Genre: Action-Adventure, Fantasy, Historical, Paranormal, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Tony
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About The Book
QSFer Irene Preston has a new MM historical fantasy/paranormal romance out in the shared The Pharaoh’s Promise series: The God’s Guardian.
In ancient Alexandria, a brilliant scholar and a fierce warrior are drawn together by a mystical artifact stolen from the tomb of a god-king.
Bhaskar, a radical young astronomer, arrives in Alexandria with stars in his eyes. He dreams of studying with the most renowned minds of the ancient world and making his name at the Great Library. When he stumbles upon a stolen artifact—a sundial tied to the Gods of Egypt—he is ripped away from the safe haven of his scrolls and plunged into a world of danger and supernatural intrigue.
On his first night in the city, Bhaskar is saved by Anu, a powerful warrior whose intervention feels anything but accidental. As the danger surrounding the sundial grows, so does the sizzling attraction between them. But neither man has revealed the full truth of their past —or their intentions.
In a world where gods still meddle in mortal lives, will the forces of darkness drive them apart, or is their love already written in the stars?
☥ ☥ ☥
The God’s Guardian may be read as a stand-alone or as part of The Pharaoh’s Promise.
An ancient Egyptian priest created a love spell to keep lovers close for all eternity. The sands of time have spread that spell far and wide, bringing love to some unexpected places….
The Review
The God’s Guardian is part of “The Pharaoh’s Promise” multi-author series, which is linked by a spell that keeps lovers together for eternity. If I was pushed, I’d say that this link is more than a little loose in some of the books. A good example of that is The God’s Guardian. It’s a good read, if a little full of itself. It’s all set in ancient Egypt, and shows a lot of respect for the times and its location.
Bhaskar has travelled to Egypt from India to study in the great libraries of Alexandria in 219 BCE. He is an astronomer looking to prove his heliocentric theory of the solar system. There he meets, amongst others, Anu, a Kushite working in Alexandria. Along the way, Bhaskar comes unwittingly into possession of an ancient sundial, possibly stolen from a tomb. I assume this was one of the items contaminated with spell or curse, depending how you look at it. And it must remain an assumption, as it is not referred to in any way here.
This is a story of an innocent at the mercy of others in a foreign land, who is in need of a protector or guardian. As Bhas gets closer and closer to interpreting the hieroglyphics on the sundial, a net is closing in on him and he will need all the luck he can muster to survive.
The growing relationship between Bhas and Anu proceeds at a slow burn, with both men building the trust between them. The presence of the sundial plays an important part in the whole story – there are those who would return it to its rightful place, and others who have different plans for it. There are some surprises along the way and a happy ending for the two lovers. Who they can trust is as important as whether they can trust each other.
A good read that deserves to be reread to unpick the subtleties of the ins and outs of the plot.
The Reviewer
Tony is an Englishman living amongst the Welsh and the Other Folk in the mountains of Wales. He lives with his partner of thirty-six years, four dogs, two ponies, various birds, and his bees. He is a retired lecturer and a writer of no renown but that doesn’t stop him enjoying what he used to think of as ‘sensible’ fantasy and sf. He’s surprised to find that if the story is well written and has likeable characters undergoing the trails of life, i.e. falling in love, falling out of love, having a bit of nooky (but not all the time), fending off foes, aliens and monsters, etc., he’ll be happy as a sandperson who has just offloaded a wagon of sand at the going market price. As long as there’s a story, he’s in. He aims to write fair and honest reviews. If he finds he is not the target reader he’ll move on.
