Maiden of Despair (Emmylou Kotzé)

The second instalment of the Forest of the Morning trilogy, this book is a mid-length fantasy novel (117,000 words).

Forest of the Morning is an epic fantasy with queer and mental health rep and two romance storylines (m/m and m/f).

Albryan & Velda (m/f): A depressed ranger and grieving farmgirl are drawn together when they become embroiled in the unfolding adventure.

Nico & Fish (m/m): The slowest of slow-burn friends-to-lovers romances unfolds between these two young assassins and brothers-in-arms.

The blood sorcerer Arran Sylvaissen has clenched the continent in an iron fist, sacking the city of Ülhard and laying siege to the surrounding villages. Yet amidst the storm of war, a tentative resistance now arises to thwart him.

Having brought Velda safely within the magical borders of Qwu’Mallorn, Albryan struggles to understand the purpose of her divinely bestowed power to undo magic. Once a soldier sworn to serve his homeland, now love and duty do battle in his heart. Together they decide to uncover the destiny that awaits her, a destiny entangled with a strangely familiar face she glimpses only in dreams.

Meanwhile, as they recover from the wounds of their last battle, the former assassins Nico and Fish must make a choice that will chart the course of the war. Will Fish walk away, heed his partner and flee far away from the massing storm? Or will he stay, join the fight, and face at last the spectre of his hated father and the implacable wrath of his long-lost sister Dannine?

All efforts at resistance may yet be in vain, for at long last Arran has discovered the identity of the sacrificial victim who will secure the power of his dark goddess. Guided by prophecy, he sets out to ensnare her: the maiden who has only known despair…

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Be Aware:

Forest of the Morning is an epic fantasy narrative intended for mature audiences (over 16s).

This series is moderately “spicy” and includes at least one consensual intimate scene per book (couples are m/m and m/f).

Multiple characters in this series are explicitly queer, including two main POV characters.

The heavy themes of this series are not intended for titillation or “set dressing,” but are explored through the eyes of the survivors. Intense content is intended to underline the seriousness of these topics.

Topics discussed or depicted in this series include: genocide, slavery, wrongful imprisonment and abduction, fantasy racism, incest, child abuse and grooming, death of endangered animals, war, torture especially of POWs, rape (of men as well as marginalized genders), exploration of personal and generational trauma, grief and mourning, depression and suicide, plague, pregnancy and complications thereof, death of children and infants, injury and wound care, coma, medical body horror, in-world homophobia and misogyny, and romance which may or may not end happily.