WILD SKY
by Zaya Feli
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: Ebook: August 24th
Length: Ebook: 189,000 words
Subgenre: Fantasy/Romance
Warnings: mentions of symptoms of depression and PTSD. Medicine addiction and withdrawal.
Purchase on Amazon
Blurb
Tauran Darrica has been retired from the Valreus Sky Guard for four years following the Battle of the Broken Wings that resulted in the death of his dragon. Now, all Tauran wants to do is spend his days forgetting the past and gambling his way to an unsteady income.
So when his old general from the Sky Guard hunts Tauran down to request his help with staving off the increasingly aggressive wild dragon population, Tauran refuses. But a fire ruins his rented room and leaves him without a place to stay, and Tauran finds himself on the road to Valreus, after all.
Tauran is determined to stay as far away from dragons as he can get, but a starry-eyed young man from Sharoani, land of the wild dragons, might just ruin his plans.
Kalai Ro-Ani has spent his life watching the stars, knowing he could never reach them.
With his wild dragon Arrow, he sets out for the city of Valreus in the hope of building himself a better future than he could have stuck at the foot of the Kel Visal dragon temples.
But nobody told Kalai that only the Sky Guard is allowed to own dragons, so when Arrow kills a guard in Kalai’s defense, it looks like his adventure might be over before it can begin. But a chance encounter at the old Valreus archive offers Kalai the future he’d been hoping for. In the span of a single day, he has a home, a job, and a purpose.
In Valreus, something much bigger falls into his lap – along with a tall and striking Valrean man with a rather strange disposition.
A new, LGBT+ fantasy story from Zaya Feli, featuring dragons, aerial battles and epic journeys through dangerous wilderness.
Praise for Wild Sky
Double threat author and illustrator, Zaya Feli, paints a vivid picture of queer love in the time of dragons in Wild Sky.
- Nicole Kimberling, award-winning author of Sea of Stars
From the author, Zaya Feli
The overarching theme is about how healing is possible despite severe damage. That some things may not be fixable, and that simply learning to persevere and find support and happiness where it exists can be enough.
Excerpt
“Lift your jacket.”
Kalai shrugged off his jacket, a sudden rush of heat rising to his face when Tauran reached around his hips and fitted the harness. Tauran slid the buckles into place, tightening the thigh straps until they were both snug, then slipped a finger between the leather and Kalai’s thigh, sending a shiver dancing across Kalai’s skin.
Tauran took a few steps back. His eyes lingered on the harness, traveling only slowly upward. His gaze was heavy. “Well, how is it?”
Kalai swallowed, the heat in Tauran’s eyes distracting his thoughts for an embarrassingly long moment. “It’s… it’s nice,” he said, shifting his hips and tugging on it slightly to adjust it.
A faint smile flitted over Tauran’s lips. “Not too tight?”
“I like tight.” Kalai’s words hung in the air for a moment before he realized what he’d said. A wave of embarrassed heat rolled through his body. “I mean… I… Tight is fine. I mean, it’s secure. Uhm..”
A soft sound from Tauran made him raise his head.
Tauran’s cheeks were dimpled with his obvious attempt to hold back a grin. “Oh, I like it tight, too, darlin’,” he said, smoothly.
Carra's Review
Okay, buckle up folks, you’re in for a great read! With the intricate world-building, complex characters, and elaborate storyline this story was mesmerizing enough to pull me in from the very first page and swallow me whole—for well over 700 pages. Not only that, but it did so without losing my interest at all along the way. I’ll admit—when I opened this up and saw how long it was, it did give me pause. Usually with books of this length my mind will wind up drifting while reading since it’s no easy task to continually keep my interest for that many pages. Not so with Wild Sky.
The main characters of Tauran, a former dragon rider, and Kalai, a young man hoping to find his fortune in Valreus are captivating, and the relationship between them is VERY slow burn. Even as it unfolds over the whole book, the unhurried pace of their romance makes it feel natural, developing as friends before moving on to more. These two are well suited, and quite sweet together.
There is of course intrigue afoot with the issues from the prior battle with rebels coming back to twist things up in the present day, and it’s difficult to tell just which characters Tauran and Kalai can trust. There was plenty of action, excitement, and suspense as things unfold, and at the center of it all are the dragons. The dragons were as much a part of the character list as the humans were, each with their own personalities and individual mannerisms.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and after finishing this I’m definitely keeping an eye out for more. This is talented storytelling, and I didn’t want to put it down—it’s an ideal example of a great M/M fantasy romance.
Five stars for Wild Sky—I do highly recommend this to any fantasy fans, and if you love dragons then all the better. Your attention will be captured for a long while, and you’re going to truly enjoy where the author takes you.
About the Author
Zaya Feli grew up in various small towns in eastern Denmark where she spent most of her childhood and youth daydreaming about strange and incredible fantasy worlds. In 2018, she moved to northern Denmark with her pet snake, Helix, to work as a web developer, and is now dedicating all her free time turning the fantasy worlds inside her head into words and illustrations on the page.
An avid sci fi and fantasy fan since childhood, she also has a deep love for history, archery, nature, language and art.
Zaya Feli released her debut novel, Stag's Run, in November 2016, and has since released four more full length novels and a short story. Her favourite genres are fantasy and sci-fi with a sprinkle of romance.
Giveaway!
To celebrate the release of Wild Sky, Zaya Feli is giving away three e-copies of any back catalog e-book! Enter below. Must be 18 to enter and win, open internationally.
No comments:
Post a Comment