Sword Dance

A.J. Demas

2019 • 313 pages

Ratings5

Average rating4.2

Five years ago, Damiskos’s brilliant military career was cut short, leaving him with a permanent disability and scars that are not all physical. Adrift and still grieving, he tries to find meaning in an unsatisfying job. Work takes him to the remote seaside villa of an old friend, where, among an odd assortment of guests, he meets the eunuch sword-dancer Varazda. Enigmatic and beautiful but distinctly prickly, Varazda is the antithesis of the straightforward and serious Damiskos. Yet as they keep getting in each other’s way at the villa, their mutual dislike is complicated by a spark of undeniable attraction. Then the villa’s guests begin to reveal their true characters and motives—no one here is what they seem—and Damiskos finds himself at the centre of a bizarre web of espionage, theft, and assassination. Varazda may need Damiskos’s help, but not as much as Damiskos, finally awakening to a new sense of life and purpose, needs Varazda. Sword Dance is the first book in the Sword Dance trilogy, an m/nb romance set in an imaginary ancient world, with murderous philosophy students, sex acts named after fruit, and love blossoming in the midst of mayhem.

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Series

Featured Series

3 primary books

#1 in Sword Dance

Sword Dance is a 3-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 2019 with contributions by A.J. Demas.

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Popular Reviews

Reviews with the most likes.

April

I liked everything about this book, but especially the setting, the two main characters, and the slow pace of the romance. I also enjoyed the intrigue plot. It's a really immersive and satisfying read, and I'm eager to read more of this author's work.

September 22, 2021

Amy

DNF - PG 112

Why?

I'm not reading any more of this. If you want a total rundown, check my updates. But, in a nutshell, this book made me very uncomfortable from the start. I do not like our narrator and he seems kind of...creepy. Like, leering, lusting creepy. Maybe he's not. Maybe it's just me. All I know is this book set me off right from the start and I think over a hundred pages is more than fair and I don't want to waste my time on a book that was making me feel like this one does.

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Susan Scribner

Did you ever read a book too quickly because you liked the characters so much and wanted to be sure that nothing terrible happened to them? That was my experience with Sword Dance. I immediately fell in love with both Damiskos and Varazda, and rushed through their story anxiously. I wanted someone to appreciate Damiskos' good heart and ability to lead despite his physical limitations, and I wanted someone to see Varazda as more than a eunuch and (former) slave. I knew they would have a HFN but was worried about at what cost. Fortunately, although the story is exciting and spiced with adventure, danger and fighting (oh those swords!), neither MC ends up in mortal peril, although Damiskos does almost get his heart broken several times (primarily because he underestimates his appeal). Long winded way of saying that A.J. Demas is quickly (after only 3 books) proving herself to be one of my favorite new authors, with a serious but light touch, a unique alternate ancient history world, and greatly appealing characters (including some serious bad-ass women). Not at all surprised that she comes highly recommended by [a:KJ Charles 19401099 KJ Charles https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], and I would also put her up there with another favorite new author, [a:Ursula Vernon 36276 Ursula Vernon https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1271095776p2/36276.jpg]/[a:T. Kingfisher 7367300 T. Kingfisher https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1547408383p2/7367300.jpg]. Can't wait for #2 in the series to continue to explore Dami and Varazda's separate pasts and their future together.

August 17, 2019