Review: Balancing the Weave – M.W. Lee

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

LGBTQ+ Category: Gay

Reviewer: Xanthe, Paranormal Romance Guild

Get It At Amazon | Universal By Link

About The Book

For Mark, Pride weekend in Yamasee County, South Carolina, means spending the day with friends, flirting with the out-of-town men, finding a romance, drinking too much, and enjoying all of Pride. However, the Fates have arrived to address a hole which appeared in the tapestry representing Mark, his past, and his present, which will direct him to the future.

Throughout the day, the Fates confront Mark with memories both pleasant and painful about his former lover Sammy. Parcae uses her goddess tools to manipulate Mark’s thoughts so he remembers fun dates, fights, issues which make him uncomfortable, and accusations of being needy. Was it Sammy’s neediness that caused Mark to end the relationship? Or was Mark the needy companion? When Sammy once said Mark ain’t needy, what did he mean?

Can the goddesses help Mark work through these memories so his self-evaluation can lead to better relationships in the future?

The Review

This is my first book by M.W. Lee – it’s a different and interesting story. It’s told by the storyteller, Anansi, as we follow the Triumvirate Sisters – Clotho, Moirae and Parcae – as they look to fix an issue with Mark’s tapestry, which shows his whole life story.

Mark has recently broken up with his boyfriend, Sammy, but doesn’t necessarily look back on moments as they happened, tilting them so he looks more favourable. The sisters are displeased with him, and push him towards new thoughts and ideas of what it takes to be a good partner, and ti improve himself for the next man in his life.

It’s quite an introspective story. We get to see memories of Mark and Sammy together, some good and some bad, and then how the three sisters work to help him, how he could change, the impact of friends on his life and how things may have gone wrong in the first place.

I really enjoyed the relationship between the three sisters. It’s quite entertaining, as Clotho can exist in all possible futures, Parcae is bonded to the past, and Moirae remains in the present, moving freely between their times and coming back to each other as wanted or needed. They work in an extremely well-balanced way, each knowing what the other needs but also not so lacking in awareness to not acknowledge their own mistakes.

It’s an interesting read to look back on how a person or a relationship can change over time, for the good or bad. It shows the importance of being aware of yourself within a relationship and finding a balance between all aspects of your life.

I’d definitely recommend this as a short read as long as you don’t go into it expecting a romance/breakup story. Mark feels like a secondary character, after the three sisters, and it fits well in the way the story is told.

Four stars

The Reviewer

Hello all, my name is Xanthe and I am excited to be a reviewer for the PRG.

I read a lot, every night for at least 4-5 hours and I love to get lost in the world that an author has created. The best ones leave you wanting more and at a loss for words to describe just how good it is but I’ll try my best.

I live in a small town in South West England, just me and my dog Bonnie. I work part time in administration and really enjoy my job and the people I work with which I am very aware is not always the case!

I’ll read pretty much any sub genre within the mm genre. Since discovering it a few years ago, I rarely read anything else. One thing I won’t touch is horror, a definite no no for me!

Never ask me what my favourite anything is as I’ll have to give you a list of about ten or twenty things. How am I able to pick one food, book or film out of so many that I love?!

The Paranormal Romance Guild was established in 2009 by 8 Indie Authors and one Reviewer to be a constant help for authors. You can be a free author member, submitting your work for review OR become a Premium Author Member for a small yearly fee and enjoy many extra services including Free Beta Reads, Author Giveaways and many others. Your reviews are posted on our 3 FB Sites, Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter and Instagram. WE REVIEW ALL GENRES LGBTQ+ welcome.

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