Reeve of Veils

Inheritance #4

by Amelia Faulkner

Vengeful. Telepath. Mastermind.

Frederick d’Arcy is determined to uncover the truth of his mother’s untimely death, so when he finally locates his missing brother Quentin – the only potential witness – he drops everything and travels to San Diego, but Quentin is embroiled in a different mystery, and Frederick finds himself sucked into a world more dangerous than he likes.

Dealer. Loser. Pessimist.

Mikey Brennan is an absentee in his own life. He always thought dealing in whatever his customers wanted to buy would make him a rich man, but instead he’s working real hard just to stay still. When he’s kidnapped by a hot British guy who only sees him as a plaything, Mikey must choose whether that’s better than going back to his own miserable existence.

Divided we stand.

With Kane Wilson threatening to out psychics across the city and endangering anyone who gets close, a deadly game of cat and mouse plays out as Frederick manipulates events toward the retribution he seeks. But in plucking Mikey off the street, he may just have found something better than revenge.
Maybe even something worth fighting for…

Reeve of Veils is the fourth book in the Rainbow Award winning Inheritance series and contains mature themes and events which may be distressing to some readers. It has a medium heat rating and a cliffhanger ending.

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, M M Romance, Romance, Urban Fantasy, LGBT, Audiobook

355 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 26, 2017

About the author

Amelia Faulkner was born in Thame, Oxfordshire, and sprouted upward in short order. The ground around Thame is reasonably mucky, especially in the winter, and she can’t be blamed for wanting to get away from it.

Raised on a steady diet of Star Trek and Doctor Who, Amelia stood no chance in not becoming a grade-A geek. She has sat on the board of the British Fantasy Society, contributed fiction and fluff to various published roleplaying games, and written non-fiction for SciFiNow and SFX Magazines. For every positive there is an equal and opposite negative, and Amelia is forced to admit that she loves Wild Wild West.

In her spare time she enjoys travel, photography, walking her Corgi, and trying to convince her friends to replay the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game with all the Goblins decks.

Visit her website at http://ameliafaulkner.com!

Reviews

[Josy · Rating 3 out of 5]

~ 3.5 stars ~

After having read the next book in this series Page of Tricks I have the strong urge to correct part of my review and my rating.

The thing is, in POT an important fact will be revealed that I didn't know when I read this book. Knowing this now, I can see certain things in a new light.

I don't know if I should have picked up on this fact and didn't or if it was intentionally written so that the reader doesn't recognize it immediately for what it is. But whatever the reason, I now feel like a jerk for judging the relationship between Freddy and Mickey so harshly. The fact that we don't see diversity like this often certainly played a role in why this possibility didn't even cross my mind. Thumbs up to the author for writing a character like Freddy!

I still think that Freddy is self-absorbed, arrogant, and somewhat ruthless and I still don't like him very much but the 'mystery' that has been the relationship is solved. Now I know why "I didn't understand it" and why I had the feeling that Freddy isn't "even capable of these emotions". Huh, I guess I picked up on something after all. Only I couldn't put it into perspective. The sentence "This was better than mere romance. It was a true partnership." makes complete sense now.

For everyone who wants to see if they can pick up on this important detail about Freddy on their own, I'm gonna put it into spoiler tags: Freddy is aromantic = he doesn't feel romantic attraction. Of course, he is still capable of loving someone and caring about the people close to him but not in the "traditional" romantic way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ 2.5 stars ~

I'm not really sure what to think about this book...

In essence, it's a retelling of the events that happened in the second book of the series Knight of Flames, this time told from Freddy's (Quentin's brother) and Mikey's (Laurence's ex-dealer) POV.

Some parts of the second book, those where Laurence and/or Quentin have been present, have been exactly the same in this book. If you, like me, have read 'Knight of Flames' recently, it can be tedious at times to read the exact same conversations and events again.

After the second book, Freddy remained a mystery. There hasn't been a lot of insight into his character and his motives. This was rectified in 'Reeve of Veils'. BUT I didn't like Freddy at all. I had my suspicions about his sincerity and they have been confirmed. He's an arrogant, manipulative jerk whose every action is only geared to further his own personal gain without regard to anyone else.

This time though, Freddy's and Mikey's 'relationship' remained a mystery to me. I didn't understand it. Like at all. I don't know what Freddy's motivation to pursue Mikey was (if you can call it that) when he first met him. Was it pity or sympathy? Nothing in Freddy's behavior and characterization let me believe he's even capable of these emotions. It was more like he needed a project to entertain himself with and I couldn't shake this feeling. What starts out with a 'proposition' evolves into something else but as much as I wanted to, I couldn't believe what the author tried to sell me: that "What they had was special..." that they loved each other, that "This was better than mere romance. It was a true partnership." Freddy did care for Mikey and tried to help him but during the whole book I couldn't help but think that he was only investing in him to keep his new toy well and healthy. But since the series isn't yet completed, I have hope that Freddy will redeem himself. Maybe once he has, my feelings about his relationship with Mikey will also change.

Still, I will read the next book in the series for sure because I need to know how this story continues (cliffhanger ending!!). I just hope it will be told from Quentin's and Laurence's POV again. I don't like being in Freddy's head.

Please pay attention to the trigger warnings: graphic child abuse, implied rape, and drug abuse.

Read as part of my EuroPrideCon reading challenge: to read new-to-me-authors before the convention (https://europridecon.jimdo.com/).

[Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Review:
This book temporarily put the spotlight on Freddy, basically letting us get to see Book 2 from his POV.

I really enjoy books in series that overlap with other books but show you a different character’s POV, when they’re done well, because it shows how much thought was put into everything. There was all this stuff going on in the background, all this stuff Freddy was manipulating or privy to, that the reader didn’t even know about. It made for a lot of recap and repeated scenes, but with Freddy’s view, and also a bunch of new scenes.

I was admittedly not really into the Freddy/Mikey relationship. It was a D/s sort of relationship that initially pushed the boundaries of consent, in my opinion. Because, despite what Freddy said, there was a big power imbalance, and when your life is as deep in the shit as Mikey’s was with no other way of getting out, the offer of having someone use their money and mind control to fix it is technically a choice, but then so is sleeping with cops to get out of jail time and dealing drugs and whatever else Freddy said wasn’t. And if you haven’t read the book yet and are wondering why I’m unhappy with a character for offering to fix someone’s life, it’s because, in return, he wanted Mikey to do everything he said. He wanted to be in control of Mikey and his life. (And not just in a sex way. That was the one area where he did take consent more seriously, especially considering certain things. Though they were also having consensual sex.) Not to mention he could and did read Mikey’s mind whenever he wanted to. But ultimately Mikey seemed to like being told what to do and having his mind be an open book. And Freddy took his role of caring for Mikey seriously, both physically and emotionally. So in the end, it seemed to be a relationship both were happy with.

Anyway, it’s just not a type of relationship I’m into. But I wrote that whole rambly paragraph so that other readers can decide if they’ll be into it or not. Though you don’t really have much choice if you want to keep reading the series. The book does show some things that I think will be important and factor into future books.

And it was interesting getting to know Freddy. I can’t say I particularly like him as a person—Mikey put it best when he described him as a “rich British asshole”—but I still liked learning more about him and seeing inside his head. I just realized how ironic? poetic? hypocritical? that is, since he is always seeing inside other people’s heads, and I am about to condemn him for it. But seriously, he was always purposely using his powers to read people’s minds and manipulate them for his own means. But every complaint I could make about him—his questionable morals, his hypocrisy, his assholery—was acknowledged by one character or another, often by Freddy himself, which means the author knew what she was doing and exactly what kind of character she was writing. And whether I liked him or not, he was written well.

It was also interesting getting to learn more about his mind reading powers. He acts like they’re nothing, but holy shit, they are incredibly and terrifyingly powerful! Because it’s not just mind reading, it’s also mind control and mind rewriting. He could be a full-on supervillain if he wanted to.

There was also Mikey. To be honest, he didn’t seem to have a ton of page time, and I don’t feel like I got to know him super well. But this author, at least in this series, seems to have a thing for taking the types of people often harshly judged by society (Laurence struggles with heroin addiction, Quentin is addicted to alcohol, Mikey is a drug dealer) and showing that sometimes they’re still good people. Or at least people capable of being redeemed, just ones who have made mistakes or have been dealt shitty hands in life or are dealing with trauma. But with help and opportunity, they’re able to make real changes.

Overall, it was very interesting getting to see some of the things going on behind the scenes in Book 2 from Freddy’s POV, as well as just learning more about Freddy himself and his terrifyingly powerful telepathy. And though I didn’t like these characters and their relationship as much as I like Laurence and Quentin, this was still a great book!

Trigger/Content Warning: A scene depicting child sexual abuse.

*Rating: 4 Stars // Read Date: 2022 // Format: Ebook via TTS*

Recommended For:
Fans of Books 1 and 2 in A.K. Faulkner's Inheritance series. This book was a bit different, but for the series overall, anyone who likes psychic/telekinetic abilities, magic, sweet and strong m/m romance, slow-burn sex, and characters struggling with addiction and abuse trauma.

Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm, not sure what to make of this one.

First, this goes back to Knight of Flames timeline and gives us Freddy's POV, so there's a lot that's repeated. Pretty much the first and last quarter of the book, in fact, and I ended up skimming the bulk of those parts, looking only for new details. About the only new thing we learn during those parts is that Freddy's a bigger jerk than I originally thought he was. We get confirmation of his powers, which are more extensive than hinted at prior to this.

As for the new stuff in the middle, well... Freddy's a jerk and I prefer not to read POVs of jerks. Mikey's somewhat better, but he's been a victim for so long that he (and Freddy) actually deludes himself into believing he's left that behind even as he willingly becomes Freddy's literal plaything. Which brings me to the second thing.

Second, there's just no way to see Freddy and Mikey's relationship as anything other than D/s, which is a dynamic I don't enjoy. Just because Freddy thinks he's doing good by Mikey and Mikey's getting out of the ghetto doesn't erase that. Freddy might want to see themselves as equals for whatever reasons he needs to, but they're really not.

Plus, Freddy's just not that good of a guy. He's not a complete bastard, but he's barely one sidestep away from Kane - and even that's only until he succeeds in his plan to off dear old daddy, which I assume is the next book, and then he will be exactly like Kane. (Actually, I'd argue that he's worse than Kane, since at least Kane's victims know they're victims. Freddy's don't.) Morals and ethics mean nothing to this guy. Or to Mikey. So I guess they are perfect for each other in that respect, but they're certainly not a couple I'm rooting for or care about, and the insta-love here is just completely unbelievable given that Freddy's practically a sociopath.

Ok, I give Freddy credit for not violating Mikey's sexual consent (or so he claims). But since he violates consent in every single other respect with everyone around him, that credit doesn't get him very far. It gets him a crumb. A crumb ground into dust.

The good news is you don't actually have to read this book. The last two books made it perfectly plain that Freddy's manipulating Laurence and how, and that he's trying to line up Quentin to kill their dad. So this book ends at pretty much the same point as the previous book, just with a bit more info than we had before.

Two more little nitpicks:

Mikey's a drug dealer and a high school dropout who's never been outside San Diego. He's not going to measure distances by kilometers. This same thing happened with Laurence in the last book. We use feet and miles in the USA. There are various conversion charts and calculators available online. This sort of error shouldn't happen, and it pulled me out of the story both times.

And lastly, mailbox flags work the exact opposite of how they're used here. When you have outgoing mail, you raise the flag. When the mailman comes, he lowers the flag and leaves the incoming mail. If the flag is up, that means the mail hasn't been delivered yet, not that it has been.

[Arshad Ahsanuddin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. Here we have the backstory that defines Quentin's brother Frederick, whose true face we glimpsed in the epilogue of the last book. A product of the same Machievellian environment that shaped Quentin, he is in many ways the same and yet totally the opposite of his brother: ruthless, entitled, steeped in the ways of the elite and powerful, hiding himself behind layers of subterfuge, yet still subconsciously crying out to be saved from the same pitiless abuse of their father the Duke, a man who could be best described as the benighted offspring of Empress Lionstone and Emperor Palpatine. Reviewer's Note: bonus nerd points if you understand what that means. He is a consummate modern predator, who is only now finding out his father has him totally outclassed: his risk on opening his heart turned back on him, leaving him vulnerable and helpless in the face of his father's blackmail.

The final confrontation between the players will be an epic set piece, I suspect, with Quentin's power, Laurence's bloodlust, Frederick's strategy, and Michael's tenacity joining forces to take on their true enemy: an enemy who knows they're coming, knows what they're capable of, and still doesn't care. In every game, there are players and there are pawns. And most of the time they don't know which they are, until they lose everything.

I look forward to the next book. ;)

[Elena · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the Foreword:

Reeve of Veils is a story of the Other Guys. We seem to re-tread some familiar ground, but look closely. Events you think you know may not have transpired the way you believe that they did.

Yes, this book certainly throws a new light on certain events of Knight of Flames and that’s one of the few things, probably the only thing, that I liked. But, having read the books all so close together, I noticed entire paragraphs and conversations being repeated verbatim from the second book, at least half of this book is something I’d already read and it was really annoying. I ended up skimming a lot, especially in the first and last 25%, while trying not to miss the little new tidbits in between.
I think everyone reading this book would've read the second one, so at least some things could have been summarized or rephrased to include the new info from Frederick's POV without making it seem like the author was reusing a previous book to write a new one.

More from the Foreword:

Frederick is a bitter pill, a self-centred man with a very specific goal. He is the Marmite of magnificent bastards, and you will either love him or loathe him. […] If you want to see first-hand what it’s like to be Freddy, constantly manipulating the world around you to achieve your desired outcome, then proceed. You can’t say I didn’t warn you.

Truer words have never been written.
I for one fall neatly in the second camp. I loathe him, I loathe him like I’ve loathed few characters in the past. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever disliked an MC and a couple’s dynamic this much.

Frederick is a manipulative, coldhearted bastard and Mikey is a little better but still bad, even if in a different way (and it’s a sad day when the drug dealer MC is the best of the two).
When I realized who exactly Mikey was, Laurence’s dealer, the one who left Laurence for dead in an alley after he ODed, I thought he would have made difficult for me to care about the “romance”. After all, how can you redeem a man who sell drugs for a living? Silly me, I shouldn’t have worried.
Their “romance” was a farce from beginning to end, based purely on an initial violation and an ongoing manipulation on Frederick’s part and on the fallacious assumption that, since Mikey liked to be bossed around and since he was asked to choose if he wanted to be Frederick’s new toy, everything was perfectly fine and balanced.

The way things started between these two was wrong on so many levels it’s not even funny and every positive thing that came later, little and few as they were, was the fruit of a poisonous tree. I kept hoping for Frederick to become a little more human and at least question the morality of using people around him like nothing more than glorified toys, but no luck.
Finding out about all the abuse Mickey endured and perpetuated himself did help in making him a little more palatable as a character, but that wasn’t enough to make a romance or even an acceptable partnership, as Frederick calls it. All I could see was a dysfunctional couple.
Even worst, their dynamic was at times a pathetic mimicry of a D/s relationship. In a real D/s relationship the sub is the one who gives power to the Dom by giving his consent and his submission. In this aberration I'm asked to believe that Mikey gave his consent because Frederick asked him to make a choice and he let him decide for himself. Yes, he did. After practically mentally raping him the first moment he met him.
How on Earth am I to believe that Mikey was in the position to make that choice? For it to be real consent, that kind of choice could only come from someone who already trusted Frederick not to abuse his power and Mikey wasn’t in that position. Couldn’t be. He'd just met Frederick and he already had enough reasons not to trust him and first-hand proof that Frederick didn’t have any qualms about taking advantage of his power. Mikey didn’t even have a way to be aware of it, if Frederick ever decided to manipulate his mind without him noticing.
When after some time Mikey thought “this is trust” in regard to what he felt for Frederick, I was rolling my eyes so hard I was afraid they’d get stuck that way.
In his position, no sane person could have trusted his own mind and therefore nothing real could have ever developed between them. Mikey had no way to know at any given moment if his thoughts and feelings were really a product of his mind or planted there by Frederick.
The fact that Mikey didn’t ever think along those terms makes it clear how completely twisted his perception of life is and the fact that his life was messed up enough to make Frederick’s offer the best option he had isn’t the same as consent. It’s just an abused and derelict person selling himself to someone else and, while Frederick wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to him and in his own way he took good care of Mikey, it still doesn’t make it okay or something I enjoy reading about.

2 stars for the inside knowledge about past events and for the epilogue. I have a feeling I’m going to dislike Frederick a lot more in the future, but I’m holding out hope that maybe he’ll redeem himself and if he doesn’t, I can hopefully console myself watching Laurence or maybe even Quentin readjusting his bones for my entertainment. I would so love that.

[Ay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faulkner is the real deal when it comes to paranormal. Good plot, good characters...it all hangs together well.

Pay attention to the trigger warnings. I wish she'd write faster. Or released them all at once or something.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not so sure how to feel about this one. We have a peek at the "other side" and I think I like this characters a lot despite their flaws. Or maybe for them. I'm not sure anymore. I've always thought I had no patience at all for addicts nor dealers but look at me, feeling sorry for them. Some of the things these characters have faced are horrible and I like how they've overcome them in a way. Despite being messed up still.
Now that we have a better picture of the whole setting, I'm dreading reading the next one. Let's go for it!

[Kendra T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm voluntarily reviewing a free advance reader copy I received from the author.

OH MY GOSH! This was SO AMAZING! It was so interesting to get into Freddy's head and see what he is all about. We knew there was something up with Freddy at the end of Knight of Flames, but I should've guess there was much more to him than met the eye. I'm not quite sure what to make of him, but I really feel like I should love him. This is an amazing series (that definitely needs to be read in order).

[Sahar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really want to consider this book as a companion novel and being part of the series because I didn't like it that much. I mean Frederick is unlikable to say the least and Mickey too.

[Didi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reeve of Veils might be the fourth book in the Inheritance series, but events in this book happened concurrently with Knight of Flames and glimpsed on a bit from Lord of Ravens, ONLY told from Quentin's twin brother, Frederick's (and a bit of his love interest's) POV. As it is, for me quite a bulk of this book felt like a repetition and only touched on the fringe of the story.

As for the new point, where Freddy decided to go after Michael and the course that follow... Freddy's fixation to Michael felt too farfetched for me. Personally, the approach he took with his telekinetic power to subdue Michael felt too much like romanticized non-consent assault, it made me really uncomfortable. I'm not at all certain of relationship between these two young men.

For me, the most important part of this book that affect the story arc is the epilogue. It had similar tone to that in Lord of Ravens but stated more clearly. And threateningly. We'll see what debacles the twins and their partners faced in the next installment of the series.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

   What a foray into the mind of Quentin’s younger twin brother, Frederick d’Arcy! I was juggling this book for fun and another school required-reading book, and oh how much I preferred to be reading Frederick’s story instead!

   As promised, this is Frederick’s story, of him and Mikey – yes, that Mikey, the one and the same as Laurence’s former drug-dealer. It is also the story of just how many plans and schemes Frederick has up in the air, and how he plays the game of life using any and every skill and tool at his disposal, balancing his plans with his father’s questionable plans, with looking out for Icky in his own way, and maybe, just maybe, finding a new toy along the way. And quite the skill he has: he can get in to almost any mind, and he is not limited to just reading it. I won’t say more on that if I can avoid it, you’ll just have to read it to see what else he is capable of – it is worth it!

   Heads up: the first quarter of the book goes really fast, as except for the initial chapter or so, it is all rehashing conversations we already saw, often through Laurence’s narration back in Knight of Flames (Inheritance, #2), with very little of Frederick added in. That is probably my biggest hang-up about this book, and probably the main definable reason I’m not giving it five stars. Considering if you’ve read this, you’ve probably long since read Knight of Flames, and would only need succinct overviews of these conversations to get back up to speed for this story, not all the details. Now, if we got more of what was actually going on inside Frederick’s head during this conversations, it would have, in my opinion, justified quoting these conversations verbatim – they even mostly read as copy/paste into this book, the Frederick POV additions were so minimal.

   Now, on to the ways that this book was awesome: Freddy is indeed a complicated character, as I guessed from his earlier appearance, and there is much more to him than meets the eye. He’s definitely a control freak, but he also knows when to back off on the control just a bit, to avoid going crazy when people don’t do what he expects of them (not that that happens very often…). I think Mikey pins him pretty well, and accepts their positions in relation to each other really well, once he understands what Frederick’s about. That felt a little off-putting in the beginning, but ended up resolving itself organically and nicely in my mind – there’s lines to cross and not cross, and between Mikey and Frederick, those lines seem to get drawn fairly clearly, and in acceptable places. The incriminating scene Laurence later saw in Knight of Flames about Frederick? Rest assured, that gets its proper treatment. I think this quote sums up Frederick’s outlook on life and how he goes about living his life pretty well, actually: “Motive. People spoke of it as though it were a static thing, immune to evolution.” (page 37 of 339 in my copy).

   Okay, I can’t NOT say something regarding Frederick’s abilities, but I’ll at least put it under a spoiler cut: I have to really appreciate the representation of his telepathy, as the way it is described is different than normal. He is regularly assaulted by the thoughts and minds of those around him, and has to erect mental barriers to keep them out or at least minimize their effect on him. He is incredibly intelligent and not only book-smart as he appears to be – I’d say he has chaotic neutral mostly-unintentional-villainy down to an art, with all his suggestions and tweaks and nudges, yet he is also susceptible to his own abilities. In one instance where he hijacks one of Laurence’s visions, the experience has him reeling, wondering:
“Whose body was he in right now?
Did he even have his own body?” (page 66 of 339 in my copy)

That’s practically an existential crisis, right there. But when you touch so many minds, when you get that deep into someone else’s mind, this line of questioning seems very much a logical progression. And what surprised me was that he is not immune to his own power, if this passage was anything to go by:

“No, he had vowed never to tinker with his own mind. He had to hold to the conviction that he would never do so, not under any circumstance, lest he grow paranoid and begin to doubt even the most innocuous of thoughts.” (page 70 of 339 in my copy)

This is definitely a dark side of his ability: that he could even change his own mind, and he only has his resolve and conviction that he would never do it, for any reason, to reassure himself that he stays “un-tampered.” Switching back to his personality again, I found it interesting that he continually refers to Mikey as “boy” – not a man, but a “boy”, and initially as his plaything/toy. It is that weird, slightly-uncomfortable-to-me dynamic where Frederick is clearly in the dominant position, and holds himself quite a ways above Mikey. I mean, it works for their personalities, but it still feels strange to me, and sort of… degrading to Mikey, even if that is not how it works out between them and how Mikey feels about it. I think these two quotes sum up at least Frederick’s position quite nicely:

It was Michael’s fault. The boy was habit forming. – page 288 of 339
[Michael] was, loathe as Frederick was to admit it, a human being. – page 289 of 339

   Another boon for this book – as with this series – is the way it includes more and more of the many ways that people can feel about others, in defining relationships and themselves. Laurence is bisexual, Quentin just loves who he loves, Ethan and Aiden are gay, Soraya and Kimberly are “unlabeled” and harbor affection for each other, and here we get Frederick’s clear-cut definition of what he meant when he told Laurence that he wouldn’t rule out part of the population based on what they have in their pants: Frederick identifies himself as pansexual, with an added clarification for anyone unfamiliar with what that could mean: “Anyway, pansexual doesn’t mean cheat, dear.” (page 297 of 339) Then of course there’s Myriam’s relationship with Laurence’s father, and the relationship between the twins’ parents. Really, what it comes down to in this series is that love is love, and it does not matter who is involved, be they female, male, trans, androgynous, etc. Love transcends the flesh, and love coupled with trust is all that truly matters. Or, as it is put:

“Must all things be named? Can we not simply explore them and learn as we go?” (page 298 of 339 in my copy)

   And, naturally, this book also keeps delving into tough themes/topics as well: Mikey is a drug dealer, but how did he get there? What is the cost to him to be in that position? What does he have to do to survive? Plus, all the other many layers which we just never saw of him from Laurence’s experiences, things that come out not only through Frederick’s active prodding, but also from the fact that we actually get inside his head and nightmares, too. Frederick treats Mikey’s problems as real, never denying the effect they have had on him (being in his head probably facilitates that, in all honesty…), and deciding to do all he can to get Mikey the help he needs. Of course, there is definitely the selfish side to it, as Mikey is initially a new interesting “toy” to Frederick, which he is upfront about. But it changes and morphs into something more than that, and it is interesting to see the shifting modes of thought that both Mikey and Freddy go through over the course of the novel.

   Really, if you want a solid story, get past the rehash at the beginning, and dive right in to Frederick’s (and Mikey’s) mind. Even if at first, like me, you feel put-off by Frederick and his manipulations, he gets… rounded out a bit on the edges as this book goes on, and despite it all, you just might find yourself not only not disliking him, but maybe even liking him. I know I sure did. Plus, he’ll give you LOTS of food for thought, if you’re willing to delve into the murkiness of the mind a little bit…

Favorite quotes, for turn of phrase or for the thought-provoking nature:
   He had the truth. The only question remaining was whether he accepted it. – page 165

    “All life is a prison, dear boy. All we do is hope one day to be the ones paying our own jailers.” – page 177

   The obstacle to overcome was Icky’s pacifism. […] he would do no harm. Not even to Laurence, who so obviously yearned to be hurt. – page 238 – I can’t help but wonder why Laurence might want that – because of his hunter’s nature which, while he’s growing accustomed to it, still scares him? Because it is most of what he’s ever known, and it’s “familiar” to him?

[Denise GremoryKohta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series!! Not only does each book have its own couple's story but they interact and overlap with each other. This gives the world created a richer deeper feel. The characters are unique in each one. I loved every page and can't wait for the next. This will be one of the best binge reads when it's complete. But please not too soon. I need more. The creativity and details the author put into not only Mikey and Freddy (Fredrick) but the other characters and the societies is amazing. This is what a book should be like.

[Ally Lupold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

Looking forward to the next book in that Freddy will come clean about their father to Quentin, Bambi, and Miky. Hopefully when the truth comes out that he wants Quentin to learn magic he will do so to protect loved ones as Bambi has been doing. It us time his protection blackouts stop and the truth comes out. Waiting to see if I'm right of wrong.

[F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed seeing the other side of the story. Helped to understand Frederick better. One hopes that Frederick has been strengthening his other abilities while waiting for his father to show his hand. A brilliant series.
5 stars

[Josie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by the author.

Good book, but WARNING: Some may want to wait for the fifth book to be published before you read it

As the fourth installment in the Inheritance series, it was definitely a brave developmental choice for several reasons. First, it focuses on a secondary character while still leaving the series MCs at HFN status. Usually when an author writes a book about a secondary character, the MCs’ story has been wrapped and the reader is in a more accepting state to focus on someone new. Which brings me to my second point, for not only does this book diverge from a love story in progress, it’s about 90% a retelling of the second book, “Knight of Flames”, from Freddy’s perspective and doesn’t advance the plot from the cliffhanger in the third book. So fans who await each installment with bated breath may be initially disappointed that not only is this not a Laurence-Quentin book, it STILL leaves them hanging from the same cliff presented in “Lord of Ravens”.

Lastly, this book was a really bold addition to the series because on top of diverging from MCs the fans love AND offering a fourth book that, in terms of the cliffhanger in book three, does not provide anything new or some resolution, Reeve of Veils’ MCs, Freddy and Mikey and their relationship is like the anti Laurence-Quentinship. This may be a hard book for fans to like right away because of the aforementioned, but it is still a good book. Amelia Faulkner is a talented storyteller and learning about who Freddy truly is, his powers and his utter comfort in being a manipulative a$$hole is worth revisiting the plot of “Knight of Flames”.

Freddy likes relationships with people he considers projects AKA hot messes (people whose mental landscape is rough, to say the least, but who are, as Freddy deems Mikey “recoverable”) and attempting to mold and change them through that person’s own choices. Thus, his initial interest in Mikey is—

“Because you’re a cheat and a liar. You’re a user who yearns to be used, a bundle of contradictions tied up in knots that I could spend years unpicking.”

Freddy uses his telepathy to access Mikey’s thoughts/fears/etc, emotionally weaponizes them and uses them ruthlessly; he gains his satisfaction not only from watching the evolution of a person’s desire to change for the better but the painful fallout as well.

Then we have Mikey, who is definitely not a fan favorite as he was introduced in the first book “Jack of Thorns” as Laurence’s dealer, the guy who dumped Laurence in an alley when he thought he was dead from an overdose and the guy who kills Laurence in a vision of the future Laurence has. While reading “Veils” you learn that Mikey channeled his own abuse, anger and self hatred into dealing drugs to “losers” and perpetuating a cycle of abuse and abusing that appeals to Freddy’s like of fixer-uppers.

Like I said before, there are some seriously brave choices being made for this book, which may not be appreciated at this juncture in the series since its main focus is discovery and development of secondary characters and how they become important to the series without advancing the plot from the previous book’s aforementioned cliffhanger. However, it is still an enjoyable read, although some may want to wait for the fifth book to come out so they can be read back to back to avoid reader-rage.

[Debbie McGowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reeve of Veils is Inheritance book four, retelling events in book two (Knight of Flames) from Frederick's perspective, which adds a few necessary insights into the overall story arc; in particular, Frederick's motivations for his dastardly deeds, past and - I'd wager - future, because poor Frederick's left in a dire predicament.

Aside from the above, this is, perhaps, an instalment for superfans of the series / those who love Amelia Faulkner's storytelling - which applies to this reader - but it also has elements that will appeal to readers of more typical M/M romance - which does not apply to this reader, although I did appreciate the philosophical debate prompted by the sex arc. To that end, it is likely that, to some readers, the relationship between Frederick and Mikey will read as dubious consent (I'd argue otherwise), and there is a definite D/s flavour to the dynamic.

By the end of book three, I was not a Frederick fan (Quentin, on the other hand...), but he did win me round. For all his efforts to convince himself and others he is infallible and deserving of a Persian lap-cat and a spinny chair, he does appear, somewhere under the dapper suits and finely honed musculature, to have a heart. Alas, it may well be his downfall.

Onwards to book five!

[Eloise Hodgson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've really enjoyed reading the Inheritance series so far but Reeve of Veils was one book that took me ages to actually get into to with all the recapping from Knight of Flames the story is well written and does reveal the extent of Freddy's abilities but then along comes Mikey and you see he actually cares for someone other than Icky but that father of theirs so needs to meet a slow and painful ending!

[avid reader 1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Possible Spoilers**
I read Reeve of Veils and Page of Tricks back to back, so I hope I don't get the two mixed up in my reviews.
I like seeing the actions of the previous book through the eyes of Freddy and Mikey. It gives perspective on events that I questioned in the last book.
I went back and forth trying to decide if I like Freddy and Mikey. I think it ends up about equal in my good/bad feelings for them.
Freddy is a manipulative a@@. Mikey enjoys being a part of the manipulation. Go figure. There's someone for everyone, I guess.
The author did an excellent job making them so right for each other. I could almost, almost mind you, feel sorry for Mikey.
Freddy’s Machiavellian machinations are well thought out and implemented. I found myself stopping and thinking about the whys and wherefores in both of these books, trying to see where these maneuverings would lead everyone. It did NOT look good for Laurence and Quentin, which disturbed me to no end. The cold-hearted decisions that are made and the falseness of a lot of Freddy’s statements and projected feelings made me uncomfortable and upset on behalf of the other characters.
I am horrified by the notion that someone can take over your mind and lead you around by the nose, doing and saying things that you would not normally do. Out of all the strange powers and tricks in these books, THAT is the stuff of which my nightmares are made. Wilson's power was bad enough, Freddy's takes it up several notches.
I'm almost angry that I enjoyed it so much. (Lol) I quickly picked up Page of Tricks, anxious and impatient to see what happened next.

[Gherk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought I would hate it. I did not 😂

Mild spoilers for freddys reveal. Ahhh Freddy lol self entitled aristocrat. I knew there was more than meets the eye with him. A rock and a hard place between letting Quentin know about his gifts or risking his father knowing.....he chose wrong! One of those situations where you’re screaming at the MCs to communicate for the greater good and fighting a common enemy!! Oh well. I did skim a lot of the dialogue repeated from book 2 as I only read it a few days ago. A lot this book did feel unnecessary but I still loved it. I liked the vibe between Freddy and Michael and a had quite the soft spot for Freddy by the end. Until the epilogue where I am now shouting DON’T YOU DO IT FREDERICK!! But we all know he’s gonna do it.....

[wesley m.lovelace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Waste of time

Using the fouth book was a waste of time im my opinion. You could have brought the novel to a conclusion instead of using a change of perspective to rehash the same material.

[Sadie Bermingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow... I'm still not entirely sure where I stand with Reeve of Veils. I love this series and I have made no secret of that but this installment kind of takes a tug on the plot/character development and steers it in a different direction.
The author makes the curious decision to reroute her story back through the plot of Knight of Flames, but tells the tale from the point of view of Quentin's brother, Frederick d'Arcy and Mikey Brennan, Laurence's former drug dealer, who was responsible for giving him the heroin that nearly killed him in book 1 then leaving him out in the street to die.
Neither character is my favourite person after the dramatic conclusion to book 3, so I was pretty disgruntled with this volume for quite a few chapters. Whilst it's interesting to see how things pan out from Freddy's viewpoint, I felt that pretty much all of the first four chapters was (sometimes almost verbatim) recapping of the events of book two. Whilst I understand what Amelia was trying to do here, I still wonder if there was a less repetitive way of telling this part of the story.
Things don't really pick up until Mikey comes on the scene, when for reasons known only to himself, Freddy picks him up and practically adopts him, hiding the young man in his suite at the Palomar and keeping his presence there hidden from his brother and Laurence.
I still don't really like Mikey, but found myself wondering if he and Freddy do actually deserve one another. I felt a little bit sorry for him during his recounting of his childhood - he and Laurence were childhood friends and he has always envied Laurence his close relationship with his parents - Mikey grew up with his mother, his father having buggered off and left her. When she died he was left with the house she lived in but nothing else and fell into drug dealing that way. When he has to make the decision to leave the house behind and go with Freddy, or stay and go back to that life, I did feel for him a bit.
RoV sees Freddy grow into his own psychic gifts, he is a telepath and he can guide the thoughts of others to do his own bidding, pretty much like Kane Wilson. So we learn that the events of the end of Book 2 didn't unfold entirely by chance. But by the culmination of this book, I felt I hadn't really learned a great deal more, except that I want to beat Freddy and his Daddy with something that burns.
I missed Laurence and Quentin's viewpoints very much in this volume and felt that it unseated the story development quite considerably. It's solely a testament to how good a storyteller the author is that I gave it a four (3.5) stars.
I still want book 5.

[Riva · Rating 4 out of 5]

An ARC received in return for an honest review.

So I'll be honest, it took me a LONG time to get into this book. It was not so much because it is a slow burn, as it was I just didn't like either MC. Freddy is Quentin's much more ruthless brother with all the uptight, superiority of a high born aristocrat. Mikey is Laurance's ex drug dealer, who trades his body on occasion to cops so he won't be arrested. Neither is an endearing character and much of the book cover events in previous books; just from Freddy and Mikey's perspective.

So I struggled to get through the book and find something to "like" about these men. Then it hit me. I went back and looked at my initial review for Book 1 in this series. I could have cut and pasted that review for this book as well, mostly. There is a lot more sex in this book than the first, but my feelings on the MCs were pretty much the same. Including that at about the 50% mark, it all changed. I realized that the author was doing the same thing she did in the first book; setting up the poor foundation these men come from so we can appreciate how much they will grow and what they will have to overcome in future books.

Yes, Fred comes across primarily as an arrogant jerk with a loose moral compass, but some of that comes from who raised him and some from the subtle D/s dynamic between him and Mikey. This is the same dynamic between Quentin and Laurence. Mikey is a man with a tragic pass that led him to become a person he loathes and has a naturally submissive personality that until now, he could not fully explore because he had to survive.

I can't say I love these guys, yet. But I didn't love Quentin and Laurence at first either and now I do. See my updated review: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... And I trust this author enough to say I'm sure I will in the future. Can't wait for the next book.

[Fritz42 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one covers a lot of the happenings from Knight of Flames, only from Frederick's POV. Ever since the epilogue of that book, I haven't trusted Frederick and his endgame. This book did nothing to endear the man to me. We see how truly arrogant and manipulative he is, especially due to his own power, and I still couldn't figure out what why he wants Quentin to do what he wants him to do.

Added to all of that is Mikey, Laurence's drug dealer, from Jack of Thorns, who Frederick took an interest in and brought out of his horrible lifestyle. Mikey's no upstanding citizen either. We find out some things from his and Laurence's past that frankly made me want to hit him. But we also find out what brought him to that point.

Luckily, I was intrigued at how these two meshed so well together. It kept me engaged in the plot. Their relationship starts to bring out more redeeming qualities in both of them, which gives me a little hope.

Of course the ending insured that I would be reading the next book, Page of Tricks

[Elisa Rolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

2017 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Reeve of Veils (Inheritance #4) Amelia Faulkner
1) A deftly spun narrative weaving together threads of addiction, control, trust, and cycles of abuse, Reeve of Veils fits into the tapestry of the Inheritance universe while revealing the gnarled threads on the reverse side, a real shock for anyone who's read Knight of Flames. One of the only portrayals of an aromantic main character in an M/M love story, and a hard look at the grey morals that creep into life as an isolated psychic. When I was asked to review book 4 in this series for The Rainbow Awards I decided to treat myself to reading the first 3 back-to-back. I had read another series by this author but not this one, I expected good things. I was not disappointed. For me, this author's writing style and use of vocabulary is a great treat. Throughout the series, each chapter and page stands alone offering something to enjoy whether it be thought-provoking, funny, insightful, or just elegantly written prose. She's excellent at making the reader feel what the characters feel. Thoroughly recommended!

[Wyrn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this book at all. It felt as though I'd read half of it. I get that it was supposed to be that way to show Fredrick's POV but honestly, I got a bit bored. Sorry.

I also found Fredrick highly disagreeable. I could not get to grips or condone his actions. It was inexcusable. I understand why he uses people the way he does but to manipulate Mikey like that was just disgraceful. Even after he gets his own way, he still uses Mikey. He invades his privacy constantly and we're meant to be ok with it. He never once gave Mikey the option of allowing Fredrick unfettered access and he took away all of Mikey's free will.

I liked Mikey's and Laurence's back story but I could not stand anything to do with Freddie. It was sickening in places. There's empathy and understanding for Mikey & Laurence's situation but nothing for Mikey & Freddie. I kinda wish I hadn't read this book because I absolutely adore the rest of the series.

[llv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3 stars
This book was extremely hard for me to get through. First of all, I really disliked both MCs. Mikey, I liked a bit better than Frederick, but he felt like a really weak character to me. Frederick, had very few redeeming qualities. He loved his brother, but ultimately was out for only himself.

My other problem for the most part the events of this book took place simultaneously as the events in the second book in the series. While we did get more insight into Frederick’s character, I don’t think that is was worth the time it took read this installment. Frankly, I could have read the epilogue (which was the best part of the book btw) and been caught up enough to get to the next book in the series.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This one was hard to listen, not because it wasn't a great story, or filled with suspense or very well written but because I really, really dislike Frederick

What we have here are the events from Knight of Flames but told from Frederick's POV, which makes it enough differently book as to not get boring or repetitive.

We learn why Mickey disappears and which are Frederick's real intentions and purpose, and neither of them is nice knowledge.

And the end is... argh! I'm going to begin the next book ASAP!

As always, Seb Yarrick does an excellent job with the narration.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow slow repetitive but...

It felt like then first quarter of The book was just a play by play of the previous book. I was just about to give up hope on the book but it really picked up. The book dealt with child and adult sexual abuse. The story line focused on sexual abuse, sexual domination and possessiveness. In my opinion the book had hot and heavy sex scenes, but right when the sex stories would start getting good the sex scene would stop abruptly the next chapter would pick up after it was over. That was my main "issue" . Sex descriptions were still really hot, I liked the total domination components of the story.

[Bailey Spaulding · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's interesting to see the thought processes behind Freddy's own motivations, because even in Prince of Flames it was pretty clear that they didn't fully align with Laurance and Quentin's goals.
Also... as much as I feel sympathy for Mikey... I still really just hate him. Honestly I get there are supposed to be parallels between his relationship and Laurance's with Quentin. But Mikey still did some very bad things that kinda just get rugsweapt a little.
Overall this book has a more morally gray tone than the pervious books that I haven't ever really scene or read before. And I really enjoy that.

[Mela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I. AM. FINE. No seriously. I don't remember when a book series made me burn through it that fast. It is addicting. Those characters live rent-free in my head (Freddy is more than welcome 😏).
And after a few longer train rides in the last few days, I burn through them even faster. I am almost glad that Book Five is back for my daily commute. But it's already in my backpack for me to devour.

(One star redacted because I was made to basically reread a book I only finished a few days ago from another perspective, my brain doesn't like familiarity, but it was made up by the hot sex.