Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Mine to Keep by Wendy Hudson

Mine to Keep

"Great read. Great writing. Great Characters. From the first page I was hooked. Ended a little quickly as I like a little more at the endpoint but can be easily passed over by the “ whole” story telling."

Erin Carter is alone. Plagued by childhood nightmares since the loss of her mother, she embarks on a journey to trace her father, hoping to find some semblance of family and put the darkness to rest. A tentative thread leads her to Hopetoun, in rural Scotland, and the welcoming Cornfield Castle. There she meets Abigail Miller, the castle chef, who quickly becomes her tour guide and search partner. Along with Abigail’s brother, George, they decipher village gossip from truth, fact from folklore, and offer Erin sanctuary within the castle walls. But when Erin’s nightmares start to close in, can she defeat them and learn to live again?

Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Keeping House by Jeanne G’Fellers

Keeping House (Appalachian Eleementals)

"Darker and bigger than the first book, this is perhaps an even more significant modern American queer fantasy about family, spirit, magic, and connections. Memories have a huge role to play here, with how/if/when we explore them having the potential to shape entire lives. I loved what G'Fellers did with the characters here, providing not only more depth but more context, allowing us to understand them and see some of them in an entirely different light."

"This story had an excellent plot, an amazing setting, and rich interesting characters, which made me want to change the page and keep reading. Overall this was a fast read and quite enjoyable. As I read I felt like I was there in the Appalachian mountain with Dane and Cent. Jeanne G’Fellers has a wonderful understanding of character development and knows how to create unique characters that will stay with you. Definitely worth the read."

Centenary Rhodes is caught in a deal she didn't make. Thanks to her eternal lover, Stowne's, quick thinking, she'll live forever, but there's a hitch. Cent's now fey, and three months out of the year she'll live on the other side of Embreeville Mountain among the Hunter Fey, serving their king, Dane Gow.

As Cent begins wading through the anachronisms that come with being a Hunter, she learns that nothing is what it initially seems. Cent shares several past lives with Dane, who wants her back, and Stowne's lied to Cent so many times that she's having doubts about their marriage. To make matters worse, the past Hunter Kings are influencing Dane's behavior, and the youngest Hunter, Brinn, might well be the most dangerous of them all.

It's going to be a cold, dark spring, and Cent needs to unite both sides of Embreeville mountain before her eternal life, her relationship with Dane, and her marriage to Stowne come permanently undone.