Q: Can I skip book 7? The m/m romance deal isn’t my thing.
A: Your choice! If the spice is driving you off, most of it is in half of one chapter, “Trackless,” about 70% of the way through. It’s very clear that it’s coming up; it’s after the pair’s first formal date. There is quite a bit of making out before that point, however.
If you’re skipping book 7 but are curious about the story overall, here’s what happens plotwise:
—SPOILERS FOLLOW.—
- Dark Lord Drekar and his Dread Army plan to build their camp into a permanent town around the Tower, a project that is expected to take a couple of years. They also plan to renovate the lower floors of the Tower so that the Army can live in / use them.
- Countess Francesca starts up a not-D&D (Dungeon Crawl) group with Drekar, Solan, Berry, and three members of her entourage (Mage Borghren, Marghash, and Ersien, who immediately quits).
- From this group and from hanging out at the Two Claws, Solan and Berry form a friendship.
- Solan’s magic aura shifts shape from a copy of himself to his horse to a copy of the Dark Lord as his personal values shift.
- Solan joins the Dread Army as an advisor to the Dark Lord.
- Another therapist Visitor lands in Crystalbrook (see the epilogue of book 1); Solan begins therapy with her.
- Solan finds a run-down farmhouse and some land for sale halfway between Crystalbrook and the Bloodstone Tower. He plans to split the property with Berry so that he can renovate the farmhouse, and Berry can build their own house at the other end.