S.S. Skye

The idea of a seemingly powerful mage, who is bound to stay at his place of training because he cannot be let into the world without a bondmate to balance his power, fascinated me from the very start. As the story unfolds, and more details are revealed, it became quite obvious to me that this is a world with a lot of potential. We only get glimpses of the background in this short tale, and enough to flesh out the story, but I bet there is more!

Edander as a character, very unassuming and wholly misplaced in a land of rain and water, quickly pulled me into the story. He is a fire mage, but the people and land around him are all about water. His talents go not quite unnoticed, but definitely unappreciated most of the time, and he has no idea if, and when, he might be able to leave the Conservatory. I loved that he didn’t feel sorry for himself, just quietly works on his magic, not even sure he will ever find a bondmate to get him out of there. And when he does run into Ignifer, there is no fast romance, just a quiet 'getting to know each other', followed by a test in battle against a common enemy and developing friendship.

Ignifer is a scared warrior, traveling toward home, as we find out later, to fight in a war against his country. He didn’t expect to meet a mage he liked as much as he does Edander, but it is quite clear he appreciates the man's support. As they deepen their knowledge of each other it becomes clear that there is more than either of them will admit at the moment, but the feelings build slowly, and this filled me with confidence that these two have a solid foundation to build a relationship on. Even the decision to become bondmates is a joint one; neither really asks the other, Edander asks to fight in the way and Ignifer concludes they should be bondmates.

If you like stories with lots of quiet charm that sneak up on you and conquer your heart, if you enjoy reading stories with slowly building passion, and if you're looking for a quick read in a well-developed fantasy world, you will probably like this short book as much as I did. I certainly hope there will be a longer sequel!!!… (altro)