Prince of Air and Darkness: A Gay Fantasy Romance

By M.A. Grant

Phineas Smith has been cursed with a power no one could control.

Roark Lyne is his worst enemy and his only hope.

The only human student at Mather’s School of Magick, Phineas Smith has a target on his back. Born with the rare ability to tap into unlimited magick, he finds both Faerie Courts want his allegiance—and will do anything to get it.

They don’t realize he can’t levitate a feather, much less defend the Faerie Realm as it slips into civil war.

Unseelie Prince Roark Lyne, Phineas’s roommate—and self-proclaimed arch nemesis—is beautiful and brave and a pain in the ass. Phineas can’t begin to sort through their six years of sexual tension masquerading as mutual dislike. But Roark is also the only one able to help Finn tame his magick.

Trusting Roark’s mysterious motives may be foolish; not accepting his temporary protection would be deadly.

Caught in the middle of the impending war, Phineas and Roark forge a dangerous alliance. And as the walls between them crumble, Phineas realizes that Roark isn’t the monster he’d imagined. But their growing intimacy threatens to expose a secret that could either turn the tide of the war…or destroy them both.


The Darkest Court
Book 1: Prince of Air and Darkness
Book 2: The Marked Prince
Book 3: The Iron Crown

Whitethorn Agency
Book 1: Rare Vigilance
Book 2: Crooked Shadows
Book 3: Imitate the Dawn

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carina Press
• Release date: Feb 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9781488051227

M.A. Grant

M.A. Grant fell in love with the romance genre while working at an independent bookstore. She spent a decade in the rugged beauty of Alaska's Kenai Peninsula before moving to the mountains of Eastern Washington. When she’s not calling out to passing ravens or making a cup of tea, she’s writing dark and moving stories.

Reviews for Prince of Air and Darkness

[brittaniethekid · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An enjoyable read but not without its problems. The author makes their own rules and lore which can irk people (like fae being 'allergic' to iron but own cars and live around/in other modern conveniences that definitely have iron in them without any side effects) and doesn't bother to describe the different species of the characters or how that affects them being outside of the Sidhe. Like a lot of other reviewers said, there were some inconsistencies or plot devices that were unnecessary or didn't make sense. This could have been set in another setting than a "magickal" university, especially since it hardly mentions classes and doesn't explain how magical beings are viewed by normal humans or if they can even see all this. Don't expect another Hogwarts.
However, despite its issues, I really liked all the characters and the love story between Roarke and Smith seemed more realistic than most romance novels.

[akbouterse · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Probably not quite four stars but I did enjoy this. The first couple of chapters I was very confused. This is a book where there's never really explanation of the world or what powers people have. Rather it just lets you figure it out as you go. Once I got through the beginning I began to really enjoy this story.

I thought the relationship between Finn and Roark was really good. Even though we don't see their whole backstory together, you can tell they have a strong connection. I liked how complex their dynamic was. Finn has a very bad past with Roark's mom but Roark still has a strong connection to his mother. This made for a very interesting relationship progression and it made Finn's assumptions about Roark's action more understandable rather than it just being annoying miscommunication. There was some relationship stuff that was more tied into the plot that felt a little undeveloped, but mostly I liked it.

As far as the plot went, I found it mostly interesting but a bit underdeveloped and weirdly paced in parts. Because this book never really has specific exposition where the world is fully explained, there were parts that I still didn't feel like I completely understood by the end but this didn't really impact my overall enjoyment. I do feel like I missed some things at the end because some things really confused me Roark doesn't want to become a Knight in the Unseelie court because it will burn him and his memories away until there's nothing left AND he steals Finn's memories of Finn being offered that position after being tortured by Roark's mom so Finn doesn't become the Knight. However, at the end Finn DID become the Knight and there was no discussion of what the effect of that would be. I feel like I must have missed something because this was super confusing to me. Also, the memory spell breaks when Roark and Finn fall in love but they never sit down and have a conversation about why Roark took the memories and I wanted that conversation but again, once I began to understand what was happening, I enjoyed it.

The next book is about Sebastian, one of Finn's friends. I'm definitely intrigued by this world and I may read the next book but it's probably not going to be a priority but I did like this first book and it is a good introduction to the series and this world.

[bethyacoub · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Holy cannoli... Magic + Sexytime (explicit at times) = a steamy, unputdownable read. I must admit, I tried to read this book twice before and I wasn't impressed in the least. This, the third and final try, was my last ditch effort and thankfully my tenacity paid off. I really enjoyed it this time around. Maybe my headspace was all wrong in previous attempts or maybe I was another person mere months ago, whatever have you, today I am thrilled to give this book a glowing review. It went from a vitriol-lite review to fanatical praise. The writing was succinct and straightforward yet not curt or lacking. The world building was excellent as was the case with the character development. There was a satisfyingly torturous slow burn m/m romance. The relationship grew into a really sweet codependency and ultimately a solidly, labeled entity. There was of course a Fae presence though it did not take up the entirety of the plot like many Fae stories do. It was primarily about these two Male MCs and their juxtapositions with one another and their world as a whole. Overall:This book is solid on all fronts. I am wholly invested in these Characters and this World and can not wait to read book #2!~ Enjoy Actual rating: 4.5 stars***I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review ***