Handsome Death

3.5What a difference a day makes. If I'd read this earlier this month I would've ended up between a meh and sort of disappointed.* This month? It was a sweet and innocuous distraction that filled up a couple of hours. No small feat. [a:Sara Dobie Bauer 7226363 Sara Dobie Bauer https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1572634427p2/7226363.jpg] sets us in a present day alternate world, specifically NYC, where vampires and other paranormal creatures are acknowledged and live openly in society with rules governing their kind. Very little of the vampire trappings, mythology, back story etc. is developed, rather the story counts on the reader knowing vampire canon and the author tweaks a few, convenient, bits. It doesn't really matter and I'm not sure that the vampire aspect contributed anything to the story but the romantic idea of truly eternal love. Ethan a.k.a. Etienne a.k.a. the Marquis de Marteau a.k.a. The Butcher has been among the undead for over two hundred years and has yet to quench his lust for death, which he currently slakes by being a mercenary. Just for fun and giggles. During that time he's also been dead to any kind of kinship or affection but all of that changes one October day when he wanders into a coffee shop and meets his destiny, Tristan “Tris” Clement. Tris is the wet dream du jour: a tall, all limbs, blonde, musical prodigy (aren't they all?) who's the doe-eyed proverbial babe in the woods, good to the last fibre of his being, and in need of protection. Ethan will be that for him and so much more. You could get stumped by some things like how Ethan, despite being an 18th Century Parisian speaks like your average Twitter bro, but I digress. I chose to squint through most of the niggles, ignore the vampire angle, and enjoy the tale of a man who was emotionally numb, a young man who's been knocked down a bit, and how they fill each other's empty corners. Sexually, they're like a match and strike, they scorch the sheets, and dabble in some kink. Tris loves Ethan's domineering brand of love, Ethan can't get enough of how Tris clings to him like a barnacle, and wants to swaddle him in gauze. They're both deliriously happy. And if you want an uncomplicated and angst free read to escape the doldrums this will do nicely. *My whole disappointed thing has to do with my previous SDB read [b:We Still Live 52575351 We Still Live Sara Dobie Bauer https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571926976l/52575351.SX50_SY75.jpg 73672624]. It was such a vital read for me, and the tone from that one to this one was so different that I guess it just jarred me. But I appreciate that not everything has to be heavy and I like a writer who has range.