Reviewer: Tracy Half by Eli Lang
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Publication Date: February 13th 2017
Genres: M/M
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Living between worlds has never been comfortable, but it’s where I’ve always fit: between human and fey, illness and health, magic and reality.
I’ve spent the last six years looking for a cure for the nameless sickness eating me up. If I believed there was one out there, I would keep searching. But there isn’t, so I’ve come back home, where my past and present tangle. Come home to live . . . and to die.
But my father insists I meet Kin. He’s a healer, and determined to help, even though I’m not so hopeful anymore. But Kin isn’t what I expected, in any way. He sees me, not my illness. He reminds me of what it’s like to be alive. And I can’t help falling for him, even though I know it isn’t fair to either of us.
Kin thinks he has the cure I’ve been looking for, but it’s a cure that will change everything: me, my life, my heart. If I refuse, I could lose Kin. But if I take it, I might lose myself.
Luca is half human, half fey. He is very sick and has been for quite some time. No one that he’s seen can figure out what is wrong with him. He’s convinced that the fey half of him is poisoning his human half. He doesn’t know how long he has to live so when he meets the healer, Kin, it’s a mixed blessing. He loves that he falls for him but he hates that he won’t be able to live a full lifetime with him.
Kin didn’t expect to like Luca when he told Luca’s father that he would check him out to see if he could heal him. He was very wrong about that and almost immediately fell for the man. The connection was obvious from minute one so he’s determined to find a solution that will keep Luca alive.
Kin tells Luca that he thinks he might have found a cure. It’s really a legend about his people, the ningyo (they are water people/fey and have scales). The legend says that if you eat one of a ningyo’s scales then you will be immortal. Now, Luca wants to find a cure and live a long, full, happy life but he’s not sure that he’s willing to become immortal. Kin’s not sure that the scale will work but if it does, what will that mean for Luca? Is he willing to take the chance?
This was such a good but sad story. It was a very evenly paced story – nothing too, too exciting happens during the course of the book, but almost from the start I was intrigued by Luca and Kin and couldn’t put the book down.
Luca had been gone for six years traveling all over the world trying to find a cure and also living. He had finally decided that he needed to be back home with those he loved because he realized there is no cure to what he has. While he was once close with his sister, Saben, who is wholly fey, they are now near strangers. Luca hadn’t contacted anyone in the time he was gone hoping that they would forget about him as he knew he wasn’t long for this world. That kind of shot him in the foot and the strain it put on the relationship with his sister was a big one. I loved watching Saben and Luca kind of dance around each other at first and then finally start to get to know one another again. You could tell that they loved each other but there was a lot of hurt on Saben’s side as she had looked up to him and he left her. She had felt abandoned. Luca didn’t really know how to cross the divide but they managed it by the end of the book and I felt they had reached a point that they could both be happy with.
The main part of the story was the relationship with Luca and Kin. It definitely wasn’t a typical romance as it happened very quickly but it was still really good and very emotional. The decision that Luca had to make about the scale really effected everyone. Kin, of course, didn’t want to lose Luca. Luca didn’t want to lose Kin either but he wasn’t sure that he could live forever and be a happy person. That thought, however, brought him back to the fact that he thought he’d do anything to find a cure and now here it is staring at him in the face and he wasn’t sure he wanted it. I can’t say I blamed Luca for his indecision. I’m not sure I’d want to live forever. I loved the tension that this brought to the relationship – it was written in a really great way. I also loved the way they talked things out in the end and loved each other enough to respect Luca’s decision.
The story was an emotional rollercoaster that had me turning page after page. I’m not a huge fan of first person POV as we don’t get to read everyone’s thoughts and only get things from one angle, but I thought the author did a great job conveying Kin’s POV through Luca. I definitely recommend this book but I’d say only read it when you truly want an emotional read. It’s a very good book but it’s not a light and airy story.
Rating: 4 out of 5
*While this story invovles a few Fey people I wouldn’t consider this a paranormal romance.