Heat Factor: the eroticism is more in the emotional than the physical descriptions
Character Chemistry: slow-building and respectful
Plot: ancient history returns to the present, threatening the tenuous and secretive connection that Luc and Elle have been flirting with
Overall: WOW
This book is really something. I think my favorite aspect of the book was that it incorporates a global view of supernatural beings, which really makes sense when we (and the characters) live in a global world, but which almost never happens in books. And I’m not just talking about Elle’s ancestor being a Chinese god and Luc’s half fae parentage; all of the characters are connected to the mythology of their heritage. It was SO FUN.
Both Elle’s and Luc’s history is complicated and slowly revealed. At first, all we know is that Elle is hiding her true self but she really loves it when Agent Luc Villois comes in to purchase glyphs and stays to chat. And then we know that Luc has a crush on Elle, but his own reputation is shady and his career is…also shady. Then things get complicated when Elle’s past clashes with Luc’s present assignment, and from there the story goes spinning off in many directions as the world is built and Luc and Elle are further revealed. Both are complicated characters with complicated histories from which they cannot fully extricate themselves, and both are also dealing with intense problems in the now.
According to the internets, this book (in paperback) is fewer than 300 pages, but it reads more like a 400-page story; between the world building and everything else it’s not a fast read. This one’s also not for the readers who are unwilling to Google; between different mythologies and different languages, there’s a lot to take in. Tsai included a note about language, which is another interesting aspect of this book that I liked, but that I like even more now that I’ve read the author’s note and fully understand what she was doing and why. Oh, and it’s in 3rd present.
Between the story and the structure and the inclusion of ideas and how the problems were solved, this book was just amazing.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.
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