A review by kjcharles
One Night in Boukos by A.J. Demas

I enjoyed this greatly. It isn't quite a fantasy--set in an alt Mediterranean world with very well developed clashing cultures. Not quite a romance--there are two love stories going on, m/f and m/m, but neither takes sufficient prominence to fully qualify. And not quite a detective story, though there is a strong mystery of which the resolution is hilarious. So it does fall slightly between stools in terms of genre expectations, but if you just leave those at the door it's a beautifully written intriguing and immersive story of people trying to get the job done, coping with in some cases fairly crappy hands in life, and finding love and friendship. If you like the Astreiant books by Melissa Scott, and who could not, I suspect you'll love this.

NB the m/m love story is between a eunuch and a 16yo slave prostitute. I think this is handled really well, with cultural context used well but in no way handwaving the situation, still less using it for titillation.

A pleasure to read, and well edited too.