Back in December, I checked out Stuff Your Kindle Day for the first time, which is a day when Amazon makes a ton of Kindle books free. I have some thoughts about this day and whether or not it’s worth it, but I think I’ll make that a separate post. The biggest pro for it, however, is that I was introduced to a ton of new to me authors and some really amazing stories. This is how I discovered L Eveland and their Flame and Shadow duology.

Nevahn is a blacksmith’s apprentice, who has been working hard for most of his life to be promoted to Forgemaster. When the book opens, he has awoken from a nightmare to the tolling bells announcing the beginning of The Festival of Dreams in his village. We learn that even though Nevahn has hung the traditional talismans over his bed to ward off nightmares, he is still plagued by them. Immediately we know that the juxtaposition of nightmares and dreams is most likely going to come back again.

Nevahn sets off into the dusk to deliver a newly forged broadsword to Sir Jerrith, one of Adros’ best knights, who will be fighting in the ritual. The Forgemaster warns to not go up the hillside, so, of course, that’s where he heads after he doesn’t find the knight at the pub. When he gets to the top, amongst all of the knights lined up to register for the ritual, he sees Him.

“Eyes crawled over my sweat stained back. I turned, searching for the source, and froze.

There stood a lone fighter, his breastplate the color of shadow. Silver tipped horns curled out from his helm. A blood red cape flowed from his shoulders, still even in the wind.”

– Nevahn

We then skip to Cian’s point of view, as he sees Nevahn for the first time:

“Then the stranger walked up in his tattered clothes and striking head of messy red curls, and bright green eyes. This newcomer was clearly no knight – He clutched the only sword he had tightly to his chest – but he had the courage to look at me, to really look. The redhead had even started to take a step toward me, as if he, untrained and unarmored, had been called to fight.

But that would mean…

No, there was no magic of that type in the human lands. Iridyn and the other Guardians had long ago stamped that out, leaving them defenseless against what was coming. If I didn’t stand against Iridyn, this place, too, would burn.”

– Cian

These two quotes set up the book perfectly. Not only are they wrought with foreshadowing for Nevahn’s growth of character, but they set the scene for an impending war. We envision Cian, darkly clad and existing amongst the shadows. Consider that we’ve already toyed with the idea of dreams and nightmares, you can probably guess where this is all leading to next.

Sir Jerrith drunkenly approaches Nevahn and accosts him for his subpar work on the sword. A few other knights join in and Cian feels moved, as if powered out of his body, to jump in to help. He offers to remove his armor, kneel before Nevahn (hot…by the way, L) and test the blade against him. But if he fails to land the blow against Cian, then he, “will agree to live in the land of Nightmares for one year and one day.” And at this point, I’m flooded with dopamine because I absolutely looooooove an agreement. But what’s more is the description of the slow removal of armor and reveal of Cian’s otherworldly form is…just…put it in my veins. This whole moment is so beautifully written. In fact, there are so many moments within this book that made me just close my eyes and imagine, soaking them in.

Obviously, it doesn’t work and the chapter ends with the big reveal, “‘I am the Lord of Nightmares,’ I said and reached for him, ‘and now you belong to me.’” Oof. Now you belong to me. Okay, so then there’s a long boat trip to the Court of Nightmares and we discover that the fact that Cian brought a regular human and not a lauded knight back to their lands is questionable. But, like, we’re seasons readers, right? We know it’s because Nevahn is “not like other boys” and there’s something special about him and they are going to fall madly in love with each other.

But plot twist because in walks “vague history with Hellion”. Who’s Hellion and what the vague history? This is a little spoilery, but Hellion is the viceroy of Jaida, an allied country, who has taken a vow of peace. We learn that Cian has not seen them in 50 years, not after something terrible happened with the Fire Lord’s blood tithe. We also learn that Cian, Hellion, and a person named, Ren, were in a relationship, but Ren is no longer. We learn later that Ren was the Prince of the Spiritlands, a jokester, and fiercely loved by both Cian and Hellion.

This is a story of the age old problem of trying to make progress without repeating history. It’s good vs. evil, it’s coming into power, it’s healing from old wounds, and it’s love conquers all. And, yes, dragons. But, above all, it’s really a story of how, “even a small man could cast an enormous shadow if he knew where to stand in the light.” As far as the romance goes, it is an MMX, poly, which I haven’t read before, but I love. I saw a lot of comparisons between Hellion and Moth, from Lily Mayne’s Monstrous series. Both characters present as gender fluid, androgynous-type, non-humans with incredible beauty. Both have a quiet ruthlessness, that exudes confidence and strikes fear amongst the other characters in the book.

I love how L utilizes Ren’s ghost to not only bring depth to the story, but also to help Cian and Hellion to heal. As they heal, they finally talk through the past and after 50 years, it’s a lot to digest. They allow themselves to fall back in love with each other and as they let go of Ren, they let in a greater love in Nevahn. It’s an absolutely beautiful component of the story and especially speaks to those of us, who struggle with letting go of the past, even if it means being rewarded with a loving present and future.

There’s so much more I could talk about in regards to this story, but I want you to experience it on your own. The conflict, the world building, the side characters, and on and on. It’s so incredibly well written. I don’t understand why it’s not more popular, but I find that I’m often saying this of indie books and authors. So please, check out A Dream of Flame and Shadow and A Glint of Steel and Roses by L Eveland. L does have a website, so feel free to check it out here. Feel free to comment below if you’ve read this duology or anything else by L!