Review: Spectred Isle by K.J. Charles

Title: Spectred Isle (Green Men: Book One)

Author: K.J. Charles

Publisher: Self-Published

Length: 243 Pages

Category: Historical, Paranormal/Fantasy

At a Glance: Spectred Isle blends the paranormal with the historical and comes out with a winning story that fully entertains.

Reviewed By: Sammy

Blurb: Archaeologist Saul Lazenby has been all but unemployable since his disgrace during the War. Now he scrapes a living working for a rich eccentric who believes in magic. Saul knows it’s a lot of nonsense…except that he begins to find himself in increasingly strange and frightening situations. And at every turn he runs into the sardonic, mysterious Randolph Glyde.

Randolph is the last of an ancient line of arcanists, commanding deep secrets and extraordinary powers as he struggles to fulfil his family duties in a war-torn world. He knows there’s something odd going on with the haunted-looking man who keeps turning up in all the wrong places. The only question for Randolph is whether Saul is victim or villain.

Saul hasn’t trusted anyone in a long time. But as the supernatural threat grows, along with the desire between them, he’ll need to believe in evasive, enraging, devastatingly attractive Randolph. Because he may be the only man who can save Saul’s life—or his soul.

Review: Saul Lazenby was discharged from service, disgraced and branded a traitor. Now, near penniless, estranged from his family and trying simply to survive, he has become the assistant to a rather eccentric man who chases down strange clues that lead to dangerous places. When those wild goose chases suddenly turn up a mysterious gentleman who seems to be stalking Saul’s movements, he is both intrigued and alarmed. Randolph Glyde comes from a family who has served the Crown for centuries. His skill at deterring those macabre manifestations that come from behind the great veil that separates the natural from the supernatural is extraordinary. He has no time for a layman like Saul, who constantly seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and makes his job that much harder. But, there is something about the man that captures Randolph and holds him fascinated, and that makes Saul more dangerous than any otherworldly being yet.

I felt this novel started off slowly, because I struggled with all the paranormal jargon. Once I had wrapped my mind around exactly what was being discussed, however, the story just took off and was an incredible journey that kept me both fully engaged and on the edge of my seat. I admit there were some scary moments in this book where I honestly felt a sense of sheer panic over what might manifest itself next. I love it when descriptive prose can hold me captive and make me turn on just one more light and double check the shadowy places in the room. Not only did the pacing keep me at a fever pitch, but I felt the growing relationship between Saul and Randolph was just pitch perfect.

Saul had been so grievously injured by a former lover-turned-traitor, and his hesitancy to become involved with the mysterious Randolph Glyde was so understandable and well done. These two men literally danced around each other and their growing attraction for a long time. Theirs was a meeting of like minds in that both men had to learn to trust another, not only as partners in work but in affairs of the heart as well. To watch the stoic reserve gradually melt from Randolph’s demeanor was just priceless—and the reaction of his friends was a delight—but it was seeing Saul finally able to love again, to heal from a horrid past that left him scarred inside and out that was most beautiful. Theirs was such an honest union, one that left no doubt between the two of them that they were just where they wanted to be and with the person who made them feel complete.

Spectred Isle is the first book in a new series by author K.J. Charles that blends the paranormal with the historical and comes out with a winning story that fully entertains. I highly recommend it to you.

You can buy Spectred Isle here:
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