Tag Archives: Eugene Roy

A Review of Jathniel, the Immortal

Book cover for “Jathniel, the Immortal” by Eugene Roy. Image on cover shows an analog clock that has been stretched into a spiral so that you keep seeing the numbers 3, 6, 9, and 12 repeating themselves as the clock swirls down into an indeterminate point in the centre of the picture. Title: Jathniel, The Immortal

Author: Eugene Roy

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: April 29, 2023

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, LGBTQ+, Contemporary

Length: 42 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

Angel Of Death’ Jathniel’s assignment at an elementary school shooting challenges his faith, and breaks his heart. But, like all Transitional Guides, he is supposed to be emotionally sterile. As a means of reset, Jathniel is thrust into unknown territory – life as a mortal canine, where he is granted the experience of love in its purest form, trusting and unconditional.

Review:

Content Warning: Car accident, mass shootings, death of a child, death of a pet, HIV.

Love comes in many different forms.

Jathniel’s reaction to each of his new assignments made me smile. I can’t go into a lot of detail about those moments without giving away spoilers, but I was delighted by how adaptive he was to new situation. The one where he was transformed into dog and had to adjust to a world where he understood the humans perfectly well but they weren’t able to return the favour well at all was especially fun. It truly felt like the author had tapped into dog psychology in those scenes, and I chuckled along as Jathniel adjusted to being someone’s pet instead of the powerful spirit being he had normally been.

My only piece of constructive criticism for this short story has to do with the ending. I found myself getting a little confused about one character’s transformation into someone else, and I would have benefited from a longer explanation about what was going on there. As much as I loved the rest of it, this scene did hold me back from going for a full five-star rating there.

The world building was fabulous. Did I want to dive deeper into it? Of course, but I was also satisfied with how much the author shared about what Jathniel did as an Angel of Death and why he was able to move so seamlessly from one death to the next. If Mr. Roy ever decides to write a sequel, I hope I’ll be the first person in line to read and review it. This was something I was thrilled to have stumbled up, and I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to it yet.

Jathniel, The Immortal made me yearn for more.

 

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A Review of Ambrose & Ed

Book cover for Ambrose & Ed by Eugene Roy. Image on cover shows two wrinkled white hands of elderly people. They are holding hands. One of them is wearing a dark brown jacket and the other one is wearing a light brown jacket. Title: Ambrose & Ed

Author: Eugene Roy

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: December 9, 2022

Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Contemporary

Length: 16 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

Edna can be a bit scatterbrained. Ambrose can sometimes be careless. But together they have a loving oath that transcends realm and time.

Review:

Content Warning: Death from natural causes.

Nothing can stand in the way of true love.

Ambrose and Ed were so gentle and sweet. I loved hearing about the many happy years they’d had together, and I hoped they would somehow realize how their quiet, wholesome choices had improved the lives of everyone who knew them. These are the sorts of characters I love to read about, and I could have followed them through an entire novel and still wanted more.

The only thing preventing me from giving this short story a full five-star rating was how confusing I found the characters. Ambrose and Ed’s many children and grandchildren were mentioned, but none of them actually showed up in the storyline. I struggled to keep track of all of their names and wished that this portion had either been slimmed down or expanded so that I could get to know their extended family as well as I did the two protagonists. Either option would have worked well in my opinion. It was simply confusing for me as a reader to be introduced to so many characters and then never go any further with that information.

The ending made me smile. While I don’t share spoilers in my reviews, this is one of those tales that isn’t meant to surprise anyone. You may very well be like me and know how it’s going to end as soon as you finished the first sentence, but there’s so much more to good storytelling than writing twists. Mr. Roy pulled me into this world so kindly that I didn’t want to leave it. That, to me, is every bit as valuable as being thrilled by an exciting battle scene or shocked by how the clues in a mystery fit together.

Ambrose & Ed was a heartwarming fusion of the romance and paranormal genres that I’d recommend to fans of either one even if you’re generally not into both of them.

 

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