If A Butterfly Don't Fly: Out of Underhill Book 2, Mell Eight



If A Butterfly Don’t Fly
Series: Out of Underhill, Book Two
Author: Mell Eight
Publisher:  NineStar Press
Release Date: 04/05/2021
Heat Level: 1 - No Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 41,600 words
Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQIA+, Fae/faeries, mythical creatures, disabilities, magic, performance arts, security guard, musicians

With beautiful imagery and a sweet character leading us through the chaos that is being thrust on him, this is a solidly interesting story.  There's a lot of lore that could have confused us completely, but since Merridy has basically the same level of understanding as the reader, what he needs to understand is laid out fairly simply.  The chaos is pretty natural considering the situation, so the jumble we find ourselves in is excusable.

And then we venture Underhill.  The dangerous elements aren't always what they seem and while the more villainous characters are pretty obvious, with such a short story I was glad it wasn't more complicated than it was.  What I wish were more developed was Merridy's magic, his growth in it, learning what else he was capable of, and what exactly went on in the forest during the big battle when they returned Overhill.

The romance was tame, par for the course with this author, and it took a supporting role to Merridy's self discovery.  It was sweet and full of hope as well as hesitance so the story ended with an HFN both for Merridy and Fion as well as Merridy's relationship with his father.  So a nice ending for a nice story, one that I would have liked to be a bit longer to really give a clearer sense of Merridy's evolution.

*3.99 on Amazon

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Merridy has always loved music but can’t sing. The only job in the music business he can get is as a security guard for the Bard and Sons, a premier record label. He keeps their secrets and patrols their hallways, always wishing for a big break he knows will never come.

Changeling’s Court is a brand new band struggling to record their first single. Merridy chances upon a scrap of their lyrics without accompanying music notes and can’t help composing a simple melody for them. If he’s found out, he’ll probably get fired.

Instead, he finds himself in a strange new world of magic and faeries—and danger.

*Can be read as a standalone, relates only vaguely to Kelpie Blue, book one of the series.



Excerpt

Music was embedded in the very fibers of the building.

Merridy took a deep breath as he stepped out of the stairwell and onto the first floor of practice rooms and felt the remnants of the notes played on instruments and sung into microphones swirling around him. They chimed in his ears and seemed to fill the air with a shine he could almost reach out and touch. Merridy wanted to touch it so badly, but instead, he let out his breath and smoothed down the front of his security guard uniform before reaching for the door handle...

...He walked farther into the room, seeing four guitars—a bass, two electric, and one acoustic—on stands and a drum snare on top of the new piano. They were probably a pop-rock or rock band. In the back of the room, near the private bathroom, was a desk strewn with staff paper. Many of the sheets had been crumpled into balls and tossed aside. The ones still flat on the desk had dozens of cross-outs, some lines excessively crossed, the pen having cut deep.

Songwriting obviously wasn’t going too well for the new band.

Well. Either they’d figure it out, or they’d get out. That was the way the business worked. They had been given their chance with the nice studio. If the band blew it, too bad. It was more of a chance than Merridy had ever had. He sighed and resolutely pushed his jealousy away before heading into the bathroom to double-check it was empty. Merridy had a good job. Just because he wanted to switch places with someone in the new band wasn’t reason enough to let resentment simmer and ruin his night. The sink, toilet, and glassed-in shower stall hid no one, so he turned to head back out.

There was one piece of regular lined paper on the desk next to the bathroom door that wasn’t crumpled or covered in pencil scratches. Merridy couldn’t help stopping to read the four simple lines handwritten there.

In my dreams, I know you see me,
And in my hopes, you’ll hold my hand.
Reality hits, so does the truth:
You and me will never be we.

About Mell

When Mell Eight was in high school, she discovered dragons. Beautiful, wondrous creatures that took her on epic adventures both to faraway lands and on journeys of the heart. Mell wanted to create dragons of her own, so she put pen to paper. Mell Eight is now known for her own soaring dragons, as well as for other wonderful characters dancing across the pages of her books. While she mostly writes paranormal or fantasy stories, she has been seen exploring the real world once or twice.

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