Title: Malachite: The Year Without Summer
Author: Kate Cotoner
Publisher: Torquere press
Length: Sip/52 pages/13900 words
Genre: fantasy/paranormal/historical/m/m romance
Rating: 4.25 out of 5
A guest review by Sirius
Summary: This beautifully-written story worked for me as paranormal/mythological short, but the romance just barely began when the story ended.
Blurb:
A murderer is loose in London’s most notorious rookery, and now his evil is spreading to the upper classes. Constable Nicholas Green is sent undercover to investigate, armed only with his wit and a malachite talisman, a gift from his mother. At the multiple crossroads of Seven Dials, Nicholas meets Kristian, a mysterious gentleman who claims to know the identity and motivation of the Rookery Murderer.
Kristian is searching for a companion to help him defeat the dangerous, charismatic Lord Winter. He thinks he’s found his man in Nicholas, and together they plunge into an underground world of occult and esoteric worship. The malachite talisman protects Nicholas from the evil that threatens to engulf the city, but only great sacrifice can ensure London’s safety…
Review:
I am a huge fan of this writer’s style, and I really, really enjoyed Malachite. I thought the story was just so fluid and it is written very effortlessly, if that makes sense. Every word seemed to have its purpose and did not feel like an extra.
As the blurb tells us, Nicolas is a constable in London investigating multiple murders during one of the coldest Septembers ever. Eleven people have died so far and they have found ice instead of blood in victims’ veins. As the blurb also tells us Nicolas meets the enigmatic Kristian at Seven Dials, who claims to have information about the murders.
I was rather surprised that the blurb lists that Kristian is searching for the person to help him defend Lord Winter, because a) this is at best not completely true and b) more than a little spoilerish. I know these two assertions seem contradictory, but you will have to read this story to see how and why this could be.
You have to put yourself in the pagan mindset if you want to enjoy this short story because while the things that are happening in it are rather harsh, they are completely appropriate for paganism. I was quite surprised how the author blended blood sacrifices with a different aspect of pagan worship. I won’t say what that different aspect is because, for the length of this book, it is a very important part and would be a huge spoiler. You will need to read to find out. 🙂
One single problem: however much I liked the book overall, I found the romance aspect to be rather disappointing, and this was a pretty big negative for me. I understand that the story is quite short and I was glad that writer chose to concentrate on the mythology aspect of it, but I would at most say that the romance had just begun as the story was ending. Thank goodness they will have plenty of time to spend with each other, but I admit I wanted more of it to be on screen so I could witness and enjoy it. Do not get me wrong, the beginning of the love story is there, and this is one of the rare occasions where Insta!Love made perfect sense to me — it fits with the mythological aspect of the story, and the pull the characters and how they feel for each other based on who they are worked — but I liked them so much and I wanted to see more of them!
Highly recommended.
Sirius, I totally agree with you 😀 I liked the steampunk-type things and the ‘cold’ feeling, but I did miss the romance aspect a bit.
Thank you Leslie, and I just realized that green balls now have ears? 🙂 Thank you Christian?
You summed up what I loved about this story and while I too thought we had only the beginnings of a love story I came away thinking that it was a story about hope and may be that meant that the romance remained hopeful as part of that feeling.
I agree Merian, I was feeling hope at the end of the story myself and I guess based on the flag I now live in Canada,lolol.
Great review, Sirius. I loved this book and was having far too much fun with the Steampunk setting to miss the romance too much. Having said that you are right that the focus isn’t on the romance and some readers may be bothered about that.
Thank you Jen, and absolutely I loved the settings, but how to put it? If there was no hint at romantic connection between the guys, I would have loved it more? What I am trying to say is that romance was like a teaser for me in this one, I would not have missed it had it not been there at all, but to show me a little bit made me want more. Hope I am making sense.