Number of Books: just 2 in this series! Each is roughly 350 pages.
Genre: fantasy, boys-love, romance
Warnings: sex, sex, and more sex lol! Ok, that's not really all it's about. XD But there are several sex scenes, some a bit more graphic than others, the majority gay, with the exception of one. >> There's profanity and some violence, too. [these books aren't for the kiddies!]
Main Characters: Kiram, Javier, Nestor, Elezar, and Fedeles
Why lookie here! A review! Yes. XD
I just finished the second/last book of this wonderful little series 2 nights ago. It usually takes me at least 2-3 weeks to finish a book, but I finished both of these in just 2 weeks! Then again, they were each half the size of what I've been reading lately...so I guess...yeah, it took me the same time. >>' AH WELL, IT DOESN'T MATTER. I just felt they went really quickly because I enjoyed them so much. So you already know that I will be giving this a good rating!
Lord of the White Hell is by the same author as Wicked Gentlemen, another BL fantasy novel. I read that maybe a year ago or so, and some of you might remember my fanart challenge I held for it! To draw the main character Belimai. Anyhoo, I loved that book and hoped that Ginn Hale would release some more books, and she did last September with this series. I had a very hard time finding the books, however! They aren't that common. You can't find them in book stores, and on Amazon, it said that they were "out of print." I was SHOCKED. But you know where I found them? On the publisher's site. Yup. You can buy them directly from the publisher, so if you are interested after I give you the review, you can find them there!
Alright, so what is it about? I must tell you that the summary that is on the back of the books and on the websites are fairly...misleading. When I read them, I actually wasn't so sure if the series was going to be yaoi or not. Heck, they didn't even sound that interesting! But because I loved the author's first book, I bought them. And I am glad that I did! It is a fantasy series, but I must say that it is more about the romance and struggles that the two main characters (Kiram and Javier) face because of their love. Yes, there are demons, curses, and some magic here and there, but I really feel that this series more depicts prejudice and how the characters have to overcome it while still being true to themselves.
Kiram is of the Haldiim race--dark skin, blond hair, and known for their different, magical culture. Javier, and his friends/classmates (Nestor, Elezar, Fedeles, etc.) are Caledeonian, with their light skin and dark hair. Kiram is the first Haldiim to ever be accepted at the Caledeonian Sagrada Academy because he is a mechanical genius! When he first arrives, everyone stares and ostracizes him because of his race. The people at school look down on him, mock his religion and culture, and they think that he will possess them or something. So where does he end up dorming? Oh, why of course with the guy on campus that is supposedly cursed with a demon, Javier Tornesal. They figured that Kiram wouldn't be affected by the curse because of his race, and no other Caledeonian wanted to room with him. They also didn't want to room with him because the Haldiim have a much different view on marriage and love. In their culture, it is completely normal for two men to get married and be in love, they are called "adari." So of course they all assumed the Kiram would be trying to seduce all of them!
When Kiram and Javier first meet, well, let's just say it's love at first sight for Kiram! And Javier, although he doesn't really let on right away. Javier pretends to be this really crude, rough and tough, slick kind of guy. He's the life of the party amongst his friends, though most of them just fear him because of the curse within him. His curse, the "White Hell," has possessed his family line for generations, and now he is stuck with it, and it hurt his cousin Fedeles greatly. Fedeles's character is an interesting one. His mind was basically lost because of the White Hell, so he acts like a child most of the time. He doesn't speak normally; he prefers to list off and sing the names of his favorite horses, but sometimes he has moments of scary lucidity. Javier is determined to cure his cousin no matter what, so he studies Haldiim texts that he thinks might help. Kiram notices him reading them and inquires...and he gets pulled into the whole mess of the curse and trying to help.
Well, I don't want to go into the WHOLE story, but that is basically the beginnings of it. So throughout the two books, Javier and Kiram grow closer and realize that they do love one another, but they have to hide it from everyone else because otherwise, they would be shunned from society and most likely killed for it. Because of Kiram's background, they would likely blame him and kill him first for "seducing" Javier. And that is a big focus of the story...their attempts at hiding their love. There are sex scenes, yes. There are big arguments and jealousy. And then, of course, there is the whole thing about the curse and trying to rid it and help Fedeles! In the second book, the last half mostly revolves around that, but as I said, most of the first book and first half of the second book is about Kiram and Javier's growing relationship and their troubles being a gay couple in a very straight culture.
There are fighting tournaments, horse races, and just plain old school life as well. At first I was like "wow" to how NORMAL some of the first book was. Like literally, just Kiram and Nestor (his friend he makes) talking over lunch, doing homework, things like that! I was almost like WTF at first, but trust me, things get a lot more interesting as they go along. :) More of the fantasy and more of the romance. I really loved these, so I recommend them for sure! Of course, if you are not into yaoi and would rather not read a single page of sex, then these aren't for you lol. But if you don't mind, then they are really good. I found myself going "Awwww, how sweet" at the ending. A lot of the themes are pretty relevant to the culture today, what with the struggles that LGBT people go through in a culture that still views such things as "wrong." So yeah. It's enlightening as well.
My ratings:
Book 1: A
Book 2: A
(Yes, honestly. I was thinking about which was better or not, but I think they each had their ups and very small downs.)
