Umbriel

by Mel Keegan, Jayne DeMarco

Lonely, storm-swept, silent, the ruin of Saint Martin's Abbey has earned quite a reputation. Mention it to the locals, they'll give you an odd look and say, "You know it's haunted."


Rick Gray buys a cottage in a nearby village, looking for peace and quiet to find himself after years in the tough trade of the pro photographer. Sundown brings a storm -- perfect lighting conditions for the spectacular images that made him famous. Against advice, he heads to the abbey to work fast while the light holds...


When it fades, a fragment of the mystery of St. Martin's lies in his hands. The man calls himself John -- just John. For Rick, it's love a first sight.


The next twenty-four hours will be beyond anything he ever imagined. If he hadn’t seen it, felt it all, with his own senses, he would never have believed. But seeing ... feeling ... is believing. Co-written with Jayne DeMarco.

Genres: Paranormal, Contemporary, M M Romance

82 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 25, 2010

About the author

A self-confessed science fiction and fantasy devotee, Keegan is known for novels across a wide range of subjects, from the historical to the future action-adventure. Mel lives in South Australia with an eccentric family and a variety of pets.

Every Mel Keegan book is strong on gay or bisexual heroes (also, often, on gay villains), and some of these heroes are the most delicious in fiction: Jarrat and Stone from the NARC series, Bill Ryan and Jim Hale from The Deceivers, Neil Travers and Curtis Marin from Hellgate, and many more unforgettable characters. Because Mel's books feature the same sex relationships, the partnership at the core of each book is integral: this is the relationship driving the story, and it can be very powerful indeed.

Reviews

[Riayl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure there was a good idea in here but it got buried under long passages of boring interaction followed by two epically long story-telling episodes where we are told everything. The first goes on for pages to tell us about what is known about the history and haunting, the second telling us the truth of the history and the haunting. The end came rather abruptly and the book felt unfinished, with the HEA not firmly established in my mind. In general, insta-love does not bother me, especially if you are going to throw in the magic cure-all of "fated mates". But here we have insta-love after two nights (I think it was) with no reasoning behind it, not even the magic wand of mates. While we were told quite a bit about the characters I didn't feel like I knew them at all. Honestly I felt like I knew the most about the dog. Maybe this is one of those cases where a short story really needed more length to get the whole idea across. The fantastical back story, while fascinating, was too much for the length of the book in general and for what we were told of it. John hasn't just been cursed to become a gargoyle during the day, he came from another world, hundreds of years ago and became trapped here, then cursed. We find this out in a huge spew of him telling his whole life history all at once. I felt this sort of toppled the book. Just having him be cursed to being a gargoyle hundreds of years ago was enough for the length of this book. Adding in the separate world really begged for a longer book or possibly a series. I could see this working as the start of a series I suppose.

But it is entirely possible I am being too nitpicky.

[Mara Ismine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant tale of a haunted abbey - contradictory as that sounds. The main mystery was well developed and the resolution wasn't as obvious as it might have been. The Happy For Now ending held hope for an eventual Happy Ever After which could make another novel.

[J.P. Bowie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A different slant on the shape shifting genre, and beautifully written. A pleasure to read and highly recommended.

[Lady*M · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Lovely. It kept me glued to my screen from beginning to end. I hope one day Mr. Keegan and Ms. DeMarco will give us a sequel. If not, well... I'll just pick up another Keegan's book. :)

[Kiki · Rating 3 out of 5]

good, but ending is abrupt and feels very much like it needs a "to-be-continued" label ....

[Misty · Rating 4 out of 5]

** 4.5 Stars **