Heidi Belleau Reads

Ridiculously good. Tense, emotionally compelling, treated its subject matter with due gravitas. My heart broke for Daniel over and over. I loved that the ending didn't take the obvious way out. It was a happy ending, but a happy ending limited by its setting, which I absolutely loved. Speaking of the setting, it was just detailed enough for me to get a sense of how well developed the world is without being bogged down by infodumps. The story read like this truly was a microcosm of something bigger. My only complaint was that while sexual/physical arc of the main characters came to a satisfying end, I didn't get the same sense from their intellectual or emotional one. Did Daniel and his master ever learn to talk politics? But then, maybe that's the point: that this relationship can only go so far, and for the characters living it, it has to be enough.

Can't wait to read the other books in this series!

ETA: I've decided to belatedly bump this book up to 5 stars. Despite the small flaws I talked about above, it's been months and I am still thinking of this book and turning it over and over in my mind. That's a sure sign of a great read!