S. A. Payne

4,1 stars

It's nice to know Payne's writing is still as addictive to me as it was when I was in high school. I read it from a different perspective now and am able to be more critical with it, but there's no denying how entertaining her stories are.

I'm not normally one for historical fantasy or historical fiction in general, but Payne just writes in a way that gets to me. This is a story that begins as historical fantasy describing the society and culture in vivid detail, and around the halfway point morphs into romance fantasy.

The characters are complex, the cultures are detailed, the emotions easy to emphatize with and the story compelling enough to keep me engaged. There's also a decent amount of smut in the second half, so there's that.

Is it realistc? Oh, hell no (but you know, this IS fantasy). Does it have literary merit? Not really. Would it benefit from a vigorous edit? It sure would. But for what this book is, I fucking loved it.… (mere)

I'm halfway through and already I know this is one story I won't forget very soon. Unless the ending is too sad...

** WARNING POSSIBLE SPOILERS**

Well just finished reading and my four stars stays. I really liked the story. It was more about...... Argh can't find the words. But friendship, love and forgiving all mix in this book. The reason it don't get the full five stars is because I'm a sucker for romantic love and happy endings. This book start with those things and end with hope but not with another happy end. And for me that's the deal breaker.… (mere)

This will have to be a vague review so that I don't reveal the twist that happens early on in the story and then becomes the story.

Ichi is an entomologist who is a visiting researcher on a world still recovering from a war that happened decades earlier. Ichi is intelligent, reserved, and warm.

This story takes you through an emotional romance and through Ichi creating his own family. It took my breath away at times and I read it straight through in one shot, unable to put it down.… (mere)