My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Rough around the edges but a delightful story with likeable characters and an engaging plot
Rising (The Coven of Zora #1) by L D Valentine is a queer fantasy novel about a multiracial group of gay young adults who each control a different element and use spells.
The book centers on Xavier, an 18-year-old gay Navajo guy whose introduction into the world of magic involves watching a demon kill his uncle, and it almost killing him. Xavier controls fire and becomes the leader of his coven of 6 males witches, all of whom are gay. He struggles with magic and feelings of self-worth, inadequacy, and trust issues.
After Zora recruits him and the others, they train a bit then begin going on demon-killing missions, and it’s on one such mission that Xavier meets Alexander Kiras, Scion of House Asmodai, one of the four major demonic houses.
Alexander reveals he’s been killing off witches before a full coven could form and is intrigued how he missed Xavier’s coven; he also expresses his carnal interest in Xavier. Alexander then begins a cat and mouse game with Xavier and his coven, leading to a final confrontation between him and Xavier.
I liked Xavier a lot and thought he was Black until he mentioned being Navajo. I also thought Nate, Danny, Max, and the other characters were interesting but not as fleshed out as they could be. Also, the relationship between Xavier and Adam, who controls water, was okay but came off as a bit tacked on.
But it was nice to see a group of queer superheroes on the page.
My biggest complaints and what I feel keep this from being a 5-star book are the clunky dialogue and sentences and the ending which was very anticlimactic and abrupt. However, these issues were only minor, and I can’t wait for the next in the series to be released.
I give Rising (The Coven of Zora #1) 4.0 (rounded up from 3.8) stars. Definitely check this out if you enjoy action-packed fantasy with diverse queer leads.
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