Apple Boy

I won a copy of this audiobook in a giveaway held by the narrator, Gary Furlong, but his generosity did not influence my review.

This book is difficult to review, because I really liked some elements and really disliked others. Three stars feels right. This was my first time reading this author, but I've listened to many of Gary Furlong's narrations before. His performance here is excellent!

This is a coming-of-age fantasy romance set in a secondary world that feels like pre-industrial Europe. Winter Aeling, a nobleman, is alone and destitute, when he meets a farm boy, Adam. They have an instant connection, and the book is all about their adventures together.

My main problem, which colors the rest of my opinions, is with the writing style. The author avoids the word “said,” using other speech tags, some of which felt awkward and possibly incorrect (like “informed,” with no object for the verb). When using “said,” she almost always adds an adverb. I found this style distracting, and I doubt I could've continued, if I hadn't been listening to the audiobook instead of reading.

The author also frequently misplaces participles and prepositional phrases, and sometimes these mistakes confused me. Overall, I really feel she needs a better copy editor. There's a decent amount of info that feels unnecessary, too. For example, I didn't need a long and detailed physical description of every member of the council. A lot of scenes could've been streamlined.

I feel like this book would've benefited a lot from Adam's point of view. He is not a very well-drawn character and I don't really know why he fell in love with Winter, apart from destiny. I also felt more than once that Winter and the narrative were both neglecting Adam's needs. He feels like an accessory to Winter's story, which makes me uncomfortable.

The actual plot is very good. It isn't really unusual, but I thought it was interesting. This book does end in the middle of the story, but not on a cliffhanger. I thought everything revealed in the last few chapters could've been foreshadowed slightly more. But I'm sure it will be developed more in the next book. I didn't feel unsatisfied with the ending, but the book as a whole is very much part one of a longer story.

The romance is a fated mates with soulbonding kind of deal, in case anyone seeks out or avoids that plot. It isn't really fluffy; they both get irritated with each other sometimes. But there's no major conflict between them in this book.

I didn't like that (NSFW) the bond between Winter and Adam wasn't permanent or real or whatever until they had anal sex. They had already had oral sex, but not while touching the magical stone. But the chapter was called "Consummation," which makes me roll my eyes. This is really just a quirk of m/m, though. I know this, but it still annoys me.

Overall, this book is pretty good, and I will continue reading the series. Maybe some of my problems with it won't be as prominent in the next book. I think it might be a story from the world's past, with different characters.