Reforged

By: Seth Haddon

Narrated by: Gary Furlong

Since time immemorial the warriors of the Paladin Order have harnessed arcane powers to protect their rulers. For Balen, who has given up his chance at love and fought his way to the top of the Paladin Order, there can be no greater honor than to serve his king. But when assassins annihilate the royal family, Balen suddenly finds himself sworn to serve the very man he abandoned.

Now with their nation threatened by enemies both within and outside the kingdom, Balen must fight hidden traitors and unnatural assassins, while also contending with the biting wit and dangerous charm of young King Zavrius. To save themselves and their nation they will have to put aside their past and reforge that trust they lost so long ago.

Contains mature themes.

©2022 Seth Haddon (P)2023 Tantor

A great book with a fantastic narrator.

I really loved this book. It has everything I want in a fantasy romance - a good magic system, an intriguing plot line, and a relationship that MAKES SENSE. I found it refreshing the two main characters gayness was never really questioned and presented as totally normal - sometimes LGBT books get really caught up in the coming out stories so I really liked that it wasn't like that.

I found the plot interesting, but it did give the feel of kind of point A to point B. I also felt like Balin needed a bit more agency in the Paladin order to really make sense - I would have loved if he had a little band of paladins to help him and back his king politically. I also loved the magic system and how it was nearly religious, loved the extra politics outside of the domestic sphere too. The romance was great, gave me some good butterflies. This book is also rather explicit, for those who are unsure.

I am excited to see what else this author has to offer! I was looking for some other works and was disappointed to see this was the only other one. I hope he has some stuff planned for us!

An absolute joy to read!

I was online looking for another title by Seth the minute I finished. Hoping there will be many more to come!

Great!

This is a super fun, well put together fantasy romance! Gary is a great narrator too!

Beautiful beginning to a series

This book has been nudging me for month so I finally broke down and got it. I’m glad I did. Can’t wait for the next one!

An Excellent Debut

In my opinion this book clearly read as a debut novel, though a good one. There are some pitfalls that come with a first published work and I saw it here mainly in the pacing. However, I was genuinely enjoying myself and so I barely registered the small issues. This book has some of my favorite things, like the ex’s second chance romance trope, as well as music magic. I really liked the relationship between the two leads, especially given their history and the weight it has in their new situation. The plot and political intrigue had the basis of something really interesting but was ultimately a bit shallow. However, because of the seeds that were planted, as well as the characters and world building, I don’t mind the shallow plot. Overall, a great start to what I hope is a long career for the author, everyone will learn and grow with time. I highly recommend.

Really nice!

I felt there were some plot holes here and there. But the story was really nice. I did like that the romance was a slow burn romance, and the sex description was erotic without being too descriptive nor vulgar.
I really loved the two side characters, they were funny and the narrator animated them so well, that I kept wanting more of them. Loved the MC’s power. I would read more of this author and narrator if the opportunity were to open.

I love a good fantasy romp.

Great story. Great dialogue. Loved it. I love a prequal or a sequal to this.

Great pacing and heart racing!

I loved every minute of this read! The characters, the world building, and the relationships were amazing! Loved the DND vibes!

Looking forward to more from this author

I'm surprised that this doesn't have more ratings and reviews, honestly, but I see that the audiobook is relatively recent, so I must contribute.
I really enjoyed this book and the narration, and I hope to read more from this author and the voice actor. Zavrius in particular was such a fun character to hear, though I did wish for Balen to get his head out of his ass because he seemed to be dreadfully clueless in several respects, despite supposedly being such a powerful and "well-trained" warrior. Also, one other note: I absolutely love the cover art, and I hope that artist was very well compensated since the gorgeous combination of passion and softness really catches the eye in a sea of very much less appealing (i.e. boring) m/m fiction covers.
I see that there's another book coming out following Oren on a mission in the neighboring country, and I'm very much looking forward to it.

Not what I expected

But I enjoyed this. The mystery, action, adventure . . . the angst . . . and the heat. It was all good.

4 stars