For #RomanceReviews 16 I'll be reading A Power Unbound by Freya Marske.
I'm expecting this to be an Edwardian m/m romance with some kink, a light grumpy/bratting dynamic and some sexual healing, based on their connection in the previous book.
Background: I read A Restless Truth (#2 in series, f/f, great read.) but not the first one, because I don't usually go for m/m and also I do what I want. However, A Restless Truth made Jack Alston aka Lord Hawthorne sound hot in this tortured bisexual rake way, and Alan Ross was extremely entertaining. We love a scrappy porn dealer.
CW: disability, survivor's guilt, suicidal ideation, bdsm including consensual non-consent.
... is this the sibling equivalent of the movie trope where the deceased beloved is laughing and spinning in a white dress for no reason? With a soft focus?
OK, honestly I was expecting this dynamic of cat-who-is-just-play-fighting and cat-who-is-fighting-for-his-life to go the other direction.
Much better this way.
I finally finished A Power Unbound, time for the #RomanceReviews rundown.
TL;DR yes Jack and Alan, please sit with us.
I loved it.
This had the elements I think of as defining a true romance, both physical chemistry and emotional connection, but it was also definitely a concluding volume of a trilogy and wouldn't read well as a standalone.
I loved the way the author explored the implications of class difference and how Jack and Alan handled IRL power imbalance. A lot of romance authors use the rich character's money to simply fix the poorer character's everything, and this conclusion felt way better than that.
Glorious roleplay and dirty talk. The way they were mindful to keep their mutual mockery mutually enjoyable really warmed the cockles of my cold, dead heart. Just an awesome dynamic.
As a USian, the problems posed by living in a society in which gay sex was illegal seemed Quite Relevant.