Great fantasy story with excellent world building. A world beneath Earth called Terra. Castles, mystical creatures, a gate between Terra and Earth guarded by a hot witch, magic and a group of odd ball misfits. Everything I enjoy in a good fantasy story. I'm ready to dive into book two. ( )

For me, when I think S.J. Frost, I think either musicians or vampires; so I was immediately interested to see how she worked with fantasy. Her novels usually contain romance, music descriptions, a world building, sex, and a deep emotional commitment between a group of friends. When you read a Frost book, you can expect a large cast of characters.

With all of these descriptions, it could easily translate into fantasy. I believe that she succeeds here.

Basic Plot:

Garrett is a biologist and environmentalist who attempts to save a portion of forest before it becomes deforested. In his quest in the remote wilds he finds something supernatural and beyond anything he could expect. Bryson saves him and takes him back to his world where even more danger lurks. Can they make their relationship work and will they have enough time to save both worlds?

Strong Points:

The strong points in this novel is in the writing and descriptions. I love how Frost describes these magical things like dragons and unicorns. Take this first look at the new world by Garrett:

No larger than a cat, the dragon pushed off its side to sit up, and was scooped into the man’s arms. Its scales were white, but as the light hit them, an iridescent sheen glistened over them. Two ivory-colored horns spiraled out from the back of the dragon’s refined, small head, which was held up on a long, slender neck. Triangular spikes, the same ivory color as the horns, ran down the back of its neck, back, and tail. The tip of its tail ended in a spear-like point.Another strong point is something that we see in all of her series, the concept that friends are your family. In both Conquest series and her Instincts series, she builds families out of friendships. I love how she shows love and affection easily given between men. The fact that this friendship is so passionate and strong, but it is not written in a sexual manner, rather in comfort and camaraderie.

What could be better?

Believe it or not, this is not a 5 star review because there was too much sex. One of the greatest things about Frost’s writing is that she is not afraid of giving the readers some sexy and hot scenes. The emotional connection between Jesse and Evan is one of the most intense scenes through sex (Conquest series). But maybe it’s just my image of fantasy books, but I tend to want a great deal of world building and not a lot of sex.

That being said, I will say the sex wasn’t until about 1/2 through the book, so there was plenty of time for us to get the world building and plot established before they jumped into the bed. My complaint is just toward the end I started skimming the sex scenes, and I was not overwhelmed with their emotional connection. To be fair, I could be spoiled by Jesse and Evan.

Conclusions:

Overall, this is an amazing story and I am very excited about seeing this world unfold. I think that Frost has built a solid foundation for a series and I wonder who the next story will revolve around. I loved the descriptions, the friendships, and the love story. The action scenes were incredibly vivid and there were times when I felt like I was watching a movie.

I recommend this book to anyone who has read a Frost book and I certainly think that any fantasy M/M readers will like this book as well. ( )