here’s some queer fantasy reviews (m/m), these are two of my favorite romance + adventures books ever.
1. Blue on Black (Cummings)
Bas is an agent of the Directorate and his new mission is investigating the criminal Stanslo, who is doing something illegal with some mysterious magic tech near the desert. Under cover, Bas joins Stanslo’s group just to find out that the genius mechanic Kimolijah is working with the criminal boss, as his prisoner and forced lover. Bas has to find a way to stop Stanslo and his mysterious plan.
This book has... a hard start. It starts slow and it is quite the definition of slow burn for what concerns the relationship between Bas and Kimo. Their relationship, and the amazingly detailed characterizations of the two main characters is the best part of the novel. The world building... a bit less. It starts confusing, I was still confused about how this magical western fantasy worked, about what was going on, but I cannot say it was a boring ride! Even with all my confusion, the novel reads wonderfully, the characters are so intense and everything they do, the way they move, they speak, is something added to their characterization.
Also the novel doesn’t have too many sex scenes, but the sex scene in there (and the kissing scenes) are also used to tell us something about the characters involved, so A+ writing. Some warnings will be added under cut, at the end of the post.
2. The Archer’s Heart (3 books volume, Astrid Amara)
This is a fantasy probably inspired by Indian culture, but definitely not a medieval fantasy. In the kingdom of Marhavad, Keshan stands out from the rest of the court because of his magic blood and his unusual ideas on equality and power. Still, he finds himself fascinated by one of the princes, the youngest in line for the throne: Jandu. The whole novel narrates the story of Keshan and Jandu falling in love and of Jandu and his brothers fighting to keep the throne, against the rising power of the beloved Tarek, who doesn’t believe in the absolute power of the princes.
The novel excels in world building. The world was completely new for me, but there was no information dumb, everything was slowly explained organically through the plot, from the dynasties, the philosophies, the traditions. Furthermore, Tarek is not a villain. I actually thought he was more deserving of the throne, up till a point, and enjoyed the journey of humility that Jandu had to go through. I bought this book knowing nothing of the plot and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was about royal succession and pseudo revolution. Not surprisingly, I ended up being more interested in what was happening with the kingdom and the castes than the love story. I enjoyed the way every little thing in the first part of the story (Keshan's vision, helping the king etc.) built up the perfect end, which honestly surprised me.
I wasn't particularly impressed with the romantic side of the book, it looked a bit rushed and too sexual, but by the second part of the novel even that greatly improved and by the end of it I just couldn't stop reading. The relationship between Jandu and Keshan becomes better and better, and the stakes higher and higher. Also, let me add, I am not great at paying attention to written battles, but the written battle in this book? Amazing. So much that I’ve read this two years ago and I still remember the details.
Books-specific warnings (spoilers):
