A Betrayal of Storms: Realm of Fey, Book 1

Okay do not make the same mistake I did and finish the last half of this book with a bottle of wine because I choked like 12 separate times during the end of this book. So many fantastic twists and turns I’m struggling to understand because I’m slightly inebriated. This book is so great it definitely deserves a reread under normal circumstances ahaha. But this is literally one of the best queer fantasy books I’ve read because it perfectly normalizes queer relationships. They just are, no explanation about queer history or an attempt at explaining why. It perfectly normalizes queer love as the plain love it is. This is so rare and this author did it perfectly. Not to mention the absolutely amazing thrilling action this book is also packed with. Few authors have such an amazing talent for word choice that inspires brilliantly vivid imagery. The end of this book was completely unexpected in the best way. It never once felt hopeless which often is a problem in books like these and it makes me just drop them. But this book captured my attention 100% the whole time. I took two breaks while reading. 1. To sleep. 2. To literally cry to my sibling in the fourth to last chapter!! Please buy this. It is the perfect queer fantasy book. I absolutely cannot wait for the next one.(Minor minor minor spoilers) Also if you’re worried about a terrible cliffhanger, don’t be. This book’s conflicts are 95% solved with only a moderate (non queer related) cliffhanger. There is no queer bait so read with no worries. I want to read the next book to learn more about this fantastic world (and it’s issues) and to follow our main characters and see their relationship grow. Overall a solid 10/10. It’s been so long since I’ve read something so great.

Allright. I know I know. It took me Far longer than it should have to finish this book. Why? Well because one it got accidentally deleted off my device then I couldn’t remember Which book it was when I realized the fact weeks later. And lastly, it took a hot minute to get back Into the story once I redownloaded it. So why four and not five stars? Because the dastardly bad guys were a bit much for a non romance novel. Yes there is aspects of romance in this. I actually like that everyone is free to pair with whomever they want in the far realm. I love Robin’s relationship with his father, even if I did want to smack his Dad for his behavior. The Hand is a fantastic faceless villain. But, it just felt a bit (and I know I use this description a lot in my reviews but it’s my go to for over the top ridiculous bad guys) mustache twirling evil cackling “mwahahaha got you”. Also, I sometimes had a hard time picturing a scene or setting. I’m good at filling in blanks and it’s unnecessary to be hyper detailed, but I got lost multiple times and ended up sort of picturing empty hallways with huge spaces only to read several pages later it was a small room only a few paces wide. Battle scenes are chaotic by nature but I still need a special framework to make sense of the fight. It’s a bit like having bad glasses that only let you see indistinct fuzzy images when it goes beyond a few meters. Overall I liked the story. I liked the world building I just wish I had a clearer picture of it to go with the descriptions of clothing.

This rich world full of interesting characters grabs the reader immediately plunging them into its depths and does not let go until the very end. I am thrilled to give this excellent book five stars and would give it more if I could. The world building is excellent, the characters are well developed and complex. I look forward to exploring what remains of the story in subsequent books.

That held my interest while the lack of grammatical editing drove me crazy. I am undecided about reading the next book.A strong, compelling plot, believable characters who inspire love, hate, betrayal, all the best characteristics, story crafting that ranks up there with the greats, and yet the second half of the book contains glaring grammatical and structural errors every few pages. I am wondering what the authors original language is, and hoping they have earned enough to have their next worked reviewed and professionally edited. (PS: Book 2 is just as good, and just as poorly edited.)

I recently discovered Ben Alderson and binge read one book every night for the last week. I work full time, so you can imagine the lack of sleep I experienced. But it didn’t matter because I was hooked. Ben has created fantasy stories and adventures that I have longed for since I was a wee little bookworm. There are finally main characters who are just like me (i. e., gay).As fate would have it, by the time I discovered Ben and read all his books this past week, the newest edition to his masterpieces, A Betrayal of Storms, arrived on my doorstep to fill the hunger I was experiencing. And I was not disappointed. Ben has stepped up his game and produced yet another attention grabbing series, with fey kingdoms, unique magic, and handsome men. Not to mention some well crafted and tasteful smutty scenes (*blushes*).All I can say is, “Thank you, Ben. You have done it again and I cannot wait for what’s to come.”

I enjoyed the characters and storyline. It was a nice easy read with interesting world building. I read this quite fast!

Ben did an excellent job on this book! It has quickly become a favorite, finishing it way too quickly. Great character development, solid storytelling and phenomenal world building! I’m sad this will only be a trilogy.

I greatly enjoyed the story. This is the first time in recent memory I have read the soul of a gay character presented so believably, and above all as relatable. The characters are not treated as token fodder rife with stereotypes. The tale is set in a fantasy realm with magic, monsters, humans and elves. For fans of fantasy fiction, especially the gay men who have not seen themselves reflected as worthy of starring in one of these tales, all of you owe it to yourself to read the book. Long live the King!

I've read the first three books in this series and am just dying to read the forth. In all honesty theses have been my favorite books over the past several years. I've even convinced my friends to buy them.

O livro tem uma escrita leve, é extremamente dinâmico e tem um bom ritmo de leitura.Vemos o mundo pelos olhos de Robin, que não é só mais um protagonista adolescente e descobrimos as diferenças entre os reinos através dos olhos dele.O romance é bem desenvolvido e há química entre o casal.

This book is, at least for me, fast pace, I flew through it. I really liked it.

Fantastic characters and great story that I'm thrilling to continue to read. DefinitelyI'll be seeing more of this author.

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