Shoestring Theory
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
A queer, madcap, friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers time travel romance with the future of the world at stake, this charming fantasy tale is sure to satisfy fans of Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree.
The kingdom of Farsala is broken and black clouds hang heavy over the arid lands. Former grand-mage of the high court, Cyril Laverre, has spent the last decade hiding himself away in a ramshackle hut by the sea, trying to catch any remaining fish for his cat familiar, Shoestring, and suppressing his guilt over the kingdom’s ruin. For he played his part – for as the king, Eufrates Margrave, descended further and further into paranoia, violence and madness, his grand-mage – and husband – Cyril didn’t do a thing to stop him.
When Shoestring wanders away and dies one morning, Cyril knows his days are finally numbered. But are there enough left to have a last go at putting things right? With his remaining lifeblood, he casts a powerful spell that catapults him back in time to a happier period of Farsalan history – a time when it was Eufrates’s older sister Tig destined to ascend to the throne, before she died of a wasting disease, and a time when Cyril and Eufrates’s tentative romance had not yet bloomed. If he can just make sure Eufie never becomes king, then maybe he can prevent the kingdom’s tragic fate. But the magical oath he made to his husband at the altar, transcending both time and space, may prove to be his most enduring – and most dangerous – feat of magic to date…
Featuring a formidable great aunt, a friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers romance, an awkward love quadrangle and a crow familiar called Ganache, this charming story is imminently easy to read and sure to satisfy fans of fanfiction who like their fantasy lite.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The kingdom of Farsala has come to rot and ruin at the start of Costa's fun debut romantasy novel. Depressed mage Cyril Laverre, having fled the ailing king Eufrates's court and abandoned his responsibility to the dying kingdom, has been living in a cottage by the sea for years. He catches fish for himself and his cat familiar, Shoestring, and ekes out a meager existence. When Shoestring dies, Cyril knows his own time will soon be up, spurring him to one last desperate attempt to make good. Hoping to change the present by influencing the past, he casts a spell that sends him back in time to before Eufrates took the throne—when Euphrates's sister, Tigris, reigned and Eufrates was still just Cyril's paramour. The men are at the very beginning of their courtship, but the magical rings that eventually will bind them in marriage have followed Cyril through time, connecting the lovers through magic. As Cyril navigates his life as it was and attempts to fix what went wrong, tragedy looms on the horizon—along with an enemy he didn't expect. After a somewhat rocky start, Costa strikes a delicate balance of romance and fantasy. Fans of Travis Baldree or TJ Klune will find much to enjoy.
Customer Reviews
Delightful!!
I adored Cyril and had so much fun with his story!!! This book was funny and touching and a great adventure.