"You literally said you were expecting more than a kiss. We'd better do something out of the Garden of Jasmine, at least."
“The garden of what? Why can’t you say ‘fuck’ like a normal person?”
“Oh, I can say it, but I’m not going to let you do it—and much as I’d love to do it to you, it’s not really in my repertoire.” [loc. 1344]
A delightful pseudohistorical country-house murder mystery foregrounding a romance between an invalided soldier and an elegant eunuch who is not what he seems. Also featuring wastrel philosophy students, fake relationship, a fish sauce factory, and some really unpleasant backstory (torture, slavery, mutilation, non-consensual sex) for both protagonists -- though they are both good at acknowledging their own traumas and accommodating the other's. The romance evolves gradually, and is built on a foundation of mutual respect and equality.
I enjoyed the classical-flavoured, pseudo-Mediterranean world depicted here. There are elements of Persia and Greece, and with the fish sauce it's hard not to think of Rome ... Using a semi-historical setting with the serial numbers filed off means that Demas doesn't have to adhere to strict detail, either in terms of the society she depicts or in the wider political milieu.
Things I especially liked here include the wealth of strong female characters; Varazda's non-binary nature; the way that he and Damiskos work together as soldiers / warriors. It's told throughout from Damiskos' viewpoint, and he is not always the most perceptive of individuals: the reader understands how his feelings are changing towards Varazda before Damiskos recognises it himself.
And it's not all sweetness and light. Characters have decided views on manliness, racial purity, slavery and the decadence of Zash. There are unwanted suitors, blithering philosophers and feisty servants. And some intriguing hints about religious practices ...
So of course I went and bought the other two books by Demas. Yay!
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