Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, Book One (The Cadeleonian Series, #3) in A Shot of Ginn

Dec 22, 2013 Xing rated it really liked it

Shelves: biob

Reread 2019

How does this book hold up after five years and coming right after the Lord of the White Hell rereads? Actually, a lot better than I originally thought. If anything, I feel like I enjoyed it even more. While I will forever love Lord of the White Hell, there was definitely a juvenile aspect of it all; it's to be expected given that the characters are all still 17ish. But Champion of the Scarlet Wolf takes off the kid gloves, and we are dealt with something more refined. I love Elezar t ...more

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Dec 19, 2013 orannia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: m-m, 2014

Four and three-quarter stars. I'm knocking one-quarter of a star off because of the editing - mostly missing words, extra words, the wrong words and words in the wrong order. The majority could/should have been picked up in a thorough edit.

That aside (and normally it would do my head in, but the book more than made up for it), the book was amazing. Ginn Hale always has incredibly mad world-building skills, and this book proves that. She's created such a vivid world that's so different and intere ...more

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Feb 03, 2014 Eisheth rated it it was amazing

Shelves: m-m, fantasy, demons, magics-afoot

I consider myself kind of a jaded person when it comes to expectations. I've long realized that most things I look forward to are going to disappoint, so it's best not to expect too much. Then along comes Ginn Hale, and she's all, "Look at me, I'm Ginn Hale! I'm going to exceed expectations with everything I create, thereby destroying your carefully constructed protection mechanisms, condemning you to eternal disappointment and ruining your life! And by the way, have a cliffhanger! HA!"

THANKS A ...more

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Jul 10, 2014 Sarah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, glbt-fiction, paranormal, favorites, action-adventure

Easily one of my favourite books this year.

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Dec 22, 2013 Salsera1974 rated it liked it

Shelves: m-m-read, fantasy

Champion of the Scarlet Wolf returns us to the world that Ginn Hale created in her Lord of the White Hell series, but this time, we are focused on Javier's best friend from the Sagrada Academy, Elezar. Five years after banding together under Javier's command to resist an attack from church forces, and after losing (view spoiler), Elezar is living on the edge of the law. He is known throughout Champion of the Scarlet Wolf returns us to the world that Ginn Hale created in her Lord of the White Hell series, but this time, we are focused on Javier's best friend from the Sagrada Academy, Elezar. Five years after banding together under Javier's command to resist an attack from church forces, and after losing (view spoiler), Elezar is living on the edge of the law. He is known throughout his homeland of Cadeleon as a killer, and though he adheres to the rule of law when he kills, he knows that it will only be a matter of time when his ability to walk that line safely wears itself out.

And this is precisely how the novel opens: while defending his friend, Atreau, from a justifiably jealous husband, Elezar kills the husband. The wife pursues Elezar -- she wishes to kill him and Atreau so that no one will learn that she was sleeping with Atreau -- but Elezar and Atreau have a powerful ally who protects them. In order to try to avert war and save them both from the wife, this ally sends them to the magical, northern country of Labara in order to gather crucial intelligence on the situation that is developing up there, but also, to persuade one of the most powerful witches in the region to back down from the threat of war with Cadeleon. While there, Elezar meets a mysterious young man, Skellan, who is a powerful, but unformed magician and a bit of a lost boy, and who is practically living on the streets. They work together to deal with the magical threat that is hanging over the region, as well as the threats that are pushing the world toward war.

The novel was enjoyable, but unfortunately, it moved too slowly for my taste. I found myself getting lost in many of the plot twists and narrative details because it did not consistently hold my interest. Far too frequently, I would read something and say, "Oh, this detail from a prior conversation was important, but I didn't pick up on it because it was lost in so many other details." The book didn't exactly ramble; it just took a bit to long to come to the point.

I did, however, mostly enjoy watching the development of Elezar's and Skellan's relationship. I'm beginning to see that the quietly passionate, slightly restrained romance is characteristic of Ginn Hale, and I appreciate that quality in her writing. This time, though, the restraint grew out of Elezar's unwillingness to admit his love for men, and while that struggle was compelling, the length of time that it took to resolve felt stretched to the breaking point. I can be a patient reader, but the pacing of this story -- both in terms of plot and in terms of romantic development -- was just a bit off.

It's a solid read and I am actually looking forward to the sequel, but I wish it had been constructed in a tighter fashion ...more

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Dec 15, 2013 ttg marked it as to-read

This is now out! And a week early to boot! Copies can be grabbed at Weightless: https://weightlessbooks.com/genre/fic...

(Book 2 out on 12/31/14. Wah!) ;_; ...more

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Oct 06, 2014 Susinok rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, mystery, glbt, romance

Best fantasy I have read in many years! And I am so glad I started this book when the second one was already out, and I could move to it immediately.

Just fantastic fantasy.

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Jan 09, 2014 KC rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy-sf-paranormal, lgbtq

Awesome adventure in the world of Lord of the White Hell, with a favorite new character - Skellan, who's adorable and sweet and courageous. I enjoyed getting to know Elezar better and meeting old friends - Kiram and Xavier. As always, Ginn Hale weaves a magical, exhilarating tale. Highly recommended! ...more

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