AJ Lancaster

I've spent the past few months listening to the Stariel series by A. J. Lancaster (interspersed with other books, of course), and while I've quite enjoyed them, I wasn't inspired to write about them until I read the fifth one, A RAKE OF HIS OWN. This book is kind of a spin-off / follow-up of the main series, and could theoretically be read as a stand-alone (or so the cover copy claims), but I think you'd lose a good deal of the context not only of the worldbuilding but also of the history of the two main characters by reading just this one.

The world of the Stariel books is gaslamp fantasy -- more or less like Downton Abbey, if the Downton estate were magical and connected to the realms of Faerie. The first four books of the series follow Hetta Valstar, a member of the family that has ruled Stariel estate since time beyond memory, and Wyn, who is secretly Hallowyn Tempestrin, a Fae prince who has been living at Stariel disguised as a human since he and Hetta were young. In A Rake of His Own, the focus shifts to their brothers: Marius Valstar, a botanist and scholar who just wants to be left alone in his greenhouse, and Rakken Tempestrin, Wyn's older brother (and therefore also Royal Fae). Rake is arrogant, obnoxious, and not above using some morally questionable means to achieve his own ends, but Marius is drawn to him anyways. And when Rake appears, naked and bleeding, through a magical portal into Marius's room on the same night that a fellow botanist is found murdered in Marius's greenhouse, they have to work together to find the killer in order to protect both Faerie and Mortal.

I haven't seen these books talked about nearly enough, y'all, but they're really, really good. The first four (Hetta and Wyn's story) are a good mix of fantasy worldbuilding and a (verrrrrrry) slow-burn romance, and since "romantasy" seems to be having a moment, they should definitely appeal. (Although maybe the slow-burn-ed-ness works against it; by the end of the first book all they've done is kiss, which makes it feel a little more YA than it is, given that Hetta's in her late 20s.) A Rake of His Own takes all the worldbuilding and character development done in the first four books and runs with it, though! I found Marius and Rake's relationship a lot more compelling than Hetta and Wyn's, although I can't quite articulate why. Maybe because Wyn's major hang-up is struggling to own his fae nature (he stays in human form most of the time for most of the first four books), while Rake emphatically does NOT share any of those hang-ups. Maybe because I liked getting to see through the cracks in Rake's arrogant persona to the squishy heart underneath (which he would be the first to deny having, of course). Maybe Marius's social anxiety (with good reason; he's got latent telepathy he hasn't mastered yet) is more relatable to me than Hetta's down-to-earth practicality? Who knows. But watching these two seeming opposites grow to understand and trust each other while their bickering turns to bantering and then to flirting was just so much fun, and with a solid emotional core. (And some good steamy bits, too. Not up to the level of ACOTAR in terms of explicit fairy smut, but still: not a slow burn on this one.)

One minor caveat: The mystery angle of the book (who killed the human in Marius's greenhouse?), while fine as a driver for the plot, wasn't fantastic as far as mysteries went. The solution made sense in the end, but it felt obscure enough and reliant on such minuscule "clues" that I'd be surprised if many readers pieced it together for themselves. But that really didn't bother me much overall, since I didn't pick up a Fae romance for the mystery, and the oomph of the emotional plot was more than enough to pick up any slack from the mystery side of things.… (más)

Not my normal reading fare. So far from my normal reading fare I don't really know what or how to describe this. Flagged as an LGBTQI+, Historical, Fantasy Romance novel with mystery elements, it is part of the Stariel series, although I'm told it's chonologically before the rest of the series, and can be read as a standalone.

Obviously for readers who love the combination of flags noted above, it was certainly readable, funny in places and quite engaging. Lots of puns, lots of romance although I did feel that the mystery wasn't an obvious focus. (Was primarily reading it from that viewpoint so it didn't rate as a standout on that basis for this reader).… (más)

This was a very..... pleasant read.... it didn't have to much going in ways of action or wow! moments... it was very obvious on the 'who done it' part for me.

But it was sweet, the characters were a little lacking, except for Wyn because he's the only one who seemed to have something about him that was interesting and the main was fairly well written too, she had her morals and principles and wasnt an 'everyone loves her and she's super powerful' character.

the pace was slow but easy listening. It is a book you would read if you are drained and all worn out from reading/ listening to to many action packed thrilling and magical stories in to short a time and your brain is to fried to push another one.

its a comfort book. one you sit with a cup of tea (i dont drink tea by the way) on a swinging garden bench in the sun and read at a leisurely pace. It wasn't awful, but it its also not something I would usually pick up either, it was included in audible subscription.

I probably would read the other one if it got added to the subscription, but I wouldn't go out my way to spend a credit on it.

I feel like there was a moral of the story that was being pushed, and it was to chose your own path for the future you want, even if people dont like it. :)

… (más)

This was a very..... pleasant read.... it didn't have to much going in ways of action or wow! moments... it was very obvious on the 'who done it' part for me.

But it was sweet, the characters were a little lacking, except for Wyn because he's the only one who seemed to have something about him that was interesting and the main was fairly well written too, she had her morals and principles and wasnt an 'everyone loves her and she's super powerful' character.

the pace was slow but easy listening. It is a book you would read if you are drained and all worn out from reading/ listening to to many action packed thrilling and magical stories in to short a time and your brain is to fried to push another one.

its a comfort book. one you sit with a cup of tea (i dont drink tea by the way) on a swinging garden bench in the sun and read at a leisurely pace. It wasn't awful, but it its also not something I would usually pick up either, it was included in audible subscription.

I probably would read the other one if it got added to the subscription, but I wouldn't go out my way to spend a credit on it.

I feel like there was a moral of the story that was being pushed, and it was to chose your own path for the future you want, even if people dont like it. :)… (más)