Men of Magic and Myth Anthology
MM Fantasy, Anthology, Gay Romance,
DragonRhealm Press
June 7, 2023
Kindle
300
Amazon
Ready to be enchanted by these dashing men?
Magic and passion collide as princes, noble knights, charming wizards, elusive shape-shifters and brooding necromancers fight for what’s theirs in the Limited Edition Men of Magic and Myth Boxset.
In this mesmerizing collection of MM fantasy short stories by bestselling romance authors, dauntless men undertake daring adventures to find their true loves. But fate will throw every possible obstacle in their way. More than their own lives are at stake if they fail their quests.
This limited-time collection captures a breathtaking array of complex characters with their own battles to fight and loves to win—each one ready to set your hearts swooning in bite-sized stories.
The Men of Magic and Myth are setting out to conquer love.
Will you rise to the challenge with them?
Reviewed by Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
This is a limited-edition MM Fantasy, a collection of MM fantasy short stories by bestselling authors. I will give each story a rating that may encourage readers to seek out their other stories.
Sentinel:MM Second Chance Romance: A.L. Morrow – 5*****Stars
This was a story I would have loved to be full length since it held my interest from the first page to the last. Lynx is a Watcher angel living in Las Vegas, aka Sin City. He is attending an auction to purchase a storage unit once owned by Nash now dead and the previous Chancellor. Every time Lynx puts in a bid someone raises it and Lynx is not going to lose. Lynx refers to his nemesis as #117 but Lynx makes a high bid that guarantees him the win.
When Lynx enters the unit what he finds is beyond his imagination, nothing of value, no important documents, no weapons or money just a huge cage holding an Emissary angel in deplorable condition, emaciated, beaten and barely able to stand. His name is Samson, and he has been imprisoned for what could be decades. While helping Samson the mystery bidder from the auction appears and it is Lynx’s past lover, partner and betrayer another Watcher, Adrian.
Celestials are being kidnapped as part of a trafficking ring and Samson was one of them. Now Adrian and Lynx agree to work together to find the leader of the ring, rescue the kidnapped celestials and bring those responsible to justice. There is a lot more to this story and it is very exciting, has surprises and secrets and sex. What happens to Lynx and Adrian is not for me to say.
The Hunted Prince: Sierra Knoxly – 5*****Stars
The King of Gretolia is dying so one of his youngest sons Jasper knows that blood will flow as soon as he dies since he has not named an heir. Jasper has fifteen brothers. Three like him are mages but unlike him they are vicious and hungry for power. Jasper is willing to give up his birthright and his country rather than be involved with the war that is coming. Unfortunately, while he waits for the arrival of his mother, he is informed that one of his brothers has killed her changing Jasper’s mind about leaving and focusing on avenging his mother’s death.
Jasper heads for his great-uncles home where his mother had planned for an army and horses anticipating what would happen when the king died. Now with an army behind him things are looking up but the need to move the troops to the forest is held up because of a demon. Fifteen brothers out for blood and now a demon. This story is filled with betrayal, lies, secrets and sex.
Familiar Troubles: A Freedom Series Novella: Helen Garraway – 5*****Stars
Aryhan is an Essence sent to change the path of history. He is a wolf shifter and has found his Vessel, Sir Tristan of Ekusia. Aryhan must bond with Tristan, a bond that is for life and one Tristan must agree to.
When Aryhan comes upon Tristan he is being attacked by a mountain lion and in his wolf form Aryhan saves Tristan and chases the cat. Tristan’s leg is seriously injured and Aryhan treats him in human form. Tristan can’t communicate with him in wolf form if they are not bonded so Tristan in pain sees a wolf and then a naked man and acknowledging that the two are the same being doesn’t compute right away.
Together the two of them go into a town for supplies and there they see a little girl being chased by church soldiers. The girl is a Belanian, people living underground in caverns and a subject of hate and prejudice. This was a story of prejudice against a people who do no wrong and a little girl who came up top out of curiosity.
Plight of an Imp: Adam J. Ridley – 5*****Stars
Damien’s mother died at childbirth, and he never knew who his father was. He was raised by his grandmother and aunt and was well loved but when they both died, he was totally alone. Reading part of his mother’s diary she mentioned Promotion, Colorado and he felt drawn to it. When he arrived, he discovered that Promotion was not your usual town the residents were witches, angels and demons and everything around him seemed magical.
When he first got off the Greyhound bus an old man warned him to leave, eating at the café he was hit with a spell that could have killed him if not for the help of the witches and to top it all off he discovered that he is an imp, half-human, half-demon. Damien knew nothing of his heritage and now he was assigned two mentors to teach him what he needed to know to survive.
His life was turned upside down till he met Orion, a new angel. As a new imp he and Orion were Encouraged to be friends but they would soon learn that their feelings went much deeper than friendship. Orion’s human life was lived in the Victorian age so being gay and having sex with another man was punishable by death or jail. He, like Damien, has a lot to learn about their new realities, new love and an evil that threatens everything.
Just Another Day at the Morgue: A Mystical Markings Novella BL Maxwell – 5*****Stars
Bran Tanda is a coroner, a very unlikely career for a man who sees spirits. Bran does his best to ignore the spirits that keep coming to him and he tries very hard to keep his assistant Jordan from discovering his secret. The only spirit that Bran accepts is his childhood dog Buddy who protects him when a spirit could be dangerous. Being around spirits is not unusual for Bran since his mother was a necromancer.
Jordan Amid knows all about Bran since he is an empath and feels the pain and sorrow of all the spirits that come into the morgue. Another man who has taken a career that is a constant source of pain and sadness. Both men keep their abilities a secret until a corpse of a man in an accident is wheeled in. The man, Justice recognizes Bran’s ability immediately and begs for help and when he enters Jordan’s body there are no more secrets in the morgue.
There is so much more to this story and Bran’s past is a huge part of it. Interesting and scary but a war is coming.
The Richmond Vampire: Liv Rancourt – 5*****Stars
Mark Moore is a vampire hunter and the black sheep of the family. His father calls him a coward unable to stake a vampire proved true when his great whatever grandfather was in his room and Mark did nothing except rescind his invitation to enter his home. Now Mark is a police officer, and his partner Halethia (Hal) is an elf. They have been assigned to find a serial killer in Richmond, a killer believed to be a vampire and since Mark is a Moore he is sent.
Mark does find a vampire, Adrian Bellafleure who offers to help find the guilty vampire. Once again Mark’s instinct is to stake Bellafleure but once again he doesn’t. Bellafleure is angry that another vampire has invaded his territory and wants him found. He believes this vampire is not working alone but has someone powerful working with him. He also believes it might be Mark’s great, whatever grandfather. His past has come back to haunt him because if he had killed his great whatever grandfather people would not be dead because of him.
While Hal, Mark and Bellafleure work together Mark works at convincing himself that when everything is done, he will stake Bellafleure and Bellafleure laughs knowing he won’t. Their interaction is at times humorous despite the seriousness of the situation. The hunter has the hots for a vampire, his family is right he is a loser, but he really doesn’t care.
Flames of Fate: A Dragon Shifter’s Enchantment – J.A. Culican 5 *****Stars
Two dragon clans were in a bitter feud for centuries until Kaelan, the prince of the Sapphire Fire Clan, and Alaric the youngest son of the Emerald Storm clan’s Chieftan met ready to battle but everything changed when they looked into each other’s face. When they landed and their flames merged, they knew they were the key to an ancient prophecy that foresaw a love that would save or destroy the world.
The two of them decided to investigate the prophecy and learn more about it and hopefully get answers that would explain everything. They both discover that there is treachery in their clans and betrayals that they never could have expected. This is a story of love and can love overcome darkness.
It is rare that an anthology, stories written by various authors and different genres, magic, shifters, vampires, etc. would all garner five stars but this happens to be one that did exactly that. Each story held my attention, secrets, lies, sex, and betrayals. Each author gives a blurb as an introduction to their story and some authors even reveal additional books that may follow up on some of the characters you may have an interest in pursuing future books further. I know I will !!