Rainbow Reviews

BOOK BLURB:
Abandoned by their employers in a hostile city, Adiún and Matti, together with former slaves Devi and Sauda, must find a safe place to spend the winter. While searching, Adiún and Devi struggle to remember how to love each other. The unexpected return of some old friends prompts a flight to the mountain fastness of a rebel people.

Have the companions found a home at last? Will Devi and Adiún finally learn the hardest lesson of all: that true love might just be the work of many hearts? Find out in this sequel to Master of None: The Eight of Pentacles.

BOOK REVIEW:
In this well written and fascinating sequel to Master of None, the majority of players return in their journey to find a home for themselves. Well written and intriguing, the story focuses on the characters and their physical journey, which mirrors their emotional journey as each finds a heart to call their own ~ even if it is sharing amongst many. Due to the shorter length, not all characters were fully developed and explored and even some that had been in the previous book were ignored. The style of writing focuses on one or two characters and shows their internal conflict intimately rather than adding that weight to the surrounding characters as well. This gives a very uneven telling to the various men and women but ultimately a very interesting and unique tale. It may not appeal to everyone but fantasy lovers will enjoy the intricate world building.

In this story the narrative is third person alternating between Devi and Matti’s perspectives. Thus where the first story gave a thorough examination of Adiún’s character, in this story he is rather empty and hollow, acting primarily as a placeholder within scenes but lacking weight and purpose. In the first story Adiún was revealed as a complex man with a range of emotion and desperately seeking his true love Devi. Now, he has found Devi and reacts to most every situation with a smile, shrug, or a simple dismissal. Adiún has gone from refusing a romantic offer in the previous book and expressing jealousy of Devi’s relationship with Sauda to openly expressing his love for Matti and ignoring Devi’s jealousy with a simple statement that it can be good between all of them. While the relationship between all four men ~ Devi, Matti, Adiún, and Joh ~ shows different complexities, the abrupt reversal of Adiún’s character was jarring and perhaps works better not having read the first book prior.

Similarly, Devi was little explored in the previous story but is given more range and depth as he struggles to recover emotionally from his time and grapples with immense anger he’s never felt before. Clearly Adiún’s adores and loves Devi but can offer very little to soothe the man other than familiarity and undying devotion. Thus the basis for their relationship crumbles slightly from the first story and shows how the necessary addition of Matti’s gentle nature and Joh’s sexually charged chemistry add to the group. Clearly the varying life experiences of the men mesh well to create a group that function, even to the point of likely adding future members to their family sexually and emotionally. These men seem to be together more due to circumstance and affection than a love that would survive all future trials.

Nonetheless, the world building the author has created is truly unique and astonishing. The level of detail never overwhelmed but added layer upon layer of richness to the environment from the various hunts (which are in enough detail to turn a sensitive stomach) to the intricate story of a man and an owl revealed over several days. The parallels within the story to the various characters are subtle and well crafted as is the tale itself. Additionally the use of the tarot cards was inventive and beautifully used, showing their importance and impact each time they appeared. The writing is crisp and clean able to flow easily without dragging in an unfamiliar world. The formal prose worked well with the fantasy setting but was never stiff and unyielding. For a truly unique story that breaks all molds and boundaries, this certainly delivers.

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. However, some books were purchased by the reviewer and not provided for free. For information on how a particular title was obtained, please contact us at reviews@rainbow-reviews.com.