Cover Design: Natasha Snow
Length: 85,000 words approx.
Blurb
Instead, he finds the Salgado pack, and the earth beneath his feet shifts. Damien has seen the Salgado children in his school: Koko, who is in his class, and Hakan, two years older and infinitely unreachable. Damien is suddenly introduced into a world that had only ever existed in his imagination, where there is magic in the forest and the moon. He meets creatures that look like monsters, but Damien knows that monsters have the same face as anybody else.
Over the years, Damien and Hakan grow closer. First, just as friends and foster brothers in the Salgado house, and then into something heated and breathless when Damien joins Hakan at college. Despite what he may yearn for in the darkest part of the night, Damien knows, deep down in that bruised and mealy part of his core, that he’s not good enough to be part of the Salgado family, their pack. He’s not worthy of calling Hakan his home.
Even though he knows in the end it’ll hurt him, he’ll hold onto this for as long as he can.
CONTENT WARNING: This book contains themes of emotional and (nonsexual) physical child abuse and the subsequent emotional, cognitive, and behavioural impacts.
4.5 out of 5 stars
In This Iron Ground is a new, contemporary paranormal story that starts when the main characters are young teens and goes through their early college years. This book does contains themes and scenes of emotional and physical child abuse (non-sexual) and the after-effects.
This is the first book that I've read by this author, and I'll say that I'm anxiously waiting the next in this series. That being said, much of this book occurs during Damien's early teen years (13-15) and the last 30% is more when he is in college. So this is as much, to me anyway, an urban fantasy or paranormal story with later romantic elements and not strictly a m/m paranormal romance. For the purpose of this first book in the series, it really worked well for this reader.
There is a lot of Damien's backstory shown through the first 2/3rds of the book and it's important because it shapes who he is, and how he looks at himself. A portion of the story feels like it's being told in a narrator form, but it's actually told by a very young Damien. While at times the storytelling prose feels too advanced for his age, it felt right for the flow of the story. I actually really enjoyed the flow and ebb of this story, outside of the abuse storyline.
I won't really go into the story itself because the blurb does a really decent job of giving the basics. With paranormal stories I tend to believe that they're best read by the reader and not re-told by a reviewer. There are a lot of little nuances and bits of the story that really do need to be experience as they are read instead of in snippets in a review.
As a first book in a series this story hits all the right marks for me. It's well paced, enough backstory is provided to really get to know the characters, the characters are fully detailed, show extensive growth, and strong connections with each other. I'm excited to see what the next book brings in this series.
I highly recommend this to those paranormal readers that love a more detailed story, ending in the start of a new relationship between long time friends.
September 3 - Gay Book Reviews, Joyfully Jay, OMG Reads, MM Midnight Cafe,
September 5 - Jessie G Books, Making It Happen, On Top Down Under,
September 7 - Momma Says: To Read Or Not To Read, Cupcakes & Bookshelves,
September 10 - Bonkers About Books, Wicked Faerie's Tales & Reviews,
September 12 - Megans's Media Melange, Mirrigold, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Wicked Reads, Bayou Book Junkie, The Blogger Girls, MM Good Book Reviews
September 5 - Jessie G Books, Making It Happen, On Top Down Under,
September 7 - Momma Says: To Read Or Not To Read, Cupcakes & Bookshelves,
September 10 - Bonkers About Books, Wicked Faerie's Tales & Reviews,
September 12 - Megans's Media Melange, Mirrigold, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Wicked Reads, Bayou Book Junkie, The Blogger Girls, MM Good Book Reviews
Author Bio
When Marina was a child she couldn’t sleep. Night after dissolving night she just couldn’t sleep. Nothing much worked – until she started making up stories in her head. Suddenly, the transition into unconsciousness was a smooth dive into calm waters.
Marina is currently in a period of sleepless upheaval, and she hopes writing down the stories in her head will cast the same spell it did decades ago.
Marina hopes to write in a variety of romance sub-genres, from contemporary to supernatural to sci-fi. Her style, however, tends to focus on character-centred stories that explore different facets of the human experience, such as mental health. She also enjoys writing explicit, drawn-out sex scenes, so expect those to be a prominent feature of her stories.
Marina tends to keep to herself unless prompted, so don’t be shy in approaching her!
Marina is currently in a period of sleepless upheaval, and she hopes writing down the stories in her head will cast the same spell it did decades ago.
Marina hopes to write in a variety of romance sub-genres, from contemporary to supernatural to sci-fi. Her style, however, tends to focus on character-centred stories that explore different facets of the human experience, such as mental health. She also enjoys writing explicit, drawn-out sex scenes, so expect those to be a prominent feature of her stories.
Marina tends to keep to herself unless prompted, so don’t be shy in approaching her!
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