Book Review: Sage and King

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Copy received from the publisher Central Avenue Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

A charming MM romantic fantasy with all the feels.



'After twenty-eight years of assuming the succession would never reach him, that he could forever be the rapscallion prince who shirked as many responsibilities as possible, spent half his nights at the theatre, and caused minor scandals in the newspapers,' Zaya suddenly finds himself with the crown landing with a crash upon his head.

'Gods help the nation of Lushrain.' - That's what everyone seems to think, including Zaya himself. And no one is more afraid than him that he'll screw things up - royally.

"There's good you could do for this land with your young fresh thoughts."
"My thoughts are chaos. I'd probably start a civil war by complete accident."

And yet, our prince is determined to give it his best shot, even if that means the end of his liberty as he knows it or, even worse, learn about magic. Illegal to practice and forbidden in his kingdom, it seems to have been a closely guarded secret not only of the sages but also of his royal forefathers.

To study and understand it, Zaya needs to spend a month at Heartwood, the house of the sages high in the mountains. And despite distrusting and abhorring magic, Zaya is assigned a tutor and needs to get comfortable around it. The only good thing about the whole affair is the tutor himself - Col, a charming young sage with unusually strong powers who doesn't hesitate to let Zaya know he doesn't want the job.
Now don't get me wrong, the two are instantly attracted to each other, but the gulf between them is as wide as it gets. And yet, what starts as an uneasy mutually beneficial understanding slowly evolves into something more. Lessons and debates, lead to stolen looks and daring touches, as well as occasional fights involving 'flinging sticks at each other with all the mirth and irresponsibility of ten-year-olds.' And before any of them realise, they're already falling in love.

A King and Sage couldn't possibly have a future together! And yet... What if? And why not?
This is something both Col and Zaya agree upon.

But an assassin roams, seeking to hurt Zaya, and the budding love affair may be crushed by the secrets that Heartwood—and Col—have kept about this killer.

Beautifully written and fast flowing, Sage and King is an adorable MM romantic fantasy with all the feels. The setting is wonderful, the plot solid and intriguing, the magic superb and the characters to absolutely root for! And don't even let me get started on the romance! Sweetness on a page!!
I found myself smiling every other page at the adorable cuteness between Zaya and Cal. And then that end!!! My heart!! So sweet and endearing!! It can't get better than that.

Sage and King is a charming, fun and light read that's practically unputdownable.
I finished it in one sitting, absolutely loved it and highly recommend it to any and all LGBTQ romantic fantasy fans out there.