Review: Paladin by Onley James
SYNOPSIS:
Arseny Lebedev lives a normal life. During the day, he’s a mechanic. At night, he livestreams a fairy tale video game called Paladin. And sometimes—only sometimes—he kills people. But they all deserve it.
Ever doesn’t know his last name. He doesn’t know much of anything. Most of his life has been torture, bought and sold by a woman who calls herself his mother. He’s resigned himself to a life of servitude, until he meets Arsen.
The moment Arsen sees Ever, they’re bonded. Ever is both fragile and feral, willing to defend himself with any tool at his disposal, even teeth. Arsen is color and light, a beacon in Ever’s darkness, as brave as the knight in the game he plays.
Arsen protects Ever fiercely, but just when he feels safe, someone attempts to drag him back to his old life, reminding him that reality isn’t fairy tales or video games. He knows staying puts Arsen in danger. But Arsen insists they’re safer together. Can Ever truly have his happily ever after or is it game over?
REVIEW:
To say I was thrilled that Onley James was doing a spin-off series with Jericho’s Boys is an understatement. Arsen and Ever were an absolute delight; I was so conflicted while reading. I wanted to binge the story and finish it as fast as possible, but I also wanted to savor it and read it slowly to absorb every single detail.
Ever was such a unique character and I adored watching him evolve over the course of the story. From a feral little gremlin into a fully functioning adult, he must be protected at all costs. I wish that he would have processed his trauma little more before diving into a relationship with Arsen, but by the end of the story everything balanced out for the better. Arsen was the pillar of strength, I loved how he and Ever clicked and how Ever brought out his protective side.
But I think my favorite part of the story was the gaming group chats and the group texts between Arsen and the rest of Jericho’s boys. They had me grinning and laughing out loud. It also gave me a better glimpse into each of their personalities, especially when this ragtag team adopts Ever into the fold. And lets not forget the Mulvaneys who make appearances, which is why we are all here in the first place.
In terms of drama and action, it was a little less dramatic than what I have come to expect from Onley. I wish there was more of a build up, putting the mystery together, connect the dots to Ever’s backstory and unlocking who he is. Everything happened rather abruptly and fast. Which felt a little anti-climatic but the ending was all the fluffy-good feels I hoped it would be.
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