The Changeling Prophecy

Chronicles of the Veil #1

by Lionel Hart

Would you leave your life behind to save a world you never knew?

Florian has always felt like an outsider. He never thought it was because he was from another world.

He knew being gay and trans made him different, but then his estranged father shows up with claims of royalty, prophecy, and a dying kingdom. His curiosity piqued, Florian joins him to visit the magical world he's supposedly from, and not just to spend time with the handsome wolf shifter body guard, Kade, that his dad brought along.

The pull of the Veil and the prophecy about him prove to be a siren song Florian can't resist, throwing him headlong into mystery and danger in equal measure.
With all the one-on-one time they suddenly have, Florian discovers a kind heart behind Kade's silent facade. But can he afford to fall in love when he's supposed to be saving the world?

THE CHANGELING PROPHECY, book one of the Chronicles of the Veil, is a slow burn MM paranormal romance.

⚠ Content Warnings: Parental death. One brief instance of body horror involving gender dysphoria. Steamy scenes between a trans man and a cis man with a range of gendered terms used for body parts.

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance, Paranormal, Magic, Queer, Transgender, LGBT

308 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 26, 2021

Reviews

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~]

DNF @ 53%

I chose this as a sacrifice to the book gods in my post re-re-reread of GMDC, and it did not go well. 🙈 That's not really the book's fault. I have a feeling that at any other time, I could have finished this and given it a satisfied three stars. But...

The writing itself was technically good, and I liked the bits about Florian being trans the best, scant though those bits were. But everything else was rather predictable. I kept expecting some plot twist to pop up or some hidden agenda to rear its head or some secret motive to be revealed or at least hinted at, but nope, the plot was as surface level as it appeared on first glance. At the point where I stopped, they hadn't even started their quest yet to save the fae realm.

Then there's the "romance." The love interest was pretty bland and one-note, except in his wolf form, when he finally showed some emotions, and I kind of wanted him to be a wolf all the time, lol. He was just so boring in his human form, and there was no chemistry between him and Florian at all, for all that Florian goes on and on with his blushing and whatnot. I just wasn't feeling it. Who wants an emotionally aloof love interest incapable of making facial expressions, anyway? (It really didn't help that he paled in comparison to Lan Wangji, but so does pretty much everyone. 😂) This slow burn fizzled before it even started, and coming to this right after GMDC, I think I've finally pinpointed why so much of M/M leaves me cold when the authors fixate so much on how hot one MC finds the other: it's telling, not showing. No wonder I always found it to be a shallow way to build up sexual tension.

Oh, and they apparently don't have to worry about their clothes at all when they shift. Pretty convenient for them.

To make sure it wasn't just me and my brain's refusal to let go of WangXian, I went checking out some reviews to see if there might be some reason for me to keep pushing with this, and I couldn't see anything in them to convince me to do so, so I'm stopping here.

[P Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was truly intrigued by the world the author created. The book was slow paced but it didn’t drag.

Florian finds himself apart of a world he never knew existed. He rises to the challenge; to learn, defend and protect.

Kade was sweet but a little shy. I enjoyed watching their slow burn romance sizzle in the background.

I really enjoyed this book. The events towards the end came out of nowhere and I couldn’t stop the tears that followed. Great start - looking forward to the next book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[vrstal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. This was a 4.5/5 but rounded up.

Not only was there a trans and gay protagonist, but the steamy scenes and explorations of gender were handled with care. Kade and Florian’s relationship is just beginning in this book was so sweet and even with ups and downs, I’m excited to see how it grows. The last 20% of the book is rough, I was crying, but it was worth it and I loved the ride this book took me on.

Writing wise, it was great! I spotted a couple of typos but not enough to pull me from the story. It’s all third person POV but we get Florian’s inner dialogue which kept me engaged and immersed as a reader.

The only criticism is Florian and Kade’s relationship troubles did feel a bit more like I was reading a YA novel with miscommunication issues. However, reflecting on it, I know that Florian is trans and I know that I missed out on my teenage/childhood a lot being trans and so I think sometimes I was a bit stuck in aspects of emotional maturity so this might be the same for Florian. I can’t wait for some character development and maturity for them both.

Can’t wait for the second one!

[Joy]

Stopped at 21%. It feels like the characters are making decisions that serve the plot, not that their decisions are actually *driving* the plot. I don't know why the MC would agree to travel to Catalina Island with his father, *without* the uncle that raised him, to go back to another world that he doesn't remember--just to see portraits of the mother that he also doesn't remember.

[Meg (queer_book_recs) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Changeling Prophecy was a really fun read! I loved the own-voices trans representation. The story was exciting, and we learn about the fae world alongside Florian as he establishes a relationship with his father and forms a friendship with mysterious and taciturn Kade, the hot wolf shifter ambassador/bodyguard. It was fun to watch Florian learn to use his fae powers and there is a lot of potential there. The romance was a bit of a slow burn, but appropriate for being the first book in a series, and we do get some steamy times between Florian and Kade. I would love to see more character development for Florian in the next book; I felt like I didn’t get to know his personality as well as I really wanted to. Overall I thought it was great and look forward to the next book in the series!

Read content warnings!

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

2/3

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shaky start, but lots of potential for this series!

I'll be honest - I didn't love this book as much as the Orc Prince series. There was something unique and refreshing about those books, I absolutely loved the characters, the world sucked me right in, and the pacing never fizzled out.

The Changeling Prophecy fell into a rut that is all too common in the fantasy genre - spending a lot of time on world building and slowly building up to the point of the book. The pacing wasn't too bad, but there were parts I had to push myself through. Overall, I wanted more excitement and less preparing for the journey I wanted to already be reading about. And then when they finally start the journey, a ton happens in a short amount of time and it felt rushed because of the pacing of the rest of the book.

With that said, there was a lot to enjoy about the book. It was really easy to picture everything and visualize the world and I enjoyed learning about the fae world alongside Florian. I loved the trans representation and was pleasantly surprised that the author didn't shy away from this fact when things heated up between Florian and Kade. The book is a slow burn romance, but that totally fits the story and the characters, and they're sweet together. (They do have some really frustrating moments between each other, but I'm hoping they are past all of that after this book.) And the story itself is really interesting! I was left with a lot of questions to be answered in future books which I think is a great thing for a fantasy series.

I'll definitely be reading the next book. I do think Florian and Kade - Florian especially - could benefit from more character development, so I'm looking forward to that in the second book. Not to mention more of the plot! I'm eager to learn more about what's happening to the fae world and what role Florian will play in trying to save it.

[Tabitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow-burn romantasy between a grumpy wolf shifter and a not-so-sunshiny trans changeling (which in this case means two things: a faerie sent to the human realm as a young child, never knowing they’re fae, and then finding out as an adult; but also an allusion to his special power, the ability to change appearance at will). These boys have the most immature “does he like me?” relationship problems that I’ve seen in awhile in romance and in MM lit specifically. Most of the time seems like dudes kiss first and ask questions later (IRL and in fiction 😂) and I can appreciate the nuances. It’s a little awkward with the changeling MC being kinda weird about his downstairs junk and his baggage from his ex whereas the shifter MC is a virgin.

The whole concept of a trans shapeshifter character is kind of befuddling and probably difficult to execute. Like, when he crosses the veil for the first time and realizes his body has changed as though he never transitioned, his father says this about it:

“I'm not sure,” he admitted. “The last time you were here, in the Veil, you were, well—only a child, not the man you are today. So maybe your form hadn't, ah, updated, for lack of a better term. That would be my guess. Or…” He trailed off with a laugh. “Or somehow the old magic knew you'd need to prove to yourself that you were a Changeling after all. Fae magic can be tricky, but the old magic is more so.”

Obviously his form HAD updated seeing as he appeared in a mature body with hips and breasts, so that ain’t it. There’s a strange sort of gender-essentialism if you view it that way; one also wonders if he’d had any piercings, tattoos and scars since he last left, would those also have disappeared? The second explanation is almost a hand-wave, or a nod to the conveniences required by the plot, and yet it still seems more satisfying an answer. The MMC uses his powers to change back to his more familiar form, and then this happens:

When he had… transformed, when they first arrived, his scars must have gone with the shifting skin. […] Mostly, he thought, he barely looked like himself. It was unsettling, so he furrowed his brows in concentration and watched in fascination as the tissue seemed to ripple and shift. Two thin scars spread across his chest, and his face shifted to look more familiar, a subtle softening of his nose and chin that made him feel more himself.

[…]

Hesitating, he glanced down between his legs. That had never really bothered him either, yet now he could change it at will... But that seemed like a lot to process first thing in the morning, so he decided to bathe first and see what he could do later.

So now we’ve established that basically his transformation across the veil put him into a scarless cis female body, which he was able to alter to become a scarless cis male body, but then he looks down in his pants and contemplates his shapeshifter powers, an ability most trans people have probably fantasized about like 10000 times, he decides… nah, let’s just worry about that later. Because there’s a conflict there, is there not? If the MMC shifts his downstairs to match his identity, is he still trans? (I would argue he is, but…) Is it a kind of queerbaiting, to have a trans character magically change his body to a cis body in the first few chapters? As if the author couldn’t figure out how to write an actual trans male character so they just make him cis immediately. That wouldn’t do, but conversely, having him like/want to keep his downstairs doesn’t really feel authentic either (it’s probably a very small percentage of trans people who really wouldn’t press that button if they could), and some people would still be saying, “but is he really trans though?” So the author kinda split the difference and just said… you know what, I’m just gonna make this character too uncomfortable with his powers and his junk and also give him a lot of other things to do so that hopefully the rest of y’all don’t really think about it too hard.

So yeah, we get the training montage, the intro fetch quest, and the first big death in this book, but there’s a lot more of the story left to go. I wished the book had not been split up this way, because the funeral really felt like an end to act 1 of a longer tale, and the fact that there’s at least 4 books in the series (I haven’t looked much farther into it) kinda tells me… yeah, that’s probably how they’re all gonna feel. “I want to sell my fantasy novel for $20 like I’m Rebecca Yarros, but my readers won’t pay for that because I haven’t proven myself, so I split it into 4 for 4.99 and hope no one notices.”

[Tiago Kietzmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

After thoroughly enjoying the 'Heart of Dragons' duology, I was eager to delve into more of Lionel's work. However, I must admit I'm fairly disappointed with 'The Changeling Prophecy.' While I could recommend it, it comes with numerous caveats, perhaps enough to make considering another book an easier choice.

The prologue held the promise of a fascinating faery tale, but soon it became clear that this was a straightforward story with no groundbreaking elements. Even with a standard plot (a fae prince destined to save the world), it had the potential to be engaging. Unfortunately, the narrative pitfalls hindered what could have been a good story.

My primary discomfort stems from the characters and the way the author compels the narrative in certain directions.

Florian could have been a highly interesting character, but he repeatedly makes unrealistic decisions, which can make the reading experience uncomfortable. For instance, when told, "I'm supposedly your father who abandoned you at 3 years old, and now I expect you to trust me to go ALONE to fae-land, from where you would never be able to return unless I bring you back," a 'normal' person would likely run in the opposite direction or, at the very least, demand significant assurances before going along with someone claiming to be a fae-king. Florian seems to simply accept these things. While he does have some reasonable reflections, he rarely confronts the situation head-on.

Another issue is the overall sentimentality of the book. Everything appears idyllic. August is sweet, Jerah is sweet, Florian is sweet, Kade is sweet, Tatiana is sweet... everything concludes with hugs and kisses in such a simplistic manner that it all seems somewhat shallow.

I should also mention a particular scene where Florian uses a magical item to kill several beasts with a world but forgets to use it to heal someone. This felt out of place and forced in the narrative.

Despite these criticisms, there are redeeming aspects to the book. Florian and Kade's relationship is beautifully portrayed. The overall setting is vividly described, the magic system is interesting, having a transgender man as the main character is commendable, and the writing is skillful. It genuinely had the potential to be a good book.

I hold great respect for the author and hope to read another compelling story from them in the future. However, I won't be continuing with this series, and regrettably, I can't wholeheartedly recommend this book

[WillBookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of things to love about this book: a trans MC character whose transness isn't the root of the conflict (in fact, his transness makes him special in a positive way, but I don't want to give too much detail in case that is considered a spoiler), a very different fae world, a cute wolf shifter who takes his duty Very Seriously, fae magic.... This is a great start to a new series.

One thing I loved especially about the world-building is that the fae world in this book is dying, and you really get the sense of that as Florian travels through it: it feels deserted, barren, and dangerous. Florian, our MC, is in the strange position of needing to save the fae world he is from but doesn't remember. He has a lot on his plate in this book: reconnecting with the father he thought abandoned him when he was little, discovering he's not human but a fae prince, learning how to use fae magic, still smarting form a break-up, and trying to figure out if Kade, the cute if serious wolf shifter protecting his dad is also into him or if he's just projecting. Oh, and of course he needs to decide if he wants to undertake a quest to save the fae world, the fate of which apparently rests on his shoulders, no pressure.

Now, this is also a romance, so I want to say: I really liked the slow building of it. Kade is at first a complete mystery to the reader (and Florian, since the story is from his POV). He isn't very expressive in his non-animal form, but as a wolf Florian gets to see more of his personality. When things do turn romantic, and physical between them, there is a lot of care, checking in for consent and comfort level that was very nice to see. Surprisingly, Kade is the inexperienced one, and that is treated with respect, just like Kade treats Florian's body with respect even as he is originally unsure what to expect.

*I received an ARC from Booksprout in exchange for an honest review

[Juniper · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I love the world building here— a kingdom that mirrors earth, filled with fae and shifters and plagued by a blight of blinding, deeply destructive light. Plus, of course, a changeling prince who grew up human, and now has an epic destiny to confront. There are plenty of ingredients for an interesting story here, and this first installment delivers on its promise. Emotionally, it pulls no punches, and I wasn’t totally prepared for the depth of empathy, I’d end up feeling for Florian, a total fish out of water who is doing his best but is lost in all kinds of ways. He’s not really ready to be a prince, or a leader, or an adventurer, and he makes mistakes— some with really tragic consequences. It’s hard to like some of his decisions, and I don’t always love the way he treats Kade (although I do love Kade for calling him on his bad behavior), but it’s easy to see when he’s acting out of fear and inexperience, and to admire when he pushes himself to be what he thinks everyone needs. I’m intrigued by both the protagonist and the story line, and I’m really looking forward to seeing where it goes next.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the Changeling Prophecy was a great introduction to a new series and the world they live in. It has an interesting plot with a prophecy about a changeling prince that will wipe out the blight that has overrun all of the courts in farie, except for the winter court. To stop it, the changeling prince called Florian, who was raised by his uncle on earth, will need to collect seven golden arrows and then figure out how to use them. All while navigating a new relationship with his wolf shifter bodyguard. I liked Florian and Kade, and I thought the author did a great job of setting the tone for the rest of the series. I can't wait to see what happens when he goes after the second arrow.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Stephanie W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous world building and intrigue. Nice balance with the main characters, Florian and Kade.

Florian is from another world, has always felt like an outsider and is surprised at the world he is truly a part of. One he never knew existed.
Kade is a quiet bodyguard and a wolf shifter. Not afraid to call Florian out on his behavior.
Yes, this is a slow burn, but not to a point where it doesn't keep you interested. A steady pace is maintained throughout.

Like the previous series, I can see this one being just exciting and worth the wait.

**I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.**

[Kkhmonrai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this intriguing start to a new series, but I have to admit I didn't like it as well as The Orc Prince series. The characters didn't seem quite as well-developed and seemed a little more two-dimensional. I hope that will change as the series progresses. I did like the choice of a trans character as one of the MCs, as I am always pleased to see more character diversity. The romance is very slow-burn, but I would expect that considering all the changes Florian has experienced lately. Florian and Kade do connect eventually, and it is hot. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jessica O · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much as I loved Claimed by the Orc Prince and the rest of "The Orc Prince" trilogy (and I loved that trilogy a lot), I loved the first book of "Chronicles of the Veil" even more. The pacing... the characters... the world building... all wow. Lionel Hart is rapidly becoming an automatic buy for me.

[Tira · Rating 4 out of 5]

The worldbuilding was nice. Like the MC, Florian, I felt like everything was new. Each time Florian was introduced to a new person he would give off this apprehension that he was afraid they would turn on him. That didn't happen. My only pause was the the very slow burn.
Over all I enjoyed Heat's book.

[Orion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

As a nonbinary person it's so refreshing to read something that isn't strictly straight and/or cis oriented.

The story itself is good, and I feel like just this book could've been much longer without dragging too much. It has a nice, steady pace that picks up when appropriate.

A perfect read if you want something on the shorter side but enjoyable.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid read and the trans representation was excellent!

I did like the story and it was fast paced but the writing was pretty simple and some of the characters actions did annoy me.

Definitely going to continue with the series!

3/5 stars!

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up ✨ While this fantasy world isn't too ground-breaking imo, it wasn't bad either; it was easy to get into and I enjoyed the writing a lot. I'm not the biggest fan of Florian, but I'm looking forward to some more character development from him in the second book.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character was honestly kind of nothing. I didn't really care about him or the main romance but the family dynamics were sweet and the plot was engaging. It wasn't an excellent book by any means but it was fun to read.

[Stacey Morris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very slow

I really tried to like this one but I could not! The story drags on and the characters act like they are in junior high instead of adults!

[winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A little rocky but good

It’s Lionel Hart’s earlier work before he finished The Orc Prince, so it’s a little rocky but still entertaining. I’d recommend giving it five chapters to build up, because I was ready to DNF in chapter 2, but ended up enjoying it a few chapters later.

The story is fun, albeit a little cliché. Understandable for an author’s early work. The characters are imperfect and at the beginning of their arcs, so expect imperfect choices by them.

Starting book 2 now!

Spice: 2-3/5
Angst: 2-3/5

[M'rella · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 37%

Too long


Too slow


I just don't have the patience