Review - The Chosen by Annette Gisby

Title: The Chosen

Author: Annette Gisby

Publisher: Lyrical Press

Buy The Chose Here!


Rating: You Want to Read


Reviewed by: Patchcat



Love or duty -- which would you choose?

Prince Severin has been brought up to put duty before all else. Now, his duty is to marry and produce an heir. He has his choice of princesses. Unfortunately, his passion is for princes.

Havyn has been a slave all his life. When his powers are discovered, he finds himself purchased and freed by a Prince and apprenticed to the royal wizard, Ildar. His duty is to stay chaste to keep his powers strong. Unfortunately, his passion is for Severin.

With kingdoms at war, the throne hanging in the balance, and magic in the air, can the two men find happiness together, or is duty more important than love?

As fantasy novels go, this one was decent. The world was well-built, it was easy to believe the changes in mythos – wizards and where their power comes from, the existence of another race than humans – and the characters were well filled out and likable. The plot, while predictable in some places, was interesting enough to catch and hold my attention.

This was an epic high fantasy, complete with princes, kings, damsel princesses in distress, betrayal, and the ever-present quest. We start with Severin’s purchasing and then freeing Havyn, who then becomes apprentice to the royal wizard…and Severin’s object of first lust, then love. I did enjoy the way this relationship built. The quest to find the princess gives Severin and Havyn time to learn about each other and develop a strong bond.

I also enjoyed reading about the quest, and, even though some of the twists were a little predictable and easy to see coming, it was interesting enough to keep me reading just to see how everything would be resolved.

Something I didn’t enjoy, however, was some of the odd word choices and repetitive uses. There were several times where the same word was used 3 or 4 times in one sentence, making it a bit bulky and dull. There were also a few instances where the word chosen…just didn’t mean what I think the author was going for.

One admitted peeve that I have in erotic or sexual scenes is using purple euphemisms for male genitalia. It’s perfectly acceptable to refer to a man’s penis as, well, a penis. It’s also perfectly acceptable to call it a “cock” or even just simply an “erection.” Calling a wizard’s penis “his staff,” while cute and amusing, isn’t exactly the image I believe the author was going for. >_>

Overall, though, this was a good read. What flaws it has are minor enough to be read beyond. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a good fantasy adventure.