April

I enjoyed this one as much as the first two! Nicholas and his friends and family travel to his family's land to help with his cousin with the harvest. There's a new lord in the area who is making all the local people's lives miserable. The first half of the book has a lot of details about medieval farming, which I found fascinating, but it isn't exciting at all. Of course, there is also a murder, and Nicholas, who is a busybody like all amateur sleuths, ends up investigating it.

Jordain is not as important in this book as in the first two, although he and a couple of his students have come along on the trip. Nicholas mostly teams up with another local lord, a blunt and honorable man who is an engaging character in his own right. A new and interesting female character is also introduced, and I see from the blurb of the next book that she plays a bigger role in the future.

I don't really understand why I like this series so much. Maybe it's the many hours I've sunk into Elder Scrolls games, wondering about the lives of NPCs. I recommend it, if you've ever wondered what Belethor at the General Goods store gets up to in his free time.

But Nicholas is very easy to like. He loves his family and he has so much compassion for everyone he meets. There's a strong religious element in these books; religion is important to everyone's lives, and in many ways, it's hard for them to comprehend rejecting any of the tenets of their faith. But Nicholas does try to understand others, even those who commit major sins in his eyes.

It's very different from how I view the world now, as an atheist, and even from how I was raised to view it (in the modern-day Catholic Church). As a small example, the characters briefly discuss the radical ideas of publishing the Bible or saying Mass in English, and no one can come up with a reason why these would be good ideas. So it all seems very quaint to me, yet these books show that these are all intelligent people with both good qualities and foibles, just living in a different era with different values. It's part of why I enjoy reading in general, seeing perspectives that are so far removed from my own.

I'm a fan of the (very light) romance in this series, because Nicholas and his love interest are so perfect for each other. Again, as a modern person, I would never have the objection he does to her future plans, although I understand why he feels as he does. Although she is not in this book much, the romance does move forward a little. I'm looking forward to the next book.

I read this a few days ago and it's been haunting me since. I know I'll never forget it. I don't really want to give details of the plot, because part of the power of the story is in its surprises. If you decide to read it, please heed the warnings on the site. It's really gory, but more than that, it has very dark themes.

I always recognize some of this author's references and wordplay, but I know I don't see even most of them. Anhell's name seems really clever to me; Tanisha does see him as a kind of angel, in that he's so charming, but she hates him for it too. The strength of her feelings for him punched me in the gut at every moment. And I don't know if she would've become evil if not for him, so he brought hell to her, in a sense. The title backs up that idea too. Still, Tanisha makes her own choices in this story - except those her weapon (or Satan) makes, but she gives herself to the weapon.

But there's much more to the story, too. I hesitated to write a review at all because I knew I would only scratch the surface, no matter what I wrote. I'll be thinking about this story for a long time.

These two stories are my first exposure to Jeeves and Wooster, and this one is very funny. I also see a hint of why people ship these two, with how unhappy Wooster's bad taste in clothes makes poor Jeeves.

Sidenote: my grandmother was 2 years old when this was first published (1916), which is wild to think of. Her life was nothing like Bertie's, and she would've absolutely hated this understated style of humor. But I think an unwanted house guest is probably a universal experience.

I've enjoyed every book in this series. Book #6 seemed like an ending, so I was surprised to learn the series was continuing. This book is just as good as the others and I hope there will be even more.

The plot includes almost every important character from the previous books, as well as the continuing theme of ancient traditions and beliefs. I really like Pendower, especially, and he is pretty central to this story. We even got to see a little bit of his point-of-view. But, as always, it's all about Lee and Gideon.

The enemy in this book is (sort of) bigotry itself. Lee says, “I feel like there's blank faces everywhere. The States, Chechnya, even here on our own bloody streets since Brexit—just a rising tide of fear and hate, and it can put on any face it wants, and strike anywhere." I'm so afraid all the time these days, and it was good to read about favorite characters facing these enemies. The actual structure of the book is not completely clear-cut, even in the end. I think it serves the story, though. The relationships between the characters are messy and complicated, too, which feels realistic.

Sidenote: I've been wondering since very early in this series if someday Harper Fox might write a novel about Darren Prowse. I would love that, and the ending leaves the possibility open. But I like his role in this book a lot.

I was truly moved by this book and it may be my favorite read so far this year, despite strong competition. It has a fairy-tale feel, with a simple romance arc, yet it's also very, very deep in Hilary's point of view, and he's just so purely and completely in love with Tom. I cried a lot listening to this, because my heart was breaking along with Hilary's.

I'm American, so Midsomer Murders has not been a fixture in my life, but I watched some episodes on Netflix a few years ago. I grew up in the 80s/90s and I remember when every non-hetero character in fiction died or otherwise came to a tragic end. So, knowing the first episodes aired in the 90s, I saw a lot of the plot twists that Tom complains about coming, when I watched it. I was glad to encounter a character who was just as irritated as I was with those plots, but perhaps Tom found them more disturbing than I did, since he did not grow up with only sad gay stories. It was very clever to use Tom and Hilary's reactions to the show as a way to show their generation gap. Hilary has never really questioned that Midsomer Murders is like this, and he's still amazed that legal same-sex marriage exists (so am I).

Although I don't much like age difference as a trope, this isn't my first time reading a romance with an extreme age gap. So I wasn't hesitant to read it. I was glad to find that it does have explicit sex scenes, and they're just as emotional and sweet as everything else in the story. There is also a lot of cuddling, which I always enjoy in books.

Overall, it's a very sensitive and real story, despite the dreamy, Midsomer-Murders-ish setting of a small English village. As a sidenote, I felt that Tom's parents probably knew about their relationship all along, given what he said about not ever having had to come out to them, and their Christmas gift to Hilary. But I don't think Hilary was ready to admit that to himself.

I am so glad this was not my first time reading something by Harper Fox, because everything else I have read by her has been either good or really great. But this story is a miss for me. It includes almost every stereotype about Italy or Italians that I can think of, and even worse, I don't really believe in the happy ending. How will either of them snap back from everything that they've been through? The quality of the writing is high, but otherwise, I didn't like this very much.

I love this series and enjoyed this latest installment as much as the others. This one focuses on the St. Frideswide's Fair, and the conflict between the townspeople and the Priory, which runs the fair. The plots are always pretty good, and I like the characters. But my favorite thing about these books is the depiction of daily life in medieval Oxford.

Unlike the other books, which have a lot of details about different occupations like scribing, candle-making, and farming, this one doesn't focus on any particular trade, but it does give a lot of information about how merchants participated in this kind of fair. Nicholas befriends a cloth merchant, who becomes a major character; it seems like he'll play a part in future books. Margaret and the other female characters sell jam and cheese at the fair. I like Margaret, because she reminds me of my grandmother; she's not a very loving woman, but she's utterly dedicated to taking care of Nicholas and his children. Jordain is not around a lot, although there is an absolutely adorable scene showing him and Nicholas meeting for the first time as children. Nicholas and Emma's romance moves forward a bit, and it's very sweet as always.

I also enjoyed seeing an interpretation of medieval theater, including Margaret's low opinion of traveling actors. There are a few other entertainments depicted too, such as a dancing bear. The plot has to do with spying and treachery, and there is a murder which is described pretty explicitly, as well as some other violence. Of course Nicholas saves the day. I really like that he is an ordinary man who always brushes aside any accolades, but I wonder if he'll see the Prince again.

This is a very nice short story about a young man in 1960s Wisconsin. It was my first time reading anything by Andrew Grey, and I'll definitely read more of his work. The romance was not what I expected from the blurb but I loved the way everything played out. The plot could've been heart-wrenching, but it's pretty matter-of-fact, since Eddie doesn't do a ton of introspection. Overall, a great short read.

I'm amazed at how much is packed into this short story. Interesting characters, a dysfunctional relationship, a neat sci-fi concept, and a pretty plausible apocalypse. Really great!

I am always glad to have a new story about Lee and Gideon to read, and this is a good spooky short for Halloween. Lee and Gideon both have PoV sections, and Ezekiel plays a big role. Another familiar character is central to this tale, also (I don't want to spoil it). I didn't really appreciate the, um, patience shown towards the beliefs of the last book's villains. I'm just so angry these days, but that's my problem, not Harper Fox's. I love the ending - I'm a big fan of all the growth Ezekiel has had over the course of this series. I hope we'll see another of the Tyack-Frayne family's adventures very soon!

This is a sweet contemporary romance story about an American scientist who falls in love with a German engineer. It's very short, but it feels complete, with a lot of details about Christmas in Germany. The main characters aren't unique, but the characterizations are good and consistent. Some of the language is a little bit overdone, with a lot of metaphors in the sex scenes. I listened to the audiobook, and it was a great way to spend a few hours and get into the holiday spirit.

This is a nice set of moments, but it isn't really a story. There is no conflict, which does not usually bother me, but there's no real moment of connection either, just a couple of characters who kind of like each other and somehow end up together.

There's so much missing. In one of the first scenes, Colin's dog gets a little aggressively affectionate with James, and James laughs. But Colin doesn't react to James laughing. More importantly, who is Colin? What does he want out of life? Are he and James suited well to each other? I don't know. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

What a beautiful book, definitely a new favorite for me. Michael moves to the town where he once vacationed with his family to start a new chapter of his life, and he meets Josh, who runs the local bagel shop with his dad. There are a few dramatic moments, but the book is mostly made up of quiet, domestic scenes, with lots of immersive details about these characters' daily lives.

I wanted to read this book because of the service dog, and she plays a big role. She's very important to Michael, who has PTSD as well as some problems related to brain injury. She comes across as an ordinary but exceptionally well-trained dog, who is Michael's best friend. There is no unrealistic situation where she saves the day; instead, we see her helping Michael live an ordinary life, which is a quiet and steady kind of heroism.

Michael and Josh are both hesitant at first to show each other they're interested and aren't sure they are actually dating at first. So the romance moves slowly, but it's very sweet. After the first time Josh witnesses one of Michael's bad episodes, they talk things over, and Josh learns how best to help. He doesn't try to take over when Michael is distressed, just supports him. They become totally devoted to each other, and I completely believe in their happy ending. They're so relaxed and natural together. There's only one detailed sex scene, but it's written well and very romantic.

I really like the close bond between Josh and his dad, as well as the mentions of their extended family. It's clear that they all love each other very much, and it's so heartwarming in the end to know that Michael will always be part of this family also, since he starts out the book nearly all alone in the world, with only his dog and his absent sister on his side.

Michael is gay, and he faces some serious homophobia at one point, although it isn't really a major theme in the book. But if you avoid reading about homophobia at all, this isn't the book for you. Josh is bisexual, and his family completely accepts him.

I'm from a small town originally and I don't romanticize small-town life in general, but it was impossible for me not to enjoy spending time in this lovely little community, which seems like a real place. I loved the minor characters, like the Millers. I would be happy to read more stories set here, and anything else from this author!

This is a very good erotic novella. I really like Elliot Cooper's books, and the cover is great. So although BDSM and watersports aren't kinks I'm especially drawn towards, I decided to read this. I'm so glad I did!

The setting is a motorcycle and BDSM club. There is some jargon from both areas in the story, which added flavor for me as an outsider, but was never confusing. Jay is a prospective member, a sub looking for a Dom. The club's leader tells him he needs to participate or stop coming, but Jay isn't interested in the group sex that goes on at the club. Because of the ultimatum, though, Jay goes home with Stag, the Dom he has had his eye on from the beginning.

Inexperience and/or virginity are often unspoken kinks in erotica and romance, and I like to read those stories too. But it was very refreshing to read about experienced characters for a change. Both Stag and Jay have been involved in BDSM for a while, and they're both still looking for their ideal match.

They both also come across as vulnerable. Stag wants to give Jay the best possible experience and to help him discover new parts of his sexuality. He struggles with his self-control a bit, so that he doesn't just act on his own desires without pleasing Jay. He pays very close attention at every moment to how Jay is feeling. Jay wants to be the best sub he can, and he doubts himself a few times, since he and Stag don't know each other very well yet. But their first encounter is satisfying for both of them, and I really believe they'll be happy together.

There is hardly any background detail about either of these characters' lives, but I didn't miss it. It's short, sexy, and a fun read.

This story was recommended in a Reddit thread of the scariest things people had ever read. I am wimpy and it seemed tame compared to a lot of the other suggestions, so I read it. Also, I love the Legendary Pink Dots song of the same name, but I still don't know the relationship between this story and the song (if there is one).

It's pretty creepy, but not all that scary by modern standards, and the distancing effect that is present in so much old speculative fiction made it a little bit challenging to read - every part of the story is second- or thirdhand.

I sort of shipped the main victim and the brother, and I'd be really surprised if I were alone in that thought.

It's very difficult for me to review a book that I have mixed feelings about. A few CWs: sexual assault, violence related to sexual assault, severe homophobia from otherwise sympathetic characters, and a truly evil gay villain.

This book is a gay-for-you romance, which is not my preference to read about. It's double gay-for-you, sort of. Jem is assaulted and harassed by a serial sexual predator. After that (but not as a result) he develops feelings for his friend Will. At one point, another friend wonders if the predator "saw something" (desire for men) in Jem that caused him to assault Jem. This is a really, really dangerous idea to put out there in any form. The victim of assault is never the cause of assault, nor is the victim's orientation, yet many survivors of sexual violence struggle with feelings of guilt.

The book is written in 3rd-person omniscient; we always know what almost everyone thinks at all times, sometimes multiple characters in the same paragraph. I thought this was an odd choice, and the story would not have been much different if we had only seen Jem's point of view.

Overall I didn't enjoy this book, but the story at the heart of it is a sweet friends-to-lovers romance. I also liked the setting of pre-Revolutionary War Connecticut.

I don't read a lot of contemporary romance, partly because I don't like the style of humor that I usually encounter in these books, and mostly because I don't like the way the characters talk about gender, especially in m/m novels. This book was very disappointing for me on both counts. I don't like to write negative reviews. Most reviews of this story are positive, though, and this isn't my favorite subgenre, so feel free to discount my criticisms.

You can see the basic plot in the blurb, and there are no real surprises in the story. Eli is quite a grumpy guy and I am not sure why Peter fell in love with him. He is pretty miserable in his daily life as an office drone. His best friend is an extroverted and cheerful woman, and he complains about that. She introduces him to a band in need of a fiddler, and he performs with them, which he is nervous about but really enjoys.

But he is still grumpy, and in fact, most of his complaints about the people around him are about women. The leader of the band is “intense” and comes across as a bit overcritical; his co-worker is old and nosy and wears too much makeup; his boss is a “bitch” (in fairness, it's the co-worker who uses that word, not Eli); even his mother is “squat” and “flabby”. Also, Peter performs in a fairy costume, with wings and makeup, but Eli lets us know that the costume does not make Peter look feminine, as though that would've obviously been a bad thing.

Again, I am sorry for my negativity here, but I really have encountered a lot of this kind of language about women in the m/m genre. This book is not even one of the worst. But I don't understand who people think reads these books. The only people I have known in real life who were regularly super negative about women have been cishet men, and I don't think they are reading these books in large numbers.

I almost set the book aside early on due to this stuff, but I thought maybe this was a story in which a man with a chained-down mind learns that he can live life on his own terms. That is the general plot that the story is aiming for, but it does not quite pull it off, in my opinion. The narrative doesn't challenge Eli's everyday assumptions about the people around him, and definitely not his negative feelings about women/femininity. It only challenges the big thing, his desire to stay in a boring job for financial stability. I don't buy that Eli has learned how to live a happy life, by the end of the story, because he has not changed. He only meets someone exciting, who convinces him to run away.

The story is written well, and the proofreading is very good. Also, the depiction of Eli's anxiety was easy for me to relate to. Peter is an appealing love interest, and I liked the Renaissance Faire setting. Overall, though, I didn't enjoy this story very much.

Oh wow, this was delightful! It's a sci-fi romance, set on a ship with a multi-species crew. It's part of the culture of this diverse future that everyone respects and tries to understand everyone else's origins, in the vein of Star Trek DS9 and Mass Effect. But it also reminded me of Farscape and Futurama, in that the aliens and their ideas about humans are truly strange, sometimes in humorous ways.

I picked it up because I like holiday shorts, and because I liked the cover, title, and premise. Because of the cover, I was expecting it to be in the human's point of view. Instead, the PoV character is an alien, Raskli, whose captain assigns her to find out what is bothering Jen, the sole human member of the crew. Raskli is a security officer from a mammal-like race, something like Wookiees; when she learns that Jen is sad because she's missing human holiday celebrations, she has to find out exactly what that means. Raskli's initial annoyance with this task changes quickly to concern for Jen, which slowly grows into affection.

I laughed a lot reading this, mainly because all of the aliens are afraid of humans! They see us as an inherently violent and dangerous species, to the extent that we are stereotyped as villains in TV shows. There is not always reliable info available on humans, because apparently, we couldn't rein in our competitive natures long enough to settle on an official set of data. I don't remember ever encountering a similar concept in a sci-fi story, but it's hilarious, and totally believable!

Raskli enlists the whole ship in finding out more about human holidays, while she and Jen become closer. The romance is friends-to-lovers, and it's very sweet and gentle. Raskli has some anxiety over whether she can help Jen out of her funk, but there's no conflict between them. When they don't understand something ordinary about the other person because of cultural differences, they immediately talk about it, which I really liked. The sex scene is also very nice. The ending feels like happy-for-now, but I believed in their relationship and I can definitely imagine them together forever.

This was my first time reading Angel Martinez, and I'll definitely keep reading her work. I had a huge smile on my face the whole time!

This is a very cute and funny romance, with a light paranormal mystery and charming main characters. Michael Pauley's narration of the audiobook added a lot to my enjoyment. I really like how he performs the various accents, and overall, his cheerful style really fits the lighthearted tone of the book.

Taro is lovable and easy to sympathize with. I think a lot of people would act similarly if they won the lottery. His first priority is to make sure everyone in his family has a secure future; then, he wants to use the money to do something meaningful with his own life, and he decides to travel. But the supernatural cleaning entities ruin his plans. As a solitary type myself, I would've been just as scared as Taro at the evidence of unknown beings invading my life! His anxiety felt very real to me.

Taro has a loving, large family; sometimes they're a little overbearing, but they always have his best interests at heart, which was nice to read about. I really like the side characters in general, who all have unique personalities and relevance to the story.

Taro is asexual, which causes some angst in his getting together with his love interest, Jack, who is not asexual and doesn't know much about the topic. I will leave it to asexual reviewers to share their feelings on this book's ace rep. They eventually figure out how a relationship (including sex) will work between them. But while this story is not primarily about being asexual, Taro does believe his asexuality is the reason he's had problems with relationships in the past, and the conflict in the romance is also about his asexuality. Jack is a bit negative about it when he first finds out, but it's only from lack of understanding (and he doesn't behave horribly or anything). Still, if you avoid reading anything at all negative about ace characters, I don't recommend this book.

I really like Jack, because he's so full of life. It's easy to understand why Taro develops feelings for him. I think the audiobook narrator does an especially great job with Jack's dialogue. Jack doesn't enter the story until the plot is firmly underway, though. I thought at first the romance might be between Taro and whatever was haunting him. But Jack is a ghost hunter whom Taro hires to help him with the problem.

The ending is very happy for everyone, including the supernatural beings. I had a great time with this book and look forward to reading more by this author.

I've really been enjoying this series. It isn't perfect, but it's exactly what I wanted to read right now. I think I used this comparison about another of this author's books, but it reminds me a lot of Futurama, in style. It has more emotional depth, but about the same amount of over-the-top silliness.

This book focuses a lot on Heckle, the imp who was introduced in book three. He's a lovable character and I enjoyed reading his point of view. I also like that Julian is back, but I am not a fan of the love-triangle and jealousy plot. I hope the next book includes a new love interest for him, somehow.

Just like most of my favorite sci-fi comedies, though, this series crosses the lines of good taste sometimes, in my opinion. In this book, I think Ness's "worst fear" scenes are way too violent and horrible. I understand the conflict Ness is fighting within himself, but that was pretty awful.

Now that I'm all caught up, I'm going to read all of the many free shorts on the author's website. I'm so glad I discovered this series.

I listened to the free audio version of this story on Serial Box, narrated by Xe Sands. I really liked it. It's creepy throughout, with some truly disturbing moments. It's such a short story, yet the main character is so easy to relate to, without seeming like she belongs in our world or any other specific time & place. My guess is that it's meant to be set in the far future, following an ecological apocalypse, and after our current society has completely collapsed, to the point where no one remembers us at all. It comes across as a story about humans, rather than aliens or fantasy creatures. But I don't know that for sure; there's a lot of ambiguity, and the Gods are definitely supernatural.

A lot of the reviewers here seem to think this story will continue, and maybe it will. But whether this is meant to stand alone or not, I feel that it does, although there is a lot left to the imagination. I'm so glad I listened to it.

So, this is not a romance novel. I don't read a lot of non-romance novels these days, so it was kind of nice to read about a gay character and not know what to expect. I figured the main character would survive, but otherwise, I had no idea what would happen at any point.

The plot is very exciting. But the blurb and other reviews do a good job of summarizing it, and this isn't a recent book. So I won't retread that too much.

Ira Adler is a young man in a relationship with a crime lord. Based only on that fact, I was expecting Ira to be sort of naive and sweet, but that isn't true at all. He is tough, smart, and prickly. At certain points, he is as grumpy and selfish as George Costanza. He's ended up in his situation because he really loves the luxury of living with someone so wealthy. He decides he is in love with Cain, eventually, but I don't think he ever was. And the story does not end with them together.

So, Ira isn't a cinnamon-roll type of character at all. Sometimes, I found him hard to like, but I never found him hard to sympathize with. He is a victim of circumstance for much of the story, but the overall plot is really about him taking control of his own destiny, and deciding what matters to him. I found it satisfying to see him come into his own in this way.

I'm very interested to discover what will happen in the rest of the series. All of the side characters, even the somewhat minor ones like Pearl and Mrs. Lazarus, really came alive for me, and I hope their stories continue in the other two books. I also liked (what I interpreted as) a positive portrayal of a bisexual man, Tim Lazarus. I feel he loved Ira in the past, and maybe still does, but he also loves his wife. It's far more common for queer historicals to portray bisexual men as unable to commit to anyone, and I was very glad to see another type of character here.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Philip Battley, who also narrates one of my favorite current series, Oxford Medieval Mysteries. He's very talented, and he really performs his narrations, with subtly distinct voices for each character.

I think there's an overlooked market for these kinds of books. I see a lot of requests on Reddit and Twitter from people who are looking for stories about queer characters that aren't romances. I'm very happy to add this one to my recommendations list.

I have strong mixed feelings about this story. It really kept me turning pages until very late into the night, which isn't something I experience often. I also had a lot of affection for both characters, even though Berhanu is a huge jerk at many points. But (major CW) I don't think the rape scenes needed to be that explicit. They are over-the-top.. Usually I am okay with the high amount of suffering Kim Fielding inflicts on her characters, because it's always very matter-of-fact. In this story, though, in addition to all of the pain from external sources, there's a lot of relationship drama. Volos feels uncomfortable talking about it all, and I felt uncomfortable reading it. It was too much.But the main flaw, to me, was something that was left out which I think needed to be dramatized instead of mentioned. Berhanu doesn't want to bottom because he's still recovering from his rape, psychologically. Then, the last sex scene takes place months after that, and it's very tender and loving, in contrast to the brutal sex Berhanu and Volos have had up to that point. But we don't see their first time together after they have admitted they have feelings for each other, or the actual first time Berhanu bottoms. There's also the (minor) issue that they only ever have anal sex, and in that sweet last sex scene, everything else is referred to as foreplay. I wanted to see them doing other things in bed, once they got closer.The worldbuilding is great, and I really liked the fantasy setting, as well as all the side characters. I actually was reading [b:The Sacrifice and Other Stories 27836637 The Sacrifice and Other Stories Kim Fielding https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447626411s/27836637.jpg 47818937], and I skipped this one because I knew it was available on audio. But I started Mato's Story and saw that I needed to read this one first. I'm glad that Mato was not forgotten! It's a fantasy world in which same-sex relationships are normalized, which I always enjoy reading. I also really felt Volos's longing for a home and family, which made his happy ending very satisfying. Overall, I'd call this an imperfect story from a great writer. But enemies-to-lovers is not my favorite trope and I see that a lot of the reviews are enthusiastically positive, so I am probably not the best judge. Anyway, now, I need to see how everything works out for Mato!

I love this series. This book is about Nicholas and his family and friends traveling to spend Christmas with his family in the countryside. Of course Nicholas gets himself involved in other people's problems again, this time as a result of his friendship with Peter Winchingham, the merchant he met in book four. Peter's daughter has hired troubadours who are secretly spies.

I'm not a student of history, just a reader of historical fiction, but I do like games. These troubadours have a lot in common with bards from RPGs, which is pretty great.

Nicholas's relationship with Emma moves forward a bit, and they kiss for the first time, but he still isn't sure if he should be with her. She definitely seems to be part of Nicholas's family here.

There is a surprise at the climax of the story, which I didn't see coming at all. I don't even want to hint at it, but it made me laugh out loud.

Overall this is quite a cozy installment of the series, with a lot of nice domestic details. I look forward to the next book.

I really enjoyed this. It's much more serious than the other books I've read by this author, but it's very good.

The plot is definitely gripping. It's based on a fairy tale, but I didn't find it predictable at all. All of the characters are drawn very well, and they came alive for me. Even the villains aren't one-dimensional; Boris is monstrous, but it seems like he has some real affection for Vassily. Pol is my favorite side character, and I could easily read a book just about his adventures.

The romance is absolutely wonderful. I love everything about this pairing, and Sumerki and Vassily love each other very deeply. Sumerki reads like he is on the autism spectrum, although that isn't stated explicitly, and it seems like a sensitive portrayal to me.

I have a criticism, though, about Sumerki's aversion to touch. As Sumerki and Vassily fall in love, Sumerki becomes comfortable with Vassily touching him as he wants to. I'm a little touch-averse myself, and it has never worked that way for me. There are specific kinds of touching I don't like and never will, no matter how I feel about the person touching me, such as someone rubbing their thumb on my hand, which specifically happens in this book. I think it's a bad message: that with enough love, someone can get over their sensory issues. But really it is a minor complaint about a good book.