I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Once Lost Lords
by Stephan Morse
Series: Royal Scales #1
Series Rating:
Published by Stephan Morse on July 10th 2016
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Format: ebook
Source: the Author
Goodreads
Humanity hasn’t been alone for almost two thousand years. Elves, wolves, vampires, all joined together with mankind to eradicate the ‘darker’ races and maintained a tentative peace until modern times. Society adapted, everyone has rules that help keep the peace in this modern era. Yet, absolute genocide is impossible when talking about creatures beyond the pale. Some hid, some buried, other were re-purposed.
Some, like Jay Fields, pass for human with a little bit extra. His abilities didn’t belong to one of the major races, but any information was buried along with the long dead boogie men. All Jay cared about was those closest to him and a job that let him hit people. He used to be a bouncer at a bar, a part-time enforcer for a loan shark, and even a fight club champion. That was four years ago, before betrayal by someone close sent him packing.
Now he’s back and trying to recover a life he left behind. Questions of origin aren’t his only problems. His ex-girlfriend is a vampire. His part-time boss doesn’t think he’s up to snuff anymore. There’s a missing elf who might have some answers, and Jay’s best friend is caught up in something dangerous…
Is he human, that seems to be something that he can’t answer?
Once Lost Lords by Stephan Morse begins with the return of Jay Fields, although he uses other names to make finding him harder. Jay has been traveling around for the last 4 years and lots of things at home have changed and some have stayed the same.
Jay likes to hit people, he is like an enforcer. Basically, he does what he knows best to make a living. Jay is also a collector and he is pretty possessive when it comes to his treasures, really all things that he considers his. Jay is human with a few added abilities, due to a vampire bite when he was young or is he? Jay uses his ability to track down people who owe his boss Julianne money, he gets the money, something of value or he may teach them a lesson. Jay also rents an apartment from Julianne and works as a bouncer at her bar.
Throughout the book, we learn more and more about Jay’s actual origin. However, Jay can’t remember and the clues lead him to things that don’t make sense and yet seem familiar. Jay is tough and can hold his own against vampires, wolves, fairies and humans. We meet the people of his life. They are a strange group of individuals. There are lots of secrets that seem like only Jay doesn’t know.
Jay’s women
Jay’s ex-girlfriend is Kahina, she is a vampire who hasn’t finished the transformation yet. She loves purple and apparently still loves Jay. She seems kind of pushy, yet she is there when he needs her.
Then there is Julianne, she is my favorite. She is tiny and still human. She runs the bar with no nonsense and a smart mouth. Julianne comes from the wolf pack, she just hasn’t transformed into a wolf. Her grandfather is the head of the pack and tolerates her bar and bookie business. Julianne cares about Jay, more than he realizes. She protects him and calls an intervention to help him. I love the way she and her brother banter back and forth. Julianne is one tough cookie.
What I like about the story is the way the author portrays the characters. There are the four main races who eradicated all the other races for peace and yet there are still the prejudice and fight for power, the secrets about the races eradicated and lost history. It proves that no matter what race you are, it’s what is inside you and how you treat your friends and family that matter.
My rating for this book is 4 stars. If you like to read fantasy, with a modern urban flair, I recommend this book, Once Lost Lords by Stephan Morse. This is the first book in what looks to be an exciting series, The Royal Scales. The second book in the series is also available so you won’t have to wait to continue with the story, Lady’s First Knight.
**Where to find Once Lost Lords **
** Goodreads **
This is a Guest Review for Baroness’ Book Trove. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book for your site. ~Jen
About Stephan Morse
Stephan Morse was born the year 1983 in San Diego. The next fifteen years were spent slowly escaping California and surviving a public education system. Thus far he’s made it to the Seattle (WA) region with little desire to go farther. When not trying to shove words together into sentences Stephan spends time reading, catching up on sleep, and otherwise living a mundane life.
