About the Book!
The band is getting back together—and they really wish they weren’t.
The Starbreakers were your classic teenage heroes. Using their combined powers and skills, they were the most successful group of glintchasers in Corsar. But that all changed the day the city of Relgen died. The group went their separate ways, placing the blame on each other.
Brass carried on as a solo act. Snow found work as a notorious assassin. Church became a town’s spiritual leader. Angel was the owner of a bar and inn. And after overcoming his own guilt, Phoenix started a new life as a family man.
Years after their falling out, a new threat looms when bounty hunters attack the former heroes. Phoenix tries to reunite the Starbreakers before everything they have left is taken from them. But a lot can change in seven years. And if mending old wounds was easy, they would have done it a long time ago.
My Thoughts:
It took me about .2 seconds to remember this wasn’t a YA book (my normal review) due to some very colorful language at the beginning. But, after that, it was easy to settle in to the storytelling and life of the Starbreakers – after they have split up and gone their separate ways.
We never really talk about what happens after the heroes in all those YA books move on? What happens when the get a life, fall in love, get married, start their own families, etc?
The Met in a Tavern explores not only those questions, but a far more menacing one – what happens when the past comes back to haunt you – and wants you dead.
I’ll admit it took me a bit to get into this one. The story jumped back and forth between the present and the past quite a bit, and there are so many characters and narrators, it was hard to keep straight. I was reading a preview Kindle copy, and I think, like most fantasy, I would have had an easier time going back and forth in a paper copy as I tried to follow the story (ask me about attempting to read GOT on my Kindle first sometime. DISASTER).
But, at the end of the day? They Met in a Tavern has all the things I love about fantasy – magic, mayhem, complicated characters, unlikely heroes, adventure, and secrets that have to come to life. If you love a good fantasy adventure, this one is for you. There is enough open-ended at the ending to make a sequel possible, and I would definitely want to see what happens with the Starbreakers next, especially Snow & Angel, my two favorite characters (the disembodied robot head is also a lot of fun and deserves a novella of their own). This is one of the few books I wished was a series instead of a standalone, for sure. There is enough to explore that was introduced here to keep the world built for several books!
Final Verdict? 3.5/5 stars. Definitely fun and definitely worth reading.
Where to Find They Met in a Tavern
About the Author:
Elijah Menchaca was born and raised in Bakersfield, California and has been writing and telling stories since he was five. After seeing his first short stories on his grade school classroom’s bookshelf, he knew he was destined for greatness. To chase that greatness (and a girl), he attended the University of Louisville where he minored in Creative Writing, discovered a love for Dungeons and Dragons, and got engaged.
Now, based in Ohio, when he isn’t exploring the world he’s created with more stories, he’s making new memories around the virtual table with his old friends, pondering the worlds of fantasy and superheroes on his YouTube channel, and playing the role of devoted partner to a woman far too good for him.
Website: https://elijahmenchaca.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhoenixAgent003
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp0yc20uVdW1J4kFDbPy3Jg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phoenixagent003/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21157787.Elijah_Menchaca
Giveaway (US Only):
One winner will receive a finished copy of They Met in a Tavern. The giveaway starts on August 9th and ends on August 16th.