REVIEW: Moon Rite- Book One Legend of the Ancients (The Books of Locurnia 1- Deonne Dane

Title: Moon Rite
Series: Book One Legend of the Ancients -The Books of Locurnia 1
Author: Deonne Dane
Genre: Gay Fition, Gay Fantasy
Publisher: Black Onyx Publishing
Release Date: Sept 28, 2020
Format: Kindle
Pages: 228
Source: Amazon

Two rites stand before him. Fail one and he will be powerless, fail the other and he will likely be dead.

Falric Mislan is torn. Born of a magical Voce and a mundane Dracan, he stands at a crossroads. One direction leads him to the magic he craves, the other to a warriors recognition and status. Stung by his first abortive attempt at awakening his power, Falric throws himself into Dracan life, and inadvertently unearths a perilous talisman.

Watching slip away the last chance of his mother aiding his ambition, Falric accepts that his father’s people, and his passing of their Moon Rite, are his only path. But in the aftermath of his find, Falric now faces a bitter enemy who is determined to see him fail.

Spending a month alone in the southern desert for his ‘Moon of Solitude’ is dangerous enough, but can he survive his own doubts, his unrequited desire for the magic that alludes him…and a man who dreams of deadly vengeance?

Moon Rite is the exhilarating first book in the LGBTQ+ Legend of the Ancients, Books of Locurnia Fantasy series. If you like deep friendship, dangerous trials, and lethal enemies, all with a touch of heated passion, then you’ll love Deonne Dane’s gripping adventure.

Reviewed by Linda Tonis

Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team

Falric Mislan is half Dracan from his father and half Voce from his mother. He never knew his father and has always dreamed of being part of Vocekind with magic like his mother. His attempts to perform rites hoping his magic will appear have proven to be failures and his attempts to get his mother to help and tell him who he really is and where he belongs keeps falling on deaf ears.

Falric is considered a half-breed and slave, but he hopes to prove himself a warrior when he undergoes the rite of the Moon of Solitude but till then he is subjected to constant bullying. When the Dracan stop on their pilgrimage to help the Bengay people find water Falric will discover that whatever he went through before would become far worse.

While digging in the well Falric discovers a stone which he immediately feels is evil and when a young warrior Raeden sees the stone he can’t get into the well and touch it fast enough. The stone would lead to Raeden’s death and to Falric being blamed. Nairo the Catana’s son was close to Raeden and took his death badly determined to bring harm or death to the person he blames, Falric.

When it was finally determined that Falric did nothing wrong the blame was laid at the feet of the Bengay people and Catana required payment, a slave, one of the leader’s sons and jewels. Falric would also have to compete in a competition to prove his worth and that was after Nairo caused him severe injury.

Falric’s best friend is Jaro, and the two friends find solace with each other both physically and emotionally. None of the boys with Falric have ever been with a girl and so the only release sexually is with the others in the group. Keno is a young man who craves pain and wants Falric but Jaro is jealous of Falric’s attention to the young man and when he hears a conversation which could prove deadly to Falric when it is his turn to go on the Moon of Solitude his jealousy leads him to keep the information to himself.

Falric is hungry to find himself and hopes the Moon of Solitude rite will prove he is a man and should be a warrior giving him purpose. His mother is revered because of her magic in healing and wants to be more than a half-breed slave always looked down at.

There are betrayals, secrets, surprises and a young man’s drive to prove himself. This was just the first book in the series and there is so much more to come so I am happy that I have the second book in my possession so I can continue Falric’s journey to manhood.