Review: Obsidian Island, by Arden Powell

 

Emery Lapwing is only interested in two things: exploring the natural world, and pretending that he's not in love with his closest friend, Captain James Rawlings of The Achillean. The first is easy: James will sail him anywhere he wants to go. The second, Emery has been doing for the past ten years. Emery's routine is shattered when he and James are swept overboard in a lightning storm. When the storm passes, they find themselves on the glittering pink beach of an unmapped island where no one has ever walked before.
The island hides a dangerous secret, and James and Emery aren't the only castaways falling under its spell. Monstrous creatures stalk their every move and something is taking root in their dreams, luring them deeper into the island's deadly, tropical heart.

"Any being capable of creating art must have a soul, surely." 

Arden Powell's Obsidian Island is an achillean horror adventure set some time during the Nineteen century, featuring four sailor friends with different background as a storm makes them land on a deliciously creepy island. From something much like Castaway, then, the atmosphere switches very quickly as the group - at first separated - reckon with various terrifying natural threats and with a seemingly sentient, monstrous tree. Running parallel to this is the subplot of queer desire in a time and society where queerness was punished with death. 

The best aspect of the novel is certainly the creepiness and slow horror of the island; the interpersonal relationships, on the other hand, are not so well developed, and while the primary couple at least has some meaty history, the secondary couple seems to come out of nowhere.

Obsidian Island is an intriguing read.

✨ 3 stars

 

 

 

Snippet: The Bachelor's Valet, by Arden Powell

Alphonse Hollyhock is blessed with wealth, class, and more beauty than brains. Though he hasn't got a lick of wit or magic to his name, he's perfectly content living life as an airheaded bachelor with his valet—the clever, unflappable Jacobi—by his side to ensure everything runs smoothly. All he lacks, according to his mother, is a wife. Despite Alphonse's protests, he's to marry Aaliyah Kaddour: a bright, headstrong young woman who would probably be charming company if she didn't threaten everything about Alphonse's way of life. Marrying means giving up his fashionable flat, his fast car, and, worst of all, it means losing Jacobi.
Perhaps most distressingly, this talk of marriage is bringing all sorts of confusing feelings to the forefront. Because rather than falling for the beautiful girl being pushed into his arms, Alphonse seems to be falling for his valet. Except a man can't fall in love with another man. Can he? Meanwhile, Aaliyah has plans of her own. She's as devious as she is pretty, but if Alphonse wants to get through this marriage business in one piece, he'll have to trust her. Her and Jacobi, and, most dangerously, his own feelings.

"Like stepping into summer sunshine". Arden Powell's The Bachelor's Valet is a sweet low-stakes fantasy story about an air-headed bachelor and his loyal valet with magical powers. It's incredibly cozy and it never once attempts to be more than it is; I found it a perfectly relaxing read to cleanse the palate in-between heavier books. This is the same author of the book about a nightmarish eldritch fairy creature, so I'm really happy to have given them another chance. This novella is part of a series of loosely connected queer romantasy books, so I might pick up something else from the series. There's also a nice wlw relationship that takes some space in the narrative.

✨ 4 stars

Review: The Faerie Hounds of York, by Arden Powell

 

William Loxley is cursed. A pale and monstrous creature haunts his dreams, luring him from London to the desolate, grey landscape of his forgotten childhood. There, it will use him to open a door to Faerie—a fate that will trap Loxley in that glittering, heathen otherworld forever.
His only hope of escaping the creature's grasp lies with John Thorncress, a dark and windswept stranger met on the moors. The longer Loxley stays in Thorncress' company, the harder it becomes to fight his attraction to the man. Such attraction can only end in heartbreak—or the noose.

This was terrifying, for me, personally. The pale and monstrous creature? Its descriptions are so vivid that I was about to throw my kindle away. Arden Powell's The Faerie Hounds of York is an atmospheric novella that I couldn't enjoy fully because that thing just kept creeping me out. It's not classified as a horror, but uhhh for me it was! I couldn't focus on the intriguing plot because that thing kept lurking. The romance was bittersweet, with unexpected twists and turns. The conclusion was fantastic.

The Faerie Hounds of York is a solid novella for horror enthusiasts.

✨ 3 stars