BOOKSTAGRAM TOUR: Princeweaver - Elian J Morgan

Their marriage is to save a warring kingdom. But in the process, it might destroy them both

Born with forbidden, nature-infused magic in an occupied land, anxious apothecary Meilyr survives by keeping his head down. Until he ends up engaged to invading prince Osian in order to save his brother's life. Now, he is in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse to hide his true self.

When nobles in Osian's court are gruesomely murdered by the same magic that flows through his veins, Meilyr realises someone is seeking revenge for his homeland. As suspicion towards him grows, he and the prince work together to uncover the killer or risk losing the crown - or their lives.

Between court politics, unwieldy magic and a murderer on the loose, Meilyr must keep his wits about him. Especially as his feelings for Osian grow deeper with every passing day...

Combines the court intrigue and slow-burn yearning of A Taste of Gold and Iron with the folkloric grounding and lore that readers of Naomi Novik and Stephanie Garber will enjoy.

 

What did I think?

I can't start my review of Princeweaver by Elian J Morgan without mentioning the absolutely stunning cover on the beautiful hardback edition.  It has the feel of a fairy tale for adults and there are certainly some magical elements in the book to back that up.

I adored Meilyr whose story is very intriguing and links to the fox on the front cover.  Meilyr is an apothecary after being trained in the herbal arts by his adopted family.  There's a lot of conflict in the kingdom and Meilyr is just trying to keep his brother out of trouble when he finds himself crossing paths with Prince Osian.  Prince Osian saves Meilyr from prison by coming up with a plan to marry him.  

There's much more to this story than meets the eye and, as the fake marriage progresses, it is clear that Meilyr and Osian have deep feelings for each other.  There's a lot of treachery in the palace too as the siblings all covet the crown and I was on the edge of my seat with Meilyr caught in the crossfire.

I loved the excerpts from letters and documents at the start of each chapter that added authenticity to the story.  Anyone familiar with Welsh folklore (unfortunately, I'm not) will pick up some references to myth and legend.  

Princeweaver is a vivid and imaginative story with a lot of intrigue, a good helping of romance and a sprinkling of magic.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait for the sequel, Princebreaker.

I received a gifted hardback for the Love Books Tours bookstagram tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

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BLOG TOUR: Welcome to Dorley Hall (The Sisters of Dorley Book One) - Alyson Greaves

Mark Vogel is like the older brother Stefan Riley never had, until one day he disappears, and Stefan has to adapt to life without him. But, one year later, when he runs into a girl who looks near-identical to Mark, Stefan becomes obsessed. He discovers that other boys have disappeared, too, dozens over the years, most of them students of the Royal College of Saint Almsworth, many of them troubled or unruly before their disappearance.

What is happening to these boys? Who are the handful of women on campus who bear a striking resemblance to some of those who went missing? And what is the connection to the mysterious Dorley Hall?

Stefan works hard to get into the Royal College for one reason and one reason only: to find out exactly what happened to the women who live at Dorley Hall, and to get it to happen to him, too.

A closeted trans girl attempts to infiltrate a secret underground forced feminisation programme.

Content note: this story engages with some reasonably dark topics, including but not limited to torture, manipulation, dysphoria, nonconsensual surgery, and kidnapping. While it isn't intended to be a dark or dystopian story, the perspective characters are carrying a lot of baggage, and the exploration of the premise might be triggering for trans readers.

 

What did I think?

I just don't know where to begin in my review of the groundbreaking trans novel Welcome to Dorley Hall; I've simply read nothing like it before.  It does have a dystopian feel but it also feels very current and realistic and even though I've turned the final page, the characters are still fluttering around in my head.

I absolutely loved the main character of Stefan; he was devastated when his friend Mark disappeared and his spidey sense went on high alert when he bumped into a girl in the supermarket who reminded him of Mark.  Determined to find out what happened to Mark, Stefan follows in Mark's footsteps to college and uncovers a secret group who are turning men into women.

Stefan finally lets down his guard and looks deep inside himself and sees an opportunity to become the woman he has always wanted to be.  The only problem is, the men in the programme have all wronged women and Stefan is just too nice to do anything like that, so once he gets in, he has to put on an act to stay in.

Well, consider my thoughts well and truly provoked!  I thought it was rather ingenious to punish men by turning them into women but it also made me realise that it's the women who are trapped in men's bodies who are being punished every single day.  I really started to care what happened to Stefan and I was on the edge of my seat every time I thought he was going to be caught out.

Welcome to Dorley Hall is a very intriguing, provocative and powerful novel.  I'm really pleased that I have read it as it gave me a glimpse into the mind of a trans girl and I would be interested to see how Stefan's story progresses.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

About the author:

Alyson lives in a very small flat in a very large city, and writes fiction with trans themes and characters. Her Twitter is twitter.com/badambulist

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