Book Review: Sebastian by Anne Bishop

Sebastian
Author: Anne Bishop
Series: Ephemera (Book 1)
Publication: Roc (February 7, 2006)

Description: Long ago, Ephemera was split into a dizzying number of magical lands—connected only by bridges that may take you where you truly belong, rather than where you had intended to go. In one such land, where night reigns and demons dwell, the half-incubus Sebastian revels in dark delights. But in dreams she calls to him: a woman who wants only to be safe and loved—a woman he hungers for while knowing he may destroy her. And an even more devastating destiny awaits him, for an ancient evil is stirring—and Sebastian’s realm may be the first to fall...

My Thoughts: The main character in this story is Sebastian. He is the child of a wizard and a succubus whose mother gave him to his father to raise. His father hates him because he is the living proof of the mistake he made sleeping with a succubus. Luckily, he has an aunt and cousins who try to make up for his father's abuses.

Sebastian's cousins are a Landscaper named Belladonna and a Bridge named Lee. His cousin Belladonna runs afoul of the wizards by being too powerful and also for creating a landscape that is perfect for Sebastian and is exiled. However, she is the only one who might be able to combat an old evil that has escaped its imprisonment and now wants to conquer Ephemera.

Meanwhile, Sebastian meets a young woman named Lynnea who has undergone her own kind of abuse at the hands of a woman who found her wandering as a child and took her home to be a servant and her whipping boy. When Lynnea throws a hard-earned penny into a wishing well, all she wants is to find a place where she can be safe and be loved which leads her to Sebastian's landscape even though Sebastian isn't at all sure that he's right for her.

When the evil entity called It convinces the wizard to find Belladonna so that she can be destroyed, Sebastian is chosen as the bait to draw her in. Only Sebastian and Lynnea's love for each other can save them and Belladonna from the wizards and It's horrible plan.

I enjoyed the world building in this story. The idea of shattered landscapes that can only be reached by bridges that may or may not take you to your intended destination but often take you to the land your heart desires was intriguing.

This is the first book of a trilogy. One advantage of catching up on an author's earlier works is that I don't need to wait for the next book or books to be published. They are waiting for me on my Kindle. I can't wait to read them.

Favorite Quote:

Sweet. Warm. He hadn't been this excited about a closemouthed kiss since...All right. He'd never been this excited about a closemouthed kiss. And when her hands curbed around the back of his neck and her fingers tangled in his hair, he didn't see any reason for either of them to move until they fell over from exhaustion or starvation.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.