Review - Song of Oestend by Marie Sexton

Song of Oestend

by Marie Sexton

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Volume 1 of Oestend

Tags: Paranormal Kinky

Posted in Book Reviews on 9 September, 2026

Aren’s professor helped get him a job as a bookkeeper for a ranch in Oestend. It seemed like a favor at the time, but maybe it wasn’t. Oestend is about as far from the university in the capital as you can get. And, it turns out wraiths are real. If you go out at night, or even leave a window open, they will get to you and kill you. Deacon is the ranch foreman, and he keeps it running with an iron fist, if necessary. Although sometimes put off by Deacon’s harsh treatment of the men, Aren is still drawn to the dark and powerful man. The two become friends, and Aren is saddened to learn that he’s Deacon’s only friend, since he’s the only one on the ranch who isn’t a hired hand or one of the owner’s family. Aren is the only one Deacon doesn’t have to be strong around.

“Song of Oestend” is a paranormal fantasy set in a wild-west styled world of isolated farms where life is hard and death is a frequent visitor. The wraiths are a hazard unique to Oestend, and the history behind them comes out eventually through the story. As you may have guessed, there are many scenes of violence in this book, as well as some surprising kinky elements. It’s a very engrossing story that builds a convincing picture of life on the plains.

The story is told entirely from Aren’s point of view. It seems that the young man has never had any doubts about his sexual preferences. With his slight size, Aren was easily victimized by many of the men in his life, and often feels guilty for enjoying some of the encounters. It takes strength to survive and thrive what Aren has been through, and it’s that willpower that serves the young man the most as things develop with Deacon.

Deacon is a very complicated man, and at times it’s difficult to like him. He keeps himself apart from the men he’s in charge of, and can be very hard on any of them that fails to do what’s needed to keep everyone safe. Men have died because of Deacon’s decisions, and he’s killed a few personally. It’s a tremendous burden, which weighs heavily on Deacon until Aren comes along.

“Song of Oestend” is available from Smashwords or from independent booksellers through Bookshop.org.