a good thing for me, although I believe there were opportunities to add in a bit more world building, and occasionally there were transitions within the scenes that felt a bit awkward. There were also a few editing problems, but nothing significant.
The plot is straightforward and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Structurally, I love that the author gave hints early on of what the characters wanted to do, and she ended up using them. It was also clearly a well planned out novel, as the use of such things as magic, shadow creatures, and poison all ended up playing a role.
I really like the world that was created. Who wouldn’t love assassins, pirates and royal houses. The world building comes in gradually, and is well handled, although there probably could have been a shade more background from time to time.
Over-all, this was a fun read, and I certainly don’t ‘regret’ the purchase.
The story is told in alternating chapters between the two main characters, Vyrgil and Rubei. Vyrgil being the more worldly of the two, and often tempting Rubei with new experiences, whereas Rubei is more innocent, although he has a core of steel, which the reader sees from time to time. Both characters are wonderfully told from their individual perspectives, and I found their evolving relationship and distinct personalities to be my favorite part of the novel. Vyrgil speaks with an accent, has a drug addiction, and is blunt with his feelings, whereas Rubei is more introspective, and both characters are voiced perfectly.
I found the writing to be extremely economical, which is usually a good thing for me, although I believe there were opportunities to add in a bit more world building, and occasionally there were transitions within the scenes that felt a bit awkward. There were also a few editing problems, but nothing significant.
The plot is straightforward and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Structurally, I love that the author gave hints early on of what the characters wanted to do, and she ended up using them. It was also clearly a well planned out novel, as the use of such things as magic, shadow creatures, and poison all ended up playing a role.
I really like the world that was created. Who wouldn’t love assassins, pirates and royal houses. The world building comes in gradually, and is well handled, although there probably could have been a shade more background from time to time.
Over-all, this was a fun read, and I certainly don’t ‘regret’ the purchase.
May 6, 2021
Good read
Enjoyable. I loved the friendship between the two main characters. It was dark, as the author warned. Recommend to anyone who enjoys this genre.
Enjoyable. I loved the friendship between the two main characters. It was dark, as the author warned. Recommend to anyone who enjoys this genre.
April 29, 2023
Enjoyable
This was really enjoyable I really liked the plot I was hooked from page 1 they went through a lot to get there HFN off the next book...
This was really enjoyable I really liked the plot I was hooked from page 1 they went through a lot to get there HFN off the next book...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews