Wish Fulfilled!! The King’s Man Glossary
My rating: 5 of 5 stars | Goodreads | Amazon | Genres: mm fantasy romance, romantasy, companion, glossary
The Extremely Unofficial Guide to Lumin (and Love)
Y’all! It’s the King’s Man Glossary that I wished and wished for! My wishes have been fulfilled in what is, hands down, the best way to include a glossary for a fantasy world. Anyta Sunday’s glossary companion to the King’s Man series is here, and it’s contained within a story of its own. Genius, honestly. I am giddy how Sunday chose to efficiently explain the elements from the series that are potentially confusing, creatively and romantically, instead of a plain glossary inserted into the front of each book.
Blurb
Fantasy novels really should come with a glossary.
After a head injury, Cale wakes up in the body of a suspected killer, inside the fantasy world of The King’s Man. He has no idea how magic works, what a vitalian is, or why his infuriatingly hot flatmate is now dressed like a cosplay war mage and hauling him toward trial and possible death by guillotine.
Armed with nothing but sarcasm, charm, and a desperate need to understand what a lovelight is, Cale embarks on a crash course in surviving the kingdom of Lumin. His only hope? A mysterious Skeldar boy, a glossary of strange terms, and the sneaking suspicion that a certain love story isn’t quite finished yet.
It’s a glossary. It’s a story. It’s a romance across lifetimes. And yes . . .
It even has a happy ending.
~ ~ ~
This novella is a glossary companion to The King’s Man. Best enjoyed before, after or alongside the main ride 🙂
80 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 21, 2025
Genres: mm fantasy romance, romantasy, companion, glossary
Fantasy Worlds & Glossaries
Fantasy literature is known for glossaries. Because it’s hard to plop down in a different world and get one’s bearings. The glossary includes important information about how the fantasy world works differently from the real world, and can also include character information, geographical information, and other important details.
I love The King’s Man. It’s a spectacular series. However, I’m celebrating the King’s Man glossary. Needing a glossary was one of the only things I picked at in my reviews. Okay, I was sort of a dog with a bone about the need for a glossary. You can read my complaints about it in several of my reviews from the series. The series, if you dedicate yourself to reading it, does reveal its secrets through context most of the time. But it is still potentially confusing, so I think the addition of a glossary of terms will be welcomed by readers.
The problem is, so many people dislike glossaries. I’ve even known people who won’t read series that start off with a whole bunch of terms/characters/etc. They’re missing out, and I think that’s a silly reason not to read a book, but it’s a legitimate concern all the same. Knowing that people don’t like glossaries, it could make the author hesitant to add a glossary to a series she has poured her heart and soul into.
There might be something to that thought, too, because the characters in this cute little side story remark,
He clears his throat. “The author,” he says, waving a hand like he’s brushing away a fly, “was clearly remiss in leaving out a glossary.”
“Ugh, glossaries. Nothing says ‘welcome to the plot’ like a ten-page list of terms I’ll immediately forget.”
“You might enjoy hurtling headfirst into chaos like a kitten on catnip, but some of us prefer context.”
(Sunday, 2025)
However, I am beyond happy that the pros and cons weighed in the glossary’s favor, because now we get a sweet little companion piece to the King’s Man series in which it’s all clearly defined, and all the questions one might have about aspects of the world are answered.
Plot
The coolest thing about this glossary is that there’s a story! A plot of its own! And it’s so cool. And it adds meaningful detail to the established lore and world.
Cale, in this contemporary lifetime, is a med student (of course he is) who flats with X, aka this world’s Quin, who has recently broken his leg under mysterious circumstances. Similar to Cael in many ways, most importantly being that he’s a little chaos gremlin, this contemporary Cale is still his own person. Cale and X have a contentious relationship, snarking at one another, but Cale, compelled to assist his flatmate after his injury, sees to his needs all the same.
While X convalesces, he is reading the King’s Man series. A lightbulb moment leads to Cale jumping to his feet and crashing into a coffee table. When he wakes up transported to a fantasy world, he finds himself immediately in trouble. He seems to have forgotten everything about this world, and is in the custody of somebody who looks just like his flatmate X. Except he hasn’t forgotten about this world, he doesn’t have amnesia, he is just Cale and not Cael.
This provides the scaffolding for the glossary. The vitalian healing Cale gives X some advice: be patient and explain the things about their world that he’s forgotten.
Characters
This Cale and this X (Quin) are not the same Cael and Quin from the rest of the series. They are a different lifetime, a different reincarnation of the same characters. But knowing that these characters in this timeline, AND the Cale and X from the contemporary setting are living a life where their realities are entwined just like the Cael and Quin from our series, well, it’s romantic as hell, isn’t it? It’s fated, it’s love, it’s just swoon.
Recommendation
This is a beautiful companion to the King’s Man series that you will find helpful as you read through it. It does not in any way spoil the plot of the series, so you can read it alongside the series without fear of spoiling yourself. I strongly recommend it!
