Nudging Fate (Enchanted Occasions, #1) in MM Romance and Gay Fiction

Jul 04, 2020 Kathleen rated it liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy, no-interest, dreamspun

3.25 stars

In a word: Adorable.

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Jul 08, 2018 Lori S. rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, audios, asexual-aromantic-demi-aspec-books, fae, 2018_challenge, 2020_roaring, ejrussell-mythmatched_series, 2021_return

Enjoyable read.

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Mar 03, 2021 June Jadus rated it really liked it

There was a time when I read as many mm romance books as I could get my hands on. I didn’t review those books, or even write down the titles. Which means that every once in a while I come across a book that sounds familiar, but that I don’t remember much about. This is one of those books.

I got the short story Best Beast for free from the Winter Wonderland giveaway, and the mention of Enchanted Occasions rang a bell. When I looked up the author, I saw that I had read several of her books in the p There was a time when I read as many mm romance books as I could get my hands on. I didn’t review those books, or even write down the titles. Which means that every once in a while I come across a book that sounds familiar, but that I don’t remember much about. This is one of those books.

I got the short story Best Beast for free from the Winter Wonderland giveaway, and the mention of Enchanted Occasions rang a bell. When I looked up the author, I saw that I had read several of her books in the past. All I remembered about Nudging Fate was that I liked it, so I decided to reread it. I’m glad I did, and not just because it has a better cover now.

There are so many things I enjoyed about this book, from the idea of the interstitial spaces where magic and technology from all the worlds can coexist at the same time, to the fact that all of the Enchanted Occasions staff are less typical supernatural and mythical beings. No offense to vampires, werewolves, and dragons, but sometimes it’s nice to get other types of beings.

I also thought the situation surrounding Con and Rey’s birth was interesting, as was the Faerie Queen’s plans for her son. The idea of gathering a bunch of people together and having the prince choose one as a spouse is something I’ve seen in a number of books, but there are enough unique occurrences to make it enjoyable.

Both Con and Andy were great guys and the romance was super sweet. No smut, but it worked for the story. The whole thing felt light and fluffy, as well as being low angst. There was some tension and drama in the last few chapters, but that was to be expected.

My biggest complaint was the lack of world building. While enough information was given to flesh out the immediate story, there’s huge gaps about things that are tangentially related. The realm of Faerie was mentioned a lot, but other than saying that it didn’t allow any human technology, it wasn’t described at all. Neither were Con’s fey powers, though it was hinted that he had them. To be fair, the story worked fine without this info, but I love world building, so I noticed its absence.

In a way, that lack of world building made the ending feel a little unsatisfying. I have no idea what kind of life awaited Con and Andy. No idea where they lived or what they did or how many things changed for the both of them. And while I think their romance is strong and was handled well, I do have questions about their situation. I would happily read a story where Con and Andy play a strong supporting role to another couple’s romance. This way we’d be able to see what happened to them and how they’re adjusting to their new lives.

Finally, I have to give a shout out to the side characters. Especially Talus, who I liked right from the beginning. I’m glad that the next book is about Smith, especially since there were some lingering questions about him. Rey will probably get a book of his own, but the glimpse I saw of him made him seem like a spoiled brat. But I’d still read his book.

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Mar 16, 2021 jaxnsmom rated it liked it

Shelves: mm, urban-fantasy, kindle-unlimited, 2021

3.25 stars. A really cute read.

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Mar 09, 2019 llv rated it liked it

Shelves: 2019

Rating: 3 stars
I just couldn’t get into this book. The world the author created seemed overly convoluted and it was really hard reading at first with many unfamiliar terms being thrown my way. The MCs were okay, but I didn’t feel any real chemistry between them. Frankly, I would have been more interested in reading more about the side characters than the main ones. Smith especially. I wanted to know what was going on with him more than I cared about the main story. So, the book was just okay. No ...more

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