Ginn Hale is one of the more prolific authors of gay Fantasy out there. My experience with her work has generally been positive, but never gushing. I took a trip back to 2010 to read a book that would have come out when I was still in high school, and I think I’ve finally found the book that teenage me would have absolutely adored. As an adult, I see some issues with it, but this is the book that finally got me to understand why so many are riveted by Hale’s writing.
Read If Looking For: teenage angst written well, slice of life military school stories, crow witches
Avoid If Looking For: classroom instruction, deep political maneuvering, completely healthy relationship dynamics
Comparable Media: Protector of the Small, Carry On, A Taste of Gold and Iron
Elevator Pitch:
Kiram has travelled across borders to become the first of his people to study at Sagrada Academy. He’s a prodigious mechanist, but school isn’t quite what he expects. He ends up falling in with his roommate Javier, a lord possessed of a powerful curse that his peers believe means he’s lost his soul to hell. The man is also overtly flirty, so much so that it can’t possibly be a reality in such a homophobic society. However, this is just as much a romance as a school story, so of course they begin to fall in love.
What Worked for Me:
I will be the first to acknowledge that the setup for this story has soooo many plot holes. Why is a genius inventor going to a school that focuses on swordsmanship and horseback riding? In a country that is notoriously homophobic despite being safely and openly gay in his home country? Why is he, seemingly a social outcast whom most in favor would hate to be associated with, placed in a room with a Duke(even a cursed one) with enough social power that most fear to cause affront?
Turns out I just didn’t care that much
I got roped immediately into Kiram and Javier’s dynamic. I think Hale does a really good job of capturing both of these characters, and the story would absolutely flop if either hadn’t been executed well. Kiram’s navigation of a new culture isn’t the most insightful thing I’ve ever read, but I appreciated his hesitation to engage with things that were ‘normal’ for him due to foresight of how it would be received by others. Javier’s flirtatious nature is a version of the closeted gay man I’ve seen often, the constant tension of wanting people to think the door might be open while also protecting your plausible deniability. He’s also kind of an asshole; the type of rich prick who’s used to throwing his influence around without realizing he’s doing it. Cocky presentation with a developing moral compass; a work in process towards becoming a truly good person. This dynamic led to some delightfully natural tension between the two: Kiram thought he was being mocked for his culture, while Javier was simply trying to show interest the only way he knew how. I’m a sucker for a teasing dynamic though, so that was right up my alley.
I went back and forth on whether or not this book had enough of a Romance focus to have any appeal to people who aren’t looking for Romance books, and I don’t think it does … for book 1 at least. We get some exploration of Kiram’s friendships (including with Javier’s cousin who suffers from an unconstrained version of the same curse), and there were some really fun environmental descriptions of a festival built around an inter-school tournament. As the book came to the end, the author began to expand the scope of the story into some political elements, and I suspect there will be more fight scenes in book 2. For the first entry however, the focus is on developing a complex and interesting relationship that Hale can ruthlessly exploit for drama. There aren’t a ton of punches pulled in the Romance department, as Hale commits firmly to realistic points of tension and conflict between characters, instead of relying on miscommunication or overly complex plot gimmicks. It felt like a grounded and realistic portrayal of love that would develop from both character’s situations and personalities. Romance purists will likely find this volume disappointing in that respect, but I quite enjoy it!
What Didn’t Work For Me:
I can fully admit that this is a personal preference of mine, but I wanted more school scenes! I grew up on Tamora Pierce and Harry Potter, and have a lingering fondness for characters developing relationships with their instructors. Coursework was mostly absent from this novel, and when it did appear, it wasn’t unusual for instructors to remain totally off-screen. This meant the book didn’t quite scratch some of the itches I was hoping for when I started it. We barely even got to see Kiram work on his inventions! There were just so many things I hoped for after the first 50 pages that never popped up, and I think those were some real missed opportunities.
Otherwise, I think I may just not be the biggest fan of Hale’s prose. It’s serviceable, but there’s nothing about any of her books that has the ‘it factor’ in books I love. Her writing isn’t so breakneck that I can’t put it down, but neither does it skillfully layer characterization and theme into a literary onion. Everything felt a bit more emotionally distant than what I was hoping for, even though I believed the romance that developed between our protagonist and his athletic roommate. The premise for this book was right up my alley, I enjoyed my time with it, and I’ll definitely read the sequel. But I didn’t fall head over heels with it.
Conclusion: A fun school romance that has some old fashioned prose stylings, but not one I fell in love with.
Marked for Plot 