** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE ** 

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Minotaurs and Other Magic 

Mytho Collapse, 01 

by T.J. Nichols 

★★★★★ 

Minotaurs and Other Magic is the first book in the spin-off series from Mytho: Mytho Collapse. In this series, we go back to before the collapse that brought Earth and Tariko crashing into each other. 

The first story takes place months before the collapse, when no one is aware there's even a risk to Tariko's future. Nate is a human, who is hiking through Wales when a rockslide leaves him stumbling into Tariko, with no idea where he is or any way to communicate. He manages to survive a few days on his hiking supplies, then resorts to stealing clothes and food, which lands him in hot water. He's chased by guards into a local inn, where Rohan is playing the harp. 

Rohan is the prince of Callo, a kingdom/city in Tariko. His brother is the king, so Rohan mingles with the people often to make sure everyone is happy. When he sees Nate being captured by vampire guards, he intervenes on behalf of the Strega, who had warned him to be on the lookout for anything unusual. A human man in jeans and boots is very unusual, so Rohan buys his debt, incurred from his theft, and takes Nate home as a sort of protective detail prisoner. 

Together, Nate and Rohan are an interest, fiery combination. Rohan is a minotaur, with a bull's head and horns, but Nate manages to look past that, and the hooves!, to see the kind man within. He's also *very* flirtatious and spicy with Nate, who finds himself reciprocating. 

The story is basically all about Nate finding his footing in Tariko, learning about the customs and finding a place to belong. It's mostly about his relationship with Rohan, as there's a definite forced proximity going on which limits how many people Nate interacts with. So a lot of the book is just spicy sexy time between Nate and Rohan until the end. 

The Epilogue does feature the collapse in real time and both Nate and Rohan ending up in Earth because of it. My only wish would have been to see them finding safety or hiding in Earth, because I can only imagine that a human and minotaur pair would have been separated or hunted pretty quickly during the chaos of the collapse. Hopefully that will be explained in Pan's story, which is next, or I'm just going to believe they ran into the forest and took shelter until the internment camps protected them from the human riots. 

Overall, I really loved it. It was a snippet of insight into the world that we know so well from the Mytho Investigations series, while adding in some interesting new facts, such as what we learn about the Strega, the implication Nate's fall into Tariko wasn't quite an accident but more a preparation for what was to happen later. I'm intrigued to see how this spin-off series continues to reveal more. 

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Favourite Quote 

“I’m not going anywhere.” 

“They might offer you jewels.” 

Nate shook his head. “I don’t want them.” 

“Elvish princes.” 

“Not interested.” 

“A pack of werewolves to serve you.” 

Nate pretended to consider that for a moment. 

Rohan tickled his ribs. “One minotaur is not enough? You need a pack of werewolves?” 

Nate laughed and squirmed. “You’re more than enough.”