Title: Emerald Earth
Series: The Witch Brothers Saga: Book One
Author: Adam J. Ridley
Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited
Length: 200 Pages
Category: Fantasy Romance
Rating: 3.5 Stars
At a Glance: There are no surprises or unexpected turns to this story, which makes it a sweet, low-drama read, predictable but still interesting for the inclusion of the local lore. My curiosity is mostly piqued by how the author will carry on with the premise of the series, the breaking of the curse for Crea’s brothers, in ways that don’t feel like a recycling of his and Eli’s story.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Blurb: Cursed to never find love, Crea is shocked when he finds the perfect man. Choosing to fight the curse could cost him everything, including his life.
After his father cursed him, Crea has faced decades of dead end relationships. Just as he’s almost given up hope he finds a handsome stranger broken on the side of a desolate road. Once he drops the stranger off at the hospital, he figures all is done. Nothing could be further from the truth. The stranger becomes so much more as he pursues Crea, threatening the curse. Crea learns quickly falling in love is easy, but surviving a nasty cantation that’s determined to destroy you, isn’t as much.
Eli isn’t what you’d call a social person. His love for isolation in his beloved forest fully defines him. After breaking his leg in a mishap, Eli’s life is turned upside down as his life is filled with things he didn’t even dream of having before.
Unfortunately, those dreams turn to nightmares as he and Crea, the man he’s become bonded to, battle a curse that should’ve never been cast.
Crea and Eli’s bonding must be strong enough to overcome the curse, or they could both be lost, forever.
Review: Emerald Earth is Adam J. Ridley’s debut Fantasy Romance, though it’s not his first novel. He authors Contemporary Romance as Blake Allwood, so if you’re familiar with his work and are already a fan, you might want to check this one out.
Emerald Earth is book one in the Witch Brothers Saga and my first experience with the author. I was drawn to his storytelling voice and was intrigued by his introduction of three sons cursed never to find love by their hateful and selfish father, which gave the story a fairy tale-like start, though it’s rooted in pagan spiritualism and elemental magic rather than the mischief and machinations of the Fae. The brothers—Lance, Creagan, and Kyle Franklyn—are gay (or, in Kyle’s case, bi), which runs in their family, but it’s their confessions that provoke their father’s ire. It is Crea’s journey to break his curse that begins the series.
Fate, destiny, chance, synchronicity, divine intervention—whatever metaphysical whim chooses to intercede at the moment—leaves famous artist and noted recluse Eli Bane gravely injured and stranded on a barren stretch of road, where Crea happens to be driving by. They aren’t together from that moment on, but there is something beyond the tangible world set into motion after their meeting that pushes and pulls Eli and Crae until, ultimately, they are driven to find a way to break the spell, or otherwise lose what is growing between them. The robust cast of supporting characters enrich and enliven the story, including a little help from beyond the veil, and I enjoyed all the “helpers” who were integral to break the curse.
I liked the world-building in the sense that the author uses the natural setting—the forest, the history of the area, the union of past and present, and the ritualistic traditions of the culture and its people—to untangle the relationship between Crea and Eli, then put it back together again. There are no surprises or unexpected turns to the story, which makes it a sweet, low-drama read, predictable but still interesting for the inclusion of the local lore. My curiosity is mostly piqued by how the author will carry on with the premise of the series, the breaking of the curse for Lance and Kyle, in ways that don’t feel like a recycling of Crea and Eli’s story. They both, of course, will find love, but will they do it in a way that doesn’t feel like reading the same story three times? I can say I’m interested enough to read their books and find out.
You can buy Emerald Earth here:
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