If it wasn't for the fact that this book was provided to me as an arc through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review I would have dnf'd it 25 pages in because I became so turned off by the premise I truly couldn't stand it. Besides the interesting magic system and the fact that Omar (a side character) didn't completely suck, there wasn't a single redeemable quality about this book. The writing was fine but not great, the plot was illogical and improbable most of the time and I absolutely could not stand the main character and his love interest.

Why Collin, who came in contact with his future love interest at the age of 12 through time travel that doesn't even make sense, would be so obsessed with this brief encounter that he would center his entire life and sexuality around a man he saw for 5 seconds I do not understand. He even explains that he's demisexual at one point but then later on says he hasn't been able to think about anybody but the "red eyed man" aka Terrance because he just knows this is the only man for him and he's in love with him. Which is illogical because he was 12 years old when he met the guy and knew absolutely nothing about him. And the implications that a 12 year old was so obsessed with an adult that he fell in love with him and tied his sexuality to him is actually kind of creepy.

Like, Terrance from the future said approximately two sentences to him and Collin became so obsessed with him that he devoted the rest of his life to going to the school from the back of the coin he dropped. He spent years thinking about this man and obsessively drawing pictures of him and getting good enough grades so he could be accepted into a school from a coin he dropped. He didn't even know who this man was, what this school really was and even if he would still be there eight years later (because he didn't even know that Terrance was from the future) but he was so determined that this man was the love of his life that he threw away all logical thought and I just can't forgive that. At all. Because it's delusional. And infuriating.

Not to mention the encounter he had with Terrance proved that he was going to betray and hurt him so, again, why Collin was so obsessed with tracking down a man who he knew was going to do something terrible to him I will never understand. It. Doesn't. Make. Sense. Also, who did Collin think Terrance was? Because he didn't know anything about time travel or magic and was shocked to find out it that it existed, but he meets Terrance when he's 12 years old and then again when he's 18 years old and he looks exactly the same and somehow just knows that the betrayal he apologized for in the past hasn't happened yet. But why doesn't he question that at all? And wonder why that is?

It's just so illogical I can't stand it.

Once Collin gets to this school and meets Terrance the plot becomes completely focused on furthering a relationship that is toxic and manipulative and abusive in behavior. Terrance doesn't do anything to Collin and doesn't even know that he's going to betray him in the future, but Collin's entire thought process is how he knows Terrance is manipulating him and using him and is going to betray him some day and the entire thing is so toxic I literally could not stand it. At one point he even starts thinking it's okay that Terrance betrays him because he probably deserved it.

Collin's initial thoughts about him are how he wants to stay away from him because he knows Terrance is going to betray him but then the very same day they meet they're kissing. And like the next day or the day after they're having sex. And then a couple weeks later Collin is telling Terrance there's no need to lie or try and manipulate him into giving him his magic because he loves him so much he'll literally do anything for him with no questions asked. Nothing about this is healthy and the entire time I was screaming that Collin needed to go see a therapist.

Besides my obvious issues with Collin and Terrance and their relationship, the other characters were underdeveloped as well and just uninteresting. The only redeemable character was Omar and that was simply because at first he told Collin he thought this thing with Terrance was weird and probably needed to end and I respected him for that but then he didn't say anything against them the rest of the story so I lost interest in his character as well.

Many aspects of the story were also illogical and made no sense. The entire ending was a blur and I don't know if that's because I was so over this story and wanted to be done with it that I wasn't paying enough attention or if it was genuinely just very bad but honestly I just don't think it was well done because nothing about this story is well done.

Most of this isn't going to make much sense because the story itself doesn't make sense and I'm tired of thinking about this story so I'm not going to waste my time trying to convey it better. Just know that I despised this story and definitely do not recommend it.

Review excerpted from my blog post over at Pan/Cis LGBT2SQ+ Romance Reviews (https://pancis.wordpress.com/2020/06/13/scarlet-gaze-by-foster-bridget-cassidy/)

Overall Rating: 3.0 stars

Library recommendation: Not recommended for public library LGBT2SQ+ romance collections.

Warning: Hereafter, you chance spoilers. I will try never to reveal major plot points, but to review any book, you must reveal some parts of the story.

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Number of titles I have read by this author: 1

Love story speed: Insta-attraction, bordering on instalove

Relationship dynamics: The Dean’s Son (H1) / The Magical Novice (H2)

Sexual content: Oodles, “on-screen” and explicit

Gender Identity: Cis (H1) / Cis (H2)

Sexual Identity: Bisexual (H1) / Demisexual (H2)

Triggers: Parental estrangement (not due to sexuality); unhealthy relationship of main characters (emotional abuse, manipulation, etc.)

Acceptance Rating: 4.5 stars

Acceptance Rating Explanation: There is a hint of possible opposition to mm relationships, but basically people seem well-informed and love is love.

Grammar/Editing: There were a fair few typos in my ARC.

Review: This book is definitely New Adult (NA) in tone. The premise is very interesting, but it would have needed more substance to satisfy regular readers of fantasy – this would be best described as falling into the “fantasy lite” category. It is set at a fictional university in England in an alternative, magical reality. The campus of the university is fairly well described but, beyond the campus, very little is elaborated upon. The focus of this novel is certainly more on the sex than anything else.

Collin is new to magic and, while he has power, he knows nothing about it to begin with. Terrence, on the other hand, is a highly skilled magic practitioner with a huge chip on his shoulder and wild ambitions of greatness. Their relationship is built upon lies, misdirection, manipulations, and the intensity of feeling that is common in NA novels, especially those with misunderstood, but highly intelligent, bad boys that just need someone to love them without boundaries, whether it is wise or not.

There are several supporting characters in this book, although not all of them are equally developed. I would say that Omar is the most detailed character, but he is still only as developed as necessary to give Collin an outside person to talk to. The professors are a bit informal, as well, and basically function as our one source of information about this magical world, rather than as genuine characters.

Overall, this book is just “ok.” The 3.0 rating that I gave it is mostly for the interesting premise, rather than for the quality of the romance.



Full disclosure: I received a free advance review copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I don't even know how to feel about this book. The premise of this story was really interesting. I liked the whole magical part and that the magic works with your own blood and coins. It's something I haven't yet come across in any books I've read that included magic and I really liked this. I liked the fact that each person has a special and that this includes stuff like time travel, teleportation, transformation and so on and that your magic works with elements.

What I am not so sure about is the romance of the main two characters. I mean, I can see it from the main characters perspective, since he's also demi-sexual, which means you are only attracted to people you feel a connection to. He had this connection with the other guy ever since he was about 12 years old and it only grew stronger with those years. However, the relationship at parts felt so unhealthy and is based on lies and betrayal and it just didn't sound healthy at all and I wasn't sure if I was here for this. Also, there was so much sex which surprised me. I don't mind it, obviously, but going with the story it wasn't entirely necessary to have it described so many times but to each their own.

This book got a 3 stars from me because, as I said, I really enjoyed the magic system and the world. I enjoyed that it played in England and that it had interesting characters. However, again, as I said, I also wasn't sure about the romance which would have made this a 2.5 but it's a solid 3 now mainly for the magic side of the story.

However, if you enjoy stories about magic, set in England (for this story) and aren't very fussed about unhealty relationships which was kinda instalovey? Not really but kinda. Especially coming from the other guy given that he's not demi sexual and didn't know the main character beforehand. But then you were also never sure if he just played it or if he felt it for real. This book has issues but I'm not saying that you won't enjoy it yourselves. Everyone is different so if any of that sounds interesting to you, please go for it.

I thought the fantasy elements were very well done. I was hoping for some more magic to be introduced earlier on, but overall I liked what I was able to learn along the way. I would have ideally liked to have seen a little more character development, mainly with Collin. Just for the sake of helping me make a tad more of a connection.

Collin Frey has an encounter at the age of 11 or 12 that determines his life path going forward. While on a skiing trip with his family, Collin meets a sobbing man with shining red eyes he doesn't know, yet who seems to know Collin intimately. This man begs Collin's forgiveness, and has a gold coin minted with Collin's name and face on it's front and "Marke Staple University" on the reverse. He cannot forget the pain in that man's scarlet gaze, and it drives Collin not only to discover this tiny, private, British university, but to study his booty off and get a full scholarship.

Collin's also one of only five first year students admitted to the prestigious literature program at Marke Staple. Every student not in the literature program is a business major, like Collin's roommate, Terrence, who IS the man from Collin's youthful vision. He's not sure if he should tell Terrance of their meeting years ago, or if Terrence will think he's insane. Terrence doesn't have shining red eyes, and he's avid about getting to know--and maybe shag--Collin. Terrence is also the son of Collin's Dean of students--and Collin soon learns that all the literature students and teachers possess magic--including himself. Most of the students in the business program are rudimentary practitioners, but Terrence has a lot of innate talent. He was banished from using his magic years before when he tried to summon a demon in a fit of pique. When a practitioner allies with a demon, their vision goes red--so Collin knows this must be what happens before Terrence goes back in time to meet his child-self.

Collin doesn't know how to manage the magical world, but the instructors are very sympathetic. His cohort are nice enough, though they wonder how Collin got admitted without knowing he was magically-talented. Collin's mission is now two-fold. To keep Terrence from making whatever mistake leaves him demon-possessed, and to figure out his talent in magic. Meanwhile, he's falling steadily for Terrence, who's bravado is all subterfuge to hide the pain of his youth, his estrangement from his father and his deep longing for connection. And...a little bit of delusions of grandeur. Collin's talent seems to be in teleportation, a rare gift, and he's wondering if he can teleport both space and time. He practices the space dimension, using the newly minted pure-gold coins that help practitioners harness and focus their magical abilities. He isn't allowed to, but he takes Terrence on his teleporting forays. He even teaches Terrence how to teleport, and helps Terrence research how to seek the help of a demon, hoping that he can convince Terrence it's the worst possible idea. He give Terrence all the rope he needs to hang himself, praying that he will use it to climb back from the abyss he's manifesting.

This is an interesting romance, with lots of fantastic magical elements. Some of it felt a little convenient, and I wondered if Collin was simply the most gullible man in Great Britain the way he gave all his secrets away. His faith in Terence is almost unbelievable, but I think the most interesting piece of all of this was the connections that Collin made with his cohort and professors--people who wanted to help him save Terrence from himself and his unyielding ambition. There's a decent amount of family drama, too, with all these high-flying magical teens having very prestigious families and uber high expectations. The way they all leaned on one another was fresh and engaging. For me, I was entertained, and enjoyed how the magical elements worked. I'm a big fan of Harry Potter, so this one scratched that M/M romance + magic + college life itch. It has a little bit of sexytimes, but not overwhelming for an upper YA/New Adult read.

The cover of this book has to be one of the most gorgeous ones out there today. Unfortunately, I struggled with the writing style of the book. This might just be a case of this reader not being a good match with this book. Others might enjoy the writing style more. But man, what a gorgeous cover!

I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved the world; the magic was great and I feel as though it has the potential to become a fantastic story.

I feel it is let down by the relationship and sexual content. The latter adds little to the tale and detracts from the actual story. It almost feels as though the writer wanted to write an erotic novel as opposed to focusing on the story.

There’s a big “deal” made out of the demisexuality; whilst interesting, there must have been 4/5 references to this. It all detracts from what could have been an amazing tale.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

I wish I could see more about the magic system and stuff. Although I don't dislike romance on fantasy books, I found that here the latter took a lot focus than the former.

What I Liked

The system of magic because it sets itself apart from other similar books about youngsters going to an educational institution to learn it.

What I Didn't Like

There wasn't much of magic to see. It takes quite a lot of time for anything magical to happen.

The romance is cringe-worthy and forms the central plot of the story. Everything else, including the magic and urban fantasy elements exist only to further the romance. Moreover, it was very Stockholmish for me to like. The protagonist's main squeeze lies and manipulates at every turn. Even knowing that summoning a demon killed almost got him killed the first time, the main character blindly gives in to every whim of his partner. And why is there so much of sex?

The unlikeliness of it all. How can a Headmaster let his buddingly evil son into a school of magic when they know he'll summon a demon the next chance he gets? Why let him room with a student who will be studying magic? Why is the protagonist's bestie about to risk his career for someone he just met several months ago? How is the protagonist giving up everything and going against his parents after meeting the guy who he knows will betray him? Where's the character development? Where's the challenge if the first person the protag runs into IS the one he's searching for?

As evident, this wasn't a good read for me!

Quite an interesting book. But I found the character difficult. It felt much more like an abusive relationship than a real love story but I would be interested to see where else this might go.

I had a hard time liking any aspect of this book. The characters were poorly developed, the setting and events unrealistic, and everything about the plot was there to further a rather improbably romance. It was also one of the most unmagical of magical urban fantasy I've come across. The pace is sluggish, the world building simplistic, and there is a lot of overtell in order to justify the illogical sections. But I think the real let down is the romance itself since it is about using, lying, deceiving, manipulating, and emotional blackmailing: allowing oneself to be victimized by an abuser shows 'true love.'

Story: 12 year old Collin is on a skiing trip when he sees an odd coin in the snow. When he picks it up, he is surprised to see his older face on it and a school name. At the same time, a young man with red glowing eyes and beaten up appearance suddenly confronts him. The frantic young man mumbles something about being sorry he betrayed Collin and then disappears, taking the coin with him. Tracking down the school years later, Collin is surprised to find it is a school of magic. There, he also meets the young man, Terrence, again since he is his roommate (and also the headmaster's son). But there are indications Terrence is doing something very dangerous at this school of magic - something that will cause him to betray Collin in the future. But Collin doesn't care because he loves Terrence no matter what. Lots of sex ensues.

The theme of the book is "love conquers all" but not in the context of the characters having life travails to overcome. Rather, we have a blind love that condones physical and mental abuse and calling it 'love'. In much the same way that abused women will say that a husband who hits them is showing he loves them, we have the same thing here. Collin witnesses Terrence lying, cheating, and even forcing others to do what he wants (something very dangerous and illegal) and he goes along with it because "it shows I love him." It's even stated that Collin will happily give Terrence a gun and go with him and help if Terrence said he wanted to rob a gas station. I find this wrong on so many levels and this is not the type of relationship that should be glorified or written about as being a happily ever after.

In addition to the huge issue above, I found the writing to be extremely problematic. There is little to no character development, including a glaring insta-luv that is questionable, at best. Those looking for magic will have to wait - it took nearly to 50% through before we even got a glimpse of it. And even then, it was sparingly discussed and more of a deus ex machina to create a justification for the denouement. But then there were the logic holes: e.g., would a headmaster who feared his highly manipulative son was about to hurt himself and others put a super powerful magic user in the same room (giving the son access to the tools he needed to summon a dangerous demon)? Would a school really bring in new students without making sure they knew about magic's existence first? So much made so little sense.

And yes, a lot of the Harry Potter stereotypes are here. Special protagonist with super rare magic ability, a cocky antagonist, quirky teachers at a remote school in England, etc. But in this instance, shallow characterization and lack of depth mean there is a distinct lack of 'magic' in this book. It's both simplistic and childish but with graphic sex.

I cannot recommend this book. It's very unsatisfying and the message it sends that abuse and law breaking should be encouraged and abetted as a sign of 'true love' is truly quizzical. Terrence is such a terribly selfish and honestly stupid person (which Collin recognizes throughout at least) is inexplicable. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Cassidy's novel presents a well-developed world of magic. The reader's entry point is narrator Collin, a young man who had a paranormal experience as a tween and never forgot the man he met that day. His fixation and desire to uncover what happened that day are what drive him to the Marke Staple college in England. From there, Collin finds Terrence, a young man who has no memory of visiting Collin all those years ago, and yet they set forth in a relationship. Through the plot's machinations, we uncover quite a bit about the magical world that they inhabit and how they will break all presumptions about what is feasible to develop their relationship.

It's really exciting to see a novel that so accurately explains demisexuality, yet the depiction of the bond between Collin and Terrence could have been developed further in execution. It's never fully clear why they are so enamored by each other in the end. We are simply told that they are meant to be, over and over, and expected to accept it. For all of the exciting world-building and concepts being put out there, a more external conflict would have been helpful to show how and why the characters make their choices. The ending would signal a potential sequel, which could be fun to see now that we are past the initial introduction.

Collin, while on a ski trip with his family at the age of 12, meets a mysterious man with red eyes. This mysterious stranger recognizes him. He apologizes to Collin before disappearing into thin air. The only clue as to who in the world that man could be was a single gold coin Collin had seen in the snow with his own image as an adult on it and the name of a school, Marke Staple, on the reverse side. He spends the next several years of his life researching this school and working hard to finally get accepted into their very exclusive Literature program. Things are not quite what he thinks they are–literature? More like magic.

He finds the mysterious stranger very quickly. It just so happens the man is Terrence, his roommate and the attraction is immediate. In fact, Collin has spent years falling in love with this man. And now, well, y’know.

The magic system in this book is the strongest thing about it. I very much liked the concept of using ones’ blood to amplify and use your talent. The coin Collin saw at the beginning of the book is a sort of wand equivalent. More on the concepts of magic are explored in the book and it is fascinating. There’s breadth to the history of magic that really colored the world and made it lived in.

However, I found the relationship between Collin and Terrence extremely unhealthy. When I was taking notes while reading I wrote that down and then went back and underlined it. The amount of manipulation going on between the both of them was alarming to me. The explicit scenes in the book were well written though; in fact the prose of the whole book is great. It is engaging enough to have kept me reading quickly.

Many thanks to NetGalley and NineStar Press for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Scarlett Gaze centers around Colin, a freshman in college who discovers magic and what he has within. His roommate, Terrance, is familiar and raises plenty of questions.

I liked the idea of this book. The blood magic was a great concept. The relationship between Colin and Terrance was full of tension, but more manipulation than anything, I think. Terrance wanted more power, Colin wanted Terrance. It's a push and pull and kept me guessing which way it was going to go. I also really liked the demisexual rep!

Overall, I'd recommend!

“Scarlet Gaze” by Foster Bridget Cassidy is an interesting read. Let’s start at the beginning! The novel opens up with a flashback. Young Colin is in Colorado skiing with family when he has a strange encounter. He finds a strange coin that is imprinted with his face and the name of a school, “Marke Staple University”. Shortly after he finds the coin, a man with a big scar on his face and neck appears, seemingly out of nowhere, he looks drained and terrified and as he recognizes Colin he begins to cry and says he betrayed him.

As the man disappears, the course of Colin’s life is altered. He sets his sights on attending the school.

Time passes and while he remains obsessed with the idea of the man who appeared, Colin throws himself into his studies and gets accepted to the only school he applied to -  Marke Staple University. When Colin meets his roommate Terrance … he’s absolutely shocked to discover his roommate is the man that appeared to him when he was young. Is time travel possible? What is happening?

There are a couple of interesting things in terms of the characters in this book. Colin is demisexual. He reveals early on in the novel that he has thought about the man that appeared to him for so long that he feels an emotional connection to him.

Colin finds out when he arrives at school is that the university has nothing to do with English as he suspected. He has been chosen because of innate magical ability in his blood. It turns out that magic is in peoples’ blood. DNA is tested at birth and the strongest people are sent to magical schools.

It turns out that a magical practitioner's blood can be mixed with alloy and made into a coin.. just like the coin that Colin saw in his youth. The coin enables people to access their magic easier and they are powerful. I’m sure you can see how the novel beings to warp back around to Colin’s original encounter with the stranger in the snow.

Terrance was my favorite character. He has always struggled with not being very magically powerful in comparison to his family. His father is actually the Dean of the University and the two of them are estranged. When Terrance was young he attempted something very foolish to try and improve his magical ability. The event terrified his family and is what left Terrance with the scar on his face.

There is a lot of interesting lore and history in terms of the magic and the author goes into quite a lot of detail in the classes the students take. I really liked some of the ideas. Magic comes in specialties like transforming, teleporting, healing and students figure out their specialty early in life. What about magic in the “real” world? The author even briefly touches on the ethics of magic which is interesting. There’s a reason that people with magical skills don’t just set up shop and perform magic for people. It might begin with a spell to help a garden or fix a car but what would happen is that it would snowball out of control. People would continue to want more. I enjoyed the way the philosophy and ethics of magical powers were explored in the novel.

The other interesting part of the novel is that Colin enters into a relationship with Terrance, knowing that he is going to betray him later. The thing is that Colin is so in love, so emotionally invested in Terrance that he seems to summon up a blind faith that things will work out… even when they seem very bleak. Ultimately, the novel comes down to what we want and need. Terrance wants to be powerful more than he wants anything else. Colin wants Terrance. The trick is who will survive.

The sex scenes in the book are well-written although sometimes seemed a bit superfluous. The plot of this book is really engaging and I’m not sure it needed as much sexual content. That’s entirely a personal preference though!

This was a good read! I enjoyed it – in particular the attention to detail about the magic in the world!

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Scarlet Gaze is a new adult paranormal romance centered around a magical school in England. Collin is a freshman at Marke Staple University, where he learns that magic is real and that he has power. When his new roommate, Terrence, is identical to a person Collin saw in a paranormal encounter in his youth, it brings more questions than answers.

Conceptually, I really liked this novel. The blood magic system as presented was very interesting and seemed to be well thought out. The school itself was fun, and played right into my love of the magic school trope.

The romance between Collin and Terrence was pretty unhealthy, given the blind devotion and manipulation involved. The conflict resolutions were too neat and tidy to be believable, and came across as fanfiction-y. There was nothing that I can immediately identify as being super memorable, but I definitely was entertained by the read.

Overall, I had fun reading Scarlet Gaze and did enjoy the reading experience.

A wild and romantic ride, Scarlet Gaze follows Collin who, when a young boy, met a mysterious man with red eyes. Flash forward a few years and Collin is accepted to college only to find out that his new roommate is identical to the mysterious man and, oh, Collin can do magic. With vivid world building and a steamy romance, this novel is a great addition to the queer romance genre!

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.