The Blacksmith Prince
Paranormal, Historical, LGBT, Fantasy
Amazon Digital Services LLC
July 14, 2017
215
17th century Perigord is a county of sun-drenched villages and dark forests, languid rivers and moonlit lakes. It is a corner of France teeming with spirits, dryads and nymphs, and like everywhere else, witches are burned at the stake.
Born with the second sight, young fisherman Jehan wants nothing but to keep his head down, work hard, and stay out of trouble. Which works well enough until a suspicious string of bad luck befalls the village smith and his wife. Their adoptive son Giraud is everybody’s dashing darling, who behind his sooty smile and swashbuckling manners has buried a painful connection to the supernatural himself. Fearing that some evil is afoot, Giraud turns to the only other man in town who knows about the hidden world around them - Jehan.
Before long, they are embroiled in a quest involving brigands, witches and noble fey, while their friendship and attraction gradually shifts into something deeper. If they manage to survive ancient feuds and everyday prejudice, they might even have a chance to forge a Happily Ever After all of their own...
From Rainbow-Award-winning authors Beryll & Osiris Brackhaus, ‘The Blacksmith Prince’ is an old-fashioned, swoon-worthy historical fantasy romance about tender love in a time when history and fairy-tales were one and the same.
Available at Amazon.
Reviewed by: Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team
Jehan is a fishmonger in a small area of France called Perigord where many fae reside. Jehan is living in the 17th century in a time when the fact that his attraction is towards men and not women would not be readily acceptable. Of course it is a prejudice that exists in modern times, as well.
Like his grandmother, Jehan has the gift of second sight giving him the ability to see and interact with the various non-human creatures he runs across. Unlike his grandmother, he limits his magical abilities and is happy to live a quiet life. Everything changes when he is approached by Giraud, the adopted son of the Smith whose parents are suddenly suffering from all kinds of bad luck affecting them physically and in their business.
Giraud knows that Jehan can see the fae, because he is able to see them himself. He fails to tell Jehan everything, i.e. who his biological father, is since he is actually the smith’s nephew. Leaving out what he knows while expecting Jehan to put himself in danger is reckless and thoughtless, but Jehan is willing to help and payment is a kiss.
It doesn’t take long after visiting with Giraud’s parents for Jehan to realize there is a very powerful curse on them and it will take more power than Jehan has. He must go to the ancient witch Raelle for information on who is responsible for the curse. Raelle informs him of the information Giraud has left unsaid. At this point, although Jehan and Giraud run into all kinds of trouble, Jehan has given his word and his feelings towards Giraud are growing every day.
Giraud reveals all to Jehan, something I will not do, and Jehan knows exactly what has to be done and who to go to. Unfortunately, nothing goes smoothly. They run into brigands who try to rob them and neither of them were trained to fight, so they need to use other means to get away, magic and threats, which may or may not have worked.
This was a sweet story about two very different men who each have special gifts. Jehan wants someone in his life, someone exactly like Giraud. Although Giraud is more than willing to kiss Jehan, does that mean his feelings go deeper? There is no explicit sex or violence, but it is a story filled with adorable fae and magic.