He accidentally cursed himself... When the consequences get him exiled to the land he helped terrorize, can this evil wizard find redemption... and love? Orpheus can't believe it's come to this. After helping his childhood friend conquer the realm by raising an army of hell-beasts, the befuddled dark sorcerer finds himself banished when the price of his magic endangers the palace. Isolated and betrayed, the feared spellcaster isn't exactly thrilled when his irritating and handsome rival keeps stepping between him and certain doom. Ill at ease in the barren wasteland his powers created, Orpheus slowly warms to the charismatic ex-general's relentless overtures. But as his feelings grow more intense, the former villain struggles with an inconvenient calling towards heroism. Will dabbling in good deeds get him killed or open the doors to happily ever after? The Crack at the Heart of Everything is the charmingly swoon-worthy first book in an epic LGBTQ+ fantasy series. If you like character-driven stories, snarky humor, and well-earned redemption arcs, then you'll adore Fiona Fenn's unexpected hero's journey.
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I really, really liked this book. I stayed up far too late finishing it, heart in my throat, racing toward a hoped-for happy ending that felt impossible—and while I won't spoil the way it played out, I'll just say that I wasn't at all left disappointed. Even the ending for Lore, the devastating Dark Lady at whose behest Orpheus ravaged the world, felt fitting and satisfying.
There are a lot of tropes that can and probably will be applied to this book—grumpy/sunshine, villain redemption, antagonists to lovers, et cetera—but the story is so much more than tropes. At no point was I able to confidently predict what would happen next. The dropped-into-the-action beginning left me initially a bit confused, but after about the first chapter I got my bearings and started to become fully immersed in this strange, dark, fascinating world—which leaves some unanswered questions about its history and nature lurking in the background, but not so many that I was unable to enjoy the storyline and characters.
Recommended for anyone interested in character-driven, dark-but-sweet queer love stories about making amends and finding your place in the world.
(I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)
