GENRE: Gay Young Adult Fantasy Romance Box Set
LENGTH: 108,106 words
RATING:

Both books in Hayden Thorne's best-selling gay YA romance series Henning in one box set!

Book 1: The Hunted Prince: Henning Babkis has learned not to consider himself to be anything special. On his fifteenth birthday, an unexpected and terrifying attack by a creature from another world shakes up his quiet life, and Henning’s true identity is revealed. From a boy who’s grown up to think himself as a nobody, Henning discovers a previous life in a world called Wintergrave -- a world of magic, romance, and danger.

Book 2: Prince of Wintergrave: As Henning and his companions scramble for answers, it’s a mad race against time when things happen that make them suspect Varian of crossing over to their world, searching for Henning.

EXCERPT FROM "Book 1: The Hunted Prince"

“Henning?”

“What the ... ?”

“Oh, hi.” I tried to grin and wave a hand, but all I could manage was something closer to a grimace.

It was a little hard greeting people you know while trapped in rock. Not to mention surrounded by it, with only patches of the dining area and kitchen all clean and rock-free. As for me? The table and chairs and everything else I had had disappeared under a giant, solid rock that kind of sprouted out of nowhere. Only my head and neck and part of one hand poked out. I was shocked that I wasn’t suffocated or crushed, but I could actually feel the rest of my body just stuck inside a really hard substance. Around me, cupboards, appliances, floors and bookcases were either partially buried in solid rock or completely eaten up. It looked like we were all victims of an avalanche that dried up into impenetrable stone. Or something like that.

“What happened this time?” Uncle Norbert asked as he stood at the door, all bug-eyed, still dressed in his professor suit. He was carrying a stack of papers under one arm, but they now lay at his feet in a scattered pile. He’d even dropped his briefcase in shock.

“I was reading a book,” I said. “I -- I guess I got seriously swept up by the story because I remember getting all worked up over several scenes, and then it was like what happened with the bathroom. Like, something in me snapped, and I blacked out or felt like I blacked out, and suddenly I’m inside a rock.”

“I’m taking notes,” Cameron said. She stood just behind Uncle Norbert, looking morbidly fascinated as she stared at me. “I’m sure there’s a pattern here that we need to study. Intense emotion has some form of a trigger effect on Henning’s powers even before his awakening.”

“What the hell kind of emotions did you feel?” Uncle Norbert demanded. “Henning, I warned you about the possible side effects of teenage melodrama, didn’t I?”

I paused and tried to think. It was a total surprise, but I wasn’t panicking this time around. Maybe it had something to do with the chamomile tea I was downing like water. Even when trapped inside solid rock like this, I was feeling so Zen. “Um -- defensiveness or something? No, that’s not quite right. More like feeling really, super protective of the characters in the book. Like I didn’t want to see them hurt.” I didn’t tell them it was because I’d pretended it was me and Ellery in the book, and his character was in danger in a lot of scenes. I was sure it would’ve sounded way too hokey if I confessed and hoped they wouldn’t bug me for more details.

At any rate, I tried to shrug, embarrassed, but it was kind of hard. I just screwed up my face and hoped they read it as a good enough substitute for a shrug.

“Intense feeling of protectiveness?” Cameron asked, and I nodded. “Was that the same feeling you had when you killed the bathroom pipes?”

“I think so. For that, I was focusing on my family after talking to you guys, and I also thought about Prince Pissy Pants and undead Armageddon and so on. But it was still kind of like a blackout immediately after, and when I became aware again, I’d already destroyed the place. Sorry.”

“That’s cool, honey. It’s something we can start with.”

“Okay,” I said, not sure what else to tell them. “Can I be un-rocked, please? I kind of want to finish my snack and then get out of your hair.”

Uncle Norbert narrowed his eyes at me and thinned his lips. “You’re forcing me to use my martial powers on domestic stuff again, Henning,” he said grumpily.

“But it’s only till I get my act together,” I said.

He sighed and shook his head. Then he chanted his spell, waved his hand, and the rock around me disappeared or more like melted away. Nothing was damaged once the room was cleared. I bent down and checked the floor and saw that it was just as clean as it was before. It didn’t even have any scratches or scuff marks from magical solid stone.