Body of Water (The Orcadian Novels) [Kindle Edition]

Overpriced for its length, this M/M romance-fantasy novel is nonetheless a compelling and satisfying read.
It has some flaws which seem to be due to Mr Wakefield's inspiration taking sometimes the upper hand over his literary judgement but it also has the undeniable ability of plunging the reader straight into its fictitious world to have him come back to reality unwillingly.

The novel is slowly set in motion as a boy's coming of age story. Leven is an orphaned, conflicted child who finally finds loving foster parents. The supernatural elements are introduced gradually and transform Leven's story into something more mysterious but it is not until he arrives to the Orkneys that the fantasy/mystery element pervades the plot entirely. In the meantime we have come to love Leven, to know what makes him tick and what can hurt him (and the plot never drags).

I have never been to the Scottish isles but although Mr Wakefield does not indulge in lengthy descriptions I felt the Orkneys surround me as a wild, exotic fantasy setting made of ageless rocks, unending, cloudy skies and unrelenting waves, the perfect background for an element-based magic and for bringing raw passions to the fore. Leven will finally be able to discover the mistery behind his birth and find true love.
What sex scenes there are are explicit but always plot related and well executed.

Although the story is self contained this is clearly the first of a series and a second instalment is already announced.

On the minus side this work has some problems.
Several plot twists appear a bit contrived and characterization is sometimes erratic as if the author had written on impulse without taking the time to properly define plot and personalities beforehand. The supernatural element is engaging but not a little confused. While in "Elements of Love" (a short story by the same author) a lot was left unexplained but what hints were given were enough to get a consistent setting, here we get a lot of random details that are not easily framed into a clear, single picture.
Unfortunately I also felt the final confrontation with the villain and the ending to be somewhat rushed and not entirely satisfying.

I downloaded Body of Water thinking I'd read one chapter then come back to it when I had time. Well, I couldn't stop!

The story is gripping and engaging. You know when you read a great fiction book when you pause to make a cuppa and get confused about the reality of your kitchen versus the world you've been immersed in for the last hour or two.

Leven is so tangibly real he could be someone I know. The struggles he lives through as a child then into teen years is believable and emotive. The description of Orkney is so real I feel I have seen, touched, heard, smelt and tasted it. I did spend a lot of time marvelling how Stuart Wakefiekd, the author, had managed to create such a real a vivid world inside my head. I have to admit I am more than a little bit in awe!

The sex was a bit full on for me and I know what trunkguy meant by wondering if anyone was reading over his shoulder! But it was part of was is undoubtedly an amazing first novel. Sign me up for the next, and the next and the next!

As a sequel, it does at least offer some closure, but the storyline is crazy and often hard to follow; that it is unbelievable and doesn't always hang together is one thing, but to give it a gay theme only serves to trivialise it all the more. Not too much sex in this one, and what there is is nowhere near as graphic or detailed as in the book's predecessor. I found the characters ill-drawn and hard to relate to. I didn't need to buy or read this book.