Those Bonds we Choose

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Inspired by books like Legends and Lattes and the Goblin Emperor, Those Bonds we Choose is a first person queer fantasy focused on the romance and life of Princess Evariste (Ris to her friends) and her new bodyguard Emmy.

In a fantasy world where everyone is born with magical talents, most of them are simply useless. Those with less useful powers form bonds with a variety of magical creatues, sacrificing their own magical potential in exchange for the companionship and support of these beasts. From healing snakes to powerful royal dragons, these creatues define the world in which Ris and Emmy live.

While this story is about two people falling in love, it is also very much a fantasy. Expect politics, fighting, magic, and mystery as well as romance.

Created for Writathon 2023

Cover Art:

Sir Lancelot Approaching the Castle of Astolat

Gustave Doré

The Art Institute of Chicago

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2023
Author: GayOnTillMorning

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 5.0/ 5.0
Followers: 4
Views: 1,607

Chapters(9 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(1)

motelsinkRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I rate this story as 5/5 stars (4.75 stars rounded up)
First and most importantly - I LOVE what this author is doing with characterization, so the character score is 5/5. I love (or occasionally love to hate) the protagonist, and find the protagonist (and eventual love interest) to be charmingly written and incredibly compelling. Further, I think the author does a masterful job of populating her world with believable characters. Everyone we've met so far, from the protag/love interest to the minor/side characters, feels like a fully formed person, even when we only see them interact for a few lines of dialogue. The characters are delightful and they are what keep me engaged in this story the most.
I gave the story a 4.5 out of 5 stars because so far, I am not as invested in the plot as I am in learning about the characters and the worldbuilding. However, we're only ~20% of the way through the story and I do find the characters and universe incredibly compelling, so I'm confident that any plot issues will be worked out by the time that the story is complete.
I also took a half star away for the style score because there are occasional lines that are somewhat clunky, but never to a degree where it takes me out of the story. Also this is a first draft and all of the style issues are incredibly unobtrusive and easy to fix, so I think a 4.5 is a reasonable rating.
5/5 stars for grammar as well - no glaring errors and the story flows well and is easy to read on a mechanical level.