Magic is risen.
When magic returned to the world, it could have saved humanity, but greed and thirst for power caused mankind's downfall instead. Now once-human monsters called Howls prowl abandoned streets, their hunger guided by corrupt necromancers and the all-powerful Kin. Only Hunters have the power to fight back in the unending war, using the same magic that ended civilization in the first place.
But they are losing.
Tenn is a Hunter, resigned to fight even though hope is nearly lost. When he is singled out by a seductive Kin named Tomás and the enigmatic Hunter Jarrett, Tenn realizes he's become a pawn in a bigger game. One that could turn the tides of war. But if his mutinous magic and wayward heart get in the way, his power might not be used in favor of mankind.
If Tenn fails to play his part, it could cost him his friends, his life…and the entire world.
Review:
Hey! I’m alive!
Yeah I know I ignore this blog quite often but now I’m here to drop what I’ve read in the meantime. It’s not much I’m afraid.
Ok so Runebinder. Actually, this was one of the books I put on my lift way before I really got into reading LGBT stuff. I looked like my usual YA fantasy book would look but I didn’t get to reading it.
I finally did tho and it’s the perfect mix of YA fantasy with an interesting plot and fascinating powers and LGBT action.
I actually don’t want to spoil too much because I went into this without knowing anything about it and just exploring this world on my own was awesome.
Also! This is the first part of a trilogy and I actually got all three books as paperbags at some point. They’re just sitting on my shelf looking all pretty right now but I’ll read the rest eventually and update you with a review on the whole trilogy.
So if you’re into dystopian fantasy and gay characters, I say give it a shot.
Fave Five: Gay YA Fantasy Series All series are listed by first book. Black Wings Beating by Alex London Cloaked in Shadow by Ben Alderson Timekeeper by Tara Sim Runebinder by Alex R. Kahler The Fever King by Victoria Lee
so i read this book called Runebinder today and, okay i confess, the only reason i wanted to read it was because i saw on goodreads that most of the principle characters were gay and it had a story that wasn’t centered around the coming out narrative. so i didn’t have very high expectations, but it didn’t quite meet my expectations still.
that said there was one character i loved and that was tomas. he was an incubus after the main character, tenn, and he was so compelling and mad and intriguing. and there was this chapter near the end where it was like some dream of tenn’s where they were ruling the world together or something and i like really wanted that to be how the story really ended.
also, too, there was this one part in it that really reminded me of this quote i saw on tumblr a while ago that was like “i am coming for all the monsters who ever touched him...they turned him into a nightmare so i will be theirs” and i totally thought that tenn was going to go all hardcore avenger on the antagonist who killed the guy he loved-and SPOILER he sorta did but not in the way i was hoping.
the book was good but it moved too fast and didn’t really follow through on some of its set ups. i gave it 4.5/5 stars on the chapters website. i kinda wanna redux it and make it go the way i want.
I figured it would be best if I did reviews by month, simply because I think it’ll be easier for me to write shorter reviews rather than the several paragraph essays I’ve been trying to write. Of course, all of the books I’ve read over the month will be included here. Let me know if you want me to read anything in particular! Also, I’ll include all relevant links (Amazon pages embedded in the book title, tumblrs following the author’s name if I know of them) with every book review!
Autoboyography by Christina Lauren: I usually dislike mlm novels written by women, but this is one of the exceptions. I adored the story, the chemistry between the leads, and how well emotions are conveyed. Honestly it’s a bit of an emotional roller coaster, and it holds your heart and you aren’t sure until the last page if it’ll crush you or warm you. If the synopsis is your speed, I recommend it!
Republic’s Chosen by Rori I (@aftertheworldends): This was a very interesting military sci-fi, and I adored the characters, they all had distinct personalities, and the story arcs were compelling. I highly recommend this book, so much so I gave it to a friend of mine to read immediately after I finished it.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz: I really liked this book, powering through the entire thing in a day. Ari’s perspective is interesting, and I really do like how real the relationship he and Dante have. My only hang up was the amount of drug and alcohol use in it, which is just a personal preference. Definitely give it a read!
Runebinder by Alex R. Kahler: Hooooooooooooooooh my god, this was an emotional roller coaster and it was so good! (Real quick, special call out, I mean shout out, to @squirrel-princess for torturing, I mean blessing me with this book recommendation!) It’s a post apocalyptic YA Fantasy with magic, demons, and a queer protagonist, which you know I’m all for! The sequel comes out in November, and I honestly am so excited to get it!
