A Hidden Magic (Sentinels #1)

Title: A Hidden Magic (Sentinels #1)
Author: Angela Benedetti
Publisher: Torquere
Buy Link: Buy Link A Hidden Magic (Sentinel Series)
Genre: Paranormal M/M, Fey, Magic
Length:  Novel (157 pdf pages)
Rating:  4.75 stars out of 5

A Guest Review by Cole

Review Summary: A well-written and uniquely built fey world that is engrossing and filled with characters I fell in love with.

***This review may contain a few spoilers***

BLURB

Fey incursions into the mortal world have been on the rise, and Paul MacAllister’s trying to figure out what the king of the local Elven enclave Under the Hill is up to and how to stop it. Rory Ellison was caught up in one of those attacks and nearly killed by a gang of goblins. He doesn’t believe they were real, though, and is resisting anything Paul might say to the contrary.

Normally Paul would be willing to let Rory go his own way, at least until he’s taken care of more immediate business. But Rory has a particularly rare gift, one the Elven king needs to have under his control in order to carry out his plan. Keeping Rory away from the fey who will use him, to death if necessary, means protecting him night and day, whether Rory agrees or not.

REVIEW

Paul is the leader of San Jose’s local Sentinel team — a team of mortals born able to see and interact with the Fey that have united to protect the unseeming mortals from attack. Some of them have more gifts, stronger gifts — Manny has the Sight and Aubrey is a Master Mage (Cal is his apprentice and lover) and Paul himself has a stronger life force. Since the spread of iron from the Industrial Revolution, the fey have mostly escaped back “Under the Hill” except for occasional forays into the mortal realm. In this fey world created by Angela Benedetti, the fey do not dine on sugar plums and typical fairy faire, but on magic alone (with certain exceptions). Their food source is magic, and despite what many mortals may believe, not only does it exist, but everyone has it, even those who are not adept or able to manipulate it. It is the life force of all things. It is the glue that binds life and the spark of sentience that animates all beings from our subsequent parts into a living whole. Most have a little bit of it, but some have more. Still some very few have a flood of it overflowing from them — and to the fey, this makes them a prize meal.

So enters Rory, a lonely and troubled man. He cannot drive, his mother barely allows him to live alone, and he has had very few friends and even fewer lovers. He suffers from hallucinations and the episodes strike him without warning or pattern. He has lived his life being perceived crazy and so far, has narrowly avoided living the rest of his life in a padded cell, only due to his cooperation in treatment. The meds don’t work though, they never work. He has one friend, Manny, the owner of a Fantasy and SciFi bookstore he likes to frequent. Manny has invited him to meet his friends and Rory is nervous, though excited. He doesn’t know it yet, but Manny, who is a Seer, knows that Rory is special and has invited him to meet the Sentinel team so that they can help him come to terms with his sight and see it for what it is — not delusions, but instead, the Fey. While walking to the meeting place, however, Rory gets lost and stops to rest on a park bench, where he gets stuck in what he thinks is another episode — the worst one yet. In reality, he has been caught by a gang of goblins and they’re slowly feeding on his magic, draining him. Meanwhile, Paul is getting impatient and when Manny sees why his friend is late to their meeting, the team springs into action to rescue him. The team is restless, though. Lately things have started to change. This attack on Rory is different than most and there have been an alarming amount of incursions lately from the Fey. Paul and his team need to figure out what King Pelamin is trying to do and why he seems to be sending all sorts of creatures to find Rory. What is so special about Rory? And can Paul allow himself to act on his attraction to him, even though he has pledged to protect him?

Angela Benedetti’s A Hidden Magic was a breath of fresh air for me. I love paranormals and fantasy, but usually they seem to be pieces of a few famous fantasy worlds cobbled together — not very original. Not here. This story took me by surprise and I found myself happily immersed in this unique universe that seemed to flow naturally from one page to the next. Before I started reading M/M, I used to read popular YA paranormals and many of them were about the Fey, in all different manifestations. I remember now why, although I loved the premise of these books, they always turned me off. I always felt like I was supposed to like the fey. Capricious they may be, but I want to like my protaganists and I could never sympathise with them. I was so happy, then, to find this series (though this is only the beginning), where the only fairies that I’m supposed to like are the little furry ones — the pixies and all of the other mostly harmless ones. I did like them too. If you read this, I can promise you that you’ll love Azzy (who nicknamed himself Azriel, after the angel of Death), who not only injects some much needed humor at inopportune moments, but is cute and cuddly while talking like a 10 year old wannabe gangsta. These little touches were what ultimately made this book come alive for me.

There was no dreaded ‘Info Dump’ here and each character introduced seemed to spring dynamic and fully formed from Ms. Benedetti’s pen. I fell in love a little bit with each emerging character, especially the Sentinel team — Aubrey and Cal, who bicker back and forth like old lovers, even though Aubrey is several centuries in age and Cal is only in his thirties. Manny has had a tough life but is sensitive to Rory’s fears — a wonderful friend. Then there are Rory and Paul themselves. How anyone couldn’t fall in love with Rory I don’t understand. He is lost and scared, with a nervous disposition. He has been squashed by life and those around him, even his well-meaning mother who smothers him. He has never been validated, or felt useful or needed because everyone thinks he is crazy. Yet, though he has every reason to lie down and let life finish him, he retains a steely core and forces himself to face his fears. He is impossibly brave and incredibly admirable. Paul sees this, and gives Rory the respect he’s been denied his whole life. Paul is blunt and at times severe. Most people think he’s a bit boring, but the truth is that he has a hero complex. He feels the weight of the world on his shoulders. He is genuinely good, though he projects the image of a bad boy. He constantly wavers back and forth between his attraction to Rory and what he believes is his duty, to protect Rory at all costs. The more time Paul spends following Rory (ultimately moving in with him) to protect him at all times, the more the sexual tension grows and grows, the only outlet being times of genuine caring for each other with sweet touches here and there and bickering between the two. This especially, was very well written.

There is a lot of diversity in the types of creatures represented here as well. Incubi, gnomes, pixies, boggles, fire elementals, higher fey, salamanders, and many other types of creatures have a part to play. They are also very well drawn and described beautifully. There was also a particular device employed by Ms. Benedetti that I rarely see in M/M and really value if well written into the story. The prose changes very subtly with each characters emotions. The story is written in third person close, so if we’re viewing the action through Rory and he gets excited the prose will speed faster and the syntax will reflect his excitement. Conversely if Rory (or any character who has the lens) gets sleepy and is still trying to describe the scene, the prose will slow, the syntax disjointed, until it seems the prose falls asleep right alonside the character. This is done very subtley and when it is done will like it is here, it is a very effective tool in taking the reader along with the emotions of the character or the speed of the action. I was very impressed by this. The only thing that kept me from giving this a five star rating was a few instances when I felt like we could use a bit more information with the world-building. Its possible that I missed something, but we would only get an explanation of a particular tidbit of the Fey world after the fact, when I would have appreciated it in the scene.

There is one thing that I feel I need to mention. There is a scene that, by my own personal standards, I would categorize as Dubious Consent. I have a major problem with Rape or Dubious Consent. I don’t like it and even a whiff in the direction of DC in a book is a major turnoff for me. This is the only time I can say that the scene did not bother me, even though later the character felt violated. I’m not sure why, exactly, but I don’t want to say more so I don’t give anything away. It happens pretty early in the story and I felt like I needed to warn you, if you have problems with DC.

I absolutely adored this story and I’m looking forward to reading the sequels. There are a few short stories set in the same universe (some with the same characters) that I’ll be reviewing in the next few weeks. The first story is “Unfinished Business” and follows Cal and Aubrey after a scene in the novel (two words: Donkey Ears). I’ll be reviewing it on Wednesday, January 12 for those of you who are interested. On a last note, I’d like to ask all of you a favor, if I could. Do any of you know of any other M/M books or series’ that are about the Fey? If so, I’d love to read them, thank you!

Ms. Benedetti is currently writing the second installment to this series, which also follows Paul and Rory. I hope Rory gets to start learning magic. 🙂