5 out of 5 stars
E-book. 405 pages. Published July 20th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
Blurb:
Once upon a time, in an alleyway in the slums of the City of Lockes, a young and somewhat lonely boy named Sam Haversford turns a group of teenage douchebags into stone completely by accident.
Of course, this catches the attention of a higher power, and Sam’s pulled from the only world he knows to become an apprentice to the King’s Wizard, Morgan of Shadows.
When Sam is fourteen, he enters the Dark Woods and returns with Gary, the hornless gay unicorn, and a half-giant named Tiggy, earning the moniker Sam of Wilds.
At fifteen, Sam learns what love truly is when a new knight arrives at the castle. Sir Ryan Foxheart, the dreamiest dream to have ever been dreamed.
Naturally, it all goes to hell through the years when Ryan dates the reprehensible Prince Justin, Sam can’t control his magic, a sexually aggressive dragon kidnaps the prince, and the King sends them on an epic quest to save Ryan’s boyfriend, all while Sam falls more in love with someone he can never have.
Or so he thinks.
Likes:
- All the characters.
- The humor.
- The world building.
- The plot.
- Slow-burn romance.
- Played my heartstrings like a fiddle.
- A complete story, but with more to come.
Dislikes:
- If you can’t handle some ridiculous situations, this book isn’t for you.
I don’t remember if this is my fourth or fifth time reading The Lightning-Struck Heart, but the fact that 1.) I’ve re-read it so many times even though I’m not a big re-reader and 2.) it can still make me laugh and cry says so much about this book. Basically, it’s amazing and everyone should read it.
For me, five star books are books that I would recommend to anyone, even someone who isn’t into mm romance. I once read the first chapter of this book out loud to my friend while she was dismantling a couch. I am not a talented voice actor, but she still ended up laughing so hard she almost hit her finger with a hammer.
From the moment I first read this book, it became my favorite. Not my favorite mm romance, my favorite book period. It’s not just the humor, or the characters, or the love story. It’s all of it. And the fact that the story is high fantasy is the icing on the cake for me. I mean, dragons, unicorns, trolls, and truth corn!
Now, to be fair, this book is ridiculous. And I mean that in the best way. Take this passage for example:
Two days before the wedding, I stood in the throne room, watching as the King regally posed next to a stained glass window. I had the easel set up a few feet away from him as I studied him closely, wanting to make sure I got his likeness just right.
“Oops,” I said.
“Oops,” the King said. “What oops?”
“Okay, so how would you feel if you looked like you had boobs?”
“Is that a hypothetical question?”
“Hypothetically… no. More like that’s what I painted somehow and will now be a part of the finished product because I don’t know how to fix it. Nor do I know if I want to.”
“Am I busty?”
“Very. You also have three of them.”
“Good. Proceed.”
“Excellent,” I said, putting more puce on the canvas, because if there was one thing the world needed more of, it was puce. “I am such a good painter.”
I understand if Klune’s humor isn’t for everyone. That’s fine. You have a mummified raisin instead of a funny bone, but that’s fine.
The slow-burn romance is part of what makes this book so great. Sure, the slow-burn means that there’s only one sex scene. But it allows the world building and character development to shine. The side characters are fully fleshed out and absolutely integral to the story. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the side characters truly make this book. Gary is my favorite, of course, but Sam is surrounded with so many amazing people.
I think a big part of what drew me to this book was that, not only could I see myself in Sam, there’s also an element of wish fulfillment. Sam grew up in the slums, different from the other kids. Then one day, he realized he was special, and so did Morgan. So Saw was whisked off to a new life full of joy and excitement. As a queer kid who grew up in a working poor family in the American Midwest, that’s basically what I dreamed about when I was young.
I think the things that impresses me most about The Lightning-Struck Heart is that it’s a complete story. The series is all about Sam, so it’s not like this book is the only one about him and his romance. But it’s written as though it was. The reader learns everything they need to know about Sam from this book. The romance goes through the usual ups and downs, with a happy ending.
Yet there’s more to come. And that’s the best part. The knowledge that you get to read more about these characters in the next book and the next and the next.
Be sure to check out the reviews for The Tragic Life of Lady Tina DeSilva (Tales From Verania #1.5), A Destiny of Dragons (Tales From Verania #2), The Consumption of Magic (Tales From Verania #3), A Wish Upon the Stars (Tales From Verania #4), and the series review.
Love is Love Reviews 