Gate of Myth and Power series, by K.M. Shea
- Apr 2
- 3 min read
This is a hot-cocoa-on-a-cold-day book series. It’s clean, hot towels just out of the dryer. It’s fresh green grass and sunlight on a spring day. Whatever makes you smile, sigh happily, and feel contented with the world, that’s what this book series is like. It is in fact, so good that after the first in the series was given to me as a gift (Thank you, Kesse) I actually went out and bought the rest of the series—new! I never buy brand new books!
And the premise! It just tickles me to no end. Chloe Andersen lives in a modern world packed with supernaturals—fae, wizards, vampires, and werewolves. (There are no more elves, incidentally, because they were all genocidal maniacs and were wiped out years ago, good riddance to them.) All these powerfully magical types of creatures band together, like with like, and these coalitions help them maintain the delicate balance of living with humans and each other.
But Chloe doesn’t fit into any of the categories. In a world of supernatural powerhouses, she can turn into…a housecat. She is also immune to most magics, but her lack of a faction leaves her an easy target for bullying.
At least until she is rescued from bullying fae by a mysterious man named Noctus, who adopts her and turns out to be the world’s best and most obsessively dedicated pet parent. But as difficult as it is to escape him, it becomes obvious to Chloe that she must escape and she must prevent Noctus from finding out that she’s more than a cat.
Because he’s not just attractive and rich and incredibly powerful—he’s an elf. Specifically, he’s the king of the elves, and he’s using his magic to hide an entire city of elves from a world that hates them. If he ever finds out that she’s not really a cat, she will be a danger to his entire race’s existence.
As she lives in his house and does her best to escape, though, she learns other things about Noctus. He’s honorable, kind, dedicated to keeping his people safe, and loved by his people and his friends—not at all what you’d expect of the king of a genocidal race.
I don’t want to go too far and spoil anything, so I will leave the plot shrouded in mystery. But just so you know, this is not Highbrow Literature, for all us plebs who don’t always like to be emotionally torn to pieces by our reading material, it does have a happy ending. Yes, he does find out she’s not a cat. Yes, they get together. No, I’m not going to tell you how.
The romance is not just sweet and adorable—it’s also healthy. Of course, they run into trouble, as book-couples do: for the two of them to be together, Noctus would have to break the secret that has kept his people safe and alive for centuries, and Chloe would have to abandon her family.
And they accept that about each other. Do you know how many books I’ve read where this would be a big, awful deal for a couple, that one or both of them have duties and responsibilities outside of the relationship?
There’s no sulking. Chloe doesn’t get her feelings hurt because Noctus won’t ruin the lives of countless elves to be with her. Noctus doesn’t expect her to abandon her family for him. They accept each other as they are and set to figuring out something that will work—all while investigating some strange terrorist attacks and attempting to reverse damage done by the elves centuries ago.
And if you’re the kind of person who thinks that even this much information is too much and I’ve spoiled the plot, you would still miss out if you didn’t read these books. The side characters are as fantastic as the main characters. Noctus keeps company with a werewolf obsessed with Dale Carnegie, a smart-aleck vampire, and the most adorably unemotional butler ever. The chemistry between the four of them is excellent, and Chloe’s wry, self-effacing sense of humor blends right in. The pacing is great, the romance is sweet, the humor is spot-on, and the characters are immensely likeable.
One tiny little criticism….I didn’t like the cover. It’s painfully AI pulp romance to the point that I actively avoided reading this book in public. Not everyone will feel the same of course, but if you, dear reader, also object to the cover, just know that the inside is far better quality than the outside.
Here’s the link to the first book in case you want to buy it! (I am not affiliated or paid by this author in any way, I just couldn’t find the books in my library so I’m making sure you can get to them!)
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