Ahoy there me mateys!  I don't read a ton of self-published novels but have been interested in the SPFBO ever since I started blogging.  One of me crew, Matey Lynn is a judge in the contest.  Every year I make a list of those nominees that interest me, based on her reviews, and I am slowly working through them.  This book was a finalist in the 2020 contest.

This is a fantasy where a person's eye color determines whether they can use magic or not.  Blue or green is good.  Brown is normal.  Ye follow three main characters though the division of page time varies.  Chrys is a general who has a monster in his head that only he knows about.  It is, of course, constantly trying to escape.  Laurel is a forest dweller who has teen angst and a relationship with a cool wolf.  Alverax appears later in the book having died and came back to life.  The conflict is that magic users are being kidnapped for their blood.  Chrys' investigation causes a ruckus and he has to protect his wife and unborn child.

I enjoyed the magic system even if it seemed simplistic.  I really liked Chrys and the creepy voice in his noggin.  Alverax was the character I was most sympathetic to even though he didn't get a lot of page time in this book.  I loved the forest life.  But ultimately this book was just okay.  The plot was the weak link for me and truly fell apart after the halfway mark.  The good vs evil conflict lacked nuance.  The story flow seemed a bit choppy.  The humor elements, especially when used in the dialogue, didn't work for me.  As the book progressed I found a lot of the choices made to be either nonsensical or too easy.  And I didn't like the ending.

I have no regrets about reading this one but will not be reading more of the series.  Arrrr!