review/Lord of the White Hell Book 1 & 2 by Ginn Hale
Lord of the White Hell: Book 1 & Book 2 
Author: Ginn Hale
Type: M/M
Tags: Fantasy, Romance, Adventure, magic
Length Book 1: 368 pages
Length Book 2: 348 pages
Rating: Good
Blurb Book 1: Kiram Kir-Zaki may be considered a mechanist prodigy among his own people, but when he becomes the first Haldiim ever admitted to the prestigious Sagrada Academy, he is thrown into a world where power, superstition and swordplay outweigh even the most scholarly of achievements. But when the intimidation from his Cadeleonian classmates turns bloody, Kiram unexpectedly finds himself befriended by Javier Tornesal, the leader of a group of cardsharps, duelists and lotharios who call themselves Hellions. However Javier is a dangerous friend to have. Wielder of the White Hell and sole heir of a dukedom, he is surrounded by rumors of forbidden seductions, murder and damnation. His enemies are many and any one of his secrets could not only end his life but Kiram's as well.
Blurb Book 2: Kiram fought his family and Cadeleonian bigots to remain in the Sagrada Academy to prove himself as a mechanist and to dispel the deadly shadow curse that threatens to destroy his upperclassman, Javier Tornesal. But when his efforts provoke retaliation, Kiram's family and home are endangered. Both Kiram and Javier risk everything in a desperate gambit to combat the curse. But they never imagined their battle with come so soon, or that it would be lead by the one person they trust most of all.
So I've read a couple of other things by Ginn Hale in the past and found her work worth taking another look at. If you're interested her first work is Wicked Gentleman and the review for it can be found here. More recently than that she also had a novela length piece in one of the recent anthologies that I read, edited by Nicole Kimberling, Tangle: Fiction with a Twist the review for which can be found here.
Most of the time when I read things author's tend to go on one of three lists in my head. The first list is 'I will never read anything by you again your book was so bad', the second list is, 'This book might not be great but there is a lot of potential here, I will probably give something by you a try again in the future', and the third list is, 'I'd definitely read something by you again.' Ginn Hale, made it onto the second list after I read Wicked Gentlemen. I had a few problems with it but it definitely showed a lot of possibilities from her. After reading the two above books I'm glad that I did. Because truth be told I thoroughly enjoyed these two books.
That all being said, I liked to read a lot of books. I don't like to read books that are simply written for the sake of writing sex scenes. Those are the types of books that tend to go on my, 'never again' list even if the sex scenes are interesting and innovative. Most of them simply tend to get repetitive and boring for me to read.
"Lord of the White Hell", is a duologue about two boys going to a school. They both come from different cultures and have very different back grounds and beliefs. One of the things that I liked about this book was the underlying tensions that carried through from the start and the fact that for the most part they both stayed true to their beliefs. Essentially in the end they come together and both of them figure out who they are and what they want. For the purposes of this book of course, part of what they want is each other. However, the nice thing about this story over all is that there are larger issues and more realistic ones that play a part as well. Ginn Hale writes a wonderfully full world that encompasses the characters, the scenes, and the entire plot. These were nice full books that are worth a read if you like reading about boys finding their way towards being themselves despite families, customs and other problems. Both of the characters are well rounded and each has their own charm that is enough to capture the heart of the reader.
If you're looking for a book with lots of sex in it, these are not what you're looking for. While there is some sex in these books, Ginn Hale builds up the tension between the two characters quiet thorougly before they get anywhere with eachother. The main thrust of the books is plot and character. I found them both hard to put down towards the end.
So, that's it from me. I hope this gives some of you ideas towards reading or not reading if you're looking for something else. Cheers.
Author: Ginn Hale
Type: M/M
Tags: Fantasy, Romance, Adventure, magic
Length Book 1: 368 pages
Length Book 2: 348 pages
Rating: Good
Blurb Book 1: Kiram Kir-Zaki may be considered a mechanist prodigy among his own people, but when he becomes the first Haldiim ever admitted to the prestigious Sagrada Academy, he is thrown into a world where power, superstition and swordplay outweigh even the most scholarly of achievements. But when the intimidation from his Cadeleonian classmates turns bloody, Kiram unexpectedly finds himself befriended by Javier Tornesal, the leader of a group of cardsharps, duelists and lotharios who call themselves Hellions. However Javier is a dangerous friend to have. Wielder of the White Hell and sole heir of a dukedom, he is surrounded by rumors of forbidden seductions, murder and damnation. His enemies are many and any one of his secrets could not only end his life but Kiram's as well.
Blurb Book 2: Kiram fought his family and Cadeleonian bigots to remain in the Sagrada Academy to prove himself as a mechanist and to dispel the deadly shadow curse that threatens to destroy his upperclassman, Javier Tornesal. But when his efforts provoke retaliation, Kiram's family and home are endangered. Both Kiram and Javier risk everything in a desperate gambit to combat the curse. But they never imagined their battle with come so soon, or that it would be lead by the one person they trust most of all.
So I've read a couple of other things by Ginn Hale in the past and found her work worth taking another look at. If you're interested her first work is Wicked Gentleman and the review for it can be found here. More recently than that she also had a novela length piece in one of the recent anthologies that I read, edited by Nicole Kimberling, Tangle: Fiction with a Twist the review for which can be found here.
Most of the time when I read things author's tend to go on one of three lists in my head. The first list is 'I will never read anything by you again your book was so bad', the second list is, 'This book might not be great but there is a lot of potential here, I will probably give something by you a try again in the future', and the third list is, 'I'd definitely read something by you again.' Ginn Hale, made it onto the second list after I read Wicked Gentlemen. I had a few problems with it but it definitely showed a lot of possibilities from her. After reading the two above books I'm glad that I did. Because truth be told I thoroughly enjoyed these two books.
That all being said, I liked to read a lot of books. I don't like to read books that are simply written for the sake of writing sex scenes. Those are the types of books that tend to go on my, 'never again' list even if the sex scenes are interesting and innovative. Most of them simply tend to get repetitive and boring for me to read.
"Lord of the White Hell", is a duologue about two boys going to a school. They both come from different cultures and have very different back grounds and beliefs. One of the things that I liked about this book was the underlying tensions that carried through from the start and the fact that for the most part they both stayed true to their beliefs. Essentially in the end they come together and both of them figure out who they are and what they want. For the purposes of this book of course, part of what they want is each other. However, the nice thing about this story over all is that there are larger issues and more realistic ones that play a part as well. Ginn Hale writes a wonderfully full world that encompasses the characters, the scenes, and the entire plot. These were nice full books that are worth a read if you like reading about boys finding their way towards being themselves despite families, customs and other problems. Both of the characters are well rounded and each has their own charm that is enough to capture the heart of the reader.
If you're looking for a book with lots of sex in it, these are not what you're looking for. While there is some sex in these books, Ginn Hale builds up the tension between the two characters quiet thorougly before they get anywhere with eachother. The main thrust of the books is plot and character. I found them both hard to put down towards the end.
So, that's it from me. I hope this gives some of you ideas towards reading or not reading if you're looking for something else. Cheers.