The King of Hel

Castil il Veras has never truly envied her best friend until the day she met Doranis of Helenrisia. King of Helenrisia, Doranis has come to wed her friend. Yet it is her eyes that he seeks across the room and her heart that flares with each glance. To Castil he is not the cursed king of an unusual land, but instead the most dynamic, exotic man she has ever met. However, duty must be obeyed and one as low as she would never aspire to be a queen. Friend is all she can hope for. When her friend is in need, Castil leaves her home to travel to Helenrisia. What greets her there is nothing like she imagined.

This short novella will hold readers in thrall with its image filled landscape and descriptions. The characters show surprising emotion in such a short work. I enjoyed that the plot spanned months instead of being rushed into a few unbelievable days. The author’s use of time allows readers a better understanding of the motivation of the characters. Whereas I would have liked to have seen more relevance of the magic Doranis controls, this does not detract from the romantic, erotic by-play between them. The buildup between Doranis and Castil is well conceived and plays nicely into the passion that is eventually acknowledged between them. Their love story is sure to have more than just this reviewer sad to see the story end.

Reviewed by: Amanda