on Lacuna
Earn Lacuna Formulated By N.R. Walker Physical Book
it.
Still, I think she lacked consistency, This world promised a lot and in the end it did not deliver, even so, the characters are worthy characters of N, R. Walker and you can't help but fall in love with them from the start,
Not the best of the author's work but still okay,
Could've Been G, R. E. A. T
This book was quite interesting, In the beginning, I truly did not want to put the book down, I felt such an excitement, The concept was enjoyable and I liked the characters, However, while the book didn't turn bad per se, I lost a bit of, . . excitement about half way through simply because of That said, it was still really enjoyable and frankly the
book was left in such a way that it could've been a series instead of standalone.
The book centers around Crow, king of Northlands, birthmark: a raven, Black flags and pennants for Northlands, and Tancho, king the Westlands, birthmark: a koi fish, White flags and pennants for Westlands, The two has never met, yet when they are summoned by the Elders, their lives and that of the other rulers are changed forever.
Nothing is as what they have been taught growing up, and everything is answers that makes more questions, Overall, this was a good book that I wish was a series where we'd get to see a romance develop in each book instead of rushed in one where it became instalove.
I have to say I absolutely loved the possessiveness and jealously between Crow and Tancho, I just loved the animalistic side to it and I wanted WAY more of it,
Quick basic facts:
Genre: Adult Fantasy Romance M/M,
Series: Standalone,
Love triangle
Cheating
HEA
Favorite character Crow,
Would I read more by this author/or in this series Yes,
Would I recommend this book/series Yes actually, even though it has instalove,
Will I read this again in the future Who knows,
Rating.stars. .
There are so many books from N, R. Walker I love and I enjoy reading fantasy, so there I had no doubt that I have to get Lacuna but now that I read it I must say it was a difficult start.
Don't know why she decided to have the glossary at the very beginning, I was a bit overwhelmed by all those names and their meaning, by chemical mixtures and spells, Didn't know which one I have to remember later or if all the details are only nice to know and I get it all while reading anyway.
Guess for me a glossary is best placed at the back of a book,
Then starting the story I was surprised by the sincerity of the telling, Don't know when I last read fantasy that nearly breathed destiny between every line and didn't lighten the mood with a bit of humor.
That luckily changed later but it was the first sign that I was going to have some trouble reading this book and the next came right away when the world creation felt like an experimental setting on a drawing board, more fabricated than real, made to see how the characters deal with that setup.
So I waited for the romance to start and didn't mind much that also there it was much destiny, fate and astronomical compulsion but what I minded was their reaction to the forced connection.
I didn't understand the sudden rude rejection and the shorttempered provocations, It was like the author wanted to see what happens if she adds some enemylovers into the mix of her field study.
That hot and cold changed late but eventually there was the romance I was looking for but the bumpy start took its toll and I never really warmed to the world of Lacuna.
The adventure part of the story though was okay and in big parts quite enjoyable, I can't even complain about the villain and the twist to add a scifi element into a fantasy story was interesting but in the end there were too many questions open.
So what I loved best is the cover and Soko, Lacuna is a standalone fantasy but I really, REALLY, hope to return to this world, I need more of Crow and Tancho, it's as simple as that!
Their world is split into four, with one ruler for each quarter.
To ensure no fighting, there is a central command if you like but obviously, not everything can be good in paradise, I loved how each quarter was so different and how the people embodied their element, Crow and Tancho, without doubt, are my favourites and that is completely as it should be,
When they find out what their birthmark bond is actually about, I thought it fantastic, They wanted to kill each other most of the time and their verbal battles, childishness and general poutiness were spot on, After all, how would you feel being tied to someone you didn't know, even if you did find them attractive
The worldbuilding is perfect and the pacing is secondtonone.
There is plenty of action going on in Crow and Tancho's world and therefore, it makes sense, that they would have no time to explore their growing bond.
When they do, however, they make up for lost time, There is also a brilliant cast of supporting characters, from best friends to the other king and queen, They all have their own foibles and interests but pull together perfectly,
I adore MM and Fantasy so, for me, this was the perfect blend of both, An amazing story set in a fantastic world with an outstanding storyline and wonderful characters, What more could you ask for Absolutely recommended by me,
A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review, I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion,
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian I Dig Good Books! ,stars.
Not a bad book by any means but I'm just bored, I liked the beginning well enough but its a very long and slow book! N, R. Walker to me is one of the best MM writers out there, I still reread a lot of her books and she has written a lot of my favorite characters, so it is with a heavy heart that I have to say this didn't totally work for me.
When I started reading it I was totally invested in it, the worldbuilding was awesome as hell, the details that she described, the history in wich was based the story of the book, the whole fate and purpose of the marks, the meanings and mechanism were AWESOME!! But as you can see, those are the frame of the book, I had a problem with the filling stuff.
Why
It felt a lot like Cronin's Key, the fact that they were meant for each other, that they couldn't get far away without feeling pain.
It was repetitive and it wasn't written in a way that made go: fuck Cronin this is better! Hell no,
It dragged, a lot, while they were finding the books and the doors and the secrets, I started to get distracted with other things like my phone and that's not a good sign,
I still don't understand/feel the romance part, their destinies made it for Crow and Tancho to have to be near, to be attracted to each other and jealous as hell, but they always fought, made each other irritated and then.
. . suddenly by magic, they decided they liked each other, Didn't feel it.
They kept being interrupted when they were getting their freak on and I'm sorry but I'm not a teenager, I don't need to read and giggle about blue balls, you could just skip that or just show a little bit of flirting and leave it at that, not cut it short.
Not fun.
They went from one place to the other a lot, it was tiring and distracting, likeof the book is spent in them going from one place to the other, looking for books and talking to people who had no answers.
I dunno, it made me bored,
STILL!!! I must repeat: the worldbuilding is AWESOME!!! If she comes with another book in this world I won't doubt to read it, it's just that the way she developed things didn't work for me.
But I still love her, I still think she's one of the best and I'm still a fan,
Love you N, R. Walker!
Check out our full post for sitelink LACUNA on Wicked Reads,
s by the Wicked Reads Team
Erica
Lacuna is an intriguing MM fantasy standalone from N.
R. Walker.
The monarchs of four directional kingdoms are summoned to the center of their land for a celestial event that only happens every thousand years.
Each destined ruler was marked with the element from their kingdom at birth, signifying they were to lead,
A unique setup within a fantasy realm, placing all the key players in direct contact with one another within the first few chapters.
Evil is afoot, something far more important than a celestial celebration, All four rulers are a week's horse ride away from their kingdoms, leery of one another after decades of education within their time of peace, because long ago the kingdoms were at war with one another.
Told in dual narration, Crow in the Northlands, with his blackbird mark, and Tancho in the Westlands, with his koi mark.
The marks of their birth burning in communication with them, the urgency increasing the closer they get to the center, Is it the proximity to the eclipse or something else
The pages flew by for me in the beginning, as I was immersed in a new fantasy realm, curious to see how Crow and Tancho would be drawn together.
Then the angsty deliciousness hit, A gift or a curse Crow and Tancho were tied together in a way that was somewhat comical because of the frustration and discomfort they were both experiencing.
As a lover of slowburn, the tension between the pair was entertaining, their banter and issues kept the pages turning, The bro energy was high with their personal sidekicks, adding a humorous bent as their nearest and dearest found delight in taunting their betters.
I won't dive deeply into the world building, the complexity of the fantasy plot, or the magic mechanics, simply because that is something that unfolds as the story itself.
While I was entertained in the beginning third, where I was annoyed when I had other things I had to do when all I wanted to do is sit down and read, there was a wall I hit after that.
The redundancy wall,
While this is common in this genre, I'm not sure I understand why it exists, It's the SSDD syndrome. Where the story stalls, the characters go adventuring, As a lover of fantasy novels, shows, video games, and movies, I understand this for what it is, The lull before the storm where we wait for something to happen, anything to happen, gathering small crumbs of information,
At some point, the cast of characters begin a washrepeat series of pretty much the same events for days on end, all of it written on the page, not necessarily in detail though.
If the journey is seven days, we go through the same series of baths and meals and sleeps seven times, They travel from the center to the other four directions, which means we experience similar scenes in the West, North, East, and South.
This phenomenon slows the pacing, becomes redundant with the same inane actions, Interest wanes. While there are humorous or emotional moments tucked in during these dry moments, the pacing is jarring,
Lacuna started in a steady pace upward, stalled to a crawl in the middle for more than half of the novel.
The climax was rapid, to where if you accidentally skipped a page it would be over, I just wish the pacing would have been leveled out throughout the novel, because the climax happened so quickly there wasn't enough time for this reader to truly digest what was happening, enough time to feel any emotions for the characters.
Do I recommend Lacuna Absolutely, especially to fantasy fans, Honestly, I think this would be a good novel for those who have never read MM before, The connection between Crow and Tancho was written in a way that was beyond organic, the slowbuilding tension realistic, with the heat level on the lower side into fadetoblack territory.
It would be a good starting place for a new reader to dip their toes into the MM genre, where they would no doubt be swimming into the deep end in no time.
ers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads,
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