Reviewed: April 21st, 2023
Released: February 25th, 2021
Genre: Gaslamp MM Fantasy
His second chance at life will be the bloody death of him.
Silas Mercer is a dead man. Or at least…he was.
Upon waking in his grave, he finds himself without a single memory of the life he once lived. Silas is bewildered and lost, and apparently, now in the employ of the mysterious Order of the Golden Dawn. A secretive organisation who specialise in all things supernatural.
To begin with, their plans for him seem to involve nothing more than making a spectacle of himself in front of London society, with his terrible dancing skills and inept attempts to host the occasional séance.
But Silas’s odd new life takes a startling turn when the Order partners him with the scandalous rake, Tobias Astaroth. A quick-tempered, dangerously beautiful man who harbours some hellish secrets.
Their unlikely, and infuriating, partnership soon faces its first terrifying challenge.
A monster straight out of a nightmare is haunting the woods of Leicester, and the Order want Silas and Tobias to end its rampage.
But nothing in this world is as it seems. Not the Order. Not Silas himself, and certainly not the incorrigible and utterly beguiling Mr Astaroth.
For Silas, the perils that lie ahead are many.
But few are as dangerous as the bewitching man at his side.
Helen’s thoughts: 4/5
This is a most unusual and original tale, written in a style reminiscent of days gone past and encourages you to read slower to absorb the meaning behind every sentence. The ambiance of a gas lamp inspired world is beautifully developed and delicately introduced amongst the most formal of phrases.
Silas is brought back from the dead. We don’t know why he was chosen, and he is left pretty much in the dark about everything. Left to stumble from one situation to the next, he slowly learns his place within the hidden world of the supernatural.
Tobias or Pitch is a rake of the first order and only interested in cake and sex. The fact that he is Silas’s protector is quite amusing, considering Silas is quite reserved (or more probably, rightfully confused!). But there is more to Tobias than meets the eye and this tortured soul is likely to surprise us over time.
This is not a full on action adventure, it is deceptive in that it slowly evolves and yet at the same time Silas experiences a range of most usual situations. Silas, his new life and his purpose in the world is firmly set by the end of the book. I think this book may be an acquired taste, though the combination of the unique phrasing and the richly developed characters always posing question keeps you hooked, and you’ll finish before you realise it. Intrigued enough to read the next book.
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If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
Helen Garraway 