The Forester

The Forester

by
3.63 of 5 stars 3.63  ·  rating details  ·  41 ratings  ·  20 reviews
Kelnaht, a cloud elf, is a truth seeker caught between love and faith. Worse, a murder committed ten days before Solstice reveals an illicit affair between two tree elves he desires more than he can admit: Kelnaht's former lover Ianys, who once betrayed him, and the shunned forester named Taruif, who is not allowed to talk to anyone but The Guide, their spiritual pathfinde...more
ebook, 1st Edition
Published December 22nd 2011 by Storm Moon Press

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 132)
filter  |  sort: default (?)  |  rating details
DarienMoya
More of my reviews and ramblings at PANTS OFF REVIEWS

4.5

I am in love with this little novella; I never expected the amount of awesmazingness that was packed into such a short story. I just want to type ‘go read this freaking story’ but it’s a review after all and I believe there needs to be a little more substance to it .

The Forester is a great fantasy story, meets mystery and the sexy. Kelnaht is a Truth Seeker, which means it’s his job to gather evidence and find the answers to a crime when it...more
Kassa
The Forester is an impressive mix of fantasy and murder/mystery. The writing is superior and the romance is a nice touch without being too easy and ignoring the many potential problems. I personally liked the mystery component of the story more than the romance as ménages are a tough sell that I don’t always appreciate. Overall I quite like this novella and recommend it even if the threesome didn’t quite win me over as a reader.

The story starts with the investigation of a murder of a lovely elf...more
Jenre
This story is a bit of a mix of fantasy and police procedure. It tells of elf Kelnaht who is a 'truth seeker' which is sort of the elf equivalent of a forensic police officer who uses his special elf-powers to determine the perpetrator of crimes. The story begins with discovery of a female elf who has been strangled. As part of the investigation Kelnaht is approached by his former lover Ianys, who abandoned their relationship so he could get married and have a child. Kelnaht is still bitter abou...more
Lisa
Dec 16, 2011 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Lisa by: top2bottomreviews.wordpress.com
4.5/5 Stars

I so wish this novella had been titled The Forester: BOOK #1 because, let me tell you, there’d better be a BOOK #2 in the works or else. Or else I just might cry.

Blaine D. Arden knocks this one right out of the ballpark on her first swing, in a CSI meets Law & Order meets J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy/mystery; then, to top it all off, she throws in a little tickle-your-fancy with a sweet ménage à trois, which comes together in a world where elves and magic rule. It all adds up to one won...more
Tam
This review can be found at Brief Encounters Reviews

4.25 stars

This is first-time author Blaine D. Arden’s debut story and I have to say I was very impressed. CSI meets elves meets menage-y goodness. Kelnaht, is a truth seeker, which is rather a combination elf police/CSI expert. He is called in investigate a murder, along with his assistant. Because the murder happened immediately outside the forester’s home, suspicion falls upon him. The forester has been shunned, and no one but The Guide is al...more
Lis
**Review for Rarely Dusty Books**

Imagine a squee and a happy dance when Janna send me the ARC request for The Forester. I’d come across the book a few days earlier and couldn’t wait for the release. Needless to say, The Forester was read upon receiving a copy and I wasn’t disappointed.

Elves? Oh my!
No these elves are not Santa’s helpers, but a combination of elves in the high fantasy genre and the world of Magic the Gathering. And as you can gather from the well-drawn cover, they are pretty dar...more
Alex
Overall
With enjoyable characters, a twisty romance plot, and murder case to move it all along, "The Forester" is an enjoyable, although regrettably short, read. Arden does a commendable job of building the world in a short amount of time and has a strong writing style. However, the story could have been strengthened by further development of the characters and their relationships and my enjoyment was restricted by my struggle to believe the emotional interactions.

I enjoyed the nugget we received...more
Susan
I'm not always a big fan of fantasy but I really enjoyed this book. Kelnaht is a Truth Seeker and it is his job to discover who murdered a woman found in the forest. Suspicion falls on the Forester a man Kelnaht has forbidden feelings for. The story takes another twisting turn when Ianys (Kelnaht's ex-lover) comes to him to tell him that he can provide an alibi for the Forester as they were together at the time. The author has created a beautiful world and mixed this with a tale of murder myster...more
Wendy (wluvsbooks)
Reviewed for Hearts On Fire Reviews

The Forester was a little bit magical and a whole lot enchanting! I fell in love with the world the author created in this novella and kept discovering new surprises to make me pause and admire what I was reading. Tree dwelling elves who had wings and could fly made me smile, but magical abilities to seek the truth by using energy to draw out clues invisible to others (ex: fingerprints on a body or delving into another’s mind) was amazing to imagine.

It was Kel...more
Sally
Jan 10, 2012 Sally rated it 3 of 5 stars
Shelves: gay
In many ways, this story reminded me of the work of Tanya Huff (a fantasy author whom I have always loved), albeit with a far healthier and far more forward dose of eroticism than she generally indulges. The Forester is the story of an elven truth seeker called upon to investigate a murder, and forced to revisit the pain and betrayal of lost love when his former lover is revealed to be involved with outcast forester who is the crime's only witnesses.

Romantically and emotionally, there's a lot go...more
Jayhjay
This review was originally posted on my blog Joyfully Jay.

Kelnaht is a Truth Seeker, tasked with investigating the murder of a fellow elf, Cyine. Cyine has been strangled, and suspicion turns toward the Forester, an elf that has been shunned from the community. Kelnaht is strongly attracted toward the Forester (Taruif), but is not allowed to even speak his name, let alone enter a relationship with him without risking being shunned himself. He is not allowed to talk to him directly either, making...more
Emanuela ~plastic duck~
At the beginning there are a lot of dark emotions in this book: there is murder, suspicion, betrayal, jealousy, loneliness, but by the end of the book the darkness gives way to passion, love and hope. I liked both the world building, especially how the ways of the elves' society is explained without info dumping, and the writing, which is lyrical, but not too sophisticated and it's perfect for the story. There is also a touch of modernity, because Kelnaht, the protagonist, has the power to coax...more
Bree
This was an interesting fantasy short story. I like the detective feel to it (and I'm not a fan of detective stuff). A short read, but it left me wanting more. Maybe if it had been longer? I dunno. :) I liked it anyway.
Hearts On Fire Reviews
Reviewed by:Wendy
Genre: M/M Fantasy
Rated: 4 hearts

Check out the review at: Hearts On Fire Reviews
C
Hated Ianys, really dislike cheaters and boy was he a coward on top of it. Would be a 4 star read if he was not part of the sweetness between Taruif and Kel.
Tamarrion Lash
Хороший сеттинг, оч. неплохая детективная линия (для такой короткой истории), но любовная линия сплошной фейспалм.
Brenda Cothern
Want a dash of fantasy, forensics, & mystery? Than this is the book for you!
Sona
Beautiful premise and background building but it felt incomplete.
Susinok
Nice fantasy story with a bit of a mystery to it as well.
Zach Sweets
The author hit the spot with a short story like this one. I felt it was complete. I enjoyed the inspection the author set in the book. Nothing was out of ordinary that could easily pull me out of the book. Of course, I'd love to see this one in a novel-length because I knew Blaine would done it more than awesome. Still, a great enjoyable read for me and highly recommend to everyone who loves fantasy. :D
Still Reading
May 19, 2013 Still Reading marked it as to-read
J♥J
May 07, 2013 J♥J marked it as wish-list
Shelves: epic
Anna Isbell
Mar 13, 2013 Anna Isbell marked it as to-read
Juliebookworm
Feb 20, 2013 Juliebookworm marked it as to-read
Libby Scobee
Feb 04, 2013 Libby Scobee marked it as to-read
Rabbit
Jan 24, 2013 Rabbit marked it as to-read
« previous 1 3 4 5 next »
topics  posts  views  last activity   
Storm_Moon_Press: Blaine D. Arden is at Ebook Addict Reviews! 1 7 Jan 21, 2012 09:42pm  
5043444
Blaine is a purple haired, forty-something, writer of gay romance with a love of men, music, mystery, magic, fairies, platform shoes and the colours black, purple and red, who sings her way through life.

Born and raised in Zutphen, the Netherlands, Blaine spent many hours of her sheltered youth reading, day dreaming, making up stories and acting them out with her barbies.

Though she wrote her first...more
More about Blaine D. Arden...
Don't Read in the Closet: Volume Two Color Me The Storyteller The Fifth Son Aliens, Smith and Jones

Share This Book

Your website

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »