Review & Excerpt: Seeing Death (The Augur #1) by LM Somerton
- Merissa
- 5 hours ago
- 8 min read
Book Details:
Book Title: Seeing Death
Author: L M Somerton
Publisher: Totally Entwined
Cover Artist: Kelly Martin
Release Date: September 9, 2025
Tense/POV: third person, present tense
Genres: Contemporary MM Romance, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Mystery/suspense/thriller
Tropes: Peril, self-sacrifice, protector/protected, found family
Themes: Saving the world
Heat Rating: 0 - 1 flames: There are hints about what they want to do, but it doesn’t happen in this book.
Length: 58 617 words
It is a standalone story. The first in a new series. (Book 1 in the The Augur series)
It does not end on a cliffhanger, though there are unresolved plot threads.
@LMSomerton @gaybookpromotions
@lmsomerton @gaybookpromotions
Some futures were never meant to be seen.
At eighteen, Bryn Ashton is preparing for a new chapter at Harvard, if fate doesn’t intervene. An orphan raised in a group home, he has spent his life fearing the moment a latent gene, mutated by a past virus, might awaken supernatural abilities. He could transform into a lupine or sanguine, but when a blood test confirms he is neither, his world shifts. Instead of wolf or vamp, Bryn is revealed to be an augur. His eyes glow green, his psychic abilities emerge, and suddenly his future is no longer his to control.
Three years later, Bryn is partnered with Detective Gunnar Ericson, a lupine with enhanced abilities of his own. As an augur, Bryn can read memories and glimpse the future, making him an invaluable part of high-stakes investigations. But his rarity also makes him a target, and Gunnar is more than just a partner—he’s Bryn’s protector.
As they navigate complex cases, their connection grows. But their partnership will be tested in ways they never expected. With a dangerous investigation unfolding, their relationship must take a back seat—even if they survive one killer, another is always waiting.
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The next thing Bryn knew was someone shaking him awake. He groaned and cranked an eyelid. “Annie?”
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty. You’ve been out cold for eight hours. You need to get your rear downstairs.” Annie yanked open the drapes, flooding the room with light. “I hope you haven’t picked up the flu or something.”
“Ow, fuck!” Bryn hid beneath the covers. Sleep had not improved his headache.
“Language, young man. The screening bureau officer is downstairs eating my cookies. You need to come show him the gene hasn’t activated.”
“Sorry. Okay. On it. Give me two seconds.” He winced at the door closing, the noise pounding his skull like a jackhammer. He grabbed his shades and put them on. Gently. Shielding his eyes from the light helped a bit. Must have been more stressed out about today than I realized. This has to be a migraine.
Bryn counted it a win that he made it down the stairs without falling on his ass. Annie was waiting with the official in the TV room. They were both seated on the sectional, chattering away like old pals.
“Here he is, Charlie. The latest of a long line.”
“And no indications?”
“None. He’s his normal teenage self.”
“Oh dear. Congratulations on your birthday, Bryn. I’m Charles Donovan from the screening bureau and this visit is nothing to worry about.” He held out a hand and Bryn shook it.
“Hey.”
“I’m going to give you a finger prick for a blood sample. It’s a quick and easy test for gene activation which shows us sanguine or lupine indications. A visual assessment isn’t always accurate.”
Bryn slumped on the sectional, trying not to look as belligerent as he felt. “This is pointless.”
“Probably,” Charlie said. “But wouldn’t you rather have it noted on your record that you have no active gene so that you don’t have people hounding you in the future?”
“I suppose.”
“Be nice, Bryn.” Annie’s warning tone was enough to have him sitting a bit straighter.
Charlie got out his testing kit. “Don’t worry, you won’t miss the tiny bit I’m going to take.” He jabbed Bryn’s middle finger pad then collected a bead of blood on a dropper that went into a tiny test tube of clear liquid. “It’s red at least.”
“You say that to everyone, don’t you?” Bryn muttered.
“Sure do. Perk of the job. Right, I’m looking for what color the liquid changes to. Lupine goes green, sanguine is purple. No gene change is golden yellow.” He shook the tube.
“So what the fuck is sky blue?” Bryn felt sick. He stared at the little glass vial.
“I…need to make a call. Don’t move.” Charlie went into the hall.
Bryn watched him go. “Annie, what’s happening?”
“I don’t know.” She came to sit next to him on the couch and grabbed his hand.
A pulse of sharp pain shot through Bryn’s already throbbing head and his vision dimmed. In his head he had a picture of Annie standing in the dock of a courtroom facing a judge. She looked resigned. Bryn yanked his hand away in horror and the image faded.
“If you go now, you’ll have time to grab a few things and get out through the back yard,” Annie whispered. “I’ll tell Charlie you went to the bathroom.”
“What? Why would I do that?”
“Because if that test is showing that you have some rare variation of the gene, you’ll be taken by the security services and put through God knows what kind of experimentation while they work out what you can do.”
“And if I run, they’ll hunt me down. When you touched me Annie, I saw…well, let’s just say things wouldn’t work out well for you either.” It was tempting to try it. Bryn thought he could make a good go of disappearing, but he couldn’t do that to Annie. If she was blamed, what would happen to all the other kids in her care? He wasn’t that much of an asshole.
“You shouldn’t think about me. I’d happily go to court for you. Be selfish. Go.”
Bryn slumped on the couch. “No. Not an option.” Tentatively, he touched Annie’s hand. He flinched at the pain but now the image in his head was of a smiling Annie watching over kids playing in the yard. His vision cleared and he sighed. “I guess Harvard is off the cards. Fuck.”
When Charlie came back into the room, he seemed tense. “Your test result is…unusual, Bryn. You felt fine this morning?”
“Yeah, apart from a headache. I didn’t sleep well last night. It got worse, though.”
“Do you know what time you were born?”
“Eight-thirty in the morning,” Annie contributed. “It’s in his records.”
“Gene activation can be very precise. The change must have happened after you got up this morning. Would you take off your sunglasses for me?”
Hand trembling, Bryn removed the glasses. The light hurt his eyes.
“Oh my.” Annie stared at him.
“What?” Panicked, Bryn went to look in the mirror on the mantel over the fire. “Fuck me.” His eyes were a far brighter shade of green than they had been and they seemed backlit, glowing like a cat’s in the dark. He put the glasses back on. “They weren’t like that earlier.”
“There’ll be a car here for you shortly. More tests will need to be done. I can come with you to your room, if you want to pack a few things.”
“When will I be back?” Bryn asked the question even though he already knew the answer.
“Not sure. It could be a while.”
He means never. Why me? Bryn wanted to scream but decided it would hurt his head too much. “Fine. You and the kids will have to share that cake, Annie.”
Charlie trailed him up the stairs then stood in the doorway while Bryn threw a few things in a duffel.
“You thought about running, didn’t you?”
“Maybe.”
“What stopped you?”
“Annie’s been the closest thing to a mother I’ve ever had. She doesn’t deserve trouble because of me.”
“Yeah, she’s one of the good ones.”
“Has this ever happened to you before… I mean the blue reaction?”
“Never. I’ve had a few wolves in my time and one or two vamps. This was new.”
“Great. Just fucking great.” Should have bought that lottery ticket.
“You done? Let’s go see if the car’s here.”
Some of the other kids had gathered in the hall. There was a clamor of questions. Annie ushered them away and raised a hand in farewell. “Good luck,” she mouthed.
Bryn gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile rather than a grimace. When the door closed behind him, it had an air of finality.
“They’re here,” Charlie announced.
A black SUV with heavily tinted windows drew up at the curb. Two armed men in black fatigues got out and one walked over. The other stayed by the vehicle, scanning the street as if he expected an attack to come out of nowhere at any moment.
“This him?” the man addressed Charlie.
“What am I, invisible?” Bryn muttered.
“It is. I sent through his test result already.” Charlie took a step back.
“He give you any trouble?”
“Seriously? Does it look like I did?” Bryn made a conscious effort not to be intimidated by the excessive amount of firearms the guy carried.
“Get in the fucking car.”
“A please wouldn’t go amiss.” Bryn stomped down the path. He tossed his duffel into the back seat then climbed in after it. He was followed by one of the men in black and before Bryn could come up with a suitable epithet, the guy stuck him with a needle. “What the actual…” He didn’t get to finish the sentence before the lights went out.
5 out of 5 (exceptional)
SEEING DEATH is the first book in The Augur series, and we begin with Bryn on the eve of his 18th birthday. The world has changed from how we know it, and now a gene changes in some people at the exact time they turn eighteen. Bryn thinks he's okay as he just has a headache, but it all goes belly-up when it turns out to be a rare gene. Gunnar is a lupine detective who gets seconded to be Bryn's partner when Bryn finishes his three years of training.
The slow-burning relationship between these two is simply magnificent! They start as strangers, but quickly become more, without anything happening. They tease each other in a way that made me laugh out loud more than once. Not only them, but you also have Warden and Emmett. The relationship between all four of them is perfect, and Talbot is there for a dose of sweetness in case you need it. You also have Agent Bell, who has a dry wit and works well with Gunnar and Bryn.
The story is left wide open, although this instalment comes to a satisfactory conclusion for now. Gunnar and Bryn have now kissed. Warden is subtly staking his claim. And I want more! From all of them! This was a brilliant introduction to their world, and I can't wait to return to it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
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Lucinda lives in a small village in the English countryside, surrounded by rolling hills, cows and sheep. She started writing to fill time between jobs and is now firmly and unashamedly addicted.
She loves the English weather, especially the rain, and adores a thunderstorm. She loves good food, warm company and a crackling fire. She's fascinated by the psychology of relationships, especially between men, and her stories contain some subtle (and some not so subtle) leanings towards BDSM.
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