Lacuna

Great storyline and characters. Amazing story which clearly differs from the usual style but has managed to catch the humour and great writing style.

**4 Stars**“Our birthmarks might have drawn us together, but my heart is yours.”Crow and Tancho have been bound by destiny but parts of that destiny have been hidden in duty and tradition but under the looming eclipse it begins to unravel in many ways and new friendships are formed.This was really exciting and fun and I enjoyed it a lot.It's a slow burn but with sexual tension thatcontinue to burn brighter.There is possessive grumpy jealousy which is mostly hilarious and I loved it. There is annoyance between the MCs and it definitely has a natural transition for me, from kinda sorta enemies to oh hi hello please kiss me now.This is balanced out by the group of friends. The whole group of characters are great.the romance is slow burn but for the most part the story moves at a quick enough pace to keep you in the story.Stories like this one are usually told over a couple of books so I do feel like I didn't quite understand the motives of the villain(s) or *get* them fully in a way that I would if it was good over a couple of books but still think it was done really well.Something that bothered me which is something small and probably petty but the rulers of the kingdoms had no mentions of parents present or past?? There were mentors in their lives but I can't remember a mention of parents and it kinda annoyed me lol.The development of the marks on both Tancho and Crow is something I'm not sure I quite get, I was waiting for an explanation of this but it didn't seem to come.There could definitely be more to follow but it's also pretty good as a standalone. This was a wonderful world to escape to.

The world building in this is beautiful, if a little formulaic. To the north is cold and wild, with gruff dark haired characters. The south is a jungle, the East is a desert (and thats pretty much all you need to know as I've probably already written more than the characters from South and East say) the West is a mish-mash of Asian tropes - rice fields, peaceful mountain scenes, houses on stilts etc. It felt a bit strange to have what felt like three anime characters with typical styles and personalities join up with the two Northants that could have stepped off the Wall in Game of Thrones. But there's been more attention to explaining the meaning behind peoples names than explaining what is actually going on. There's some big event theyve been preparing all their lives for, meant to be some huge deal - but what is it?! And of course there's the tropey "why do I despise but also intensely and inappropriately desire you in a filthy way on first sight" thing going on between characters. There's little in the way of characterisation too. They'll all be angry one minute then joking the next then staring intensely after that. Im so sorry, it could be a great book. But I just couldn't finish it to find out.

Lacuna - a queer romantasy by N.R Walker. I had high hopes for this one but unfortunately this book crashlanded for me.

This lady always amazes me with her wonderful works. Every book I read I think it’s the very best! That is until I read the next one by her. With Lacuna you have everything you could hope for, a nasty evil, a glorious joining of friends who fight the evil and the most beautiful love story. I’d love to hear more tales from all the characters, fingers crossed there’s more to come

Unusual story of a world where lands are divided into four and kept in place by a central government , all is well till somebody gets greedy and wants it all and it keeps you reading or listening to find out just who and what is ruining the perfect system . Enjoy this unusual story from N R Walker

This authors new direction into the fantasy arena has not gone wrong on any counts. The world building, character development & the storyline were outstanding. I loved Crow & Tancho’s relationship, the snark was brilliant. I can’t wait for book 2. 😊Xx

I bought this on the strength of the author's name. Just not my style. Slow and ponderous.