Thou Shalt Not Love

Well, I didn't like this book very much. I was looking forward to it as a cheerful escape, so part of my problem is definitely that I had the wrong expectations.

There are some technical aspects of the writing that aren't to my taste: use of epithets, such as calling Cassius “the valet” during sex scenes; repetition of cheesy phrases like “their gazes clashed;” lots of gasping; avoidance of “said” and “asked” in favor of other verbs, which often broke up the flow of scenes; and lots of usage of the word “soul” to convey depth of feeling. Nothing in that list bothers me when it's used once or twice in a romance novel, or if it's a central concept, as in soul-bonding. But all of those things happened way too frequently for me.

I like fanfic and I love fairy tales, and lgbt+ fluff is one of my favorite things in the world. But this book is not very fluffy. There is one really heartwarming scene, when Merrick visits Cassius's family, and the epilogue is also sweet. Every other moment is tinged with sadness.

They don't think they can ever be together, because of their homophobic society. This is set in a vague fantasy world, but I read a lot of queer historicals, so I'm not unfamiliar with that concept as a plot element. But in this book, the homophobia is not all that severe, yet both MCs are dealing with internalized homophobia. There's no mention of legal penalties, just the fear of facing ostracism. This conflict does work well as a central plot here, because both MCs really love their families. But the forbidden nature of their relationship is part of almost every interaction they have, and almost all of their introspection, which I found difficult to enjoy reading - especially because they both seemed to wonder if what they were doing was morally wrong, without exactly stating their thoughts in those words. Every time they lament their lack of a future together, it feels to me like they both just wish they were heterosexual.

In the end they both come out to their families, who react really well. But in Merrick's coming-out scene, he and his sister start quoting modern-day lgbtq-activism-lite; the phrase "born this way" is used, etc. I was feeling pretty grumpy about this book by that point and rolled my eyes very hard.

There are a few sex scenes, and they're fine, just angsty. The language is not too flowery - no throbbing manhoods or anything like that. It was mostly the description of their emotions that seemed over-the-top to me.

On the positive side, I really believed in their romance and in their happy ending. They spend a good amount of time together doing things other than having sex. Also, I wouldn't really call this book predictable. Every time I thought a trope I recognized was going to play out, something happened that mildly surprised me. Of course it did manage to squeeze in a gay nightclub scene; I'm not sure how that even happened in vague-fantasy-with-homophobia-land. But I don't really mind those scenes in m/m.

Overall, I think that this book would appeal to a lot of people, but it really was not for me. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Joel Leslie, who did a fantastic job, as always.

Merrick and Cassius are both likable enough, their romance was a bit quicker moving that I would have liked - but it was nice to see that it was never just about sex. The real show stealer is Marjorie, Merrick's little sister. She is awesome and amazing and just ... I want a sister like her. Beyond that, the guys were a little too self-sacrificing for me. I mean, I get it - sort of - how duty and honor are the most important things, but...it just got a little frustrating for me.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3. Another 99 cent purchase by this writing duo, and I'm glad I didn't pay full price. The authors do a lot of telling without showing, the world building is negligible, and the major conflict keeping the MCs apart is resolved with a whimper, not a bang. Gets points for creating buckets of UST and emotional angst, but the plotting and setting are mediocre at best. For a more memorable royal/commoner MM romance (minus the fairytale setting and the servant aspect) check out His Royal Secret and His Royal Favorite by Lilah Pace.