One Night in Boukos

I enjoyed this book so much! I love this world that AJ Demas has created. Bedar and Marzana are both great point-of-view characters, and their friendship is really nice. Both of their romance plots are also very satisfying, although the romances here definitely take a backseat to the story of finding the missing ambassador.

But really, the book is about Marzana and Bedar immersed in this city that's foreign to them, which made me feel like I was visiting this place too. I think Boukos is the author's version of Athens, because of the statues (hermae, in ancient Athens), and I've always dreamed of seeing ancient Greece. There are so many wonderful details here. Having read Saffron Alley before this, I was smiling every time Marzana was wistful about sweets, since I knew what was in store for him.

Overall, this book gave me such good feelings! Definitely a keeper.

Hard to categorize but intriguing historical fantasy. Not quite a mystery (although someone disappears and the two main characters are allegedly trying to find what happened to him), not quite a romance (the love interests don't show up until halfway through the book although once they appear they play major roles), not quite social commentary (although there are quite a few pointed observations about the culture clash when representatives from a rigid formal country visit a city where statues with giant penises paraded through town are part of an annual holiday). One Night in Boukos takes a while to get going but once everything starts to come together you appreciate the groundwork that has been laid. Contains several priceless scenes (trying to get something accomplished in a bureaucratic department where you're always waiting in the wrong line is apparently timeless) and a rousing conclusion. I've read both of A.J. Demas' books ([b:Something Human 41100024 Something Human A.J. Demas https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533932464l/41100024.SY75.jpg 64212074] was also very good), and she is definitely on my “authors to watch” list. She has a unique, wry but warm voice and seems capable of both laughing at and caring for her characters.