Samara Breger made her debut in 2021 with Walk Between Worlds, a funny, relatable, fantasy romance that gently soothes the little broken part in all of us. The book is widely advertised with the tagline that it “will make you laugh even as it keeps you on the edge of your seat,” and I’ll enthusiastically second that recommendation. It’s light reading in the best sense, adventurous yet safe—no grimdark allowed!
Walk Between Worlds opens with an undignified introduction to our protagonist Scratch—make that Sergeant Major Scratch Keyes of the King’s Guard. It’s one of the more delightful first lines I’ve had the pleasure of reading: “When Scratch had envisioned this day, she hadn’t anticipated that her pants would be so tight.” However, the gorgeous-yet-tight pants (who hasn’t made this mistake?) were all for naught, as Scratch is unceremoniously passed over for the knighthood she more than earned with her dazzling military stratagems. Her night goes from bad to worse as she and her best friend Sergeant James Ursus are accused of kidnapping the princess and thrown in the dungeons to await their execution.
Enter the Shaes: Vel and Brella, seamstress and brewer, two brawny and distractingly attractive siblings. They engineer Scratch and James’s escape from the dungeons, under the condition that the two soldiers act as the muscle in the Shaes’ half-baked plan to rescue the princess. The four must journey outside the Royal City and into a forest absolutely teeming with bandits and mercurial fair folk. Inside that forest lies the nexus gateway known as the Between, their only chance at reaching the princess.
Of course, nothing is quite as simple as it seems. Every danger the group overcomes in the forest brings them closer to their goal of rescuing the princess, yet Scratch can’t help but wonder what the Shaes aren’t saying. It doesn’t help matters that Brella is all too appealing, with her eyes of “dark topaz verging on amber” and her “plump and rosy brown” lips—not that Scratch has been looking. Scratch clawed her way out of nothing to her former role in the King’s Guard. She’s endured a lifetime of constant striving and achieving instead of dating, which is to say that she’s perilously out of her depth with Brella.
One of my favorite things about Walk Between Worlds is how fully formed the world feels, as though it were waiting for me just beyond the pages. I found myself wanting to linger longer and learn more about the culture of the Tangled Lakes people, the mysteries surrounding Scratch’s mother, and the stories behind the various fae featured. I can only hope that Breger’s working on another book set in this universe, or even better, a sequel!
Walk Between Worlds is bursting with heart and charm, and gives off very Robin Hood fairytale vibes. Spoiler: The short yet well-written sex scene at the end doesn’t hurt, either. If you’re looking for your next comfort read, preferably a fantasy romance, I highly recommend picking up Samara Breger’s Walk Between Worlds. If your experience is anything like mine, you’ll laugh, cry, and close the book feeling lighter.
Warnings: Killing/death, violence
Susanne Salehi (she/they) is a queer Iranian writer and editor happiest when reading, cross stitching, gardening, or accumulating silly tattoos—they’re particularly proud of the screaming possum. They write queer heroes. More @susannesalehi or susannesalehi.com.
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