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October Daye / Inheritance - Essay Series Part Five: Long Series and How to Read Them

Hello Patrons and general audience members! Welcome to another Books That Burn essay by Robin. Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout. [Full Audio Available Here] This is the fifth and final entry in a five-part essay series discussing two long-running book series by queer authors: October Daye by Seanan McGuire, and Inheritance by A.K. Faulkner. I chose these series because I love them both, they were intended from the start to be long series, neither of them are finished yet, and the authors have different structural approaches to developing each series across so many volumes. Purely coincidentally, they are both long-running contemporary fantasy series mainly set in California in or near the 2010's, with major characters named Quentin, and whose fast-healing protagonists have a tendency to quasi-adopt a gaggle of magical teenagers. After a brief moment in the 1990's, October Daye begins in earnest in 2009 and has reached 2015 as of the eighteenth boo...
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Three Kings by Freydís Moon

Ethan Shaw—lighthouse keeper and local witch—lives a charmed life in his chilly, coastal hometown. Blessed with a flourishing garden and a stable livelihood, Ethan can’t complain. But when his husband, Captain Peter Vásquez, brings home a wounded leopard seal after an impromptu storm, Ethan is faced with a curious situation: caring for a lost selkie named Nico Locke.

As Ethan struggles with the possibility of being infertile, insecurities surrounding his marriage, and a newly formed magical bond with a hostile, handsome selkie, his comfortable life begins to fracture. But could breakage lead to something better?

With autumn at their heels and winter on the horizon, Ethan, Peter, and Nico test the boundaries of a new relationship, shared intimacy, and the chance at a future together.

COVER ARTIST: M. E. Morgan
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
YEAR: 2023
LENGTH: 146 pages 
AGE: Adult
GENRE: Fantasy, Romance
RECOMMENDED: No

Queer Rep Summary: Lesbian/Sapphic Secondary Character(s), Gay/Achillean Main Character(s), Bi/Pan Minor Character(s), Genderqueer/Nonbinary Secondary Character(s), Trans Main Character(s).

*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book. 

**My recommendation has been pulled based on issues with the author. The original text of the review remains below.

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Poignant and sensual by turns, THREE KINGS is the story of a fishing captain and a male witch who open their marriage to a selkie. 

Ethan and Peter have been trying for a baby, but Ethan is worried he might be infertile as a result of the desperate magic he used to bring Peter back from the dead three years ago. When Peter brings home a dead seal, Ethan is convinced it’s actually a selkie and brings it back to life as well. It turns out Ethan was right, and as Nico recovers in their care, the three of them start bonding. 

I enjoyed this! It’s fully able to stand alone, though I would be interested in more stories in this setting or with these characters. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like it even though it deals with a topic (fertility) that I normally have zero interest in.

Graphic/Explicit CW for sexual content.

Moderate CW for alcohol, drug use, infertility, violence, injury detail, medical content, animal death, death.

Minor CW for pregnancy, blood, self harm.

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A red-haired man in a black and white sweater looks at orange fruit above him, below are ocean waves with a seal and a fishing boat.


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