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seolhe's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lalexvp's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. This was not what I expected at all, and not in a bad way. It was extremely cute and had warm fuzzies at the end, though it was also quite slow to start. The character development eventually happened and they were good characters. There just wasn’t anything much of a spark about it.
tessisreading2's review against another edition
4.0
Cozy caper comedy set in, essentially, the ancient world, with two very sweet romantic subplots.
alicebarbarian's review against another edition
4.0
Two nice love stories in a richly drawn setting.
drfoolish's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
iam's review against another edition
5.0
This was utterly delightful!
Content warnings include: slavery and prostitution (often combined), sexual harassment, assault, racism, cultural pedophilia/pederasty, castration, religious undertones, one of the romantic plotlines involves an underage character and features no sex; mentions of kidnapping, gambling, sex with an underage slave sex worker.
I found this to be incredibly charming.
It didn't seem all that exciting at first, but I was sucked into the world - or more accurately, the characters - very quickly and was then unable to put the book down.
One Night in Boukos takes place in the city of Boukos, which is part of Pseuchaia. At the center of the plot stand Bedar and Marzana, who are part of the ambassador of Zash's retinue.
Pseuchaia is very heavily inspired by Ancient Greece, both culturally, spiritually and politically, from a big pantheon of deities to more or less independent (city) states. Zash meanwhile is more reminiscent of the Ottoman Empire (at least that's my best guess). They have a monotheistic religion, stricter social rules and classes, and generally are just very different from Pseuchaia.
The world-building was masterfully implemented into the plot. There are no info-dumps and the way the reader learns about both Boukos, Pseuchaia, Zash and more is so natural as we follow Marzana and Bedar's adventures.
Marzana is a soldier and after getting wounded in battle, leaving him with a bad hip, he became part of the royal guard for the Zashian ruler. He is in charge of the ambassador's security, though can't fulfill his role as much as he wants to given that the ambassador doesn't feel escorts necessary.
Bedar is an eunuch and the ambassador's secretary. He's delighted to be in Boukos, even though he'd rather explore on his own than personally accompany the ambassador to various functions. Luckily, the ambassador is having the time of his life, so Bedar has no qualms about leaving a party early and the ambassador behind.
When the ambassador vanishes, both Marzana and Bedar feel responsible and start searching for him before anyone finds out.
The reader follows Bedar and Marzana through Boukos and together with them learns about the local culture and people, slowly unearthing the mystery of the missing ambassador, visiting interesting new places and meeting fascinating people.
I liked both protagonists, but I especially loved Bedar. He's smart and very emotionally competent, knowing exactly what to say to make the people around him do what he wants. He's not above lying to achieve his goals, but he would never hurt another person, and he is committed to his duty. Marzana is less of a people person, but by no means introverted or clumsy in his interactions. He's competent at his job and just genuinely is a good guy.
Both Marzana and Bedar eventually find a love interest in Boukos. The romance is never in the foreground, but I want to briefly talk about Bedar's romantic subplot, since his love interest is a minor. This is handled extremely well and with much nuance. The love interest is 16 and a slave working as a sex worker. Bedar is 20 and an eunuch, meaning he, too, is a slave, and while in his culture he will never be considered a free man or a man at all, his status also comes with benefits.
A cultural divide between Boukos and Zash plays a big role: In Zash, a 16yo boy is not considered a man quite yet, while in Pseuchaia adult men having sex with boys is the only accepted form of homosexuality. In both cultures, the love interest is on the verge of being an adult, which Bedar referrs to multiple times in saying that he isn't a man yet - but will be (unlike Bedar himself.) Their relationship does not feature sex or sexual contact in any way and at the end
I really, really loved this book. It also has an ever-present humor with many comical situations stemming from cultural differences and misunderstandings, generally funny and relateable situations and the characters just having a great sense of humor.
Content warnings include: slavery and prostitution (often combined), sexual harassment, assault, racism, cultural pedophilia/pederasty, castration, religious undertones, one of the romantic plotlines involves an underage character and features no sex; mentions of kidnapping, gambling, sex with an underage slave sex worker.
I found this to be incredibly charming.
It didn't seem all that exciting at first, but I was sucked into the world - or more accurately, the characters - very quickly and was then unable to put the book down.
One Night in Boukos takes place in the city of Boukos, which is part of Pseuchaia. At the center of the plot stand Bedar and Marzana, who are part of the ambassador of Zash's retinue.
Pseuchaia is very heavily inspired by Ancient Greece, both culturally, spiritually and politically, from a big pantheon of deities to more or less independent (city) states. Zash meanwhile is more reminiscent of the Ottoman Empire (at least that's my best guess). They have a monotheistic religion, stricter social rules and classes, and generally are just very different from Pseuchaia.
The world-building was masterfully implemented into the plot. There are no info-dumps and the way the reader learns about both Boukos, Pseuchaia, Zash and more is so natural as we follow Marzana and Bedar's adventures.
Marzana is a soldier and after getting wounded in battle, leaving him with a bad hip, he became part of the royal guard for the Zashian ruler. He is in charge of the ambassador's security, though can't fulfill his role as much as he wants to given that the ambassador doesn't feel escorts necessary.
Bedar is an eunuch and the ambassador's secretary. He's delighted to be in Boukos, even though he'd rather explore on his own than personally accompany the ambassador to various functions. Luckily, the ambassador is having the time of his life, so Bedar has no qualms about leaving a party early and the ambassador behind.
When the ambassador vanishes, both Marzana and Bedar feel responsible and start searching for him before anyone finds out.
The reader follows Bedar and Marzana through Boukos and together with them learns about the local culture and people, slowly unearthing the mystery of the missing ambassador, visiting interesting new places and meeting fascinating people.
I liked both protagonists, but I especially loved Bedar. He's smart and very emotionally competent, knowing exactly what to say to make the people around him do what he wants. He's not above lying to achieve his goals, but he would never hurt another person, and he is committed to his duty. Marzana is less of a people person, but by no means introverted or clumsy in his interactions. He's competent at his job and just genuinely is a good guy.
Both Marzana and Bedar eventually find a love interest in Boukos. The romance is never in the foreground, but I want to briefly talk about Bedar's romantic subplot, since his love interest is a minor. This is handled extremely well and with much nuance. The love interest is 16 and a slave working as a sex worker. Bedar is 20 and an eunuch, meaning he, too, is a slave, and while in his culture he will never be considered a free man or a man at all, his status also comes with benefits.
A cultural divide between Boukos and Zash plays a big role: In Zash, a 16yo boy is not considered a man quite yet, while in Pseuchaia adult men having sex with boys is the only accepted form of homosexuality. In both cultures, the love interest is on the verge of being an adult, which Bedar referrs to multiple times in saying that he isn't a man yet - but will be (unlike Bedar himself.) Their relationship does not feature sex or sexual contact in any way and at the end
Spoiler
Bedar arranges for the love interest to not just no longer work as a sex worker, but also to be freed from slavery. Due to him being an eunuch, Bedar himself remains a slave, though.I really, really loved this book. It also has an ever-present humor with many comical situations stemming from cultural differences and misunderstandings, generally funny and relateable situations and the characters just having a great sense of humor.
sashahc's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I just finished AJ Demas’ book “One Night in Boukos” and it’s perfect pandemic reading. It’s a cozy queer story of making new friends and falling for them while trying to solve a mystery, taking place in an Alt Ancient Mediterranean. Highly recommend.
whatcassiedid's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A very sweet, romantic book
vasha's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5