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A review by peyton_
The Lightning-Struck Heart by TJ Klune
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Characters: Sam (of the Wilds) Haversford, Tiggy the half-giant, Gary the hornless gay unicorn, Kevin the sexually aggressive dragon, Ryan Foxheart/Knight Commander Delicious Face, Prince Justin, Morgan of the Shadows, Randall, the King, Pete the guard, and Tina (fan club president).
A little warning that this book has crude and explicit language, sexual humour, and a ton of innuendo. Klune does a great job of keeping it entertaining and never making it seem out of place. The words flow and the banter ricochets between the characters.
I love this book. I love the humour, the banter, the characters, and the action. I love Sam’s dislike for monologues, Ryan’s magic kink, and Gary’s Unicorn Rage glitter rain. I have not gotten into a book the way I fell into this one in a really long time. I did not want to put it down and picked it up whenever I could, even if it only meant getting five more minutes of reading in. After finishing it I had no idea what to read next. I do not yet have access to the next book in the series and nothing else I have available to read looks nearly as fun. I am sad that it is over and I have to wait to see Sam and his friends again.
The overall humour was great, but the addition of the little things just made it that much better.
Another example of the humour building throughout based on a single incident is how the book starts. A Dark is monologue. Tiggy smashes. Then through the rest of the book the Darks try to seek revenge on Sam. Each instance that the Darks meet Sam is hilarious and magical. It is a great way to show the growth of humour, but it also shows the growth of Sam’s character. Compare Larkin (?) the Dark with the wedding fiasco and it is evident how much Sam has grown and changed over the course of the book. Other characters show growth as well, such as Knight Delicious Face (such a perfect name!), and Justin (just a little bit). Other characters seem to stay the same (Gary, Tiggy, Kevin, and Morgan), but that’s alright because I love them for who they are.
The ending was well done. I was a little bit nervous if I was going to get my HEA/HFN, but Klune pulled through and still made me want to get my hands on the next one. I did come up with my own alternative ending for Justin, which for a second I thought was actually going to happen, but didn’t.
I love this book. I want to get the next one and continue living in this world. I see that Klune is planning on publishing a new one next year, so yay! I recommend this book to everyone who likes queer mm romance in a fantasy world. Everything about this book is awesome.
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing