The Chronicles of John Zebedee Fantasy Romance, Futuristic Romance, Romantic Fantasy
Independent
March 7, 2023
Kindle
493
Amazon
Cursed with immortality, John Zebedee has resigned himself to spending the rest of eternity alone. Then he discovers an escaped captive in his barn -- the immortal heir to the Elven throne. Ethriel captures John's heart, and gives him hope for the first time in a very long time. But Ethriel's captors are hunting for him, and the rest of eternity may be closer than it seems.
Reviewed by Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
John Zebedee, real name Yohanan ben Zavdi, Jewish, gay, immortal and he has seen so much and every time he dies, he comes back to life, and it is a lonely life because everyone eventually dies. The Civil War is over and after being released as a prisoner of war he craves peace, a lifetime of dying being reborn and seeing so many horrors he has decided to return to Deadman’s Slough where once upon a time ago he had established a home but whether his home has survived and whether there will be anyone who remembers him are risks he is willing to take.
His visit to the mercantile brings him face to face with a friend Nathaniel who recognizes John but how can he be the same John he once knew since he hasn’t aged at all. John introduces himself as the son of the first John and that is readily accepted. Now he needs to visit his property and hope that his dugout and barn are still standing. Luck is on his side because other than a lot of dust the dugout is still there and so is the barn. When he tends to his horse, he immediately senses that there is someone there but announces his desire to be friends, “I won’t hurt you, don’t hurt me”.
The person hiding in his barn appears and he is a young man in bad shape, he looks like he was starved and beaten, and he has manacles on his wrists. The first order of business is to get the manacles off, feed the young man and tuck him in bed so he can rest.
Ethriel was a prisoner, he is an elf fortunately he found a safe place with a man determined to help. Ethriel’s appearance would be the beginning of a life and death adventure beginning with the appearance of Pastor Kerry who is an elf and is glamoured. Kerry is Buach and was Ethriel’s kidnapper and torturer. Ethriel is a prince and the heir to the throne of the Elvenlands but until his birth it was Buach that was the heir, and he is determined to marry Ethriel and then kill him securing his position as the king.
Buach gets the upper hand and once again has captured Ethriel but this time he won’t come out the winner instead he will be dead. Almost immediately upon meeting Ethriel and John became lovers, a crime punishable by hanging but it is not looked down on by Ethriel’s people. Ethriel must find a way back home to take over the throne, but it would take an army and an army is what they must build.
This was a long book and encompassed many characters, both good and evil. John’s secrets of immortality becomes an open secret since it is hard to hide dying and then coming back to life. For years Ethriel and John have sought safety while preparing for the war they are sure will come to pass when Ethriel returns to take possession of the throne and end his aunt’s rule. The characters in this book are amazing and there are a lot of them. There are betrayals, secrets, and surprises. All the characters in this book go through years of life and death experiences but will they come out with HEA’s at the end. So much happened and sometimes it was hard to keep up but keep up I did because I was invested in Ethriel and John and all their friends and allies.
I recommend this book because once you dive in you will be hooked, I was.