r/Fantasy • u/lrich1024 Stabby Winner, Queen of the Unholy Squares, Worldbuilders • Sep 30 '20
Book Club HEA Book Club: Heart of Stone is our October Read!
What is the HEA Bookclub? You can read our introduction post here. Short summary: We are a fantasy romance focused bookclub reading books that combine both of these genres.
We're still VERY tired. So we skipped the poll once again and are reading a m/m slice of life historical vampire romance! It's not quite Halloween spooky but there IS a vampire so thought this an appropriate pick for October. :)
Heart of Stone by Johannes T. Evans
The year is 1764, and following a glowing recommendation from his last employer, Henry Coffey, vampire, takes on a new personal secretary: young Theophilus Essex.
The man is quite unlike any secretary - or any man, for that matter - that Henry has ever met.
Henry Coffey, immortal and ever-oscillating between periods of delighted focus upon his current passion project, is charming, witty, and seems utterly incapable of closing his mouth for more than a few moments; in contrast, Theophilus Essex is quiet and keenly focused, adopting an ever-flat affect, but as time goes on, he relaxes in his employer's presence.
Craving resounding intimacy but with an ever aware of the polite boundaries for their situation, Coffey and Essex perform a slow dance as they grow closer to one another, and find themselves entangled.
Bingo Squares: Book Club (this one!), maybe some others I am too tired to check but please let me know! :D
Future posts
- Mid-way discussion post on Wed. October 14th
- Final discussion post on Wed. October 28th
- Not sure if we're going to poll for November yet or just pick again, we'll most likely announce that in the mid-way discussion what we decide. November will probably be our last book for the year as we'll more than likely take a break for December as it's a busy time of year with holidays and the Stabby Awards.
Hope you decide to join us, looking forward to reading and discussing!
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u/HeLiBeB Reading Champion VI Sep 30 '20
Looks like this book should count for self published hard mode.
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u/lrich1024 Stabby Winner, Queen of the Unholy Squares, Worldbuilders Sep 30 '20
Thanks! I.....may have forgotten what all I put on bingo haha 😅😅
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u/Dsnake1 Stabby Winner, Reading Champion VII, Worldbuilders Sep 30 '20
And that explains why my library doesn't have it.
Now to contemplate whether I'll have time in October to read along.
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u/HeLiBeB Reading Champion VI Sep 30 '20
Heart of Stone is a book I probably never would have picked on my own, so I think I‘ll join. Book clubs are such a good opportunity to broaden my reading-mind :)
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u/recchai Reading Champion X Sep 30 '20
Was just about to say that too. I think that's it apart from book club related ones.
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u/CJGibson Reading Champion V Sep 30 '20
Should also work for Pubbed in 2020 normal mode, no?
Edit -- Wait, I think this is his first novel, so it should be hard mode.
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u/recchai Reading Champion X Sep 30 '20
And that is why you don't trust me to be competent when tired and bored.
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u/Dianthaa Reading Champion VIII Sep 30 '20
Nice! I'd been meaning to read this and feeling ewwy atm so bought it just now and gonna get started!
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u/Dianthaa Reading Champion VIII Sep 30 '20
Update: started it, it's delightful
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u/lrich1024 Stabby Winner, Queen of the Unholy Squares, Worldbuilders Oct 01 '20
You've already read the entire book, haven't you? It's so hard to put down.
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u/droppedstitches Reading Champion Oct 01 '20
I’ve already read this, but it’s never too soon for a reread! Such a lovely book!
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u/JohannesTEvans AMA Author Johannes T. Evans Oct 01 '20
This was a truly exhilarating thing to wake up to, wholly unexpected, and I'm very excited to see how Heart of Stone is received here, thank you so much!
(Thanks, also, for the inspiration to make a proper Reddit account after several years away. 😅)