blub

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Severin and Ildar task themselves with going to Oscia to buy and free a slave (since they don't have the means to free more). Havyn is the slave they free and they find out he has an affinity for magic so Ildar takes him for an apprentice. Severin is very attracted to Havyn as is Havyn to Severin but find they can't act on it because of beliefs concerning magic and the duty Severin has to the crown.

I found I didn't enjoy reading about Severin being so determined to get Havyn to enter into a relationship with him it felt like he was an abusive man what with him taking out his pain (moment of grieving) on Havyn when he wouldn't attempt to heal his dead father. I didn't like any of the characters really and didn't find the story character driven enough. Through the book I never formed an attachment to the characters and no real backstory is given about them. We get the bare minimum on them. The plot itself wasn't very developed and at certain points I was just wondering what significant message the author was trying to get across (whats the moral of the story).

Close to the end everything became too convenient. People became sick or died and their attitudes changed. It also became too sappy. It felt rushed and like the author just went with simple over a more elaborated thought out tale. For me it felt a bit choppy. It was a summation of a tale instead of actual telling of accounts as they happened....it just was not for me.