The Only Option, from Megan Derr

Hi, there! Welcome to another gay book review and I got to say that this one is on fire! Haha! Annelise, dear, this joke is so old when referring to dragons, please pull yourself together. Yeah, sorry guys Anyway, I was talking about The Only Option (haha), from Megan Derr! I received my review copy from Bewitching Book Tours in exchange for an honest review, so thank you a lot! Let’s go 😀

A desperate dragon. A lonely necromancer. A marriage neither wants.

When he is summoned to the royal castle, Rochus anticipates nothing more than a particularly difficult assignment. The bothersome journey is almost made worthwhile when he is propositioned by a young, beautiful dragon, Tilo, who seems untroubled by the fact that Rochus is a necromancer.

When Rochus arrives at the castle he is ordered to marry the very same dragon he spent the night with. Though Rochus would rather sign papers and return home, he is helpless against Tilo’s pleas for help, even if it means spending more time around a man he is desperately drawn to but who doesn’t seem to want him.

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH! Actually, it’s a novella and honestly? The size was just right! Don’t get me wrong, I would gladly have read more about Rochus and Tilo’s romance, but I think Megan was a queen executing a great plot without that feeling that something was left off or that it has too many pages. Perfection, seriously. I loved every aspect of The Only Option: the narrative, the characters, the necromancy ( ❤ ), the shifting deal, the battle scenes, sex scenes, the cozy mystery… PERFECT. Five stars!

The narrative style was third person from Rochus point of view and I found that awesome, as he is funny, awkward, powerful and dangerous all the same time! I really liked him being a necromancer and how Derr didn’t try to beautify this on him: Rochus had black teeth, for goodness sake! That is so not sexy, haha! You know what would probably help him?

Annelise, dear, he would end up eating the poor dentist’s hand, stop joking around and review the book.

Back to business, I also adored Derr’s writing style: it was simple, with a fine humor behind it, cliché-free, entertaining and really fluid. I flew by this book and almost cried when I saw it ended, haha! Any chances we will have more adventures from Rochus and Tilo??

The plot was simple but with layers of complexity. At first, we have an unknown problem that summons Rochus and a fateful meeting with Tilo. Then, a mystery is added to the mix of guilty, anger and lust that the couple experiences by being forced to stay together. And as Rochus fights to help Tilo, a new layer of complexity is laid for us in the book until the reader has as many – or more – doubts as poor Rochus, haha! I really liked this simple start with a complexity added in bits 🙂 OH, AND NO INSTALOVE!!!! /o/

The characters were very developed and complex, especially Rochus, our narrator. He is a bit self-conscious despite being an experienced necromancer, as being physically different often causes social trouble – come on, it happens to the best of us and we don’t even have a full set of sharp and pointy black teeth, haha! I admit I felt the other characters aside Rochus and Tilo a bit superficial, but I think it isn’t a surprise in a novella. There is so much one can do with 30k words and Derr slayed nevertheless.

No surprises that both men ended up on that list, right? 😉

I really need to spotlight the necromancy details and explanations that Derr gives to her reader, as they were fascinating and totally didactic without falling on the boring side. It was awesome to see Rochus’ mind working and putting together his power and spells *–* I really want to dig more into this theme, Derr opened a reading appetite I didn’t even knew I had, haha!

And then there is this cover.

I arrest my case, haha!

Overall, if you enjoy fantasy, shifters, quick reads, macabre themes like necromancy, magic and steamy sex scenes, you really need to read The Only Option!

Thanks for reading my review! Bellow you can find more info on where to find this book, about the author, an excerpt and the giveaway prepared for this tour 🙂

You can find The Only Option in ebook format only 🙂

ARe | Amazon

Megan Derr is a long time writer of LGBTQ romance and keeps herself busy reading, writing, and publishing it. She is often accused of fluff and nonsense. When she’s not involved in writing, she likes to cook, harass her cats, or watch movies. She loves to hear from readers, and can be found all over the internet. For more information on other books by Megan, visit her website.

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Rochus briefly considered changing into fresh clothes, but there was little point until after he’d had a bath—and no telling what would happen in the dining hall. It would hardly be the first time some country bumpkins or foreign nitwits wailed superstitious nonsense and tried to kill him, nevermind he reported directly to the crown.

He smoothed out his robes, frowning at a small tear in the right sleeve. He’d have to stitch it later after his bath.

For the moment, it was time for supper, and hopefully he’d get to enjoy it in peace.

Heading back downstairs, Rochus walked into and through the dining hall, keeping his head up even when the whispers started.

Necromancer.

Half-dead.

Blood-drinker.

His lips curled briefly when he heard someone ask their companion if Rochus was a vampire. As though he was one of those needle-teethed, full-dead mongrels. He drank blood and his teeth were meant for hunting, but it wasn’t the same thing. His teeth were more like those of a wolf—teeth he did not use thus because he was a civilized, capable necromancer of forty-three, not some ravening monster.

Rochus sat down at a table in the corner where he wasn’t too close to the fire but would still be warm and would be able to see anyone who tried to approach him.

A couple of minutes after he sat, a pale-faced young man brought him a pitcher and cup with faintly trembling hands. Rochus slid a coin across the table, nodding for him to take it. The boy took it and skittered away, and the whispers increased as Rochus poured himself a cup of blood and sipped it. Pig, which he preferred, save for those rare occasions he was able to get something as decadent as human.

He took several more sips, savored the way it warmed him through. There was nothing he hated more than being cold, but it was the one thing he would always be due to what was called his half-dead state. He wasn’t actually dead, half or otherwise, but necromancy demanded a high price, drained away half his spirit, replaced it with those unique spiritual energies he needed to wield his strange magic. The physical effects—the corpse white skin, the death-black bones, the need for food replaced by a need for blood—were what earned necromancers the reputation of being half-dead.