Goodreads: Seducing the Sorcerer
Publisher: Self-published
Published: 23 September 2021
Genre: Fantasy Romance

Panda Rating:

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Homeless and jobless, Fenn Todd has nearly run out of hope. All he has left is his longing for horses and the strength of his own two hands. But when he’s cheated into accepting a very ugly sackcloth horse, he’s catapulted into a world of magic, politics and desire.

Fenn’s invited to stay at the black tower, home of the most terrifying man in the realm: Morgrim, the court sorcerer. Morgrim has a reputation as a scheming villain, but he seems surprisingly charming—and sexy—and Fenn falls hard for him.

However, nothing is as it seems and everyone at the tower is lying about something. Beset by evil hexes, violent political intrigue and a horse that eats eiderdowns, Fenn must make the hardest choices of his life.
Can a plain man like Fenn ever find true love with a scheming sorcerer?

TL;DR: It took me a while to get engaged in the story but this might have more to do with my reading mood right now than the story itself. The magical sack horse is what piqued my interest but it was the romance that made me stay with the book because Fenn and Morgrim are so awkward and sweet that it made me want to scoop them up and put them in my pocket for safekeeping! They are so adorable and their romance was a delightful mix of vulnerability and tender moments mixed with some light BDSM in the bedroom and it was a great combination! 😉

Fenn is a hulking bear of a man but he is truly the softest of softies and he melted my heart! He has been through so many hardships and although he has been knocked down one too many times, he refuses to be beaten and always gets back up to keep pursuing his dream. All he wants in life, besides maybe having a loving man to come home to, is to be a groom because he is so incredibly passionate about horses. I loved his passion for the animals and it endeared me to him even more! I loved his connection to Squab, his magical sack horse, and how his affection for the animal only grew over the course of the story. The story is told through his perspective and it was such a delight to be in his head! There’s just something about his character that makes it so easy to sympathise and empathise with him—he doesn’t want for much and just does his best to make a simple and happy life for himself. The sack horse was a weird thing but it was also really funny and provided some entertaining moments in the story, especially as he trailed Fenn everywhere and ate all types of fabric it could!

When it came to the romance, Fenn might not have been one for poetry and swoony gestures, but there’s such a deliberate thoughtfulness to his actions towards Morgrim that made it even more heartwarming! Like when Fenn got Morgrim a black kitten cos he thought it’d be perfect for him—it was so sweet. 🥰 Morgrim is quite the opposite of Fenn with his dark reputation and many secrets, though he’s not exactly a grump, and in fact, we come to learn that he’s just a little bit lost, lonely and a lot vulnerable. They balanced each other well and I loved watching them open up and get to know each other. They shared quite a few soft and tender moments that felt like warm hugs and ah, I loved them together! It’s no surprise then that their chemistry led to some pretty steamy bedroom scenes and that involved some light BDSM—and it was some serious fire! 🔥

While the romance and characters were great, I struggled with the world-building and magic system. There’s actually a lot of political tension mentioned between the queen and her brother and more of the plot surrounding that is uncovered as the story continued. What I had trouble with was understanding how the different states related to each other, especially geographically, and it made me wish that there was a map to clearly illustrate the situation. The explanation for how magic worked was also unclear and I still don’t understand how Fenn’s magic worked! That said, I definitely stayed for the romance and thought it was wonderful! I’m glad I gave this a go 🙂

Have you read Seducing the Sorcerer or is it on your TBR?

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