What do you think?
Godsbane Prince #2
Immortal Watch
Bonded soul mates. Shocking secrets. Protecting the one he loves could destroy everything…
Ilyas defeated the Dark God and won the spoils of a a new kingdom, a new soulmate, and a chance at revenge. Just when he has the chance to humiliate the brother who sold him out, Ilyas learns a closely-guarded secret. He has a son, and now he’ll do everything he can to protect him.
Jem’s life was pure loneliness before he met Ilyas. But with the Dark God thwarted, Jem is completely powerless. When Ilyas begins to devote his full attention to the baby, Jem becomes determined to win his soulmate back.
After allying with a powerful secret society, Jem conspires to deliver an uninhabited world where Ilyas’ young son can truly be safe. But Jem didn’t realize that his new alliance comes at a high price, one that may cost him the love of Ilyas forever.
Immortal Watch is a spellbinding LGBT dark fantasy novel. If you like rich world-building, captivating storytelling, and edge-of-your-seat action, then you’ll love this story of love and horror from Olivia Helling.
Buy Immortal Watch to test the bonds of love today!- GenresFantasy
216 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 18, 2016
About the author
Olivia Helling
13 books49 followersOlivia Helling writes the dark fantasy series GODSBANE PRINCE and the historical fantasy romance series DAMON SNOW. Although she grew up an avid book lover, she couldn’t find the LGBTQ fantasy she’d always wanted. So now she writes them herself.
With a Religion & Culture degree and a love of history, she crafts wonderfully dark worlds and malicious gods. As if that weren’t trial enough, she burdens her protagonists with her own struggles of vulnerability and self-doubt, love and obsession. But through twists and intrigue that keep readers guessing to the last page, characters and readers alike finally emerge like a light in the darkness.
Olivia loves to talk with readers, so come chat at:
oliviahelling.com
facebook.com/oliviahelling
goodreads.com/oliviahelling
And get her beautiful and tragic love story, GOD CURSED, for free at:
oliviahelling.com/yourfreebook/
With a Religion & Culture degree and a love of history, she crafts wonderfully dark worlds and malicious gods. As if that weren’t trial enough, she burdens her protagonists with her own struggles of vulnerability and self-doubt, love and obsession. But through twists and intrigue that keep readers guessing to the last page, characters and readers alike finally emerge like a light in the darkness.
Olivia loves to talk with readers, so come chat at:
oliviahelling.com
facebook.com/oliviahelling
goodreads.com/oliviahelling
And get her beautiful and tragic love story, GOD CURSED, for free at:
oliviahelling.com/yourfreebook/
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 17, 2017
2.5 stars rounded up. I'm not sure that it shouldn't be a 2. An entire book built around the "I won't tell you this incredibly important and relevant piece of information" can't be rated higher than 3. It was taken to the extreme here. The majority of the story could have happened largely the same way without it ... so I'm baffled why such a tortured plot device was used. It was quite distracting. It wasn't just the main characters, it was all the secondary machinations, too.
Ilyas has remained an irritating, unsympathetic character throughout both stories. Unfortunately, Jem became irritating in this book, too. Why didn't I DNF? The author has great ideas.
Ilyas has remained an irritating, unsympathetic character throughout both stories. Unfortunately, Jem became irritating in this book, too. Why didn't I DNF? The author has great ideas.
December 17, 2016
This is one of those books where it seems that the author sees the problem with the whole premise of the book but doesn't act on this insight. The following quote pretty much sums up the problems I have with this book perfectly:
"You're willing, and able, to sacrifice every single person in Nuriya but you can't ask me one simple question?"
When Ilyas said it that way...
I'm sorry but this is one of my biggest pet peeves. They. Just. Don't. Talk. This is bad enough in itself but unlike in other books with this trope, here it doesn't just lead to problems in the relationship but to a seriously massive body count. Literally hundreds of people die. Moreover the brutality is so casual that it really left me stunned. After reading the first book in the series I thought that Ilyas was a bit of a vain, pompous ass. I still had some sympathies for Jem (even though his every solution to problems seemed to be to kill either himself or somebody else) but those died rather quickly in book two. They both did some rather horrifying things, and in the end I hardly cared anymore about either of them.
The writing itself is okay but the plot is super convoluted and has more holes than Swiss cheese. I think writing it must have been fun but reading it - I'm sorry but not so much.
"You're willing, and able, to sacrifice every single person in Nuriya but you can't ask me one simple question?"
When Ilyas said it that way...
I'm sorry but this is one of my biggest pet peeves. They. Just. Don't. Talk. This is bad enough in itself but unlike in other books with this trope, here it doesn't just lead to problems in the relationship but to a seriously massive body count. Literally hundreds of people die. Moreover the brutality is so casual that it really left me stunned. After reading the first book in the series I thought that Ilyas was a bit of a vain, pompous ass. I still had some sympathies for Jem (even though his every solution to problems seemed to be to kill either himself or somebody else) but those died rather quickly in book two. They both did some rather horrifying things, and in the end I hardly cared anymore about either of them.
The writing itself is okay but the plot is super convoluted and has more holes than Swiss cheese. I think writing it must have been fun but reading it - I'm sorry but not so much.
September 30, 2016
September 29; 2023
WHAT THE HELL did I just read?!
In this sequel to Snowmancer, Jem and Ilyas find themselves in Nuriya enthralled among the court politics and made pawns in a cosmic game of chess. With no idea who to trust, they must forge their own path if they wish to come out of this ordeal with them and their relationship intact.
This story was batshit insane. There is just so much happening that it keeps you turning the pages and the pace is relentless.
Jem's moral compass was always questionable but in this book, it is pretty clear he has none. He is really single-minded in his desire to save Lumi and he makes some truly crazy decisions to achieve those ends. Jem needs therapy like no one has needed therapy before. He has issues that need to be worked on and this story doesn't do a satisfactory enough job of fixing it all though it does make a big point of showing us that he is getting there.
I don't know what to think about this book, the ending does help make the plot make sense and it does mend Ilyas and Jem's relationship to an extent but I needed it to do more. Ilyas and Jem's relationship is very strained throughout this book and forces conspire to keep them separated for most of it. But, the ending is more of a patchwork than a true fix.
While the series still has scope to work on Jem's mental health, Ilyas' trauma and their relationship from a purely plot perspective the story is over. There is nothing left to do which is probably why I never wondered if this book had a sequel it doesn't really need to. I'm curious what the plot of the next book even is.
With every book in this series, we get an ending and I appreciate that because Snowmancer stands alone. It is a story in its own right and you don't need to read the sequel but even if you do, you don't need to continue because this book's ending is an end which again brings me to speculate on what the next book is even about. But, I guess I'll find out soon.
Original Review
Rating after First Read - 4 Stars
A ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords Review. This review can also be found here.
Ilyas and Jem arrive in Nuriya to secure a trade deal on behalf of Lumi. But what Ilyas thought would be easy turns out to be a whole lot more complicated. Especially after he receives the news that he has a child.
As Ilyas is distracted by his baby, Jem finds himself in a whole new sort of trouble with people who call themselves the Immortal Watch. But what they both don’t know is that they are just cogs in the scheme of a much more elaborate plan…
This story has everything and would be near impossible to describe in a single word but if I had to that word would have to be ambitious. This story has gods, aliens, an interdimensional war, bloody politics, a scramble for power, new hopes, crushing defeats, death and a search for a trade deal that started it all. And if I could get another word it would be interesting.
This story is a high-speed roller-coaster ride that just leaves you flipping the pages one after the other till the very end. I read this book in a single sitting, which proves that I for one was hooked onto this story.
My issues with this book are more morally inclined, I don’t like books with indiscriminate killing and there is a lot of that in this book, also the pig-headed MCs of this book didn’t help matters.
Olivia Helling has a gift she can make you hate and absolve a character in the span of one book. In the last book, I faced this with Ilyas, this time around it’s Jem. What I came to realise is that while Jem’s behaviour and actions fit well against the background of the events taking place in Lumi, the same actions in Nuriya make him look unhinged.
The main focus of this story is on a war that took place between the gods and the members of the Immortal Watch ages ago and how that war has shaped the events that happen in this book. I won’t go into further detail as that would be a major spoiler but that aspect of this story is the best part of this book and is a thriller that twists and turns and leaves you all wrung out. But there is a subplot concerning Ilyas and Jem and their budding relationship and the strain that Ilyas’ discovery of being a father puts on it.
Ilyas and Jem’s relationship seems woefully underdeveloped but as that underdevelopment was essential to the plot of the book, I will let it go but it was still there in the back of my mind that their circumstances were unique in the extreme.
I liked Ilyas and I loved him throughout the book, especially as he finally gets Jem to see the fallacy of his actions. But their resolution seems a bit too hurried; I think they really need to work out certain things between them that were left unsaid at the end of this book. If there is going to be another book in this series I hope it focuses on their relationship.
Overall this is one hell of a book with an amazing plot that never lets up.
Cover Art by Lou Harper. I liked the cover but it doesn’t exactly match the image I had in my head, especially concerning the city of Nuriya which looks desert-like for a place with such fertile grounds. Also, the singular colour of the buildings didn’t fit with the colour-loving Nuriyites.
WHAT THE HELL did I just read?!
In this sequel to Snowmancer, Jem and Ilyas find themselves in Nuriya enthralled among the court politics and made pawns in a cosmic game of chess. With no idea who to trust, they must forge their own path if they wish to come out of this ordeal with them and their relationship intact.
This story was batshit insane. There is just so much happening that it keeps you turning the pages and the pace is relentless.
Jem's moral compass was always questionable but in this book, it is pretty clear he has none. He is really single-minded in his desire to save Lumi and he makes some truly crazy decisions to achieve those ends. Jem needs therapy like no one has needed therapy before. He has issues that need to be worked on and this story doesn't do a satisfactory enough job of fixing it all though it does make a big point of showing us that he is getting there.
I don't know what to think about this book, the ending does help make the plot make sense and it does mend Ilyas and Jem's relationship to an extent but I needed it to do more. Ilyas and Jem's relationship is very strained throughout this book and forces conspire to keep them separated for most of it. But, the ending is more of a patchwork than a true fix.
While the series still has scope to work on Jem's mental health, Ilyas' trauma and their relationship from a purely plot perspective the story is over. There is nothing left to do which is probably why I never wondered if this book had a sequel it doesn't really need to. I'm curious what the plot of the next book even is.
With every book in this series, we get an ending and I appreciate that because Snowmancer stands alone. It is a story in its own right and you don't need to read the sequel but even if you do, you don't need to continue because this book's ending is an end which again brings me to speculate on what the next book is even about. But, I guess I'll find out soon.
Original Review
Rating after First Read - 4 Stars
A ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords Review. This review can also be found here.
Ilyas and Jem arrive in Nuriya to secure a trade deal on behalf of Lumi. But what Ilyas thought would be easy turns out to be a whole lot more complicated. Especially after he receives the news that he has a child.
As Ilyas is distracted by his baby, Jem finds himself in a whole new sort of trouble with people who call themselves the Immortal Watch. But what they both don’t know is that they are just cogs in the scheme of a much more elaborate plan…
This story has everything and would be near impossible to describe in a single word but if I had to that word would have to be ambitious. This story has gods, aliens, an interdimensional war, bloody politics, a scramble for power, new hopes, crushing defeats, death and a search for a trade deal that started it all. And if I could get another word it would be interesting.
This story is a high-speed roller-coaster ride that just leaves you flipping the pages one after the other till the very end. I read this book in a single sitting, which proves that I for one was hooked onto this story.
My issues with this book are more morally inclined, I don’t like books with indiscriminate killing and there is a lot of that in this book, also the pig-headed MCs of this book didn’t help matters.
Olivia Helling has a gift she can make you hate and absolve a character in the span of one book. In the last book, I faced this with Ilyas, this time around it’s Jem. What I came to realise is that while Jem’s behaviour and actions fit well against the background of the events taking place in Lumi, the same actions in Nuriya make him look unhinged.
The main focus of this story is on a war that took place between the gods and the members of the Immortal Watch ages ago and how that war has shaped the events that happen in this book. I won’t go into further detail as that would be a major spoiler but that aspect of this story is the best part of this book and is a thriller that twists and turns and leaves you all wrung out. But there is a subplot concerning Ilyas and Jem and their budding relationship and the strain that Ilyas’ discovery of being a father puts on it.
Ilyas and Jem’s relationship seems woefully underdeveloped but as that underdevelopment was essential to the plot of the book, I will let it go but it was still there in the back of my mind that their circumstances were unique in the extreme.
I liked Ilyas and I loved him throughout the book, especially as he finally gets Jem to see the fallacy of his actions. But their resolution seems a bit too hurried; I think they really need to work out certain things between them that were left unsaid at the end of this book. If there is going to be another book in this series I hope it focuses on their relationship.
Overall this is one hell of a book with an amazing plot that never lets up.
Cover Art by Lou Harper. I liked the cover but it doesn’t exactly match the image I had in my head, especially concerning the city of Nuriya which looks desert-like for a place with such fertile grounds. Also, the singular colour of the buildings didn’t fit with the colour-loving Nuriyites.
November 9, 2016
Reviewed for The Dark Arts
This book was a wonderful adventure. The story begins as Jem and Ilyas are traveling by ship to Ilyas’s homeland in attempt to secure a trade deal and bring back money to feed Jem’s starving people. However, Ilyas’s brother who sold him out has been consolidating his power in Ilyas’s absense. To complicate things even more, Jem realizes he’s still being haunted by the dark god. While they struggle to overcome the political fallout of Ilyas’s return, the couple finds themselves moving further and further apart from one another. It seems through Jem’s insecurities and Ilyas’s desire to keep his family safe from the dark god that they’ll never come together again.
Immortal Watch is filled with twists and turns, as well as fantastic magic, and was a virtual roller coaster for the characters. The adventure never stops, which made the book exciting and engaging. Jem is a bit twisted in a ways, but I loved his vulnerabilities in this book. Despite things seeming wholly impossible for Jem and Ilyas to work out, I was very pleased with the ending. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves MM Dark Fantasy.
This book was a wonderful adventure. The story begins as Jem and Ilyas are traveling by ship to Ilyas’s homeland in attempt to secure a trade deal and bring back money to feed Jem’s starving people. However, Ilyas’s brother who sold him out has been consolidating his power in Ilyas’s absense. To complicate things even more, Jem realizes he’s still being haunted by the dark god. While they struggle to overcome the political fallout of Ilyas’s return, the couple finds themselves moving further and further apart from one another. It seems through Jem’s insecurities and Ilyas’s desire to keep his family safe from the dark god that they’ll never come together again.
Immortal Watch is filled with twists and turns, as well as fantastic magic, and was a virtual roller coaster for the characters. The adventure never stops, which made the book exciting and engaging. Jem is a bit twisted in a ways, but I loved his vulnerabilities in this book. Despite things seeming wholly impossible for Jem and Ilyas to work out, I was very pleased with the ending. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves MM Dark Fantasy.
October 4, 2016
Great read. Hard to get into at first but thoroughly enjoyed it. Hope there is a follow on to jem and illys journey
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews