Alice Degan

I got to read the ARC, and I type this at you with a grin. Perfect last line!

I enjoyed every character, and it was lovely to watch this new relationship find its feet despite lies and intrigue and mistrust and other hurdles. What a good story. You don't have to read Sword Dance to enjoy this one, although a few moments will make better emotional sense if you do.

I love the worldbuilding, I love that this one is in Varazda's country, I love their dynamic. Just glorious. But most of all, Damiskos is the best of men and I'm so glad he exists. :)… (mer)

I read the ARC, and here's my review:

There is not nearly enough punching of stupid faces, but maybe that's just me... As with nearly all fantasies, some of the pacing's too slow for my taste. But when things pick up, I love it. These characters live rent-free in my head now. And, this is one of the rare romances with a perfect epilogue.

Quotes from the ARC:
Damiskos smiled. “You’ve taught me so much about love. I don’t think I would have understood, before you, that saying ‘yes’ to my parents over this— sacrificing my happiness for something that wouldn’t really be good for any of us— might be dutiful, but it wouldn’t be loving. You taught me about happiness, too. You make me actually believe in it.”

Damiskos felt as if he were offering himself like a gift: his sex and his pleasure, entirely at Varazda’s disposal. It was like some astronomical pattern, he thought dreamily: his pleasure sliding into Varazda’s, which circled back on itself, and around and around like a dance of planets.… (mer)