By: Dan Fitzgerald
Publisher: Shadowspark Publishing
Having spoken with Dan and through his posts, I know that LBGTQ representation is important and essential in his books. While it is a duology, it does focus on different characters. The Living Waters explores relationships with the natural world, while the Isle of a Thousand Worlds focuses on the metaphysical connection. It is also a sword-free fantasy series.
In The Living Waters, one of the main characters, Gilea, is gay. She speaks about affairs she has had, but nothing long-term. She works as chaperone to wealthy “painted individuals” who embark on a journey on the river before returning home to “settle down”. They are not children, they rarely leave home, so this is like a rite of passage. Temi, another one of the main protagonists, is one of Gilea’s charges. Through the course of the book, they both begin to have feelings for each other. For Gilea, this is different than her previous relationships. She truly comes to care for an love Temi. Temi, who has not seen much of the world, is drawn to Gilea by her own feelings. What I loved about this relationship is more than the representation. Once again, it is the way of the world that the book is set in that LBGTQ relationships are part of it, and the inclusivity never feels forced. Temi may be naïve about parts of the world she lives in, as she has rarely traveled far from home, her budding relationship with Gilea is something she never questions. Her feelings are real, and the relationship unfurls beautifully. In the end, Temi does need to return home and Gilea returns to explore her metaphysical connection to the Caravan. Their love, however, continues.
The Isle of a Thousand Worlds focuses on Gilea, and a woman named Patia, who we briefly meet in the Living Waters. Gilea is exploring her connection the Caravan, where one can travel through the Caravan to different cities, communicate over distances, and when strong enough, manipulate parts of it. It is through this realm that she communicates with Temi. Even though they are apart, their love still endures. At the end, Temi and Gilea are finally reunited.
I think this another wonderful duology that has LBGTQ representation with a beautifully developed relationship. I absolutely loved it and highly recommend both books.
BOOK BLURB: The Living Waters
When two painted-faced nobles take a guided raft trip on a muddy river, they expect to rough it for a few weeks before returning to their life of sheltered ease. But when mysterious swirls start appearing in the water, even their seasoned guides get rattled.
The mystery of the swirls lures them on to seek the mythical wetlands known as the Living Waters. They discover a world beyond their imagining, but stranger still are the worlds they find inside their own minds as they are drawn deep into the troubles of this hidden place.
The Living Waters is a sword-free fantasy novel featuring an ethereal love story, meditation magic, and an ancient book with cryptic marginalia
BOOK BLURB: The Isle of a Thousand Worlds
The alchemy of the heart distills the body’s desires.
An aging alchemist seeks the key to the Universal Tincture said to unlock the Thousand Worlds of the mind, but she never expected to solve the riddle of her hermetic heart.
A meditation acolyte travels the mystical social media known as the Caravan and finds that the Thousand Worlds lie just below the surface, if she can only learn to see the space between the stars.
This steamy romantic fantasy explores the confluence of the physical and the metaphysical through the commingling of bodies and minds.
Now, for Mr. Fiztgerald, he would describe his book as No Swords, No Deaths, Just Magic & Sexy Times!
Find out more about Dan Fitzgerald on his website: https://www.danfitzwrites.com/
Review of The Living Waters
Review of The Isle of a Thousand Worlds
Purchase the Living Waters on Amazon
Purchase the Isle of A Thousand Worlds on Amazon
