Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die: In Which Many Dangerous and Homosexual Things Happen

Stothers’s raucous debut brings together a handsome but vacuous knight and a curmudgeonly sorcerer in an unlikely romance. Mad Sorcerer Merulo has been striving to destroy God and eliminate the world’s magic for almost half a century when he meets the gorgeous, golden-haired Sir Cameron Vaillancourt, a hapless, cowardly knight. Cameron, whose intense fear of death is made worse by a recent prophecy declaring that the only way to stop Merulo is for Cameron, too, to die, begins scheming for Merulo’s protection after his life is threatened by a murderous blue elf. Though Merulo finds Cameron annoying and disruptive, and Cameron sees the sorcerer as gaunt, greasy, and reticent, the men are drawn to each other. Unfortunately, as Merulo’s plan to kill God accelerates and danger mounts, their budding romance is largely overwhelmed by the magical chaos and ever-expanding cast. Strothers’s humor veers from winking (including the charmingly Victorian-esque chapter titles) to crude, with an abundance of bathroom jokes and some BDSM scenes played for laughs. Readers looking for a satisfying love story will be somewhat disappointed, but those seeking a humorous romp will enjoy this. (Feb.)