2022/37: Honey and Pepper -- A J Demas

"Nothing we did in bed together changed the truth of who we were to each other -- you know, 'owner' and 'property'." [loc. 1866]

The first in a new series ('When in Pheme'), Honey and Pepper is the story of two former slaves, both trying to adjust to life as free men. Nikias has come to the city after the death of his beloved master, a country landowner who lived quietly in the mountains, and is now working as a short-order cook at a snack stand: Kallion was freed when his not-at-all-beloved master disappeared, believed murdered, and is making a career for himself as a law clerk. Each likes the look of the other, but both are dealing not only with the novelty of freedom, but with the lingering mental damage of having recently been regarded as property.

Like Demas' other pseudohistorical romances, this is set in a milieu that resembles, but isn't, the ancient Mediterranean. She has an eye for the little details that bring an antique setting to life: Nikias' octopus fritters, Kallion's unused kitchen, bags of hazelnuts at the races, a high-born lady wiping her fingers on her mantle after eating a snack 'in the street, like a dockworker'. (Food is an important element in this novel, not least because Nikias enjoys cooking so much. I want the recipes!) There are some familiar names from the other novels: Eurydemos, Nione, Lysandros ... And, though this is a romance between two men, there are several excellent women, including Nikias' employer the widow Pyke, his new patron Satteia, and -- glimpsed only briefly -- an inspirational lady pirate. There are also tantalising hints of potential future protagonists: ex-archon Polydoros, in particular, intrigues me greatly.

The plot's driven by a villainous scheme which affects Kallion closely, but that isn't the focus of the novel. Instead, Honey and Pepper tells the story of two young men (and their growing circle of friends) coming to terms with, and overcoming, the after-effects of slavery: the acts for which they weren't truly responsible, the power imbalances, their different ways of learning to own their selves, their lives.

I liked this very much indeed: Nikias and Kallion are delightful, the secondary characters all felt rounded and realistic, and the setting -- Pheme, a cosmopolitan city with an ambience that reminds me of classical Rome as depicted by Lindsey Davis -- is fascinating. After I'd finished this, I went back and reread most of Demas' previous novels, and I'm already eager for the next 'When in Pheme' novel.

Thanks to the lovely author for an advance review copy!