Beloved Mentor

by Beau Van Dalen

Orphan Augustus enrolls in the Academy for Great Mages both to protect himself from villains looking to use his magic’s potential, and in hopes of making a place for himself in society upon graduation.However, days arriving at his destination, Augustus quickly realizes the Academy for Great Mages isn’t quite what he thought it out to be. And after dealing with more harassment than he can take, Augustus turns to the only person he can count on for his mentor, Damien.A short story about the bittersweet forbidden love between an apprentice sorcerer and his mentor in the arts, featuring an M/M romance and a trans lead.FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY.

Genres: Fantasy, LGBT, Romance, Adult, Transgender, M M Romance, Queer

32 pages, ebook

Published January 3, 2023

About the author

Beau Van Dalen is a best-selling author of adult speculative fiction. Wattpad Stars Alumnus and Winner of Tapas Media’s 2018 Summer Writing Competition—Beau’s stories have amassed over two million reads online. Whether it be through books, poetry, comics or games, Beau is always enchanting words and creating worlds; he is currently on a journey to write one-hundred novels.

Reviews

[Drusilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sensitively written story.
Unfortunately much too short. I enjoyed it, but I would have liked to know so much more about everything ... Well, you have to make do with the crumbs.

“I thought…” Augustus squeezed at his elbow again. He remembered the constant teasing, others being hostile to him, simply because of the way he was born. “I thought, that there was something wrong with me.”
Damien kissed him in turn. “No. Of course, not,” he whispered. “Nothing was ever wrong with you, Augustus. You are fine as you are, my darling.” He slid an arm around Augustus’s waist, then pressed his mouth to his apprentice’s forehead. His free hand lingered against Augustus’s shoulder. “The people who treated you in such ways—they merely did not know better. But you are a wonderful man, a gentle soul, and a fine lover, at that, too.” 🥰💗🥰

[james · Rating 4 out of 5]

welcome to 202-Queer 🌈✨


i admit i have a thing for mentor/mentee relationships 👉👈

this was very cute actually. i really enjoyed the writing. the end was a bit "too easy" of a wrap up but whatever, it's a short story so it's fine.

[Drache.... (Angelika) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,75 stars.
I had a hard time with the particular writing style. So many "which", so many (not necessary?) commas. I couldn't get into the story because of that. The story itself would have been sweet, otherwise.
I prefer K. L. Noone, Amy Rae Durreson and Megan Derr's writing style, though. They have similar stories, but their writing works better for me.

[Iman (hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

short and interesting. good filler read.

[Norah (Studying) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is just a fine very short story (about 30 pages I believe) it’s a queer mentor/mentee relationship which is adorable. There were a few big time skips which was not great to read in my opinion but it was just fine. It did what a short story was supposed to do. It was quick and fun but I didn’t care much for the characters.

The writing is good and I’m sure the author can write very well. And I’m excited to read more books from him!

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beloved Mentor by Beau Van Dalen

❤️ Trans Apprentice Sorcerer MC
❤️ Mentor x Student
❤️ Fantasy Setting
❤️ Short Story

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Humour: 🤭
Intimacy: 🫂🫂🫂
Angst: 🥺.5

Third person single pov 👀

CW: bullying, mention of attempted SA, mention of attempted drowning.

[Rishika Aggarwal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet book. The romance was adorable, and it worked very well as a short story.

That said, the timeslips were a bit disorienting, which is why I've rated it what it is. However, if you're looking for great spicy scenes and a sweet, easy, and low-angst romance that's also a very quick read, this is what you've been looking for.

3.5/5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars

[Aitana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3'75⭐
I wasn't sure I would like this actually, as I'm not normally a fan of mentor-student relationships, but I really liked this one. I thought the romance was quite sweet. It was also really steamy.
My main complaint is that it was too short. I would have liked to see more of their relationship, of the Academy itself... but I already knew how short it was before I started it.
It also took a while for me to get used to the writing but I got into the story as I kept reading.

I had been wanting to read something by this author and this was a nice introduction to his books. I will read more by him, definitely.
.....

Puntuación real: 3'75⭐
La verdad es que no estaba segura de si me gustaría, ya que no suelo ser fan de las relaciones entre mentores y estudiantes, pero este me gustó mucho.
El romance me pareció muy dulce. También fue bastante spicy jaja.
Mi principal queja es que fue demasiado corto. Me hubiera gustado ver más de la relación entre Damien y Augustus (antes y después de empezar a salir juntos), de la propia Academia de magia... pero ya sabía lo corto que era antes de empezar. También me costó un poco acostumbrarme a la escritura, pero conseguí adentrarme en la historia tras seguir leyendo.
Tenía ganas de leer algo de este autor y esta fue una buena introducción a sus libros. Leeré más de él, sin duda.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Beloved Mentor' was a nice little read that I completed on my lunch break! I was very suprised at how short it was (less than 40 pages) and I found the timeskips a bit jarring at times. There were a lot of Big Feelings quickly, but such is the nature of short stories. The author isn't trying to reinvent the wheel with this one and I liked that honestly; they know why we're here lol.
If you like a quick romance with a touch of the forbidden (Student/Teacher, both are consenting adults, dynamic), then this is for you.

[Dorin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has been struggling with a reading slump, this book really helped me lift my spirits. I consider it to be a difficult task to get the reader to care about characters when the book is rather short. Beau did wonderfully in getting me hooked on this sweet, short story.
I really enjoyed this read! :)

[Treessing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it 🥺

Trans mc??? Magic school??? The gentle yearning between two people who are skirting around each other??? I am both in love with the style of prose and craftsmanship of this novel, and I adore the characters who were a most beautiful song to my ears. I’m a follower of this author on Twitter and have been excited for their poly prince guards novel and wanted a taste of what they had… and my expectations were blown out of the water! Amazing! And very spicy 😳

[Sib · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cute and heart-warming read 😭💕 I only regret that the time skips took some of the gradual pace of the plot away, but their chemistry still felt so natural and lovely. Would have definitely loved to read some more about them. 💜

[Lara Corona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of stuff that was really up my alley (non-problematic mentor/mentee, trans boy being horny, low-key magical setting) if a bit too simple in the premise and execution, in that I wanted a higher wordcount. It made me want to read more of the author.

[Ash’s reading corner ✨🌈 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Beau for this short-story! I usually hate them because I don’t feel like I get to know the characters but I truly enjoyed this one. I think your writing is amazing and it shows.

[A.E. Bross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really cute, short, fantasy story that had romance, pining and steam. It really is a great little gem of a tale, and I definitely recommend it to those who love this kind of thing.

[pajonk]

to doslownie bylo o niczym

[liya · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Finneas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written I juts don’t like novellas , I need something to dig my teeth in to . Like I read the whole thing in a one hour drive to Asda . But decent .

[Cycy MJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personally, I loved it. It was a quick read I enjoyed in short time. Just perfect for me, and the relationship between the main characters was really sweet <3

[fulano]

love to see trans men winning

[Mela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish it had a little more academics going on and a bigger age gap (my personal taste), but it was a fun little story with a favourite dynamic.

[kait ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt a major disconnect with the characters for a few different reasons. I didn't really vibe with the age gap, I wanted more of the academic setting, and I wanted to feel like the characters had other things going on besides being in love. I did get a little confused at points about which character's pov we were in so I think that was honestly the biggest reason I spent a lot of this short story confused. I did enjoy the writing however so I am excited to read more of the author's work. I do think that in a longer book, this author will give me an incredible reading experience. This author has so many stories you are bound to love so please go check out the author and find a story that you're interested in!