About Curse of the Gianes
by AM Riley
127 pages / 44000 words
ISBN: 1-60370-004-8, 978-1-60370-004-7
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc
Banshee O’Grady and his faery lover Maeesbef have a problem. Living in the world of men makes Maeesbef more than a little unhealthy. And horny. O’Grady doesn’t mind the latter so much, but he worries that his lover might up and die on him.
That’s where Lyre comes in. He’s been through loving in the human world, been through the sickness that comes with living outside the grove his people inhabit. Not only does he have to help Maeesbef, he has to fight his attraction for yet another human, police detective Seamus, who thinks he’s seeing things and going mad when the fey show up on his doorstop.
Can Lyre learn to love again? And can Seamus let himself accept that love, and the otherworldy family that seem determined to help him out?
Review
CB Potts, author of the Rockhounds series, writes: Intoxicating. Heady. Captivating. It's hard to pick the right words to describe Curse of the Gianes by AM Riley, a title that manages to evoke (rather remarkably) Spider Robinson and Labyrinth, all in one go. I have to admit a particular weakness for tales that showcase a magical world that exists just alongside our own more mundane existence: Riley takes the tropes of the genre and gives them some unique little twists.
There's a lot of sadness in this book: Seamus has lost his partner and quasi-lover Riley, outcast Giane Lyre is mourning his human lover, Joseph. A banshee and a fairy have formed an unlikely alliance, destined to end in mutual heartbreak: if circumstances are allowed to progress that far.
If you like your angst side by side with your hot sex, you're in luck. If you like looking at phenomenon you thought you knew: sexual addiction, loss, society as a whole: and twisting it 90 degrees, just for the hell of it, you'll love this tale. Riley (the author, not the character) has a way with words. The book isn't quite large enough: some plot twists and turns are a bit tighter than they might normally be, should Riley take the time to play them out, but this does not adversely affect the book. Strong imagery, great emotional work, and an economy of language that is to be admired: combine this with a very well rendered mystical world, and this is a paranormal romance (and tearjerker, at least for this reviewer!) can sink their teeth into.
Sample
Lips swollen, skin a sheen of sweat, golden hair a halo of sun-lightened strands on the pillow around his head, Maeebsef blinked violet eyes and smiled up at his lover from their bed. “O’Grady?” he purred. And he stirred restlessly on the satin sheets, long white body arching seductively.
“Oh Gods,” O’Grady stopped in the midst of donning his hairshirt, eyes caught by the sight of that tight white bottom as it lifted from the blue satin.
“O’Grady?”
O’Grady’s gaze jerked up to Maeebsef’s face. Maeebsef’s eyes twinkled as only a faerie’s can. “I said, must you go out today?”
O’Grady cleared his throat, scrubbing a hand through his wild hair and wandering over to the bureau where he kept his stock of brandies. He poured himself a generous dollop. “I had a dream,” he said, “another one.”
Maebsef moved restlessly on the bed, his hand wandering to his right nipple and playing with it. “Was it an omen?”
“Probably.” O’Grady noticed a pair of shimmering sheer white stockings hanging from the fan overhead and pulled them down. Then went and sat next to Maebsef.
Maeebsef rolled his head against O’Grady’s hip. “Tell me about the nightmare.”
So O’Grady told him, his mind half on that, half still in wonder at how his life had changed since this faerie had landed in it. How many eons of lying cold and afraid on this same bed after one of these dreams? Unable to even think clearly until he’d drunk quite a bit of brandy.
And now he had this clever, loving partner. Picking through the still live strands of his dream. Helping O’Grady put it into perspective, returning steadiness and hope to his mind and peace to his body. Maeebsef listened closely, asking questions, fingers stroking his arms, as if brushing the memories from them.
“Why did you think it might be today?”
O’Grady stared into his drink. He had no reason to think so; he just had to get out. Not to get away from his partner, Maab knew he could spend every minute of his eternity with Maeebsef. But to give his body a rest from the constant demands being made upon it... He tried to think of an answer.