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The World of Reforged #1
Reforged
Since time immemorial the warriors of the Paladin Order have harnessed arcane powers to protect their rulers. For Balen, who has given up his chance at love and fought his way to the top of the Paladin Order, there can be no greater honor than to serve his king. But when assassins annihilate the royal family, Balen suddenly finds himself sworn to serve the very man he abandoned.
Now with their nation threatened by enemies both within and outside the kingdom, Balen must fight hidden traitors and unnatural assassins, while also contending with the biting wit and dangerous charm of young King Zavrius. To save themselves and their nation they will have to put aside their past and reforge that trust they lost so long ago.
113,780
Now with their nation threatened by enemies both within and outside the kingdom, Balen must fight hidden traitors and unnatural assassins, while also contending with the biting wit and dangerous charm of young King Zavrius. To save themselves and their nation they will have to put aside their past and reforge that trust they lost so long ago.
113,780
388 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 4, 2022
399 people are currently reading
14202 people want to read
About the author
Seth Haddon
7 books577 followersSeth Haddon is a queer Australian writer of fantasy. He is a video game designer and producer, has a degree in Ancient History, and previously worked with cats. Some of his previous adventures include exploring Pompeii with a famous archaeologist and being chased through a train station by a nun.
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dnf
September 12, 2024DNF at 16%. I was so excited for this book and really wanted to like it. Unfortunately, it’s a mess.
* The characters keep making decisions that make absolutely no sense, and Balen is the least competent knight who has ever lived. The book opens with Balen being late for a ceremony that’s the culmination of his lifelong hopes and dreams, and he’s late because… he lost track of time? When Zavrius and Balen won’t both fit into the royal carriage, Balen… rides on the roof while lying on his back?????? (How the people who edited this book read this and didn’t immediately implore the author to look up how carriages actually work, I do not know.)
Later, he and Zavrius are hiding in a forest from assassins, and… Balen, who has trained his whole life to protect the king, agrees they should both sleep? Instead of, I don’t know, taking shifts? In a small village where they’ve just watched a puppet show featuring a Zavrius puppet (that apparently looks very much like him, and that is portrayed as a duplicitous usurper), Zavrius insists, while holding a priceless magical instrument, that “no one here will recognize me” and Balen agrees? Then Balen puts his irreplaceable magical gauntlets on some random table so they can enter a fighting tournament in this town because it will make Zavrius happy? Was the author truly incapable of thinking of a more plausible way for these characters to fight alongside each other, since that’s apparently the point of all this?
* The author hasn’t put enough thought into the details, large and small. For example, Zavrius has become king because his four older siblings all died in the same incident. They were visiting the region of their country that borders another (with which they are apparently at odds, though no details are given about the history of either country or their relationship with each other, so it’s very difficult to assess the current state of things), and their bodies were discovered just over the border. The explanation, apparently, is that they must have crossed the border and were killed by soldiers guarding it. The country refuses to offer up those soldiers or take responsibility in any way, and everyone just accepts this state of affairs.
I’m sorry, what? Indiscriminately killing citizens of a neighboring country for crossing your border would be considered an act of aggression by itself, and if you killed four of the five heirs to your neighbor’s throne that would be considered an act of war. There’s no situation where you’d be like, “oh okay, I guess they violated the treaty, shrug emoji” and then keep inviting envoys from the country that murdered most of your royal line to your important events. If the explanation is that Zavrius and his country are too weak to do anything else, then the author should have done something (anything) to make that clear to the reader.
* Zavrius is the stereotypical insouciant/snarky princeling character and keeps making MCU-level quips like “that could have gone better” after a fight and “you take me to the nicest places” when they have to sleep in a forest. Authors, please retire those lines from your arsenal, I’m begging you. They no longer count as character development in 2022. I also don’t understand why someone whose entire family has recently died and who has unexpectedly taken the throne while under threat from every direction would be so casual and careless. It makes it really hard to take his character seriously or see him as anything other than a tired trope.
***
September 11, 2024 edit: When I originally wrote this review, I wasn't expecting anyone other than a few Goodreads friends to see it, since it's an unstarred DNF review. Because of that, I wrote down some things that bothered me to get them out of my brain, but didn't provide in-depth reasoning for most of my points.
I'd like to clarify now that my problem with the book is not that the things that happened in the story are not generally plausible (e.g., someone being late to something important, being snarky as protection from vulnerability, giving a confusing cover story for something to hide the truth, someone being bad at strategy), it's that these points, in this book, for these specific characters, in these specific situations, were insufficiently developed, illogical, or internally inconsistent. The author didn't put enough thought into why the characters were doing what they were doing. The book is more focused on getting through the author's plot outline, being funny and entertaining for the reader, and delivering desired tropes than it is on telling a coherent story or developing three-dimensional characters. One of my comments below goes into more detail about the problems I had with the dead siblings issue in particular.
For these reasons, I feel the book has fundamental flaws that could only be fixed with serious editing. My issues would not be resolved by reading further (and I had actually gotten a full plot summary before writing this review) because the problem is not that I don't have all the information, it's that the information is delivered poorly.
* The characters keep making decisions that make absolutely no sense, and Balen is the least competent knight who has ever lived. The book opens with Balen being late for a ceremony that’s the culmination of his lifelong hopes and dreams, and he’s late because… he lost track of time? When Zavrius and Balen won’t both fit into the royal carriage, Balen… rides on the roof while lying on his back?????? (How the people who edited this book read this and didn’t immediately implore the author to look up how carriages actually work, I do not know.)
Later, he and Zavrius are hiding in a forest from assassins, and… Balen, who has trained his whole life to protect the king, agrees they should both sleep? Instead of, I don’t know, taking shifts? In a small village where they’ve just watched a puppet show featuring a Zavrius puppet (that apparently looks very much like him, and that is portrayed as a duplicitous usurper), Zavrius insists, while holding a priceless magical instrument, that “no one here will recognize me” and Balen agrees? Then Balen puts his irreplaceable magical gauntlets on some random table so they can enter a fighting tournament in this town because it will make Zavrius happy? Was the author truly incapable of thinking of a more plausible way for these characters to fight alongside each other, since that’s apparently the point of all this?
* The author hasn’t put enough thought into the details, large and small. For example, Zavrius has become king because his four older siblings all died in the same incident. They were visiting the region of their country that borders another (with which they are apparently at odds, though no details are given about the history of either country or their relationship with each other, so it’s very difficult to assess the current state of things), and their bodies were discovered just over the border. The explanation, apparently, is that they must have crossed the border and were killed by soldiers guarding it. The country refuses to offer up those soldiers or take responsibility in any way, and everyone just accepts this state of affairs.
I’m sorry, what? Indiscriminately killing citizens of a neighboring country for crossing your border would be considered an act of aggression by itself, and if you killed four of the five heirs to your neighbor’s throne that would be considered an act of war. There’s no situation where you’d be like, “oh okay, I guess they violated the treaty, shrug emoji” and then keep inviting envoys from the country that murdered most of your royal line to your important events. If the explanation is that Zavrius and his country are too weak to do anything else, then the author should have done something (anything) to make that clear to the reader.
* Zavrius is the stereotypical insouciant/snarky princeling character and keeps making MCU-level quips like “that could have gone better” after a fight and “you take me to the nicest places” when they have to sleep in a forest. Authors, please retire those lines from your arsenal, I’m begging you. They no longer count as character development in 2022. I also don’t understand why someone whose entire family has recently died and who has unexpectedly taken the throne while under threat from every direction would be so casual and careless. It makes it really hard to take his character seriously or see him as anything other than a tired trope.
***
September 11, 2024 edit: When I originally wrote this review, I wasn't expecting anyone other than a few Goodreads friends to see it, since it's an unstarred DNF review. Because of that, I wrote down some things that bothered me to get them out of my brain, but didn't provide in-depth reasoning for most of my points.
I'd like to clarify now that my problem with the book is not that the things that happened in the story are not generally plausible (e.g., someone being late to something important, being snarky as protection from vulnerability, giving a confusing cover story for something to hide the truth, someone being bad at strategy), it's that these points, in this book, for these specific characters, in these specific situations, were insufficiently developed, illogical, or internally inconsistent. The author didn't put enough thought into why the characters were doing what they were doing. The book is more focused on getting through the author's plot outline, being funny and entertaining for the reader, and delivering desired tropes than it is on telling a coherent story or developing three-dimensional characters. One of my comments below goes into more detail about the problems I had with the dead siblings issue in particular.
For these reasons, I feel the book has fundamental flaws that could only be fixed with serious editing. My issues would not be resolved by reading further (and I had actually gotten a full plot summary before writing this review) because the problem is not that I don't have all the information, it's that the information is delivered poorly.
September 1, 2022
"If you want to run, I will run with you."
"You would abandon this country? Your title, everything you worked for?"
In a heartbeat.
Without question.
By the bones, this book!
THIS BOOK!
If you've loved The Song of Achilles and the Captive Prince trilogy, you can't miss out on this beautiful and beautifully written gem.
Don't let that cover fool you into thinking this is a romance book set in medieval times because, while it's both those things, it's also thankfully a lot more.
Reforged is action-packed, full of political intrigues, betrayal, magic, love, music and a world building so well crafted you'll have your hands full for days trying to solve the knots the plot tricks you into.
Zav and Balen are fantastic; their loyalty and affection for each other are only the tip of the iceberg in the greatness that is their relationship. I wish I could share more of their banter and lines because, honestly, I couldn't stop my heart from pounding in my chest every time they interacted.
And that ending zhfshrshfsjsjtsjtsj
Not entirely book related, but I had the chance to chat a little with Seth the other day, and he's a sweet, talented and incredibly funny guy. I wish him all the best and I hope this book gets all the recognition it deserves because it's got the potential to become a must in its genre.
Balen paused and met Zavrius's eyes. "Are you asking?"
"I wouldn't ask," Zavrius said slowly, "I would order."
Want a treat? Read the first chapter here: https://sethhaddon.com/product/reforged/
😙
THANK YOU, BOOKSIRENS, FOR THIS ARC THAT I'LL LOVE AND PROTECT WITH MY OWN LIFE.
ACTUAL RATINGS 4,5/5
Want to read
September 27, 2022I saw this on TikTok. I hope it's as good as it looks.
May 30, 2025
Admittedly, I was nervous as hell to re-read because I read this when I first started reading, thought every book was 5 star, and didn't realise books could be........ well....... 💩💩💩
But even on round 2, I still fucked with this 🤷🏻
The politics and world building can be a bit hard on the noggin sometimes, but I do feel that audio normally helps me through this struggle.
I also understand where people could have DNF this before 40% and it’s a shame because I feel like some of the best bits are in the second half of the book, but if you’re not vibing, you’re just not, so I get that too🥹💖
I feel I can see Seth Haddon's vision for this series, and you can tell he put a lot of thought into the lore of the lands and I'm excited to see where the other books lead us.
I felt I needed bodyguard trope in my life right now, and even though Balen has got to be one of the worst body guards of all time haahhaha, it still tickled my pickle the way I needed it to 🤭🤭
I'd gravitate this towards 4⭐ but i'm going to leave it at 5 for nostalgia's sake 💖
If anyone has some good bodyguard recs, PLEASE DROP THEM IN THE COMMENTS AND I WILL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT. I NEED MOREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
But even on round 2, I still fucked with this 🤷🏻
The politics and world building can be a bit hard on the noggin sometimes, but I do feel that audio normally helps me through this struggle.
I also understand where people could have DNF this before 40% and it’s a shame because I feel like some of the best bits are in the second half of the book, but if you’re not vibing, you’re just not, so I get that too🥹💖
I feel I can see Seth Haddon's vision for this series, and you can tell he put a lot of thought into the lore of the lands and I'm excited to see where the other books lead us.
I felt I needed bodyguard trope in my life right now, and even though Balen has got to be one of the worst body guards of all time haahhaha, it still tickled my pickle the way I needed it to 🤭🤭
I'd gravitate this towards 4⭐ but i'm going to leave it at 5 for nostalgia's sake 💖
If anyone has some good bodyguard recs, PLEASE DROP THEM IN THE COMMENTS AND I WILL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT. I NEED MOREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
September 24, 2022
***3.75 rating***
"I do my duty to the king." Balen said. He cupped Zavrius's cheek. At the touch, Zavrius's eyes fluttered up to meet his. Balen smiled. "But you are the man I love."
This book is Seth Haddon's debut release (from my understanding), and my introduction to his writing. I first came across Reforged on my feed when I saw people adding it to their tbr and a review that mentioned it was similar to Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat, a series that I love. I was immediately curious and wanted to read this. I am not even surprised that Seth and C.S. Pacat are familiar with one another, since Pacat has indeed praised this debut. So, what was one to do? It was inevitable that I would read this book.
If you like fantasy, second-chance/slow-burn romance, political scheming, violence, betrayal, diversity, brotherhood, and friendship, then you will love this book.
Reforged is set in medieval times where magic, magical creatures, and arcane powers exist. It is also where kingdoms and empires exist.
The story begins with Haddon's introduction to the kingdom of Usleth and its new king, King Zavirus, the fifth heir to the Dued Vuuthrik Dynasty. In times of political upheaval and uncertainty, Zavirus has become a king as a result of the "assassinations" of his siblings. His father died in war and his mother due to natural causes. Being the only alive "heir", it is only natural that he becomes the ruler of Usleth. However, not everyone is delighted to have the "weakling" Zavirus as king. In fact, throughout the story, many characters attempt to assassinate the new ruler. With many people plotting his demise, Zavirus is suspicious of everyone, all but his Prime Paladin, Balen. Balen is his former lover now turned protector. Throughout the book, even when Zavirus does not confide in Balen, he always guards and looks out for Zav. It is hard for these former lovers to acknowledge their new roles, a king and his Prime. Duty before personal passions. When everyone is plotting to kill Zavirus, Balen is there to attend to his king. Interpret that however, you please (haha). At times it felt like it was them against everyone. Zavirus is underestimated by many around him but Balen knows Zav's true worth. Not all is as it seems. You feel for Zavrius as the reader, given how he is betrayed over and over by the people he trusted and loved. It is at times heartbreaking for the character but the story is not overwhelmingly angsty. I liked that when all seemed lost for Zav, Balen and he had each other. There are some plot twists, some you expect, and some that you did not see coming. Some characters have idiotic tendencies and some are morally questionable but that is expected when a book is centered around kingdom politics and war.
I think that Seth Haddon has a lot of potential as a writer and this was a decent debut. I think after reading the book, it's nothing like Captive Prince and it would not be fair to the author to compare the two books. There are similarities in the sense that everyone in both books underestimated Zavrius and Prince Laurent but the books are very much different. I think what I would have appreciated in this book would have been a better-executed backstory of Zavirus and Balen. They are former lovers and while we are told by Haddon why they break up, I felt that the author glossed over their previous relationship, I would have liked to know more about young Zavrius and Balen. It would have added more intrigue and romance to the story. I also felt like the epilogue was somewhat rushed and felt unfinished, a longer and more well-developed epilogue would have given the reader a satisfactory conclusion and closure.
If you enjoy fantasy, violence, and political intrigue/drama, you will like this story. It was an enjoyable read but it had its fair share of flaws. Give it a chance and you may enjoy it. For my Captive Prince lovers, these books are different and it wouldn't be fair to the author to compare them. I think you will like this book but don't set the expectations too high that is all I will say. I still look forward to reading more books by Seth Haddon, the author has much potential.
Thank you Booksirens for providing the arc, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
"I do my duty to the king." Balen said. He cupped Zavrius's cheek. At the touch, Zavrius's eyes fluttered up to meet his. Balen smiled. "But you are the man I love."
This book is Seth Haddon's debut release (from my understanding), and my introduction to his writing. I first came across Reforged on my feed when I saw people adding it to their tbr and a review that mentioned it was similar to Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat, a series that I love. I was immediately curious and wanted to read this. I am not even surprised that Seth and C.S. Pacat are familiar with one another, since Pacat has indeed praised this debut. So, what was one to do? It was inevitable that I would read this book.
If you like fantasy, second-chance/slow-burn romance, political scheming, violence, betrayal, diversity, brotherhood, and friendship, then you will love this book.
Reforged is set in medieval times where magic, magical creatures, and arcane powers exist. It is also where kingdoms and empires exist.
The story begins with Haddon's introduction to the kingdom of Usleth and its new king, King Zavirus, the fifth heir to the Dued Vuuthrik Dynasty. In times of political upheaval and uncertainty, Zavirus has become a king as a result of the "assassinations" of his siblings. His father died in war and his mother due to natural causes. Being the only alive "heir", it is only natural that he becomes the ruler of Usleth. However, not everyone is delighted to have the "weakling" Zavirus as king. In fact, throughout the story, many characters attempt to assassinate the new ruler. With many people plotting his demise, Zavirus is suspicious of everyone, all but his Prime Paladin, Balen. Balen is his former lover now turned protector. Throughout the book, even when Zavirus does not confide in Balen, he always guards and looks out for Zav. It is hard for these former lovers to acknowledge their new roles, a king and his Prime. Duty before personal passions. When everyone is plotting to kill Zavirus, Balen is there to attend to his king. Interpret that however, you please (haha). At times it felt like it was them against everyone. Zavirus is underestimated by many around him but Balen knows Zav's true worth. Not all is as it seems. You feel for Zavrius as the reader, given how he is betrayed over and over by the people he trusted and loved. It is at times heartbreaking for the character but the story is not overwhelmingly angsty. I liked that when all seemed lost for Zav, Balen and he had each other. There are some plot twists, some you expect, and some that you did not see coming. Some characters have idiotic tendencies and some are morally questionable but that is expected when a book is centered around kingdom politics and war.
I think that Seth Haddon has a lot of potential as a writer and this was a decent debut. I think after reading the book, it's nothing like Captive Prince and it would not be fair to the author to compare the two books. There are similarities in the sense that everyone in both books underestimated Zavrius and Prince Laurent but the books are very much different. I think what I would have appreciated in this book would have been a better-executed backstory of Zavirus and Balen. They are former lovers and while we are told by Haddon why they break up, I felt that the author glossed over their previous relationship, I would have liked to know more about young Zavrius and Balen. It would have added more intrigue and romance to the story. I also felt like the epilogue was somewhat rushed and felt unfinished, a longer and more well-developed epilogue would have given the reader a satisfactory conclusion and closure.
If you enjoy fantasy, violence, and political intrigue/drama, you will like this story. It was an enjoyable read but it had its fair share of flaws. Give it a chance and you may enjoy it. For my Captive Prince lovers, these books are different and it wouldn't be fair to the author to compare them. I think you will like this book but don't set the expectations too high that is all I will say. I still look forward to reading more books by Seth Haddon, the author has much potential.
Thank you Booksirens for providing the arc, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
August 29, 2022
rep: gay mc, poc gay li
tw: blood, violence, murder
rtc
tw: blood, violence, murder
rtc
August 31, 2022
Actual rating 4.5 stars.
For lovers of historical or fantasy M/M stories with kings or princes or warriors and political intrigues such as The Song of Achilles, A Taste of Gold and Iron, The Scottish Boy, or even Winter’s Orbit.
This book is fantastic! Seth Haddon delivers a story with just the right amount of political intrigue and a romance to die for. From the first page Seth drew me in with his descriptive writing and I sat on the edge of my seat because of that immediate tension between Bale and Zavrius who had been lovers in the past. They were a couple to swoon over and my heart fluttered in my chest every time they looked at each other. When they kissed I let out a deep sigh of content and a smile played around my lips when they finally admitted they still had feelings for each other. Seth Haddon is an author to watch for, everyone, and if you loved one of the above mentioned titles then put this book on your TBR or preorder immediately!
And let’s not forget that amazing intimate cover! Julie Dillon did a fantastic job!
Thank you so much, Nicole from Blind Eye Books for trusting me to read and review this ARC!
Follow me on Instagram
For lovers of historical or fantasy M/M stories with kings or princes or warriors and political intrigues such as The Song of Achilles, A Taste of Gold and Iron, The Scottish Boy, or even Winter’s Orbit.
This book is fantastic! Seth Haddon delivers a story with just the right amount of political intrigue and a romance to die for. From the first page Seth drew me in with his descriptive writing and I sat on the edge of my seat because of that immediate tension between Bale and Zavrius who had been lovers in the past. They were a couple to swoon over and my heart fluttered in my chest every time they looked at each other. When they kissed I let out a deep sigh of content and a smile played around my lips when they finally admitted they still had feelings for each other. Seth Haddon is an author to watch for, everyone, and if you loved one of the above mentioned titles then put this book on your TBR or preorder immediately!
And let’s not forget that amazing intimate cover! Julie Dillon did a fantastic job!
Thank you so much, Nicole from Blind Eye Books for trusting me to read and review this ARC!
Follow me on Instagram
September 2, 2022
The good
+ Forehead kisses
+ Zavrius opening up completely once he lets Balen in
+ Balen's unfailing loyalty
+ Lance and Mallet
The neutral
o I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. My review remains honest and unbiased
o There were many political figures in this book, and it was very hard to keep track of which were good guys, which were neutral, and who were the bad guys. Luckily, all solutions fall more-or-less in the main characters' laps, so you don't have to remember all the names
The bad
- Balen's position as the king's Prime was really, really strange. He won a tournament, and that somehow qualifies him for an incredibly important and strategic position with a lot of responsibility? Being a good fighter doesn't mean you can keep the king safe
- Keeping the king safe was impossible anyway, because the king refused to communicate with Balen at all. How was Balen supposed to do anything when Zavrius kept all information from him?
- Zavrius told Balen at a party that nobody was to approach the throne. When Balen scouts the area for a few minutes and turns back around, there's a courtesan in Zavrius' lap. When this clear breach of safety upsets Balen, Zavrius just laughs in his face and calls him jealous. What the hell? Balen is trying to do his job, the job that Zavrius ordered him to do! Also, Zavrius then acts like Balen should have known all along the courtesan was actually a spy, as if Balen could have known anything with the way Zavrius did everything in his power to keep him out of the loop
- Zavrius' petty behavior of not talking to Balen endangered both his own life, and Balen's
- Zavrius played with Balen's feelings
- Balen was completely justified to be angry at . Where was their so-called loyalty when it mattered? Even if they were bad fighters, they still could have stayed by the sidelines and saddled horses for those who managed to flee. They could even have expected
- The reason their first relationship ended was very unclear. Which of them broke it off? And why? I just don't see why they had to break up.
-
- Zavrius kept saying the people didn't love him, the nobles hated him, and all that jazz. Then, at the end of the book, . And then we jump straight into the epilogue where everything is great and the kingdom is at peace. How does nobody worry about the enemies that got away? How does nobody worry about the general discontent of the people with the king? It's like all their problems were magically fixed by , which doesn't make sense
So much in this book just didn't make sense. I wanted to love it. I love the cover, and I was really excited. And yeah, I should have known better, because I normally dislike second chance romances. Because the reason for breaking up is usually just not good enough. I had hoped this book would be different. Alas, it was not. Being so petty about it that you'd rather endanger both of your lives than say a few words is just really childish, where I was expecting a man worthy of being a king. The last 30% of the book was okay (and had forehead kisses!), but the first 70% wasn't, and it just isn't worth the time to work through that to get to an okayish ending. Would not recommend.
+ Forehead kisses
+ Zavrius opening up completely once he lets Balen in
+ Balen's unfailing loyalty
+ Lance and Mallet
The neutral
o I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. My review remains honest and unbiased
o There were many political figures in this book, and it was very hard to keep track of which were good guys, which were neutral, and who were the bad guys. Luckily, all solutions fall more-or-less in the main characters' laps, so you don't have to remember all the names
The bad
- Balen's position as the king's Prime was really, really strange. He won a tournament, and that somehow qualifies him for an incredibly important and strategic position with a lot of responsibility? Being a good fighter doesn't mean you can keep the king safe
- Keeping the king safe was impossible anyway, because the king refused to communicate with Balen at all. How was Balen supposed to do anything when Zavrius kept all information from him?
- Zavrius told Balen at a party that nobody was to approach the throne. When Balen scouts the area for a few minutes and turns back around, there's a courtesan in Zavrius' lap. When this clear breach of safety upsets Balen, Zavrius just laughs in his face and calls him jealous. What the hell? Balen is trying to do his job, the job that Zavrius ordered him to do! Also, Zavrius then acts like Balen should have known all along the courtesan was actually a spy, as if Balen could have known anything with the way Zavrius did everything in his power to keep him out of the loop
- Zavrius' petty behavior of not talking to Balen endangered both his own life, and Balen's
- Zavrius played with Balen's feelings
- Balen was completely justified to be angry at . Where was their so-called loyalty when it mattered? Even if they were bad fighters, they still could have stayed by the sidelines and saddled horses for those who managed to flee. They could even have expected
- The reason their first relationship ended was very unclear. Which of them broke it off? And why? I just don't see why they had to break up.
-
- Zavrius kept saying the people didn't love him, the nobles hated him, and all that jazz. Then, at the end of the book, . And then we jump straight into the epilogue where everything is great and the kingdom is at peace. How does nobody worry about the enemies that got away? How does nobody worry about the general discontent of the people with the king? It's like all their problems were magically fixed by , which doesn't make sense
So much in this book just didn't make sense. I wanted to love it. I love the cover, and I was really excited. And yeah, I should have known better, because I normally dislike second chance romances. Because the reason for breaking up is usually just not good enough. I had hoped this book would be different. Alas, it was not. Being so petty about it that you'd rather endanger both of your lives than say a few words is just really childish, where I was expecting a man worthy of being a king. The last 30% of the book was okay (and had forehead kisses!), but the first 70% wasn't, and it just isn't worth the time to work through that to get to an okayish ending. Would not recommend.
Read
June 16, 2023I gave it a good try. Time of death, around 35%. DNF
April 26, 2024
3.5 rounded up to 4 for goodreads
May 2, 2023
¿QUÉ PASA CUANDO UNA PORTADA TE HACE OJITOS🤪?
Pues que caes directamente y sin anestesia; vamos, a lo bruto😁. Es verla y notar cómo tu corazón empieza a palpitar con fuerza cuando te lanza una sonrisa y te regala una bajada de ojos acompañada de un guiño... Vamos, que pone en práctica todas sus artes de seducción... 🔥
Y, oiga, ahí que va una, dejándose seducir y tan contenta; sin leer sinopsis ni nah...😏
AHORA, ¿QUÉ PASA CON EL INTERIOR? ¿ES TAN SEDUCTOR COMO LA PORTADA?
(Ay, santa Cachucha, que ella es más de portadas que de sinopsis🥴)
Ejem, no es por estresarte, pero creo que eso se ha notado bastante con lo que he dicho antes...
(Ya, pero me gusta comentarlo🤪)
¡Dame paciencia! Bueno, a lo que íbamos, pues en este caso la historia no ha conseguido engancharme tanto como esperaba. A ver, está súper bien, pero me ha tenido bastante descolocada al principio🤭. Es como si estuviera leyendo el segundo libro de una bilogía y me estuviera perdiendo lo que había pasado antes entre Zavrius y Balen. Pero aparte de esto, la recomiendo mucho!
Sobre todo si te gustan las historias con
representación LGBTI.
🕯️Conspiraciones
✨Magia.
💣Odios.
🔥Romance.
⚔️Traiciones.
Y escenas🌶️
Pues que caes directamente y sin anestesia; vamos, a lo bruto😁. Es verla y notar cómo tu corazón empieza a palpitar con fuerza cuando te lanza una sonrisa y te regala una bajada de ojos acompañada de un guiño... Vamos, que pone en práctica todas sus artes de seducción... 🔥
Y, oiga, ahí que va una, dejándose seducir y tan contenta; sin leer sinopsis ni nah...😏
AHORA, ¿QUÉ PASA CON EL INTERIOR? ¿ES TAN SEDUCTOR COMO LA PORTADA?
(Ay, santa Cachucha, que ella es más de portadas que de sinopsis🥴)
Ejem, no es por estresarte, pero creo que eso se ha notado bastante con lo que he dicho antes...
(Ya, pero me gusta comentarlo🤪)
¡Dame paciencia! Bueno, a lo que íbamos, pues en este caso la historia no ha conseguido engancharme tanto como esperaba. A ver, está súper bien, pero me ha tenido bastante descolocada al principio🤭. Es como si estuviera leyendo el segundo libro de una bilogía y me estuviera perdiendo lo que había pasado antes entre Zavrius y Balen. Pero aparte de esto, la recomiendo mucho!
Sobre todo si te gustan las historias con
representación LGBTI.
🕯️Conspiraciones
✨Magia.
💣Odios.
🔥Romance.
⚔️Traiciones.
Y escenas🌶️
July 19, 2022
Reforged
By Seth Haddon
Published 2022 BlindEye Books
Five stars
This could be a great start to a series; but it stands alone as a richly imagined, intensely physical and psychological fantasy romance.
One thing I really admired about it is that I couldn’t place the fantasy kingdom of Usleth anywhere in the real world. Seth Haddon has taken great pains to create an imagined, proto-medieval kingdom that feels truly alien without cutting off all familiar echoes with “our” world’s mythology.
We have a young man, named Balen, who has just achieved his life’s desire—to be the Prime Palladin to the king of Usleth. This is like being the head of a Secret Service team to guard the President’s life. Except, you know, with magic. There are two problems with this: young king Zavrius of the Dued Vuuthrik dynasty is the wrong king. And, once upon a time, he was Balen’s boyfriend.
This slightly “young angst” set up is quickly shoved roughly aside with violence and magic. It’s a kind of marvelously twisted riff on Arthur and Lancelot fantasies, except that everyone seems to hate Zavirus for reasons that are unclear beyond Balen’s own musings. It is a dark tale, but one from which real heroes emerge, in the persons of the central characters, whom I grew to love quite a lot.
Balen is not a complicated character—but he is neither simple nor dull. He’s an ordinary young man who has, through hard work, skill, and loyalty, attained his life’s dream. Zavirus, on the other hand, is a beautiful, smart, sensitive hot mess. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not at all bad, just ill-suited to his current job description.
Or is he? That’s a question that teases and taunts the reader all through the story.
Therein lies the great joy of reading Haddon’s carefully crafted prose and nicely twisted plot arc. His people are more than archetypes. Without slipping into modern types, the people in this story feel authentic and human. There is a lot of moral ambiguity at play here, wielded with great skill by a young writer.
There is a weirdly contemporary resonance to this story, which makes sense, given Hadden’s own comparative youth and cultural context (an Australian video game designer with a degree in ancient history). Some of this might be due to my own reaction, as an older man who is more than a little freaked out at the dark and surreal state of the world right now.
I need heroes right now, and “Reforged” gives them to me—on a gedrockbone platter.
By Seth Haddon
Published 2022 BlindEye Books
Five stars
This could be a great start to a series; but it stands alone as a richly imagined, intensely physical and psychological fantasy romance.
One thing I really admired about it is that I couldn’t place the fantasy kingdom of Usleth anywhere in the real world. Seth Haddon has taken great pains to create an imagined, proto-medieval kingdom that feels truly alien without cutting off all familiar echoes with “our” world’s mythology.
We have a young man, named Balen, who has just achieved his life’s desire—to be the Prime Palladin to the king of Usleth. This is like being the head of a Secret Service team to guard the President’s life. Except, you know, with magic. There are two problems with this: young king Zavrius of the Dued Vuuthrik dynasty is the wrong king. And, once upon a time, he was Balen’s boyfriend.
This slightly “young angst” set up is quickly shoved roughly aside with violence and magic. It’s a kind of marvelously twisted riff on Arthur and Lancelot fantasies, except that everyone seems to hate Zavirus for reasons that are unclear beyond Balen’s own musings. It is a dark tale, but one from which real heroes emerge, in the persons of the central characters, whom I grew to love quite a lot.
Balen is not a complicated character—but he is neither simple nor dull. He’s an ordinary young man who has, through hard work, skill, and loyalty, attained his life’s dream. Zavirus, on the other hand, is a beautiful, smart, sensitive hot mess. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not at all bad, just ill-suited to his current job description.
Or is he? That’s a question that teases and taunts the reader all through the story.
Therein lies the great joy of reading Haddon’s carefully crafted prose and nicely twisted plot arc. His people are more than archetypes. Without slipping into modern types, the people in this story feel authentic and human. There is a lot of moral ambiguity at play here, wielded with great skill by a young writer.
There is a weirdly contemporary resonance to this story, which makes sense, given Hadden’s own comparative youth and cultural context (an Australian video game designer with a degree in ancient history). Some of this might be due to my own reaction, as an older man who is more than a little freaked out at the dark and surreal state of the world right now.
I need heroes right now, and “Reforged” gives them to me—on a gedrockbone platter.
May 26, 2025
Just reread because I forgot what happens and I want to read the sequel, I still think this book gives a lot A Taste of Gold and Iron vibes but with more magic and mentions of very random and apparently very old mystical creatures.
November 6, 2022
ok i saw most of the twists coming and i totally blame it on reading reviews before reading the book🗿.
October 11, 2022
M/m, fantasy, royalty, magic, single POV
This book. Okay. There was an ATTEMPT here and I appreciate that the author went for it. I think this author will have great work in the future, but this was a miss for me. I struggled and struggled to get through this book. I forced myself. I messaged my friend saying "I really don't know if I can do this" and he told me that it is okay to NOT finish a book. BUT I had been looking forward to this book. I added this to my wishlist about the same time I added 'A Taste of Gold and Iron'. I read that title first because it came out first and holy canoli I was blown away. So perhaps that is why this book felt like such a let down because I had that book (with somewhat similar general themes) for reference.
Firstly, I disliked Balen. This is a problem because the entire book is told from his POV. Balen had this dream of basically being the king's right hand protector. The strongest among them all. But in fact, Balen doesn't seem to be particularly The Most Capable at all. He gets cocky 2.5 seconds after earning his title as The Most Capable and nearly results in death of who he happens to be protecting which is the KING. So that was something that felt inconsistent to me. It wasn't even just that one offense. Balen seems to flounder around as if it were ME trying to... IDK do sports broadcasting (I've never once played sports in my life, I don't watch it, I know nothing about it and I'm not particularly good at talking).
My next issue is with his relationship with Zav. He seems to hold contempt for zav but then he has an intimate moment and then he pulls back and he seems completely oblivious to any of zav's flirting. THEN he goes on to say some shit about how he loves him and has always loved him? Your words and actions are not lining up my friend (he's not my friend and I don't want to be his friend). He is almost standoffish for a large chunk of the story? Why? Why be a dick? Are you trying to make up for your own incompetence? I mean... That's how most unqualified men seem to act when they are put into positions of power so I guess, sure.
I did like the twists in the story. Those were delicious little crumbs that I slurped up desperately like a little gremlin.
The smut level was minimal, unfortunately and while that is FINE, I actually was hoping it would give me something to look forward to. But I couldn't enjoy it because of stupid fucking Balen who has the personality of Steiner from FF9. Once I made the connection between him and Steiner I had to stop imagining the sex. Which is sad because that's the most action I get.
This book. Okay. There was an ATTEMPT here and I appreciate that the author went for it. I think this author will have great work in the future, but this was a miss for me. I struggled and struggled to get through this book. I forced myself. I messaged my friend saying "I really don't know if I can do this" and he told me that it is okay to NOT finish a book. BUT I had been looking forward to this book. I added this to my wishlist about the same time I added 'A Taste of Gold and Iron'. I read that title first because it came out first and holy canoli I was blown away. So perhaps that is why this book felt like such a let down because I had that book (with somewhat similar general themes) for reference.
Firstly, I disliked Balen. This is a problem because the entire book is told from his POV. Balen had this dream of basically being the king's right hand protector. The strongest among them all. But in fact, Balen doesn't seem to be particularly The Most Capable at all. He gets cocky 2.5 seconds after earning his title as The Most Capable and nearly results in death of who he happens to be protecting which is the KING. So that was something that felt inconsistent to me. It wasn't even just that one offense. Balen seems to flounder around as if it were ME trying to... IDK do sports broadcasting (I've never once played sports in my life, I don't watch it, I know nothing about it and I'm not particularly good at talking).
My next issue is with his relationship with Zav. He seems to hold contempt for zav but then he has an intimate moment and then he pulls back and he seems completely oblivious to any of zav's flirting. THEN he goes on to say some shit about how he loves him and has always loved him? Your words and actions are not lining up my friend (he's not my friend and I don't want to be his friend). He is almost standoffish for a large chunk of the story? Why? Why be a dick? Are you trying to make up for your own incompetence? I mean... That's how most unqualified men seem to act when they are put into positions of power so I guess, sure.
I did like the twists in the story. Those were delicious little crumbs that I slurped up desperately like a little gremlin.
The smut level was minimal, unfortunately and while that is FINE, I actually was hoping it would give me something to look forward to. But I couldn't enjoy it because of stupid fucking Balen who has the personality of Steiner from FF9. Once I made the connection between him and Steiner I had to stop imagining the sex. Which is sad because that's the most action I get.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2025
[2.5 rounded up]
Eh.
This was alright - plot was contrived and cheesy and the internal logic did not always make sense, but a fun romp overall. A good reminder not to read fantasy romance when I'm looking for my next obsession, because it will never be that.
Eh.
This was alright - plot was contrived and cheesy and the internal logic did not always make sense, but a fun romp overall. A good reminder not to read fantasy romance when I'm looking for my next obsession, because it will never be that.
Read
September 11, 2022DNF at 27%
I had high hopes for Reforged and I was drawn in by the "fealty + feelings" tagline but after a quarter of the book, I had to give up.
I really wanted to like this one but I found my eyes glazing over more than once right off the bat because of long paragraphs of convoluted in-world explanations of geography and kingdoms and roads and titles. I could have ignored that if the rest of the book had drawn me in, but sadly I didn't find the characters nor the plot very compelling.
Most of Zavrius' and Balen's decisions made little sense to me. Just a few examples:
I'm assuming the romance between the two leads comes later in the book because in the part I read, it was mostly just Zavrius continuously being passive aggressive about Balen previously having broken off their prior relationship, acting jealous, and trying to get Balen to agree to get back together. The inherent power imbalance between them made this seem kind of off to me but maybe it gets addressed later in the book.
I was so excited to read this book but it sadly just didn't work for me.
Thanks to BookSirens for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I had high hopes for Reforged and I was drawn in by the "fealty + feelings" tagline but after a quarter of the book, I had to give up.
I really wanted to like this one but I found my eyes glazing over more than once right off the bat because of long paragraphs of convoluted in-world explanations of geography and kingdoms and roads and titles. I could have ignored that if the rest of the book had drawn me in, but sadly I didn't find the characters nor the plot very compelling.
Most of Zavrius' and Balen's decisions made little sense to me. Just a few examples:
I'm assuming the romance between the two leads comes later in the book because in the part I read, it was mostly just Zavrius continuously being passive aggressive about Balen previously having broken off their prior relationship, acting jealous, and trying to get Balen to agree to get back together. The inherent power imbalance between them made this seem kind of off to me but maybe it gets addressed later in the book.
I was so excited to read this book but it sadly just didn't work for me.
Thanks to BookSirens for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 10, 2022
A fantastic debut novel combining rich worldbuilding, a medieval high fantasy setting and a heartwarming and steamy romance!
The story starts when Balen becomes the Prime Paladin (Paladins are an elite magical guard unit) for young King Zavrius, who unexpectedly inherited the throne when all his siblings died under mysterious circumstances past the border with a rival empire. Zavrius and Balen were a couple years ago, with their relationship ending when Balen chose duty/career over Zavrius.
Hence the second chance romance begins! Balen is still in love with Zavrius (sometimes he admits it to himself, sometimes not), and so is Zavrius, who is flirty, charming and playful. He is an unconventional king: he doesn't want war and glory, he is not a warrior in the traditional sense. The nobles are already doubtful how fit he is for the throne and there is unrest brewing in the kingdom.
From early in the book, the reader, much like Balen and Zavrius, has no idea who is on whose side. Balen and Zavrius learn to trust nobody except each other. They find unexpected companions during an adventure on the road, uncover political schemes, survive invisible enemies and fight to save the kingdom from war and chaos.
On the way, they grow close to each other (much to the delight of two hilarious side characters) and offer us some amazing intimate scenes! It's another praise for this book, the fact that we do get scenes with the main couple together, not just the last few pages.
If you like medieval fantasy, worldbuilding, magic, intrigue and a two young men falling (back) in love, do not miss this book !
The story starts when Balen becomes the Prime Paladin (Paladins are an elite magical guard unit) for young King Zavrius, who unexpectedly inherited the throne when all his siblings died under mysterious circumstances past the border with a rival empire. Zavrius and Balen were a couple years ago, with their relationship ending when Balen chose duty/career over Zavrius.
Hence the second chance romance begins! Balen is still in love with Zavrius (sometimes he admits it to himself, sometimes not), and so is Zavrius, who is flirty, charming and playful. He is an unconventional king: he doesn't want war and glory, he is not a warrior in the traditional sense. The nobles are already doubtful how fit he is for the throne and there is unrest brewing in the kingdom.
From early in the book, the reader, much like Balen and Zavrius, has no idea who is on whose side. Balen and Zavrius learn to trust nobody except each other. They find unexpected companions during an adventure on the road, uncover political schemes, survive invisible enemies and fight to save the kingdom from war and chaos.
On the way, they grow close to each other (much to the delight of two hilarious side characters) and offer us some amazing intimate scenes! It's another praise for this book, the fact that we do get scenes with the main couple together, not just the last few pages.
If you like medieval fantasy, worldbuilding, magic, intrigue and a two young men falling (back) in love, do not miss this book !
February 20, 2023
High fantasy MM is making a comeback. I've a read few seriously impressive MM fantasy novels over the past few months and this one is definitely up there. It's a fantastic début by a very talented writer. Balen, our protagonist, is a paladin - a specially trained soldier whose life's mission is to protect the king. The king being Balen's former lover and the fifth in line for the throne, never having expected to rule but ends up on the throne through a series of mysterious circumstances. Some of this book reminds me so much of Captive Prince, especially Zavrius (the king). He was so like Laurent in a lot of ways - contrary, scathing, trying hard not to be vulnerable. The book centres around Zavrius's struggle to keep the throne and Balen's conflicted feelings for him. The world-building is excellent, the characters complex and flawed, the action intense and the relationship between the two tense and hot. It's basically my absolute favourite kind of book to read, and it did not disappoint. I am seriously excited to get more from Haddon.
Read
June 7, 2023DNF 10%. I have tried three times to read this and the writing makes my eyes cross. I literally cannot pay attention.
I love the cover so much though.
I love the cover so much though.
September 28, 2022
*I received an ecopy of this book via BookSirens. This has not influenced my review.*
This was an enjoyable fantasy story with action and romance and friendship!
I liked the fantasy setting. It was easy to understand, but still had interesting elements to it. There were paladins, royals, castles, small towns, and mythical long-dead creatures that contained magic. The magic could be given to people, though usually selectively and through ceremony, and they used a certain type of armor or tolerance build-up to keep it from affecting their minds. Balen and Zavrius both used magic, though Zavrius wielded it through music, which was cool!
The plot had assassination attempts, political machinations, and a potentially looming war, and it kept me guessing and trying to figure out who to trust, really wanting certain people to be trustworthy just for Balen’s and Zavrius’s sakes.
Balen (the main character) was loyal, hardworking, and duty-bound, but not overly uptight, infallible, or immune to making mistakes or feeling things like jealousy and overconfidence. But his mistakes and flaws and less-than-perfect emotions always just felt human and understandable, not unlikeable. Zavrius was playful and unpredictable and kept a lot of his plans and thoughts to himself, so you never really knew what was going through his head. But he was in a precarious position and feeling a lot of feelings, even if he didn’t show them. Lance and Mallet were also great, and they brought a bit of humor and fun with their antics without being over-the-top. All of the main recurring characters in the book were likeable (unless they weren’t supposed to be) without being too perfect.
This was a sort of second chance romance, but I didn’t feel the pining or angst or tension that was supposedly between Balen and Zavrius at the start. There were a couple moments of jealousy, a touch here or there, but I never really felt it. It might’ve helped if I knew more about what their relationship had been in the past, what it was like at start of the book, exactly how they felt, how long it had been since they stopped being together (if they were ever technically together to begin with). I knew they’d had sex, there was a sentence about their first kiss, and Zavrius mentioned the first time he saw Balen (which wasn’t even a romantic thing), and I think that was it for info about the past between them. And unfortunately it felt like a lot of the romance element of the book relied on that past connection. That being said, I still thought the romance element was nice and that they made a good couple. And they had amazing chemistry in bed! (I do believe the relationship was about more than that, it’s just that that’s where I was shown the most connection between them. And, you know, credit where credit is due for great sex scenes!)
I really liked Balen’s other relationships. His friendship with the brothers. His sorta father/son relationship with Lester. I felt the cute and fond moments, but also the tension and feels when there were difficulties.
Overall, I enjoyed this story with its high fantasy world, magical battles, and likeable characters.
*Rating: 3.5 Stars // Read Date: 2022 // Format: Ebook via TTS*
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes high fantasy in Medieval-esque worlds, magic-filled fight scenes, political machinations, second chance romance, and friendship.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
This was an enjoyable fantasy story with action and romance and friendship!
I liked the fantasy setting. It was easy to understand, but still had interesting elements to it. There were paladins, royals, castles, small towns, and mythical long-dead creatures that contained magic. The magic could be given to people, though usually selectively and through ceremony, and they used a certain type of armor or tolerance build-up to keep it from affecting their minds. Balen and Zavrius both used magic, though Zavrius wielded it through music, which was cool!
The plot had assassination attempts, political machinations, and a potentially looming war, and it kept me guessing and trying to figure out who to trust, really wanting certain people to be trustworthy just for Balen’s and Zavrius’s sakes.
Balen (the main character) was loyal, hardworking, and duty-bound, but not overly uptight, infallible, or immune to making mistakes or feeling things like jealousy and overconfidence. But his mistakes and flaws and less-than-perfect emotions always just felt human and understandable, not unlikeable. Zavrius was playful and unpredictable and kept a lot of his plans and thoughts to himself, so you never really knew what was going through his head. But he was in a precarious position and feeling a lot of feelings, even if he didn’t show them. Lance and Mallet were also great, and they brought a bit of humor and fun with their antics without being over-the-top. All of the main recurring characters in the book were likeable (unless they weren’t supposed to be) without being too perfect.
This was a sort of second chance romance, but I didn’t feel the pining or angst or tension that was supposedly between Balen and Zavrius at the start. There were a couple moments of jealousy, a touch here or there, but I never really felt it. It might’ve helped if I knew more about what their relationship had been in the past, what it was like at start of the book, exactly how they felt, how long it had been since they stopped being together (if they were ever technically together to begin with). I knew they’d had sex, there was a sentence about their first kiss, and Zavrius mentioned the first time he saw Balen (which wasn’t even a romantic thing), and I think that was it for info about the past between them. And unfortunately it felt like a lot of the romance element of the book relied on that past connection. That being said, I still thought the romance element was nice and that they made a good couple. And they had amazing chemistry in bed! (I do believe the relationship was about more than that, it’s just that that’s where I was shown the most connection between them. And, you know, credit where credit is due for great sex scenes!)
I really liked Balen’s other relationships. His friendship with the brothers. His sorta father/son relationship with Lester. I felt the cute and fond moments, but also the tension and feels when there were difficulties.
Overall, I enjoyed this story with its high fantasy world, magical battles, and likeable characters.
*Rating: 3.5 Stars // Read Date: 2022 // Format: Ebook via TTS*
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes high fantasy in Medieval-esque worlds, magic-filled fight scenes, political machinations, second chance romance, and friendship.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
October 4, 2022
I wanted to love this book as the summary was pretty interesting and it seemed to have a lot of things that I usually like in a story. However, my feelings were pretty mixed and generally bordering on the negative.
I'm not sure if it was the mood I was on or just maybe this book wasn't really just for me.
Things that I liked:
a. Magic system and the lore behind it - I think the concept and the execution of the powers of the paladins as well as the royal family was cool and intriguing. I'd have loved if it was explored more. Though there was explanation and a bit of information provided about the creatures whose remains they use, it would have been nice to have learned more about them.
b. Tender moments between Zavrius and Balen.
c. Lance and Mallet - the sensible characters!
d. Balen's loyalty
e. Zavrius' musical talent being his own weapon and magic.
Things that annoyed me:
a. Balen and Zavrius' constant bickering and the tension for almost half of the book really got on my nerves. Somehow the times they clashed really didn't add to the story nor their character development. It felt petty and rather shallow at times.
b. The lack of communication between the two as King and Protector. How would your protector be able to do his job properly if you won't even talk to him or give the information required to keep one safe?
c. I get that both characters are young and rather new to their positions, but the number of decisions the two of them make that just didn't make sense was infuriating to read.
d. Balen's constant anger and flaring temper really bothered me.
The plot was interesting in general and the pacing was alright but there were just a number of details that didn't make sense and the main characters are so hard to like. There were some parts of the politics and intrigue that were interesting but most of them fell flat.
If you're looking for a fantasy story with a second-chance romance with a bit politics and action, then Reforged by Seth Haddon might be for you.
This would be 3 stars out of 5 stars for me.
I received an ARC of this book from BookSirens and I have chosen to publish my fair and honest review.
I'm not sure if it was the mood I was on or just maybe this book wasn't really just for me.
Things that I liked:
a. Magic system and the lore behind it - I think the concept and the execution of the powers of the paladins as well as the royal family was cool and intriguing. I'd have loved if it was explored more. Though there was explanation and a bit of information provided about the creatures whose remains they use, it would have been nice to have learned more about them.
b. Tender moments between Zavrius and Balen.
c. Lance and Mallet - the sensible characters!
d. Balen's loyalty
e. Zavrius' musical talent being his own weapon and magic.
Things that annoyed me:
a. Balen and Zavrius' constant bickering and the tension for almost half of the book really got on my nerves. Somehow the times they clashed really didn't add to the story nor their character development. It felt petty and rather shallow at times.
b. The lack of communication between the two as King and Protector. How would your protector be able to do his job properly if you won't even talk to him or give the information required to keep one safe?
c. I get that both characters are young and rather new to their positions, but the number of decisions the two of them make that just didn't make sense was infuriating to read.
d. Balen's constant anger and flaring temper really bothered me.
The plot was interesting in general and the pacing was alright but there were just a number of details that didn't make sense and the main characters are so hard to like. There were some parts of the politics and intrigue that were interesting but most of them fell flat.
If you're looking for a fantasy story with a second-chance romance with a bit politics and action, then Reforged by Seth Haddon might be for you.
This would be 3 stars out of 5 stars for me.
I received an ARC of this book from BookSirens and I have chosen to publish my fair and honest review.
January 23, 2024
Excellent. I loved it. It’s gay. It’s got butt stuff. It’s got a solid plot. No notes.
March 9, 2023
DNF @ 48%
Jesus fucking Christ, this book was sooooooo boring. No shade to Seth, I’m sure you worked really hard on it. I, however, could not get into it. The setting, plot, characters all were super boring to me.
Zavrius does nothing for a solid portion of the book. He’s stuck in reaction mode and seemingly isn’t doing anything to even find out who killed his siblings.
Balen is an actual idiot. The man is so bad at his job and he too doesn’t seem like he’s doing Jack shit to save Zavrius.
It seems Petra and Lestr are the only ones doing anything. But their actions are all off page.
Overall this book was so boring and the romance is nonexistent. It’s NOT a slow burn. It’s a NO BURN. The fire is out, the romance is glacial, and I was so damn bored reading it. I have been trying to read this thing for over three months. It’s been like pulling teeth.
I don’t recommend this book at all. I’m actually a little confused by some of the high ratings. Did y’all read the same book as me?
Jesus fucking Christ, this book was sooooooo boring. No shade to Seth, I’m sure you worked really hard on it. I, however, could not get into it. The setting, plot, characters all were super boring to me.
Zavrius does nothing for a solid portion of the book. He’s stuck in reaction mode and seemingly isn’t doing anything to even find out who killed his siblings.
Balen is an actual idiot. The man is so bad at his job and he too doesn’t seem like he’s doing Jack shit to save Zavrius.
It seems Petra and Lestr are the only ones doing anything. But their actions are all off page.
Overall this book was so boring and the romance is nonexistent. It’s NOT a slow burn. It’s a NO BURN. The fire is out, the romance is glacial, and I was so damn bored reading it. I have been trying to read this thing for over three months. It’s been like pulling teeth.
I don’t recommend this book at all. I’m actually a little confused by some of the high ratings. Did y’all read the same book as me?
May 11, 2023
2.5
En este libro vamos a aplicar la famosa frase: no soy tú, soy yo.
No quiero hacer una reseña en conficiones (como las llamo yo) porque siento que no sería justo. Mi opinión estaría eclipsada desde mi punto de vista subjetivo, cuando sé que, desde un punto de vista objetivo, la novela tiene muchos puntos positivos. Sin embargo, como he dicho hace unas líneas más arriba, no ha sido para mi y no puedo hacerla.
Dejo la nota en un 2.5 porque mentalmente no me dejo ponerme más.
Lo siento.
En este libro vamos a aplicar la famosa frase: no soy tú, soy yo.
No quiero hacer una reseña en conficiones (como las llamo yo) porque siento que no sería justo. Mi opinión estaría eclipsada desde mi punto de vista subjetivo, cuando sé que, desde un punto de vista objetivo, la novela tiene muchos puntos positivos. Sin embargo, como he dicho hace unas líneas más arriba, no ha sido para mi y no puedo hacerla.
Dejo la nota en un 2.5 porque mentalmente no me dejo ponerme más.
Lo siento.
Want to read
December 11, 2022DNF cuz I just didn’t like the writing? Might try again another time 😭
November 1, 2022
❤ Reforged - Seth Haddon ❤
⚔ fantasy
🌶 adult content
🔮 magic
💘 second chance romance
👑 royal intrigues
⚔ fantasy
🌶 adult content
🔮 magic
💘 second chance romance
👑 royal intrigues
December 31, 2022
Writing style was not quite my cup of tea and resulted in a significant amount of fast-forwarding just to get through to the end.
May 31, 2023
Read because: Targeted TikTok advertising! It works!
Thoughts: This is a 3.5-star for me, rounded down due to...well, I could say it's because of a combination of plot stuff (I'll get into that later) and unpolished proofreading throughout the text (a handful of typos, stray punctuation marks) and also unfortunate proofreading (the cover to the Kindle ebook I have misspells the name of a famous author doing a one-line review). But mostly it's because of the use of "Okay" in a fantasy setting. It's by far my number 1 pet peeve when characters throw "Okay" around in the same breath as clearly made up idioms relevant to the specific setting (in this case, stuff like "by the bones"). I recognise this is a me issue, and I've come to terms with that.
The story itself is fine. Like I said at the top, I found out about this book through TikTok, because the author is doing one helluva job advertising himself. He's funny, he seems nice, the tiktoks themselves represented the book in a great way, I was all in. I pre-ordered it so I had it on release, and then....I didn't read it for however long it's been since then. But this week I just needed a light pick-me-up, and decided it was finally Reforged's turn on the chopping block. And the TikTok gods did not lead me astray. This is pretty much what I needed to read. It was pretty light reading, easy to process, with likeable characters and some political intrigue.
Having said that, there were, at times, too many characters, and not enough time was spent with any of them to make me care about them. Their voices were also kind of the same, to the point where some of them became interchangeable to me. Partway through, I honestly lost track of which brother was the philanderer, Mallet or Lance. I only kept track of the big players (Petra and Huez Thenlass) because they were the only ones who actually stood out, which is fine, but then that also made it easy to work out who was plotting against Zavrius. There seemed to be a lot of moving pieces, but really there were only a few real possibilities.
The protagonists themselves were...fine. Clearly cast from a sort of danmei mould (an influence the author recognises in the acknowledgements, iirc), so slightly one-note, occasionally getting stuck repeating themselves and their prior conflicts with no way forward. I know that sounds really fucking vague, but there's no real way for me to explain my impression. They were written as a sort of lovers-to-cold-acquaintances-to-lovers-again slow burn, but their conflict was just not deep enough to justify all of their waffling. I would've given an arm for some real conflict, a real argument, something more than "You gave up our relationship for your rank/position."
There's a review somewhere here about how the reviewer DNF'd at 16%, and one of their qualms was the way the deaths of Zavrius's siblings' deaths was handled, and the fact that their deaths, allegedly at enemy hands/on enemy territory, weren't met with open conflict. If they'd stuck around to the end, the reviewer would've found out why things happened that way. Thinking about it now, the political angle was probably my favourite thing about the story. Zavrius had to walk the tightrope between peace and war, knowing what he'd done, knowing the enemy empire couldn't be blamed for it but also that there was really no one else to blame, so he had to pacify himself, his own people, and the newly-allied enemy empire. The reveal of what happened to his siblings was great. It was something I'd hoped for, but I couldn't really work out what/how/why, so it was immensely satisfying to actually find out the truth.
Theo, on the other hand, was a disappointing mess, a sort of manic villain cast from the Danmei 101 mould set. I don't know whether I just missed something, or whether what I understood about him was all there was, but I...just hoped for more. When it turned out armies were gathering under his banner, I hoped he was somehow..........unnatural. I'd hoped he was completely wild, unrecognisable, held together by the arcane and ichor and sheer willpower alone. It would've also made Thenlass and his dedication to Theo so much stranger, it would've explained why at the end he seemed almost afraid but resigned to his course because he'd gone too far to do anything else. In short, I think it would have added depth there, and would've somewhat redeemed Thenlass and made him even more interesting.
I also think Zavrius's response to Petra and the other lady she was in cahoots with was underwhelming, even taking into account Zavrius's pseudo-Zone of Truth casting and their sudden turns back to the light. It would have made for an interesting character turn for Zavrius to have a different, stronger reaction. But that's just not the sort of story this was, no real narrative risk-taking other than the reveal of what happened to the older siblings (and even that wasn't pushed hard enough).
And you know what, I'm gonna stop right here with the review, before it turns into 2.5 stars rounded down.
Would I read a sequel: um, YES. It's already planned, it's coming out in October, it involves the brother(? or just general relation?) of the ambassador who was super cool in Reforged and a nobleman who was on Zavrius's side, and I'm ALL IN ON THAT. The fact that those two don't have a previous relationship gives me hope for a proper slow burn where they genuinely get on each other's nerves for a good while before they start making out. I love that sort of crap. Love it.
Thoughts: This is a 3.5-star for me, rounded down due to...well, I could say it's because of a combination of plot stuff (I'll get into that later) and unpolished proofreading throughout the text (a handful of typos, stray punctuation marks) and also unfortunate proofreading (the cover to the Kindle ebook I have misspells the name of a famous author doing a one-line review). But mostly it's because of the use of "Okay" in a fantasy setting. It's by far my number 1 pet peeve when characters throw "Okay" around in the same breath as clearly made up idioms relevant to the specific setting (in this case, stuff like "by the bones"). I recognise this is a me issue, and I've come to terms with that.
The story itself is fine. Like I said at the top, I found out about this book through TikTok, because the author is doing one helluva job advertising himself. He's funny, he seems nice, the tiktoks themselves represented the book in a great way, I was all in. I pre-ordered it so I had it on release, and then....I didn't read it for however long it's been since then. But this week I just needed a light pick-me-up, and decided it was finally Reforged's turn on the chopping block. And the TikTok gods did not lead me astray. This is pretty much what I needed to read. It was pretty light reading, easy to process, with likeable characters and some political intrigue.
Having said that, there were, at times, too many characters, and not enough time was spent with any of them to make me care about them. Their voices were also kind of the same, to the point where some of them became interchangeable to me. Partway through, I honestly lost track of which brother was the philanderer, Mallet or Lance. I only kept track of the big players (Petra and Huez Thenlass) because they were the only ones who actually stood out, which is fine, but then that also made it easy to work out who was plotting against Zavrius. There seemed to be a lot of moving pieces, but really there were only a few real possibilities.
The protagonists themselves were...fine. Clearly cast from a sort of danmei mould (an influence the author recognises in the acknowledgements, iirc), so slightly one-note, occasionally getting stuck repeating themselves and their prior conflicts with no way forward. I know that sounds really fucking vague, but there's no real way for me to explain my impression. They were written as a sort of lovers-to-cold-acquaintances-to-lovers-again slow burn, but their conflict was just not deep enough to justify all of their waffling. I would've given an arm for some real conflict, a real argument, something more than "You gave up our relationship for your rank/position."
There's a review somewhere here about how the reviewer DNF'd at 16%, and one of their qualms was the way the deaths of Zavrius's siblings' deaths was handled, and the fact that their deaths, allegedly at enemy hands/on enemy territory, weren't met with open conflict. If they'd stuck around to the end, the reviewer would've found out why things happened that way. Thinking about it now, the political angle was probably my favourite thing about the story. Zavrius had to walk the tightrope between peace and war, knowing what he'd done, knowing the enemy empire couldn't be blamed for it but also that there was really no one else to blame, so he had to pacify himself, his own people, and the newly-allied enemy empire. The reveal of what happened to his siblings was great. It was something I'd hoped for, but I couldn't really work out what/how/why, so it was immensely satisfying to actually find out the truth.
Theo, on the other hand, was a disappointing mess, a sort of manic villain cast from the Danmei 101 mould set. I don't know whether I just missed something, or whether what I understood about him was all there was, but I...just hoped for more. When it turned out armies were gathering under his banner, I hoped he was somehow..........unnatural. I'd hoped he was completely wild, unrecognisable, held together by the arcane and ichor and sheer willpower alone. It would've also made Thenlass and his dedication to Theo so much stranger, it would've explained why at the end he seemed almost afraid but resigned to his course because he'd gone too far to do anything else. In short, I think it would have added depth there, and would've somewhat redeemed Thenlass and made him even more interesting.
I also think Zavrius's response to Petra and the other lady she was in cahoots with was underwhelming, even taking into account Zavrius's pseudo-Zone of Truth casting and their sudden turns back to the light. It would have made for an interesting character turn for Zavrius to have a different, stronger reaction. But that's just not the sort of story this was, no real narrative risk-taking other than the reveal of what happened to the older siblings (and even that wasn't pushed hard enough).
And you know what, I'm gonna stop right here with the review, before it turns into 2.5 stars rounded down.
Would I read a sequel: um, YES. It's already planned, it's coming out in October, it involves the brother(? or just general relation?) of the ambassador who was super cool in Reforged and a nobleman who was on Zavrius's side, and I'm ALL IN ON THAT. The fact that those two don't have a previous relationship gives me hope for a proper slow burn where they genuinely get on each other's nerves for a good while before they start making out. I love that sort of crap. Love it.
September 27, 2022
I received an ARC of this book and I’m leaving an honest review.
I'm going to divide this in different points because I have a few things to say.
1) I’m torn about the writing style. I think I like it (for the most part) but there are some moments from time to time that didn’t really convince me.
I also felt like there was a little info dumping at the beginning. For example, the first 4/5 lines of chapter two are full of names of places and things of this fantasy world and it was overwhelming to read and to try to understand what was what. It was also pretty hard to follow and remember those names (I still found it hard towards the ends of the story..)
2) I enjoyed the story, but (I know this probably won’t make sense to anyone but me) the politics, the intrigues and fantasy aspects felt undeveloped and overexplained at the same time. I don't even know how to describe it in the right way, to be honest. Maybe I’m just being weird and picky, I don’t know.
Some of the things that didn't convince me were, for exmaple, the fact that all the heirs were killed in enemy territory yet they didn’t fuss too much over it for most of the book and still invited their ambassadors to their ceremonies (the first time they actually talk “seriously” about the matter is 51% into the book). I understand we're meant to find out about things in due time, but I don't think that the "wait" was handled well.
Another things, is how dismissive Balen is regarding safety and his duty as the King’s guard. He’s supposed to protect the King but he is either thinking of, or straight up sleeping instead of paying attention to his surroundings. In general, the amount of times they got into trouble or danger that could have been easily avoided is really upsetting. It really just takes them 68% of the book before they actually communicate for ONCE.
3) Even though I’m not a fan of smut, I don’t mind sex scenes, but to be honest I don’t really see the appeal in having sex after a vulnerable moment. It just feels like taking advantage of someone who currently isn’t in their right mind.
4) In general, both Balen and Zavrius felt a little too immature and careless considering they’re supposed to be 21 and 22 (or was it 22 and 23? I already forgot), and ESPECIALLY considering who they are and what their duties are. I do have to point out though that they get a little better as the storie goes on (but they still have a long way to go).
I'm torn between ratings this 3.25 or 3.5 starts. In the end, despite everything, I still enjoyed the book. I think Seth has a lot of potential and will have a lot of chances to improve, so I will still be reading his next books (and I'm pretty excited for anything new he'll release).
I'm going to divide this in different points because I have a few things to say.
1) I’m torn about the writing style. I think I like it (for the most part) but there are some moments from time to time that didn’t really convince me.
I also felt like there was a little info dumping at the beginning. For example, the first 4/5 lines of chapter two are full of names of places and things of this fantasy world and it was overwhelming to read and to try to understand what was what. It was also pretty hard to follow and remember those names (I still found it hard towards the ends of the story..)
2) I enjoyed the story, but (I know this probably won’t make sense to anyone but me) the politics, the intrigues and fantasy aspects felt undeveloped and overexplained at the same time. I don't even know how to describe it in the right way, to be honest. Maybe I’m just being weird and picky, I don’t know.
Some of the things that didn't convince me were, for exmaple, the fact that all the heirs were killed in enemy territory yet they didn’t fuss too much over it for most of the book and still invited their ambassadors to their ceremonies (the first time they actually talk “seriously” about the matter is 51% into the book). I understand we're meant to find out about things in due time, but I don't think that the "wait" was handled well.
Another things, is how dismissive Balen is regarding safety and his duty as the King’s guard. He’s supposed to protect the King but he is either thinking of, or straight up sleeping instead of paying attention to his surroundings. In general, the amount of times they got into trouble or danger that could have been easily avoided is really upsetting. It really just takes them 68% of the book before they actually communicate for ONCE.
3) Even though I’m not a fan of smut, I don’t mind sex scenes, but to be honest I don’t really see the appeal in having sex after a vulnerable moment. It just feels like taking advantage of someone who currently isn’t in their right mind.
4) In general, both Balen and Zavrius felt a little too immature and careless considering they’re supposed to be 21 and 22 (or was it 22 and 23? I already forgot), and ESPECIALLY considering who they are and what their duties are. I do have to point out though that they get a little better as the storie goes on (but they still have a long way to go).
I'm torn between ratings this 3.25 or 3.5 starts. In the end, despite everything, I still enjoyed the book. I think Seth has a lot of potential and will have a lot of chances to improve, so I will still be reading his next books (and I'm pretty excited for anything new he'll release).
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