The Royal Curse (Twilight Mages Book 1) by Eliot Grayson

The Royal Curse is Eliot Grayson's first book in the Twilight Mages series and if book one is anything to go by we are in for a steamy ride!

From the blurb:

Dawn mage. Twilight mage. Cursed, useless, damaged, dangerous…

His birth magic leaves Prince Nikola with nothing but bad choices: live as another man’s possession,

subject to his whims and his desires, or remain dependent on a potion that stunts his powers and prevents him from knowing love.

Andreas vows to protect the prince with his life—whether Nikola wants him to or not. After all, the queen pays his soldier’s wage. Nikola’s nothing but a job to do.

But when they find themselves stranded, with Nikola’s potion running out, Andreas has to…improvise. Because what Prince Nikola needs to survive is the opposite of a lowly guard’s respectful protection.

It should’ve been only one night. Just until the potion’s refilled. But now that Nikola’s had Andreas’s touch, he craves Andreas again and again. He shouldn’t. But he—and his magic—can’t live without it…

The Royal Curse is a high-heat MM fantasy romance with a stubborn prince, an even more stubborn soldier, and cursed magic that can’t be denied. There is an attempted on-page assault that is not between the main characters. HEA guaranteed.

Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's Review:

"𝐖𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝. 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬."

This was definitely a steamy little number by Eliot Grayson. There was a plot, but there was also a hell of a lot of tumbling between the sheets so if steam isn't your thing this may not be for you. Fortunately for me, stream most definitely is my thing and I enjoyed the heck out of Andreas and Niko's story.

Niko is a prince who was born at the wrong time, or right time depending on the way one looks at it. Either way, the time of his birth bestows upon him the powers of a Twilight mage. Twilight mages are powerful, but that power comes with a curse. If left unchecked, Niko's powers would begin to consume him, starting with debilitating pain. Well pain and an unbearable horniness not unlike a shifter in the midst of heat if you catch my drift. This leaves Niko with two options: One is to drink a potion which mutes his powers and his libido. The other, is to become beholden to another man's whims as Niko will need sex to control his powers and that is a lot of power to place in the hands of another.

Unforeseen circumstances lead to the second being the only option for the first time in Niko's life and I don't think the poor prince was prepared. Thankfully, his royal guard Andreas sure as fuck is. These two were such dummies. It was obvious how much they cared for one another, but were both too busy either banging or thinking the other didn't return their affections. I wanted to slap them both upside the heads at one point and just tell them to be honest with one another! It was just so clear these two were meant to be.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

SNik's Review:

First in series (Twilight Mages). Paranormal fantasy. Close/forced proximity. Single POV. Heed content warnings. 

Ever since his magic manifested, Prince Nikola has been a prisoner of its curse, he has to have a maintenance potion which dampens the magic and his manhood, or be at the mercy of a constant bedmate. 

Nothing is more important than finding another way to manage his magic, and with the help of his newly appointed bodyguard Andreas, Niko embarks on a trip to gather more information about twilight mages. 

A series of misfortunes occur and Andreas and Niko find themselves having to deal with Niko’s magic in a physical way, both wishing it were more but not able to communicate their hopes and fears. 

I empathized with Niko’s struggle against what his magic demanded of him, and I appreciated Andreas’s solid caretaking and loyalty. 

There was plenty of high steam in their interactions, and some fun side characters that I wish we saw more of which provided an entertaining story. 

This book started a lot of potential in this world build, and I am definitely invested in seeing where this series goes.

Rating: 4.25 Stars

The Royal Curse is available to buy as an ebook, paperback, or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.