The Delve

by Dan Fitzgerald, Dani Finn

The sword wants what it wants.

The Maer have been on the brink of war with the humans for years. When five brightstone mines go dark on the same day, it can’t be a coincidence. Without a steady supply of the stone, the Maer’s gauntlets and automatons are useless. The Maer are about to be blasted back to the Time Before.

Yglind just got his shiny new Forever Blade and is itching to stick it into something. Getting sent on a Delve to find out what happened to the Deepfold is the chance of a lifetime. With the help of his trusted partner Ardo and a prickly mage named Aene, he’s going to get his five kills and bring glory to his family name.

Ardo has never seen Yglind like this. He’s always been hot for a fight, but the darkness in his eyes when he looks upon his Forever Blade can’t easily be kissed away.

Inside the Deepfold, they are plunged into a world of bloodshed and chaos. Unknown foes have slaughtered many of the miners, and a gruesome dragon stalks the dark tunnels. While taking refuge in the mine’s impregnable keep, Yglind and Ardo take comfort in each other’s arms and find the courage to face the cruel forces arrayed against them.

With their civilization hanging in the balance, they strike out against the invaders as their quest hurtles toward its bloody end.

The Delve is a fast-paced spicy romantic fantasy featuring a variety of LGBTQ characters and relationships. It's the first in the Time Before trio of linked standalones, set 2,000 years before the Maer Cycle trilogy and the Weirdwater Confluence duology. The series are independent and can be read in any order.

Author's note: this book contains explicit, consensual sex scenes, violence, gore, and death, and is not intended for readers under the age of eighteen.

Genres: Fantasy

275 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2023

About the author

Fantasy and romance author of the Maer Cycle trilogy (low-magic fantasy) the Weirdwater Confluence duology (sword-free romantic fantasy), and the in-progress Time Before Trio (spicy romantic fantasy). The Time Before Trio will include The Delve (a smutty dungeon crawl, out now), Wings so Soft (an owl-themed fantasy romance, out now), and Cloti's Song (a poly fantasy romance, February 2024).

I also have a short romance: Unpainted (a queer arranged marriage fantasy romance, a standalone in the world of the Weirdwater Confluence) and another one coming, Jagged Shard (an enby/sapphic dungeon crawl fantasy romance coming early 2024, a standalone in the Time Before featuring characters from The Delve).

I write non-epic fantasy books, mostly romantic, in which you will find:

Mystery. Darkness. Wonder. Action. Romance. Otherness examined and deconstructed. Queer and straight characters living and fighting side by side. Imaginary creatures and magic with a realistic touch.

What you won’t find in my books:

Wholesale slaughter. Sexual assault. Unquestioned sexism or discrimination. Evil races. Irredeemable villains. Predestined heroes. An ancient darkness that threatens to overspread the land.

Catch me on Twitter or Instagram as danfitzwrites.

Reviews

[Rowena Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you ever get the feeling that an author has been waiting to write a specific book? Or that a book is the natural outcome of those that have come before? Well, that is the feeling that I got while reading The Delve – which felt a little like the lovechild of the Weirdwater duology, especially The Isle of a Thousand Worlds and Fitzgerald’s debut trilogy the Maer Cycle. Fitting considering this new book shares the world, but it felt like something more, as though all those paths and all that writing had come together.

ALSO JUST LOOK AT THAT COVER!!!

Now, it should be noted that this is a standalone novel (the first in a trio of standalones), so you don’t need to be fully versed in the wider world of Fitzgerald’s writing to be pulled into the world and the story. For those, like me, who have read the previous words, there were connections to the other works that had me smiling whenever I spotted them. Yet at the same time, he has managed to create a world that has some points of familiarity, but also feels unique and new, like stepping over the threshold into an undiscovered part of the world – which is fitting considering that The Delve is set 2,000 years before the events of the previous books, and I loved that there was the weight of history and the future still to come in this story and how the potential for that future was even built into how the Maer and Timon live their lives and in the case of the former, fight the war.

And it is in the worldbuilding that I really felt this book shone. Now, I must admit that I am a little biased towards the fact that the core of the story is a dungeon delve and seeing the influence of TTRPG games in the process of the exploration, the use of resources, the traps was fantastic and was everything that I wanted. Also, the fact that they use dice to essentially do auguries of their path had the biggest grin on my face – this book is a feast for anyone with that kind of leaning and Fitzgerald has done an excellent job of making it both subtle and accessible for people who are not coming from that background. It’s an adventure romp, wrapped up with real stakes and so much more.

The dice needed more than just her energy to work properly, but Yglind didn’t have to know that. As much as he derided the ritual, he gave her words more credence with the dice to back her up, which was half the battle anyway.

The magic systems were equally intriguing and fascinating, and it was a curious blend of soft and semi-hard (no pun intended), philosophy and technology. That would have been enough, but Fitzgerald utilises them in such a way that they are another layer to the cultural, social and economic aspects of the worldbuilding. The Delve would not have occurred without the threat to the material needed for the Maers’ magic, while the mining wouldn’t happen or at least not in the same way without the Timons’ metal magic combined with technology, and neither would have been in as much peril without the unknown force of the humans magic. And more than that, we saw the Maer and Timon connecting over their different magic – and I loved seeing Aene and Skiti being so fascinated with each other’s ability and equipment.

“It’s so beautiful.” Aene reached out her fingers, not to touch the patterns but to feel the energy of the Omni, like a weak static field surrounding a core of deeper power. She knew the Timon were masters of metal, but she had always imagined weapons and clever tools, not performance art.

I also appreciated the limitations that were built in, such Aene being dependent on the power stored in chips to be able to keep using spells and being limited to those that were prepared on her device; and that it used energy to cast too. While the Timon had such a magnificent tool at that their disposal, that had made so much possible from communication across an entire mine, to a malleable changeable tool, but it wasn’t enough to protect their home and people. Magic is fantastic, but it’s even better when it is developed like this, an integral part of the world and cultures, but not a fix-all and Fitzgerald nailed that element perfectly.

Returning to the economic and cultural aspect. This book was fairly narrow in terms of the scope of the setting – most of it occurring within the confines of the mine – and yet the world felt so expansive, and a lot of it is down to those other aspects. The fact that multiple mines were under attack, that war was occurring and borders between the Maer and Humans were shifting, moving pieces within moving pieces, created a breadth beyond what we got to witness, but which played a direct and integral part to the events that we were witnessing with the stakes being that those events in turn were influencing those outside aspects. It was such an organic way of doing the worldbuilding, and adding more layers to the history and world, for those already familiar with Fitzgerald’s world and really pulling in new readers.

Of course, I can’t finish a discussion of the worldbuilding – especially for a dungeon delve – without talking about the critters that inhabit the mine. The author has clearly had a lot of fun creating these beasties, and again we see that organic integration into the world and how the characters live there – from the defences against the Brightworms, to knowing which tunnels in the mine the waadrech (and anyone who is a fan of Dragons is going to love this one) wouldn’t be able to fit through. There was also that classic dungeon feel, of the threat of the natural predators being exacerbated by events and even by the heroes themselves, and the lessons to be learned about sometimes you don’t need to fight everything that you face.

“Nice dragon,” Yglind whispered, taking a tentative step forward. The waadrech watched him intently, then blinked again and went in for another bite. Yglind took two more steps, and the creature continued its meal.

Another aspect where The Delve really shone was the characters. Fitzgerald has always been fantastic at characterisation at that remains true here, particularly with our three main characters – Yglind, Ardo and Aene with whom we spend the most time. Here again we get a hint of the classic dungeon party, from their roles in thr group, to the bickering and disagreement (and that one person who rushes in and causes havoc), but these characters are more than that.

Now, I will admit it did take me a wee while to warm up to Yglind, because while he had his quieter, softer moments especially around Ardo, he was a little brash and had me wanting to shake him a couple of times, especially in the first third of the book. However, in the end he is the character that stole the show for me, because he learns and develops so much, and Yglind is where we really see the impact of the events in the mines and how an established relationship can shape and change a character. Technically he is our ‘hero’ as the one who leads The Delve, and the one who will earn the most if successful, and yet it feels as though he turns the furthest from ‘hero’ in the course of the book – especially the latter part during the fallout – than the others, and not in a negative way. It was an enriching and fulfilling journey to where he ended up, and it felt like it came about so naturally through the events and through the relationship with the others.

Aene was my favourite at the start. I have a weakness for casters, and she refused to take any of Yglind’s nonsense (as much as the situation allowed) and I was cheering on. I would loved to have seen more about her training and how she came to be paired with the others, but I loved her relationship with them, and how she was the one of all of them, who forged the bonds with the Timon (with a shared interest in magic) and the humans (with her attraction to Feddar and the promises made). Without Aene, The Delve would have ended so very differently.

If Aene and Yglind are the kindling and fire in different ways, then Ardo was the fuel and the fire-tender, keeping them both supported and grounded and pushing them forward in his own way. I felt like we didn’t get to know him quite as much as the others, and yet there was still an emotional connection – and in many ways he felt like the most ‘accessible’ of the three. He cast a different light on the other two, and I loved him, because in his understated way, he was the glue that held the group together and also just by being who he was, he ended up shaping so much more towards the end of the book.

I wanted to spend more time with the Timon, but I really liked both Skiti and Laanda – especially when they were together, and it is because of the two of them that we become so invested in the fate of the mine and the Timon. Also Laanda is fascinating as a character because of the dichotomy between her as a person, and her role as a Queen, and how she reconciles though two aspects and how that in turn influences those around her and the future of her people.

Now confession time. I have only in the last year or so really warmed up to romance in my stories (although give me a silly romantic film and I will roll my eyes so hard they threaten to escape – aside from the Holiday of course), and when it comes to more explicit content I am hit or miss at best as it is something that holds zero interest for me. Fitzgerald though had already won me over with his skills in both romance and the spicier side with the Weirdwater duology, and I knew entering this book, that I would be in safe hands and that I would be invested in the side of the book that previously wouldn’t have appealed to me. The main reason – aside from the fact that Fitzgerald is a fantastic writer – is that neither are there ‘just because’ or to add spice to the mix, after all there is more than enough action and excitement from The Delve itself.

No, what entices me in and keeps me fully invested is the emotional weight of the relationships, the softness (no matter how a character may try and hide it) and bond that is exposed through those moments, the trust that is so explicit in those moments. These are not moments to pay lip service, but part of a living, evolving relationship between the characters – and that is why it works so well.

“Gods, I love you, Ardo. I don’t say it enough, but it’s true.”

Ardo craned his head around, looking into Yglind’s soft eyes. “I love you from now to the Time to Come.”

What I especially enjoyed in The Delve is that we got such a variety of relationships and ways of expressing that affection and attraction, even within a tale that occurred over a relatively short time period (for the main part at least); and it was interesting to see the separate threads of instant (and almost forbidden) attraction, an established relationship that still managed to become something that meant more, and a relationship with boundaries set by position and choice and which had the deepest expression of trust. We see how danger and stress can pull people together, shift their needs and desires, and how peace can soften that, and again there is that connectivity between everything that is so evident throughout this entire book.

So yes, there is spice – quite a bit of it – but it is so integral to everything, and so grounded in emotional connection that even if you are like me, you will be caught up in it!

Outwith the worldbuilding and characters (and their myriad, complicated and compelling relationships), Fitzgerald writes captivating action, managing to capture both the essence of the flurried urgency and panic of unexpected combat, with planned combat falling apart with first contact with the enemy, to the longer-term schemes and wittling down of resources of tracking an enemy and moving into them when they have the position of stress. The stakes were evident and felt real all the way through, and there was a cost when things went wrong and mistakes were made that only added to that. The pacing matched the action, and there was a steadily building pace and the feeling of time running out in more way than one. This in turn was balanced with much needed quieter, character moments and time to reflect and plan, which were done so well that it maintained the momentum without taking the weight from those minutes.

The Delve was one of those books that I ended up devouring in a matter of hours, I was so enthralled with the story and the characters. It is a wonderful blend of so many elements, and Fitzgerald balanced it all to create a book that is a fantastic starting point if you are unfamiliar with the world, and a tasty addition to an already rich world if you are. That same blend of elements, from the classic dungeon dive to the romance and spice, fantastic worldbuilding and magic systems and everything else, mean that this book can and will appeal to so many different people. I loved it, and already want more – and all I can do is recommend this if you are wanting a book that will scratch that TTRPG itch and come with so much more!

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

The Delve is what I imagine reading a D&D campaign would be like. A noble knight, his staff-wielding squire/lover, and a mage are sent on a mission to a distant mine that has gone silent to discover what happened. There they are joined by a local to navigate the labyrinthine mines and rescue the survivors.

While the book is a standalone, it is set in the same world as the author’s previous works, and it is fairly obvious that I was missing out on a lot of context having never read any of his other books. There wasn’t much worldbuilding outside of what we needed to know about the mine, and even the characters’ races were vague (the three MCs are called Maers which I thought were Chewbacca-like creatures while the locals were what I thought to be dwarves). It felt like I was dropped into an RPG game with just the briefest of briefings right before. Then the rest of the book is one action sequence after another, fighting different creatures interspersed by a lot of going up and down ladders and shafts and some fairly graphic sex scenes. If that sounds like something you would be into, then this book is for you. I mostly found that this subgenre may mot be for me as I needed more depth in both plot and characters.

I did like the characters even if they were essentially just queerer versions of archetypes. These characters were almost hilariously horny for each other, and there are descriptive couplings of every permutation of binary gender from straight to gay to lesbian sex scenes with some light bondage thrown in. I did not dislike it as I thought the spice added much needed variety to the story.

The Delve is an almost LitRPG fantasy that is action-packed, queer, and with quite a bit of spice.

*I received an ebook as part of a book tour for it.

[M. L. Valard · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I can give this one a solid 4.5 stars for just being a quick, engrossing and entertaining read. While the first couple pages felt a stiff to me the writing quickly hit its stride and served up what basically felt to me like reading a really good D&D dungeon crawl only with some different and intriguing world building and excellently delivered creatures to go along with it.

It was fun, entertaining, steamy in places, a well-paced romantic fantasy adventure. I greatly enjoyed the worldbuilding and the exploration of the different societies and their different handling of magic and tech. I appreciated the background it was set against, for while at its root most of this story is like the title, a delve into a mine, the backstory of going into that mine to restore a supply of desperately needed brightstone for the war effort added an additional layer of tension to the entire situation and made what was a rather enclosed story also feel very much like a part of something far larger and more expansive.

I haven't read any other books by the author (yet). And so I have no familiarity with the world this is set in and yet I had no trouble really understanding any of what was depicted. The story stood very nicely alone though it certainly did also increase my curiosity to try some of his other works to see a bit more of how things shape up later.

I did like the characters, with the minor quibble that I rather wish we'd been able to spend a bit more time in Yglind's head earlier because he was very hard to warm up to at the start. Ardo, Aene and Skiti gave me no such trouble. And in the end even Yglind both grew as a person and grew on me and I did get some idea of him by the time it all resolved.

My other minor quibble is that I would have liked more of he and Ardo's backstory but that is very much a me problem not a book problem. Overall if you miss D&D or you just want the fun experience of a bit of mystery and a lot of dungeon crawl complete with traps, mishaps and adventures this is a great book for it. As a bonus you get some satisfying romance and spice on the side. I had been looking forward to reading one of his books and eyeballing this one as a place to start and I was not disappointed.

I managed to acquire a free eARC from the author but this in no way influenced my opinion.

[S. Bavey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Delve is a fast-paced fantasy standalone story set within a brightstone mine full of dark labyrinthine tunnels and shafts. The mine has recently lost power thanks to a group of three humans, a thief, a mage, and a warrior who are still at large within the mine and have killed many of the resident Timon, a dwarf-like species. Three Maer (a race of humanoid beings with skin covered in hair who have featured in Fitzgerald’s previous book series) have been sent to investigate why the power has gone from the mine, since the Maer rely on power from the brightstone it produces, and war with the humans is brewing. These Maer are on a Delve - a quest undertaken by a newly knighted Maer of noble birth in which he must make five kills to prove his worth. Yglind is this knight and is accompanied by his lover and squire, Ardo, and a female mage named Aene. I found Yglind to be too arrogant and domineering for my liking. He was probably my least favourite character, even though his personality did develop somewhat and he became more likeable by the end of the book.

“He was a beast of a Maer, six and a half feet tall, with impossibly broad shoulders and hands the size of crevice spiders.”

They encounter Skiti, a stout-hearted and resourceful dwarf-like Timon, who leads them through the mine to the keep where they meet the female Timon leader, Laanda. Skiti was my favourite character in the book. Devoted to her leader, brave and smart enough to think outside the box when confronted by adversity, she also has a conscience and a strong moral compass when it comes to the life of the dangerously attractive human thief (or maybe she just fancies him). Many of the Timon who live and work in the mines have been murdered by the humans and the remaining inhabitants want revenge. They band together with the Maer, releasing the human thief, Feddar of the sparkly green eyes, with a tracking device which will allow them to hunt the group of humans.

Fans of role-playing games such as D&D will recognize this story as a dungeon crawl and there are elements from such games aplenty which will satisfy game players reading the novel. The mage sometimes uses scrying dice to determine what they should do next, each of the main characters has a well-defined role within the group and their own specific type of weapon, and they encounter many foes along their way, including a dragon:

“The creature stood no more than thirty feet from him, and it crouched low at the light, its pupils dilating, its forked tongue slithering in and out like a whip.”

Both the Maer and the Timon have really interesting magical technology which they rely on to use as weapons and to shield themselves. The Maer gauntlet also has spells programmed into it and those were the only spells the mage was able to use - I found this an interesting, smartphone-like approach to a fantasy magic system. The two species are intrigued by each other’s technology, which was an endearing touch. These species do not often have contact with each other and yet were able to work together well towards a common goal. I would have liked a little more technical explanation of some of these advanced technologies. The Maer also have circlets which allow them to communicate telepathically. Readers of Fitzgerald’s other books will be familiar with these circlets already. The humans also had a mage in their party who was able to wield lightning and they had a time-stopping device and floating globes which they could send off to spy on their adversaries.

It would be impossible for me to review this book without mentioning the very present sex scenes. These scenes are extremely explicit with consensual encounters between male characters, female characters and male and female characters:

“I hope you like it spicy,” Skiti added with a smirk. Yglind’s mouth twisted into a snarly smile. “What’s the point of living without a little spice?”

Personally, I did not find the earlier encounters very romantic. I struggled to find much romance in the relationships of the lovers until near the end of the book, with desire and a personal need for relief being the drivers behind the earlier sex scenes. I just didn’t feel like they added much to the story or character development for me, which gave those specific chapters a feel of dipping towards erotica rather than romantic fantasy. It may be that I am just not a fan of these types of scene, preferring more of a slow emotional burn leading up to a sex scene as opposed to a “quick no one’s around and I need a release” approach. The scenes which occur after the stress of the quest is over felt more romantic and loving to me. Because of this personal preference, The Living Waters still remains my favourite of Fitzgerald’s books and I found The Delve to be less tantalizing.

There were some unexpectedly funny comments which I appreciated:

“What an inglorious end, she thought, to be killed by someone with such atrocious facial hair.”

I greatly enjoyed returning to the world of the Maer and finding interesting bits and pieces that reminded me of things that happened in Fitzgerald’s other books. The locations and scene-setting in the mine are expertly written and the feeling of trepidation consumes the reader, with the isolation from the outside world and the darkness itself becoming fairly claustrophobic. The ever present threat of coming upon the dragon is also palpable. There are all sorts of other imaginatively threatening beasties in the mine, some of which made me cringe as the group came upon them. The author is an expert world-builder and never fails to add emotion to his books, in this case growing anticipation and fear. Set 2000 years before the other books featuring the Maer, The Delve is an excellent addition to the stories of the Maer and their growing history and mythology.

I was given an arc of The Delve by the author - thank you Dan. My review is honest and my opinions are my own.

[Isabelle]

The writing feels smooth and easy to read, which I enjoyed, but the DnD setup and characters are not as much my thing. I definitely plan on trying more of their books but this one just isn’t working for me right now. If you like DnD adventures, then do give this a try! The world did feel really interesting and I’m more than happy to tackle my Dani Finn TBR again in the future to learn more about it (I think many of their books are in the same world).

[Solomon Skalozub · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Delve is a smutty queer indie book following three Maer (hairy humanoids) as they explore a Timon mine (the Timon are a Dwarf like race) to track down human invaders who have been destroying the mine and killing civilians. There is a general gritty tone, inhuman beasts including a dragon, magic and sword battles, queer sex, and the political tensions of an oncoming war.

So I enjoyed this book but I have perhaps a complicated relationship to some of the subject matter. I will start with what I enjoyed.

Something I feel that Dani Finn does very well is character exploration, not so much development as the only real development was with Yglind, the rest of the cast is relatively static, but they are complicated and I feel that is explored very well. Ardo and his relationship with Yglind is questioned throughout the book, but we see why they are so close, we see into Ardo’s heart, his fears and all. It is much the same for Skiti and Laanda, and later Aene (who while I started off liking very much, I will put a pin in this). So if you want a book that essentially does a character study of the cast and puts them in morally complicated situations, this is a good choice.

This book reads very much like a D&D campaign, except that it subverts much of the D&D tropes we are tired of, I feel this is also a good point in this book’s favour, but I want to take a moment to talk about why D&D and the problematic tropes are so…alienating to a racialized audience. We cannot understand successful subversion without first understanding the problem.

The biggest problem with D&D is that it worldbuilds race similar to Lord of the Rings, but even more watered down. When the fantasy of old portrays the western anglo white Humans vs the non human races meant to represent cultures that are not western anglo and white the otherness is built into the coding of the fantasy race as a whole. The problem isn’t just that Orcs are always evil, it’s that they are, as Tolkien himself said in his take on them “Squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, with wide mouths and slant eyes: in fact degraded and repulsive versions of the (to Europeans) least lovely Mongol-types.” The biggest problem with Drow isn’t that they’re always evil, it’s that in lore their dark skin is a punishment for their evil deeds. It is that Drow are presented as dark skinned tribal slave owners with a matriarchal society that treats males as second class citizens. D&D is a western franchise made clearly for a white audience, and while they have since changed much of their lore and how the game can be played, it is still at its core a game made primarily for white players that others/vilifies ‘foreign’ cultures based on old school fantasy tropes.

I would like to clarify that I sometimes play D&D (hence why I am so critical of it) and I love fantasy and support challenging the otherness that old school fantasy had built into its worldbuilding. I do that myself. So why am I saying this in a review of The Delve? Because this is much of the core premise of Dani Finn’s worldbuilding, and it warrants discussing.

What I wish I had seen more of was language and culture as showing those is how you subvert otherness. I think this subversion of D&D’s villain coding is good, I just wish it went a little deeper, though yes I am aware there are much more books in this overall series.

Now for the romance and sex aspect of this book. I really appreciated the relationship arc with Yglind and Ardo, the brief fleeting romance with Ardo and Aene was sweet and added levity, Skiti and Laanda were my favourite and I’m tickled to know they have a book to themselves. I have very mixed feelings on Aene and Feddar but I’ll discuss that near the end. As a romance writer I feel Dani Finn excels and if you are looking for queer romance this book may well just be for you! The sex scenes had variety and were used in ways to show character growth, that is something I appreciate very much.

Overall the action is solid, I was worried I wouldn’t get a good swordfight but the climax battle did not disappoint. I will say the strength of the action in this book is the magic. I wish there had been a touch more explanation of how the magic worked, but it is still grounded and engaging. Aene and Skiti’s relationship over their magic and tech was actually one of my favourite things in this book. So another point, if you like sword and magic action scenes then you should look into this book.

Now you might be like “Sol, was there anything you didn’t like” well, yes actually. Not a deal breaker but I feel it is important. This book was marketed primarily as a smutty dungeon crawler with a nasty dragon, and while all that is accurate, I felt a bit blindsided by how big, especially near the end, the topic of war and occupation and civilian death is. In the way that a lot of fantasy does, it tries to walk this line of being marketed as high fantasy and escapism but then use the horrors of war as set dressing, and I don’t love that. The ending of the book did a lot that I liked, it treated the subject with gravity and Yglind’s arc around that is very very good, but I had no indication from the marketing nor the summary that this subject would be so prevalent in the book. I wish I had, I would have still read it, but I would have been emotionally prepared for it and likely enjoyed it more.

Part of this is not so much the author’s fault but I feel the normalization in fantasy to be dismissive of the horrors of war combined with the current nature of book marketing to focus on tropes, ships (mf mm ff I could care less) and spice level, I feel it often downplays what the books are actually about and mismarkets them. But it gets sales and at the end of the day I do want indie books to get sales.

I didn’t love Aene having a romance with an invader who assisted in the deaths of civilians (even if he didn’t kill any directly) and I was personally on Laanda’s side entirely. Perhaps that is just because of who I am. Watching your own people face war and occupation changes how these kinds of stories hit you.

To conclude, The Delve is a book that I enjoyed reading. I have some more of Dani Finn’s on my list to pick up in the future. If you like queer romance/sex, gritty settings, action, D&D villain coding subversion and character exploration then you should check this book out. Be aware of the strong focus (especially near the end) on war, occupation and civilian death.

Thank you for reading my rambling.

[Nathan Fantasy Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review was originally published on thefantasyreviews.com.


Disclaimer: I recieved a free ARC from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Well, this was definitely a shift in what I normally read and review.

Despite what my recent trend in reviews might indicate, I am actually not a big romance reader. Going into this book I had only read one other book that was explicitly marketed as a romance (with all of the requisite spice), and that was JD Evan's Reign and Ruin, the SPFBO7 champion. I really liked the grand epic worldbuilding and magic in that book, although I could take or leave the more sexual or spicy elements.

So, when I received an ARC for The Delve, I went in hesitant, but with an open mind. I had really liked Reign and Ruin, and I wanted to give this one a chance. I have been seeking to expand my SFF horizons a bit as I got more and more burnt out of the same fantasy epics (I still like those, but just want to shake things up sometimes!).

And you know what? I did really enjoy my time with the The Delve. Did it completely blow me away? Not really. But did it craft a fun fantasy adventure? Most definitely. This is my exact definition of a solid three star read - I am glad I read it and enjoyed my time with it.

The Delve tells the story of a trio of Maers (a furry humanoid creature) that are on a quest in a deep mine to investigate why they are running out of power. Yglind, the lead warrior, is undertaking what the Maers call a delve - a heroic journey in which the goal is to kill five enemies. While investigating in the mines, our trio of heroes meet a wide variety of other characters, both friends and foe, a dragon, and so many other monsters. In some ways this novel felt like a bit of a throwback to the swords and sorcery heyday of fantasy or an RPG dungeon crawler. Nearly the entire novel takes place in the mines, and we get to explore its riches and dangers right along with the characters.

In a lot of ways this really worked for the tension in the novel. I loved exploring the mines with the characters. They felt fully realized and lived in, as they are the home to a Dwarven-like species of creature. However, they are also filled with monsters and other menacing creatures that our protagonists have to face. One of my favorite elements of the books is that it is the humans who are the true villains here. The fantasy genre, particularly epic fantasy, has a problem of "othering" (which I know I bring up a lot in reviews!), and that "othering" process usually involves naturalizing humans as "good" or "normal". Fitzgerald does a wonderful job of making the humans feel mysterious and unnatural in both their personalities and physical attributes.

Dan Fitzgerald notes at the beginning of the book that this is a standalone adventure set 2,000 years before the others books in the series (which comprises of one complete trilogy and one complete duology), and that each series can be read in any order. As the reader, this came as a double edged sword. On one hand I really appreciated that I got just a little taste of the world without a full multi-book commitment; I don't want to give anything away about the ending, but it has a definite and satisfying conclusion.

On the other hand, I did feel like I was missing pieces. Fitzgerald is very sparse with his descriptions and narrations, and he throws out fictional in-universe words, terms, creatures, names, etc. without ever explicitly defining them. While this is a valid narrative form that a lot of fantasy authors take, Fitzgerald just didn't have the time in this short novel to make it 100% work. It took me way too long in the book to get my bearings on who everyone was and how the different elements of the world related to one another. For example, as I said earlier the main antagonists are humans. However, I had little to no understanding of the history between these different races/species, or what was driving the conflict. Fitzgerald gives a little bit of detail here and there, but so much is left unsaid that it distanced me from the characters and conflict a bit. Therefore, readers should go into The Delve for the quest and the adventure as worldbuilding is spartan and not the focus here.

I cannot finish this review without talking about the sexual content. If you like sex in your fantasy, there is plenty here. I honestly skimmed past a lot of it, but I did appreciate that there was a lot of sexual and gender diversity expressed in the spicy scenes. So, if you like sexually explicit fantasy romances but don't feel like there is enough queer representation, look no further than right here! I should point out though that there are inter-species relations in the book (one particular insta-love between a hero and villain is a bit much), so if you are looking for that, it's here! And if you are not looking for that, avoid!

I don't really have too much more to say about the spice elements as I did skim past them, but I will say that if you don't like sexual content then there is still a lot of fantasy adventure to like here. I didn't feel like I was missing anything major (in terms of character development or story) by skimming past those scenes, and the book works completely fine for those of you not looking for it. You will still have to deal with some horny (I cannot come up with a better word) writing in between the scenes, but if the rest of the author's blurb sounds appealing to you, then don't let the sexual content dissuade you!

Concluding Thoughts: A fun swords and sorcery quest in a cool environment that is just slightly dulled by sparse worldbuilding and character development. Readers who like queer romance and spice in their books will find a lot to love here, and sword and sorcery fans shouldn't be put off by the romantic/sexual elements. A great way to spend a few hours.

See this review and more at thefantasyreviews.com

[TaurReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a big fan of sci-fi and fantasy novels, this story wasn't that bad. A magical, mystical epic quest story filled with action and steamy relations.

The pacing was well done. The world building was decent. There are a lot of different species in this world, so that was cool. Some parts weren't as engaging as others though. Overall it was a good read.

[Diane Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written on multiple levels.

First, I need to disclose up front that this is not a book I would normally read. I like some fantasy, but I’m not a regular reader of TT/LitRPG or Erotica in general, so I’m not the best audience. But I see a request for ARC reads in the social media reader community, and I sometimes pay it forward with an honest review. Plus, it’s good to pick something up that’s out of your comfort zone once in a while. You never know, you might find a real gem.

So, the Delve takes us to a world populated by races of furry beings known as the Maer and the Timon who are at war with the hairless skinf*ckers known as humans. It’s a traditional fantasy world full of medieval battles, dragons and sci-fi tech, and our heroes are tasked with a mission to see what’s going down at a brightstone mine gone dark and run by the Timon.

Author Fitzgerald gets right into the action with our Maer heroes Ygland, Ardo and Aene who are confronted by dragon like monsters and their ultimate foes, a band of humans led by a mage intent on sabotage. They eventually meet up with Skiti and Laanda, two major characters representing the Timon. Laanda is the Timon queen and a worthy warrior to boot.

The action sequences are a strong point in this story. Also, strong pacing, and well defined characters. Each character is distinct in personality, and they work well together as a team. There is conflict between the ways of the Maer and the Timon that creates adequate dramatic tension.

Author Fitzgerald warns us at the start that the sex scenes in this story are graphic. And yes, he gets pretty detailed. The knight Ygland and his squire Ardo have a dominant/submissive relationship, and they express their physical affection for each other often. I’m not a huge fan of erotica, but in the context of their characters and their relationship, showing it to some degree makes sense. I was convinced of their true feelings for each other.

There are also a couple of bondage scenes in other relationships. For me, they didn’t always feel necessary to the plot, but then again I’m not a huge fan of erotica. Also keep in mind that nothing in terms of the sexual activities of the characters was ever non consensual. Still, I wasn’t fully convinced of the attraction between some of the characters that led to the sex, in particular, one character’s attraction to a villain based on eye contact. I wasn’t convinced of the almost immediate level of trust between the two, considering the villain's crimes.

The Delve itself represents the character Igland's quest to be heralded as a proper knight and hero before being put to rest in an almost sacrificial way by his people. He's all about tradition until the time comes when he understands the real sacrifices he’s making by upholding those traditions. There’s a worthwhile love story at the heart of the decisions he needs to make, and yet it doesn’t deter from the action of the delve itself.

I was confused by a couple of tangents at the bitter end of the story that felt more relevant to our own recent events rather than what was going on in the actual story. But they were minor. The Delve is a solid read, great world building and character building, and plenty of erotica for the fan of it.

[pasuht · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot summary: The Delve is a fantasy dungeon crawl. A group of three Maer is set out on a mission after an important Timon mine is disconnected from the communication network. The Maer are a civilization of larger dwarves, the Timon of smaller ones. Yglind (a knight), Ardo (his squire), and Aene (a mage) find the mine attacked by a group of humans.

The party soon finds Skittie, a metal mage of the Timon, who joins their group. Later they're also joined by the queen of the Timon, Laanda, who is also a fighter.

They follow the human's trail of destruction and bloodshed up and down through the mine. Fighting all kind of monsters including a dragon. They occasionally encounter the humans, even capturing one for a while, but the humans are too powerful for the Maer and Timon to force a final confrontation until the very end.

During the time of their quest the heroes find times to relief some of their stress through sex several times. Gay, lesbian, and straight sex, including bondage.

Review: Dan Fitzgerald's foremost strength lies in the way he subtly, but precisely, defines characters in their relationships. Which is very important in a book that focusses so much on a small group going through challenges. They become real and distinct, grow way above being archetypes, with just a few pages with them in it.

I also liked how crisp and engaging the combat scenes - of which there are quite a few of course - are written. And how the at the same time soft, clear, and explicit(!) sex scenes were described.

I also quite enjoyed the occasional moments of humor. Like "joy stick" as name for a sex toy, or a character, fearing for her life, thinking "What an inglorious end, she thought, to be killed by someone with such atrocious facial hair."

Sometimes there were a few too many made up "Fantasy Words" for my taste. And while I'm normally no map-aficionado, as much as the plot of this book relied on the relative locations of the Maer and Timon versus the humans, I'd have liked one as reference.

What brings this book from 4 to 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5 stars) for me was the melancholic ending. Putting the individual quest the reader witnessed into the broader context of a declining civilization at the end of its time. I also want to praise the use of Content Warnings!

Full disclosure: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I am also friendly with Dan Fitzgerald on Twitter.

[Westveil Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was granted complimentary access to The Delve by Dan Fitzgerald as part of my participation in a blog tour for this title with Escapist Book Tours. Thank you to all involved for granting me this opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

I have featured all of Dan Fitzgeral's books on my blog throughout their various tours over the last 3 years and reviewed many of them. The Delve holds up to the standard Dan has set with his body of work, and that standard is quite high! The Delve, which set before the events of the Maer Cycle trilogy, is a unique fantasy novel in a world heavily inspired by RPG games. LitRPG fans looking to read something more like traditional low fantasy and a little less meta will find Fitzgeral's books are just the right place to start. It's a classic defeat-the-dungeon sort of plot without the tongue-in-cheek fourth wall breaks of truer LitRPG novels that bring up holographic character sheets whenever a character levels up.

I love all of the LGBTQIA+ flavoured representation in Dan's worlds, and in this novel in particular, and the very free and accepting attitudes most of the characters hold about relationships and sex is refreshing. With that said, readers be warned, this book is steamy! Sex scenes are detailed and some go on for quite a number of pages. If you're not into that, they are skippable/skimmable with minimal loss of relevant information to the plot, but you will lose some inter-character relationship-building and tension.

Something else that I loved about The Delve that we don't see very often in low fantasy was that humans, modern humans as we know ourselves, are the antagonists. I love a book that forces the reader to take the perspective of a character or group of people who aren't stand-ins for the target audience.

Although this book is set long before the Maer Cycle trilogy, it doesn't feel like a suitable starting point for new readers. To some extent, it does expect us to already know how this world and the peoples within it function. I admit I have perused the reviews that were posted before mine, and it does indeed look like readers who are new to Dan's world with this title found that the world-building and character development weren't quite where they hoped it would be. I recommend starting with the first book of the Maer Cycle trilogy first and getting a feel for this world.

[BuddyErhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free ARC via Book Sirens.

A whole world within a limited setting (with sex)

The story is build like a makro chamber play. The whole story (except the last few chapters) is set in
a mine, where a group of Maer is send by their council to investigate an alert in a mine run by the Timon, their business partners. Very soon it becomes clear that the mine has been invaded by a third party: But what do they want? How did they get in? How to get them out?

Fitzgerald manages to introduce parts of the world and the history between its peoples without ever
leaving the mine, and that he does very well. It also features different and interesting approaches to magic: If these are different angles on one and universal kind of magic, or if the different peoples each have their own magic system is yet to be levealed.
It made me curious what else is there to tell, and I hope that he will continue writing in this world because most things are only hinted at and alluded to but fully revealed.

But if you are sensitive to sexual content beware, because there is quite a lot of sex in this book: Hetereo, homosexual and kinky. It serves as a release for the characters and for strengthening, reinforcing or redefining their relationships and hierarchies. The language within these scences can be perceived as vulgar, but to me it feels appropriate. The sex scenes felt neither cringy nor affected. I could have done with a little less of those scenes, but on the other hand I appreciate that Mr. Fitzgerlad includes those scenes and variations in an otherwise solid fantasy novel.


In my own rating system this would be somewhere in the 6.5/10 or 7/10, but here on Goodreads I'll give it 4/5 stars.

[Susan Hancock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read my ARC (thank you!) twice already, and I absolutely love it. Could it be my favourite of all Dan Fitzgerald’s books? I think it could, though I love them all. Fitzgerald combines the skills of writer and storyteller so well. The combination of compelling tale and vivid prose works perfectly for me.

Things that were particularly important for me? Definitely the fully nuanced main characters, the Maer trio (Yglind, Ardo and Aene), the Timon (Skiti, Laanda), the human (Feddar). The incredibly imaginative setting and the creatures which inhabit it (especially the dragon!). The sheer attention to detail - truly impressive, with, for example, Aene’s channelling of the Maer brightstone magic of her gauntlet and Skiti’s mastery of the metal-magic of the trident. The fascination each of these two share as they discover more cultural information about each other’s races and their technological achievements says so much about the importance of embracing other cultures. In fact, I’m bursting to talk about everything that happens… but I don’t want to spoil the story for other readers!

Most of all though? I love the relationships, the love, and the different (so believable) pairings, with certain episodes showing the sheer physical comfort one being can offer another when coming together to share emotional and bodily love, whether m/m, f/f, f/m. Each partner offering, freely, what the other needs at any given moment - growing in the process and coming to understand what is truly important in life.

Oh, and by the way, I absolutely ADORE the ending. So good. Fellow-readers, just wait until you’ve loved the book and then you can adore it too.

[Clank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to the author for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
The Delve reads like a TTRPG session following a knight named Yglind and his companions Ardo, his squire and lover, and Aene, a snarky mage.Yglind is going on his “delve”, a right of passage for his race. Yglind must get five kills as it is tradition, but he is also on a mission to find out what has happened to the Deepfold mine to cause them to stop supplying them with Brightstone. Yglind is a man obsessed with his sword, as demonstrated by this absolute banger of a line from him early on in the book: "God does this sword not give you the biggest hard-on of your life?” I think it really cements what kind of character he is from the beginning. He seems to have a single-track mind throughout the story, being focused on one thing and one thing alone.

I found The Delve to be extremely fast-paced and action heavy. It is a stand-alone set before the Maer Cycle trilogy that can be read alone.For me, there was a bit of a learning curve, not having read the Maer Cycle trilogy myself. Once I caught on to it, I found it extremely easy to follow along with and would agree that it can definitely be read as standalone without background knowledge. I do plan on reading the Maer Cycle trilogy now - as well as their duology set in the same universe - because I really enjoyed the author’s writing style.

Yglind’s growth as a character, as well as the ending of the book surprising in a really positive way. I wasn’t expecting things to turn out the way that they did. Something The Delve does that I haven’t seen a lot of, was include intimate scenes between several different pairings, as opposed to focus on one pairing or couple. I appreciated that there were different representations of sexuality, and it was all woven in between all the violent and gorey battle scenes. It’s something that made this stand out a lot for me.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 1 in The Time Before series

I loved the characters, the story, the magic. It was refreshing to see a story with main characters who weren't human.

CAWPILE Breakdown:

Characters: 8 - I loved the characters. At times they felt relatable, even though they weren't humans - and that was refreshing. In fact, the humans (for the most part) were the "bad guys." It was nice to see.

Atmosphere/Setting: 7 - I wanted to feel the atmosphere a bit more at times. Sometimes it all felt like the same location. The setting was written well. I could see where we were at all times.

Writing Style: 7.5 - The Delve shows promise in Dani Finn's writing style. It was easy to read, pacing was great. It'd be interested in reading more books by Finn.

Plot: 7.5 - I thought the plot was good but at times it was a bit muddled, but maybe that was a me problem? ... Mixed thoughts on the plot.

Intrigue: 8.5 - I had so much intrigue reading this book. So many questions which were then answered. Finn did a great job keeping me (the reader) invested with intrigue.

Logic/Relationships: 8 - Everything made sense for its world and characters. I loved seeing all of the relationships develop. It was refreshing to see all different kids of relationships and not just male and female romantic relationships. Great LGBTQ+ representation.

Enjoyment: 7 -I enjoyed reading the Delve and look forward to reading more from Dani Finn.

CAWPILE Total: 53.5/7 = 7.6 = 4 stars

[Claudia Gotthardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had great fun reading this book. The characters, especially Yglind, drew me in from page one with quick wits, quick tongues and quick action, paired with a sense of loyalty and underlying respect for one another that I found immensely endearing.
The mine is dark and the pitfalls plenty and a dragon is always lurking in the shadows while dangerous intruders wreak havoc on the locals. Perfect conditions for a knight to be rash, a mage to push her limits and a loving squire to be the brave, fluffy rock to lean on.
I enjoyed the pace, the dynamics, the almost comical omnipresence of a certain lizard and the quiet moments that allowed a lot of spicy intimacy. For me it was a good mix of adventure and lovely characters, who all felt very relatable and well fleshed-out.
Oh, and the worldbuilding and magic is delicious.

I withdrew one star for the ending that felt a teensy bit glued-on to the rest of the book and was more of a summary of events with sprinkled-in scenes that left me not totally satisfied with some of the story arcs. I'm not sure if a second part is planned, but I'd love to read it and maybe get a more in-depth resolution to some open ends.

An overall fun read with lots of love for detail, fast action, laughs, scares and an abundance of dark holes.

[Dae Storm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I usually stick to modern romance and occasionally dip my toes into fantasy. This is because of difficulties in reading and understanding. Much fantasy is written in higher grade-level style. The Delve however was easy to read and understand for me personally. Even more than that I found myself enveloped in the plot, the emotions of the characters, the adventure, the romance. The title of the book and the cover fit so perfectly with the mood and tone of this story. While the beginning of the book didn't draw me in as much as I'd have liked, by the middle of the book I was really sucked in.

I have to admit the spicy and romantic bits were my favorite out of everything. As someone who usually likes more romance than plot but also loves a good balance of those two, I enjoyed The Delve more than I even expected as it does a great job of balancing. All while being pretty fast paced. If you find yourself intrigued by this books title, cover, and blurb, definitely give it a shot.

note: I adore this authors choices in naming of characters, places, things. They do an absolutely fantastic job in making names interesting.

I received an arc of this and this is my honest review.

[Jacqueline Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. The Delve is a fast-paced fantasy standalone story set within a brightstone mine full of dark labyrinthine tunnels and shafts. The mine has recently lost power thanks to a group of three humans, a thief, a mage, and a warrior who are still at large within the mine and have killed many of the resident Timon, a dwarf-like species. Three Maer (a race of humanoid beings with skin covered in hair who have featured in Fitzgerald’s previous book series) have been sent to investigate why the power has gone from the mine, since the Maer rely on power from the brightstone it produces, and war with the humans is brewing. These Maer are on a Delve - a quest undertaken by a newly knighted Maer of noble birth in which he must make five kills to prove his worth. Yglind is this knight and is accompanied by his lover and squire, Ardo, and a female mage named Aene. I found Yglind to be too arrogant and domineering for my liking. He was probably my least favourite character, even though his personality did develop somewhat and he became more likeable by the end of the book.

[A.E. Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fast-paced, spicy romance was so much fun to read! The story begins as we meet Yglind, a knight who has been sent on a quest to figure out why a mine called the Deepfold mine has gone dark. War is looming, and getting the mine up and running is of utmost importance. Accompanied by his squire Ardo and saucy mage Aene, we follow Yglind on an adventure frought with danger and sprinkled with sexy, tender moments. A must-read for fantasy lovers! (Note: I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.)

[Rachel Bina · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you missed playing D&D during the pandemic, you will like this book.

The main characters are on a mission to prove their worth and make a name for themselves in their society, but of course their expedition doesn't go as planned. This book had cool and imaginative monsters, a technology based magic system that maintain its 'awe' factor, and a love story that added tension when the action got heated.

Also, the mysterious races and society have me curious about the details of the world, so I will add Dan's other book to my TBR.

[Siu Lum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It has some classic fantasy elements and reminds me of the older Dungeon and Dragons books. You have your fighter and his page and a magic user. The characters are on a quest and they encounter different types of friends and foes.

I love that this book does not have a heteronormative society.

This is the first book I've read from this author and I am off to read their other works.

Please note that I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Izabela Raittila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Delve is a gritty, action packed and very entertaining dungeon fantasy. It's filled with magic, combat scenes with dragons and other monsters and lots of spicy sex. It offers a great introduction to the world of the Maer and the Timon. I particularly liked the detailed descriptions of their distinctive cultures, magic systems and technology. The protagonists, Aene, Skiti, Ardo & Yglind are all well developed and complex characters.

[Lia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting fantasy story with not so typical main fantasy characters. I liked the world-building, which centered a lot around the delve into the mines. It's very intriguing change of scenery compared to other fantasy novels. I liked that humans were the bad guys here, although their physically altered versions didn't turn them into typical human, but were mysterious and grim enough so I rooted for the main characters though every step of the way. But the spicy parts were not my cup of tea! I recommend the novel for those who don't have a problem with more sexual scenes.

[Lena]

Thank you so much to the author Dan Fitzgerald for accepting my request of an eARC.

This one is an exception. I'm usually pretty good at anticipating which books I'm going to enjoy but I was wrong with this one. The blurb had all the elements I usually enjoyed, that's why I requested the eARC. 

Well, I DNFed it at @ 70%. Couldn't connect with the characters, I couldn't picture the scenery well, I got triggered by a scene (I'm not sure why). I stayed because I thought things may get better as I continue but no. 

This book was sadly not for me.

[Saskia Veldhuis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was supposed to be able to be read as a standalone, which I have done. However I feel like I was missing a bit too much in the world building, which may have been different if I had read related books earlier. The growth of character Yglind was very touching. The use of science, magic of different sorts, intriguing scary creatures was very good but here again I felt like I might have missed more depth by not having read the other books. The various combinations of queer characters was beautifully done.

[Dominique - · Rating 4 out of 5]

The delve was an incredible books that gave me all of the feels of experiencing someone play a really great D&D campaign.

This book gave me a lot of what I was expecting but little past that, I am intrigued to see if I read the rest of the series/other series if that will add to the experience.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Irene Sejas · Rating 5 out of 5]

(I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily).
This is the first book by this author that I read and I loved it so much I want to read the rest ASAP! As far as I know, this is a standalone but is connected with some of the author's previous works, so I am very excited for that!!
The book is phenomenal, I devoured it! I loved the setting and world (I feel like I would've enjoyed it even more if I had known/read the related works but still!)
The magic system and world-building was so good!! Honestly I loved it, and I feel like even without any previous knowledge of this setting it's still quite easy to follow along! (Even though I don't play, this gave me lots of dungeons and dragons vibes, or that kind of games at least, I'm not sure if that was the intention or not, but it's what I noticed, either way I think that was a very nice touch!!).
The characters are really well written and developed, you can really see how they grow through the novel and learn from the things they go through... I really enjoyed the relationships and interactions between the three protagonists (Yglind, Ardo and Aene) and I want more about their stories and how they evolve!!
I recommend this book (although maybe it'd be best to read the previous novels first? I'm not sure if it makes a huge difference...), I loved it so much and think it's a great read!!