Review: Galen and the Forest Lord by Eden Winters

One thing I really like about Eden Winters is that on one hand she can produce some really dark and angsty romance books and then she can produce books like this one which is a humourous fantasy story - what great versatility!

This story is set in the same world as the authors short story, Flame, which is quite a serious story.  Although the fantasy setting is the same, the characters from that book don't appear in this (although there is some mention of strange men who can burst into flame and fly) so you don't even need to have read Flame to read this novella.  The plot involves innocent young Galen who is heir to a decent sized smallholding in his village.  He's looked after by his bad-tempered uncle, but finds comfort and solace in the home of his 'healer' aunt.  As the story begins Galen discovers that his aunt's apprentice who is also Galen's friend has helped a young woman avoid censure by claiming the young woman's baby as her own.  Galen's aunt wants Galen to take the baby to the Forest Lord to be cared for but Galen is reluctant to undertake such a dangerous journey through the forest.  Events are taken out of Galen's hands though when he is suddenly banished to the forest, taking the baby with him.

This first part of the story is actually rather serious with a tinge of wry humour as we follow Galen's hapless attempts to do the right thing.  However, as the story continues, the humour changes, especially when we meet Lord Erik and his court.  Now that the danger has passed for Galen the plot becomes more relaxed and there are a number of funny circumstances centred around Galen's experiences with the various members of the court.  Most of the humour in this section comes from Lord Erik as he tries (and often fails) to bring his court into some sort of order, as well as battle his own mixed feelings for Galen.  The various machinations of court members are also amusing as they conspire to bring the two men together.  The dialogue in this latter part of the book is pithy and I laughed on a number of occasions, especially at the internal dialogue of Lord Erik.

The relationship between Galen and Erik is that of 'fated lovers'.  Whilst I often find this type of theme irksome in serious romance books, the humour of the situation meant that it worked for me.  Erik and Galen are both adamant that they are not 'mates' and the rest of the court all know that they are.  It's not insta-love though because the to men still have a lot of learning to do.  Instead the 'mated lovers' is more an instinctual initial response on which the heroes build their relationship.  This meant that when we leave them at the end of the book, they are more in lust than love, but that was OK by me and I was satisfied to wave them off into their potential HEA.  I also liked that, despite his innocence, Galen is just as must an Alpha as Erik and much fun was had with that situation.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. I read it in one sitting because the story grabbed me from the outset and I read on both amused and eager to find out how it would end.  The plot moves swiftly and the characters are sympathetic and engaging.  The fantasy setting has some nice quirky touches but doesn't stray too far from a medieval-type fantasy, making it easy to settle into Galen's situation.  Those reader who are looking for a light-hearted fantasy read to curl up with on a cold autumn evening can't go wrong with this novella and it gets a grade of 'Excellent' from me.