#fae romance

Cover illustration for another book by Senna Byrd! 

“Lord of the Night Realm - Book I: Sojourn”

Thanks to Shu for this heartwarming reviewofOak King Holly King!

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This was just the kind of book I was looking for! The couple is adorable, and while they get together relatively quickly, it gives the book plenty of time to explore them once they’re in their relationship and how much they both trust and respect each other. One conflict comes up later in the book and the two of them begin a classic fight but where one starts talking about a dramatic sacrifice, the other isn’t letting them get away with it and they actually start working together before the chapter is up - and no one goes against the other’s back or some other stupid forced plotline! They have communication and they respect the other’s culture throughout their whole relationship as they learn more and more about each other’s lives.

Because the book is set in the mid 1800s, it creates a story introducing both England and the fey world as foreign to the reader so that you can explore both worlds from each character’s standpoint. Even though Shrike has been to the human world before, he hasn’t actually been there for a few centuries, so Victorian England is completely new to him as well. It does a good job of describing the harsh life of a gay character set in the time period while not beating you over the head with it, making you feel hope for Wren rather than despair that nothing’s going to be able to instantly change the world. They even added in some trans rep in a plot about how Victorian women could be treated as well.

[…] Overall an enchanting and relaxing love story wrapped up in a pretty straightforward plot that was executed brilliantly with tons of depth and plenty of time to expand upon the characters, letting them walk through the story on their own rather than having the plot drag them head-first into one stressful plot after the other. And isn’t that just the whole point of the tale - being given a destiny you reject and choosing to walk your own path around it?

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

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Thanks to sweets for this short’n’sweet reviewofOak King Holly King!

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Fantastic. An especially great read if you are a man that lies with men

I loved this book. I was very invested in the world and characters the author created. It deserves far more praise and attention. Please give it a read!

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

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Thanks to woze @nymphelineforthis delightful reviewofOak King Holly King!

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** spoiler alert ** I love so many things about this author’s writing: their attention to historic detail, the way readers get to revel in characters’ desires and thought processes, their world-building. And all of those elements are here (ESPECIALLY the world-building)… but what I wasn’t expecting out of this book was the whole-hearted embrace of all the different stages of falling in love. This book doesn’t follow the stereotypical beats of a romance novel; the focus is not on the burn of yearning and misunderstanding, but of the triumph of “us against the world.” The lovers–and, by extension, we–are allowed to be happy, in so many different ways. There is struggle, there is hate–but always, always we fight together. And there are so many different reclamations of identity throughout this story that give true meaning and vindication to the struggles. I wish more novels took this approach.

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

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Thanks to TurtleMaster for this short’n’sweet reviewofOak King Holly King!

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Please read this book. I loved every single character. It made me smile, cry and rejoice. Best book I’ve read all year.

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

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Thanks to Caitlin for this short’n’sweet reviewofOak King Holly King!

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I loved every word. A true fairy tale, the sweetest romance woven through a story that spans two worlds.

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

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Thanks to SNik for this heartwarming reviewofOak King Holly King!

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Paranormal fantasy adventure. Wren works as a clerk in Victorian London when he is approached for help by the Butcher of Blackthorn and is drawn into the fae realm to aid Butcher in surviving his duty as the Oak King. Beautifully descriptive world immersion as Wren travels back and forth from London to the fae realm, spending time with Butcher, both men learning about each other’s lives and introducing Wren to a whole world of people and places he only ever imagined from stories. I especially appreciated Wren’s easy ability to accept all the new experiences with the fae, and especially Butcher’s steady affection and attraction to Wren. A love story with adventure and surprises, and a large and interesting secondary cast of characters. Honestly, I could have kept reading more and more about the fae realm and the constancy, commitment and caring between Butcher and Wren. 4.25.

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

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Thanks to arthur for this delightful reviewofOak King Holly King!

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hey! suprisingly good! i havent read a huge amount of fae romances bc i know they can sometimes be a bit. iffy. but this was fun.

i liked the world building of the fae relm and i loved Shrike so much. he is such an unintentionally funny character, really well written and just out of the ordinary enough that mortal people think hes like a bit weird, but not so much hes like a complete freak. helped by the fact he is so solemn and serious. i love him.

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

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Thanks to Linda for this short’n’sweet reviewofOak King Holly King!

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Well done indeed , a most enjoyable read.
Thank you very much, I throughly enjoyed this book. More Please.
Linda

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

Amazon•Apple Books•Barnes & Noble•Bookshop.org•Kobo•Overdrive•Smashwords

Thanks to Taran for this heartwarming reviewofOak King Holly King!

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What a remarkable book. I devoured it in the span of 3 days, only interrupted by having to work.

All I have ever wanted was queer fantasy. This book was so fun to read. I enjoyed that it took itself serious and it was equally enjoyable to read. The authors writing style is very captivating.

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

Amazon•Apple Books•Barnes & Noble•Bookshop.org•Kobo•Overdrive•Smashwords

Thanks to Mr Toad for this thoughtful reviewofOak King Holly King!

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Though at times the story seemed to go on longer than expected with its endless daily commutes, it was worth the few sections that required patience. The world building was fascinating. The mysteries within the year long story were compelling and the journey to solve each of them were engaging. The ending had a solid payoff. In the grand scheme of things it was a worthwhile read that was both intriguing and imaginative.

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

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Sunday snippet from my gay Victorian fae romance, Oak King Holly King!

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Yet the second door proved not so unlocked as the first. Wren swore a blistering oath. He began patting down his coat, waistcoat, and trousers alike. These efforts produced a button-hook, but this didn’t satisfy him.

“Have you anything like a hairpin?” he asked Shrike. “Something long and thin, like a needle or—”

Shrike dipped his hand into his cloak pocket and produced a silver awl.

Wren raised an eyebrow. “That’ll do.”

Shrike dropped the awl into Wren’s outstretched palm. Wren crouched before the lock.

“I required the contents of my father’s wine-cellar to survive the holidays at home during my university years,” Wren explained as he probed the mechanism with button-hook and awl. “Neither he nor his butler felt inclined to furnish me with the key.”

Shrike, to whom it had not occurred to demand an explanation for such fortuitous skill in night-work, cocked his head as he watched Wren’s progress against the lock.

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

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Thanks to Melissa for this thoughtful reviewofOak King Holly King!

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Well, color me obsessed. This book was AMAZING. The detail, the separate but related worlds, the characters, the mythology. UGH! I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I can honestly tell you that I will absolutely buy anything by this author from now until forever just based on this one book. I adore Wren and Shrike. They are utter perfection. When the twist hit, I literally bolted upright in bed and shrieked “I KNEW IT!” and then grinned like a fool for a good half hour. Just.. everything about this book was so good. So. Good. PLEASE go buy a copy and read it. I’m begging you.

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

Amazon•Apple Books•Barnes & Noble•Bookshop.org•Kobo•Overdrive•Smashwords

Sunday Snippet from my gay Victorian fae romance, Oak King Holly King!

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Two combatants remained on their feet, their sword hilts locked together in a contest of brute strength, their snarling faces inches apart.

Shrike, who had slain several of the corpses on the field, stared unblinking into the mercurial eyes of his opponent. These eyes belonged to a knight whom the court considered quite beautiful, and it was said those eyes altered their colour with his moods. To Shrike, they had appeared gleaming green when the battle commenced. Now they’d faded to an icy blue and paled with every passing second. The knight’s lips had taken on a blue tinge as well, twisted in a lupine snarl to reveal doubled canines as sharp as his longsword. The blood-slicked blade crossed against Shrike’s own to form a shining scarlet X between their close-pressed chests. The well-honed edges—Shrike’s with more nicks and notches—scraped against the ringed mail beneath the knight’s tabard and scored the leather armour over Shrike’s tunic.

“Yield!” the knight hissed between clenched teeth.

Some scant moments before, an errant shield-bash had split Shrike’s lip open. Shrike had cut down the shield’s wielder, who now lay groaning into the dirt a stone’s throw away. Still, Shrike’s lip bled. He licked the blood from his chin now and darted his head forward between the crossed blades to crush the knight’s mouth beneath his kiss.

The knight jerked his head back—or attempted to, at least, before Shrike bit his tongue.

And in that instant of shock and outrage, Shrike sank his dagger into the hollow beneath the knight’s flailing left arm.

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

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Thanks to Katty for this delightful reviewofOak King Holly King!

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[…] Shrike nunca pensó que tras ganar la competencia en la Corte de la rueda de plata sería nombrado Oak King, decretando así una sentencia de muerte, pero no permitirá eso. Valiéndose de un ritual de rastreo va a parar al mundo de los mortales y da con un trabajador de nombre Wren, no sabe de qué manera lo va a ayudar, pero ciertamente confía en él para que le otorgue la capacidad de derrotar a todos los Holly Kings que se interpongan en su camino. Wren sabe que todo lo que le dijo ese sujeto de aspecto extraño fue broma, tal vez sea un actor contratado por sus antiguos amigos, pero no puede ser verdad que un hada haya viajado al mundo de los mortales solo por él. Además, cómo puede él ayudarlo a derrotar a todos los Holly Kings sin alterar el cambio de estaciones, y por si fuera poco, cómo puede llegar y con su simple aspecto despertar en él todas las emociones que le son prohibidas. A medida que los dos hombres pasan tiempo juntos, comparten anécdotas de sus respectivos mundos, enfrentan peligros y buscan la solución a su problema principal. Va creciendo en ellos un lazo muy fuerte y Wren por fin parece ver que tiene esperanza de encontrar un amor que no lo condene a la horca.

La historia se ambienta tanto en el vasto mundo de las hadas y en el Londres de 1844, en el cual las leyes en contra de las personas lgbti+ son severas que llevan incluso a la muerte, se los considera una escoria y dejan mal a su apellido, por lo mismo Wren a vivido todo sus años con temor y ocultando sus fantasías, sentimientos y su cuaderno en donde hay dibujos y escritos que lo pueden condenar. Prácticamente, está solo en el mundo y vive y trabaja con el Sr. Grigsby, un empleador afable, generoso y que está a cargo de la herencia de dos personas que se van a volver importantes en el transcurso de la novela. Sr. Grigsby fue un personaje que adore, tenía una personalidad dulce, pero a la vez era severo y directo cuando tenía que serlo. Algo que me gustó mucho fue la evolución de Wren, un personaje que se ve obligado a reprimir y a temer todo lo que siente, pero que poco a poco se va soltando gracias a Shrike y dándose la oportunidad de vivir plenamente. Shrike, el Butcher de Blackthorn, así lo conocen todos, y la historia tras ese apodo es fuerte. Siempre ha vivido solo, a ratos formando parte de la cacería salvaje y en otros ratos haciendo sus máscaras y llevando a cabo misiones. En su mundo todo es permitido, la relación entre un hombre y otro es lo más normal y me gustó que siempre le daba su tiempo a Wren para adaptarse, cuando estaba en el mundo mortal lo que más quería era abrazar a su Wren o cogerle de la mano, pero sabía que eso no era posible y lo respetaba.

Su relación, si bien es cierto, empieza rápido, la profundidad y evolución que toma la hace realista. Desde que se conocen, hasta la batalla final están llenos de momentos muy tiernos, de acercamiento, de unión, de autodescubrimiento, de aventura y a cada instante se van arriesgando y confiando en el otro. Los pequeños detalles, sus personalidades, la manera en que conectan, como se miran y quieren con adoración y respeto. Hay momentos como cuando Wren le está quitando el terciopelo de sus astas que están llenas de sangre seca y no se aparta ni nada, momentos en los que aquellas cosas pequeñas son atesoradas por el otro en lo más hondo.

El mundo feérico es asombroso y hermoso, no se nos habla a totalidad de él y se centra en los aspectos principales como conocer cuál es el acceso a ese mundo, cómo son ciertas cortes, ciertos seres, algunas tradiciones, cómo se transportan y eso me gustó porque al inicio se hace uso de un alce enorme que pasa desapercibido en las calles de Londres, las fiestas, los solsticios, algo de historia, los mercados, todo fue genial y cae a su debido momento. Si bien la trama plantea ya un conflicto, a medida que avanzamos en la novela nos vamos metiendo en la vida de ambos, en pequeños conflictos secundarios y que también llenan de intriga y aportan a la evolución de los personajes. Cada uno de esos pequeños conflictos serán toda una aventura, todo un arriesgo que lo disfruté. La historia se toma su tiempo, hay un lapso entre cierta acción y otra, así que la novela hay que tomársela con calma y a medida que uno va leyendo se encuentra cada vez más enamorado de todo. […]

Oak King Holly King fue todo un descubrimiento, la idea, el desarrollo, el conflicto, los personajes, el ritmo, todo fue de mi agrado y nunca esperé encontrarme una relación tan real, natural, tierna y presenciar un montón de problemas y aventuras. Ayuda la época en la que se ambienta y la sociedad porque al encontrarnos con personas del colectivo y ante aquella situación hace que todo se vuelva creíble.

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

Amazon•Apple Books•Barnes & Noble•Bookshop.org•Kobo•Overdrive•Smashwords

Sunday Snippet from my gay Victorian fae romance, Oak King Holly King!

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The warm rough palm laid against his own as if, like pages from a book, they were meant to nestle together for centuries, with their interlaced fingers as binding. Wren had lost count of how oft he touched Shrike whilst in the fae realms. Every instance gave him the same thrill settling into comfort, like a wave crashing over the shore followed by the gentle lapping of the tide. How happily Wren could sink beneath that sea and sleep in bliss.

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

Amazon•Apple Books•Barnes & Noble•Bookshop.org•Kobo•Overdrive•Smashwords

Thanks to C. E. Janecek for this lovely reviewofOak King Holly King!

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OAK KING HOLLY KING by Sebastian Nothwell is a fantasy romance novel that I expected to lean more heavily on romance, but that pleasantly surprised me by having more worldbuilding and fantasy than I’d signed up for! All while sizzling along with the slowburn between a London clerk and a sellsword fae.

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Oak King Holly King is a gay Victorian fae romance, available now wherever fine books are found!

Amazon•Apple Books•Barnes & Noble•Bookshop.org•Kobo•Overdrive•Smashwords