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

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

With talented voice acting, an almost graphical world build, and a classic f>fe>f>l slowburn... what went wrong?

I really liked this story, a lot of the story I would more than happy to re-read/listen but after like the 8th or 9th hour it began to become drab? Repetitive? Cringy? overall 4/5 it just seems like the writer got tired or I got tired of the plot.

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!

Excellent debut novel

Excellent world building in this fantasy novel filled with palace intrigue and smoldering romance. Great balance. Could use a little polish with a strong editor. Small things like overusing The Paladin over the character name. Takes one out of the story. But these are tiny cleanups in an otherwise wonderful story with engaging characters and twisty plotting. I look forward to Haddon’s next book. Hope he starts something new. This felt very complete. Narrator exceptional. Worth the cost of the audiobook for the narrator alone. But you will get a well thought out tale with strong emotions.

delightful

Starts quick, I had a hard time following everything at first but it was well worth it. very good book

Loved it!

I’ve found a new favorite author. The world-building was well done but not overly complicated, the plot builds well and the characters are complex and likeable. Will likely re-listen!

A decent story, with lots of rich detail up until the end.

The main characters are strong, attractive and interesting, with believable traits and reactions to the circumstances, and the theme of acknowledging past choices and repairing emotional wounds and relationships was compelling and moving. And I found several of the secondary characters to be the most delightful, breaking into a grin whenever they appeared. (Lance was the standout favorite!)

The story is richly designed, with deep layers of culture and nuanced emotion. That said, it may have been a bit TOO rich for an auditiobook, or at least with no attached pdf with a map and glossary. I constantly found myself uncertain with names of people, places and things, wondering, “Is that a new enemy country, a province in this one, a random city being visited, or a breed of cattle? Who is that person and how do they relate to the story, both over all and in this moment?” I was frequently pulled out of the story trying to decipher these complexities, rewinding multiple times. That’s not the best for story flow…

I also felt like the ending felt abit rushed after all that detail, with story lines and climactic battles ending confusingly and abruptly. There was little follow up with the fallout, and instead about 5 minutes of exposition and…scene.

The narration was really great, and I applaud the narrator for his variety of voices and ability to modulate them to capture varying moods and distinguish the characters easily.

Came for the romance, stayed for the world

I actually grabbed this audiobook while I was halfway through reading the second in the series in paperback. I somehow started out of order but that didn’t stop me falling absolutely in love with the magic, the lore, the world this author is building. And on top of that, both of these stories have romances with absolutely electric chemistry. Maybe I’m just weak for a flamboyant battle bard, maybe I’m just a sucker for devotion, maybe I just love the sarcasm and flirting, but whatever it is, I can’t get enough. I’m ravenous for more of this world, the magic, and yes, the hot bits, too. My friends know I won’t shut up about this series. Reading Reborn again as I type, and preordering Reclaimed as soon as I can ♥️