It was just another boring day monitoring the Mists, the strange murky clouds that hover in the canyons below the Up Top. Until it wasn’t.They say whatever enters the mysterious mist is lost to The Mists. When Novara finds her schooner suddenly being sucked into the clouds of death, she’s expecting the worst. She’s going to die.When Novara finds herself thrust into a world below her own, instead, … below her own, instead, never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined she’d come face to face with one of the Great Beasts, let alone an entire colony of the humanoid bat beings, the very creatures she’d been obsessed with for years. Great gwog, what were the chances? If ever there was a time her love for dead languages could come in handy, this was it. And she would be needing it, because this was her new home now.
Citoc isn’t too keen on taking on the odd, funny faced wingless beastie that had literally dropped down atop him, spewed out from the skies, yet he finds himself drawn to the mouthy, witless creature.
He isn’t the only beastie intrigued by the many tongues speaking newcomer.
Beasts of the Murke, Greats Beasts of Bellinor, a whole new world and all the mixed bat cultures forming the melting pot of the Alcove, Novara will need to learn to navigate it all fast if she’s to stand a chance.
Eladrathuil preserve her, what’s a stranded Mists pilot to do? Acclimate. But her stubborn buns are going to do it her way. May the madness ensue and the odds be in her favor.
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3.5 Rounded Up
This is a strange book, and strangely beautiful. I can’t ever really say that I found a bat hot before, but there is something about the way Lynn writes that changed my mind… mostly. I am all about unusual dynamics and relationships that don’t work on paper, but I am NOT about manipulative attitudes, gaslighting and emotional angst. Seems that no matter the species, some similarities span the gamut when it comes to an insecure male mind.
Set on a world that harbors multiple species of bipedal, intelligent souls, this book throws a pleasantly plump and somewhat unsure Nova into the literal depths of this planet… far below a layer of mist that hides deep fissures and canyons none have ever seen, or at least none from ‘up top’. Drafted to service in order to pay off her debt, debts incurred by taking ancient language studies – an area unsuitable for most work. She is a pilot monitoring the easiest areas of the mist… until said mist somehow drags her in and down, destroying her ship and landing her among caves her brain can barely fathom. There Nova meets a collection of bat like people, and finds a fate more dicey than any she could have imagine before.
Nice… but…
So, this is a GOOD book, with interesting characters and lush world building. My issue? Nova is inconsistent. One moment she is a strong, sure female who stands up for herself. The next? She is weak willed and insecure, falling into patterns of mental abuse and victimhood. It bothered me. I am not sure if it bothered me more because I could actually relate to it… because there was a odd sense of reality to her actions… or because I expect FMC’s in these types of books to be Bad@ss, regardless of setting. But that is just me.
Perspective:
~First Person, Single POV
Ending Type:
~HEA
Rating:
~Mature… very mature.
Romantic Dynamic:
~MMMMF
Character Age Range:
~Almost 30+
Loved Vara and her bat men
Navara, is a human drafted as a pilot, to patrol over the mist, to pay off her student loans. A rogue cloud engulfs her ship, 1 she learns the clouds are really acid, and 2 she is going down and no one is going to save her. A prank parachute and a whole lot of luck she survives the crash and finds herself in a world she has dreamed of her whole life. The world of the Great Beasts. Her college education pays off.
Vara is rescued by a bald, red Batman. Citoc is an outcast of sorts, the last survived of his people. He introduces her to the people of her new world, but keeps her isolated and only gives her minimal information about her new world. The development a steamy and volatile relationship. When the truth comes out, Vara is taken under the wing of Saradne, who introduces her to Harkyn, and older blue make who looks more of a gargoyle. While part of her heart belongs to the make who broke it, she finds love and friendship in Harkyn. He is older and a plague of sorts took his ability to fly and have winglings. He pushes her to take on more males as is their people’s custom. Vara only wants him.
A betrayal lands Vara in the Murke, the home of the once Great Beasts who have lost themselves in madness and is saved by Nahesh their lord. He believes she is the mate a prophecy long ago promised him. The Murke is a dangerous place and keeping her safe is proving difficult. Nahesh, brings her back to Harkyn and brings in Kaval, the gentle giant hunter as a third mate to keep Vara happy and safe. The only thing missing is Citoc, Mahesh has a plan to bring him into their family. He has plans for the traitor who sent his mate into the Murke.
A fun, snarky, and steamy, reverse harem sifi romance. Nice epilogue to wrap up their story
*WARNING* story contains explicit sexual content and violence
Novara is a chubby humanoid who racked up a mountain of debt to to to school. Unfortunately, the classes she chose did not being her employment. Nova ended up paying off her debt by becoming a pilot for the government. Nova is assigned to the crappy area because she is considered a throw away pilot because she is chubby. One of her regular shifts changes Nova’s life forever.
This story has quite a bit of world building to make it easy to visualize. Nova is a perplexing character, sometimes she is why and weak, other times she stand her ground and tells it like it is…….her character will keep you guessing. The story is quite lengthy, but we’ll written.
What an incredible world!
I love Novara’s story! She survives an impossible entry into the ‘Under’ world, encountering ancient beings of mythic proportions. Textbooks speak of them, ‘dead’ languages are there to study; to encounter them in person – unheard of!
The world building is superb, the characters of the underworld unique (not necessarily ’pretty’), their personalities well-developed and fascinating.
By the time I was a few chapters in, I was hooked! I had to keep reading. Some of the misunderstandings, situations, had me snickering, even cackling with laughter! The love Novara discovers is deep, passionate, and as unique as her beloved males. This is not a tame, safe world, as Nova soon discovers. It’s a good thing she has someone looking out for her!
Set aside some extra reading time, sit down and enjoy this fascinating book. You won’t want to stop!