Divided Dark Fantasy Fallen Fairytales Book #5
Anthologies, Collections, Dark Fantasy, Fallen Fairytales, Gay Romance
Independent
Feb 9, 2024
Kindle
Unknown
Amazon
The four Stroud brothers were all born into magic, and when they all come of age their powers will be revealed. It all sounds like a fairytale, but not all magic is good. Their mother embraced the darkness and paid with her life.
Finn Stroud was happy working on the family farm until the day his father announced it was time for them all to go out and find their place in the world, and their magic. He and his four brothers knew this was the tradition of the Imagi people who were meant to wield elemental magic, but Finn soon finds how ill prepared he was for the real world.
Alwin travels from town to town using his own brand of magic to get what he can from anyone that crosses his path. His luck runs out and he’s left along the side of the road in a rainstorm. Finn offers him shelter and Alwin offers to guide him in the ways of magic, but everything has a price. A dark fairytale retelling of The Four Clever Brothers.
Divided is part of the multi-author The Fallen Fairytales 2023 series Each book can be read as a standalone, but why not read them all and see what shenanigans our guys get up to? Sexy men, darkly delicious stories and a mix of divine drag divas. Kick back, load up your kindle and enjoy some dark, Valentine’s fairy retellings
Reviewed by Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
Finn Stroud and his three brothers lived on a farm with their father until their father told them they all had to leave to find their magic and could return in a year. Each of the boys took a different path, alone and unfamiliar with anything outside the farm they were on an adventure they might not survive.
Finn has no idea what magical powers he will receive and after weeks on his own hungry, living on the streets and still has no idea what his magic is or how to find it. On a rainy day he saw a man walking on the road, drenched and covered in mud so he immediately offered a helping hand. He invited the man to join him under a tree which sheltered them from most of the rain, lit a fire for warmth and hopefully to dry his companion.
Alwin is a fae who was switched with a human baby at birth and grew up knowing nothing about being an elf. His human parents accepted him until his fae half appeared and he found himself thrown out. He has grown accustomed to being alone and with his magic, the ability to ask for something and get it, he always has food and a place to stay until the person he is trying to mind bend is immune, like Finn. Finn is the opposite of Alwin, he believes in work, not lying and not stealing.
After spending time with Alwin, Finn realizes that Alwin is not stealing he just asks for something, and it is given to him. The two of them become fast friends with a hope for more. When they enter a town and go into the restaurant for food Alwin immediately realizes that the waitress is not what she seems, she has magic and is immune to Alwin’s gift. After the restaurant closes, she reveals she is fae and offers them a job and a room. Alwin is less than grateful, and Finn is over the moon.
Carcy is over six feet tall and with her high heels she is a giant compared to Alwin and Finn. She is willing to help Finn find his magic and her gift is one I would love to have; food appears just by thinking of it, so she has a restaurant with no working stove just her thoughts. It doesn’t take long before Carcy reveals her other half Carson, she is a drag queen and that was the reason the fae showed her the door.
The three work together, Finn finds his magic and they are as close as any family. When the time comes for Finn to return to the farm, Carson and Alwin go with him not knowing what Finn will face when he arrives home. They were right to accompany him because things are not what they should be. His brothers have all found their magic and are put to the test by their father to determine how much magic they have and how they use it.
Alwin and Finn’s relationship grows and neither of them want to be without the other so does Finn stay on the farm, will Alwin join him or do they all leave. Secrets and surprises come to the forefront and Finn realizes he never really knew his father and why his mother turned to dark magic and died.
The secret kept by Finn’s people was shocking but more shocking was their neglect when it came to fixing things. I am a firm believer that family is more than blood, it is heart, love and caring and Finn has found that with Carcy, and Alwin and hopefully a HEA is in their futures. So many lies and deception and from the ones you should be able to trust.
This is a multi-author series, each book a standalone and each a take on a fairy tale we all grew up with, well not me because I never heard of the fairytale this book referenced but I will be looking it up. Not only did I read an amazing book, but I learned something I was totally unaware of.