Lava Red Feather Blue is a fun fairytale-esque gay-themed fantasy that takes place in Eidolonia. In this world, the fae realm and the human realm are separated by a border, though many of the inhabitants intermingle. In this world, magic and faeries are commonplace, and peace between the two domains is maintained because of prince Larkin and the evil and powerful fae queen Ula Kana, both of whom were placed under an enchanted slumber in the year 1799. As long as they’re both asleep, the human realm is safe.
The story follows our main character, Merrick Highvalley, a modern-day-witch who is half-fae and a descendant of the original witch who cast the spell placing prince Larkin and Ula Kana into their slumber. When Merrick inadvertently awakens the sleeping prince, chaos ensues because when Larkin awoke, so did Ula Kana, and she is determined to destroy the human realm.
Larkin and Merrick then embark together on a potentially deadly plan to stop the evil queen, and as the story moves forward, their connection to each other deepens. I really loved the chemistry between these two very different characters, and it was fun watching them fall for each other while they both attempted to fight their attraction. I also enjoyed watching Larkin try to adjust to the new century, given that he’d been asleep for 200 years. It gave me a chuckle several times, watching him trying to differentiate between magic and technology. The banter and flirting between the two of them were also lighthearted and comical.
Another thing I enjoyed about the story was how there was no homophobia by either society or anyone’s family — being gay was just automatically accepted by everyone. Additionally, one of Merrick’s siblings was non-binary, which was also universally accepted, so I really enjoyed the representation.
Additionally, I thought the world-building and the magic system in this story were phenomenal. The author really brought the story to life because of the atmospheric and lush descriptions. The tale was moody and immersive, giving me the feeling that I was right there along with the characters.
Ringle has created here a cleverly crafted new world that I wanted to lose myself in. It’s a story featuring a great cast of believable characters, a compelling world, an intriguing political and magical system, and a satisfying conclusion. It’s a dark and fascinating tale — a beautifully woven magical adventure of two desperate souls who enter into a strange new world.
As an extra treat, the author included a section at the end of the book explaining the mythologies behind the names of the characters — both human and fae — as well
as the names for the various places in the story.
A huge thank you to Netgalley for providing a review copy of this book. The book goes on sale on January 5th, 2021 but it available for preorder now.
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