Seducing the Sorcerer

I loved this story and would give it 5/5 if not for the sex scenes - the humiliation kink and all of that was not what was wrong with them but the utter lack of intimacy and the way of writing that either lacked emotions or the emotions that were portrayed weren't convincing, I felt as if I was reading a manual instead of a sex scene between 2 characters :(

3.5 stars. I loved Fenn and wanted all of the good things to happen to him. The worple horses were a fascinating creation and Squab stole the show. The book fell short for me in the romance department, however. I wasn't a huge Morgrim fan. He lied to Fenn repeatedly, threw an ill-timed hissy fit, and his heroism was limited to Has Philosophical Discussions About Political Decisions. He reminded me of a liberal Democrat who waxes rhapsodically about peace, justice and equality, but is more talk than action (no disrespect to liberal Dems, I'm one myself).

I read a few reviews that were squicked out about the light D/s sex scenes but I didn't find them problematic. I just wanted Fenn to try his moves on someone who was more worthy of his awesomeness.

I loved this book. It could've gone in a lot of different directions, but I like the focus that it has.

Before reading it, I appreciated that it was about men in their 40s, but I find age really is just a number in many romance novels. To me, though, this does actually feel like a book about older characters. I could identify with them easily.

I usually like the journey from despair to hope as a romance plot arc, but in some books, only one MC is on that path. Here, both characters have almost given up on life (understandably so); the events of the story, including their romance, teach them how to hope again and experience joy. I thought it was beautiful.

I loved how the MCs first connected over old (imaginary) popular culture and how surprising it was to Fenn that Morgrim had once needed to learn the same kinds of things that he did. I also liked how Fenn could so clearly see the boy Morgrim had once been. While some of the establishment of their connection was told and not shown, I thought that worked very well:

They talked. About horses and books and magic and the ways the world had changed since they'd been boys. Morgrim remembered a lot of the same things Fenn remembered. Fenn didn't have to explain how things used to be different: Morgrim knew. He'd lived it himself.

I teared up at one part of the ending, about the elderly horses. It had an obvious link to the book's main plot and it really affected me.