Genre: Fantasy, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Estora
Get It On Amazon | Universal Buy Link
About The Book
When Perfection Collides With Chaos, Sparks Fly
Crispin Eladrin, desk fae at the Office of the Lost, could find a needle in ten haystacks. His desk is so neat it would make an accountant blush, and he’s never failed to complete a recovery mission. He has no idea how adorable he is, especially when he’s at his most annoyingly officious.
Enter utterly chaotic Leopold Lane. His life is a masterclass in disastrous events–and it’s about to get worse. He’s the latest thing that Crispin has been sent to retrieve, but when they meet, sparks fly. Literally. And now they must find their way back before someone—or something—enchants them, eats them, or stomps them to death.
Neither knows why the Office of the Lost is so hell-bent on acquiring Leo, but they’re determined to survive long enough to find out–and to see if opposites really do attract.
The Review
Opposites attract in “Office of the Lost”, a cosy/lighthearted romance novel co-authored by J. Scott Coatsworth and Kim Fielding. Crispin, a fae desk worker in the titular Office of the Lost, loves order, structure and efficiency. Everything and everyone has its place, and that’s the way he likes it.
Enter Leopold Lane, a human who seems to be cursed with relentless chaos. Crispin has been assigned to bring Leo in to the Office of the Lost, though neither of them know why. One thing is clear however, as Crispin and Leo embark on a wild universe-hopping journey: their undeniable chemistry and connection.
Co-writing can be difficult. If you don’t have the right balance with your writing partner, the result can feel lopsided, or worse, a mess. Fortunately, Coatsworth and Fielding are a perfect match for writing. Each wrote a POV character in alternating chapters, and the style was seamless to the point that I forgot there were two different authors at all.
“Office of the Lost” is the first book in “Chaos and Order”, a series where the fae exist and the multiverse is alive and thriving. It was a thrill going on the journey with Crispin and Leo through the various worlds, and watching Crispin’s world of order and structure get shaken up by Leo’s inherent chaotic nature.
There was a section in the book where our heroes end up in a world where dinosaurs evolved to become the dominant species, and I think I laughed out loud in the office while reading during my lunch break! Needless to say, I am looking forward to the Coatsworth & Fielding team up again for more of Crispin’s and Leo’s adventures.
The Reviewer
Estora is a long-time reader and writer of LGBT+ speculative fiction.
