Genre: Fantasy, Historical
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
Get It On Amazon | Heavy Metal Blood Box Set
About The Book
Beauty is in the eye of monsters.
After being abandoned in a foreign country, Romantic-era violinist and ballet dancer Jean-Étienne Petit is struggling to survive. A dark entity has taken an interest in him, following his every move between ensembles and patrons, killing anyone he gets close to. Moving from city to city isn’t enough to shake it.
The stalking escalates until the night a fire breaks out in a backstage dressing room, where Jean-Étienne meets a violent death.
In the aftermath, he awakes in the ashes, traumatized and consumed with bloodlust. Escaping onto the streets of Seattle, he battles against the hunger overtaking him. Now, Jean-Étienne must find a way to regain his humanity before he loses it all for good.
From USAT Bestselling Author Amir Lane comes a story of music, magic, and mayhem. This is a standalone novella, and can be read in any order. This story contains graphic content that may not be suitable for all audiences. Readers’ discretion is advised.
The Review
It’s 1856 in Paris. Jean-Etienne Petit loves music and dancing. He plays the violin in the orchestra, where he’s able to stay out of the spotlight. He knows a lot about being involved in the performances, and has even worked below-stage. He’s been dancing for twelve years, and keeps himself in shape, trusting his muscles and practicing continually. He’s a beautiful boy and can replace any female dancer, with his golden hair. He dances in the ballet, wears corsets, and always stretches before and after performances, as instructed by his mother.
His family consists of his mother, Madame Marin, and his father, three sisters and two brothers. Occasionally his aunts, uncles and cousins move in and out, under the tutelage of his mother. They had come to Paris with very little – just their instruments and dance clothes. His mother secured a position of maitresse de ballet with le Ballet de L’Opera national de Paris, and she climbed the ranks quickly. But she still had to take instructions from the men who did the choreography, and was forced to retire with the birth of her eldest son. It didn’t stop her – she moved her composer husband and children to Marseilles.
When Marie-Soleil shattered her leg in three places, Jean-Etienne took her place. He could fit the costume and knew the choreography. Even with painful, bruised and blistered bloody feet, they would wear stockings and carry the pointe-shoes. Having her own studio, Madame Marin had a vicious personality. Her voice could be heard throughout the studio. She never held back, and if dancers didn’t get it right, she would tell them to get out of her studio. She called them names and told them they would never getting a patron if they couldn’t get it right.
The night comes when an important ballet financier – Monsieur Lavoisier – will be at the performance, and she had a plan. He is surprised to find Jean-Etienne being part of the ballet and in a woman’s role. He touches and prods Jean-Etienne, making him feel very uncomfortable. After the performance, his mother serves refreshments to the patrons. Jean-Etienne notices she did not drink. When Monsieur Lavoisier comes across Madame Marin again, he offers her one thousand francs for Jean-Etienne, and his mother sells him to Lavoisier.
Jean-Etienne, at the age of sixteen, is now the property of Lavoisier. He is terrified, panicked, and can’t believe his own mother sold him. He is dragged to the other side of the world, to San Francisco.
He gives private performances to Lavoisier, but still pursues an orchestra position. Then things became worse for Jean-Etienne when the potion that the witch Marin gave to Lavoisier wears off, leaving Jean-Etienne without a patron and money. He is forced to return to the stage and sell himself. He took other ballet performances and then tragedy strikes…
What will become of this once beautiful man, still craving music and the ballet?
Another heart-rending story. A Waltz of Witchcraft features another sweet young, innocent boy destroyed by the greediness and evil of a witch, the mother who was supposed to love him. Jean-Etienne is such a special and uniquely talented young man, but no one could protect him from what was to come.
I highly recommend A Waltz of Witchcraft, and all the novellas in “Heavy Metal Blood.” The stories are very well written, and each has a surprise at the end. I can’t wait to see what Lane will publish next in the series.
Just a hint, you can catch up with the band “Bloody Morningstar,” with Brys Darcy, Jean-Etienne Petit, Elyse Jaouhari and Tetsuro Saito, in A Riff of Retribution, from the “Heavy Metal Hunters” series.
All four books of the “Heavy Metal Blood” stories are available separately or in “The Complete Origin Series.”
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
