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A review by the_discworldian
Sword Dance by A.J. Demas
4.0
An adventure/mystery/romance set in a fantasy setting based on ancient Mediterranean civilizations. There's no magic - it's more Guy Gavriel Kay-style "it's fantasy so I don't have to stick to facts" historical fiction than anything else. But there are two sympathetic leads and a sweet, slow burn love story.
The only thing that got me about this book was how closely it resembled [b:Think of England|34715257|Think of England (England World, #2)|K.J. Charles|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490705360l/34715257._SY75_.jpg|40168913]. We had the house party setting, the solid ex-soldier with a damaged knee, the more gender-fluid, charming, sultry spy, the antagonist who initially honored the soldier's service and thought he would join the antagonist's side until he found out he was involved with the spy, the performative sex scene to allay suspicion, the rescue of one of them from a torturous imprisonment, the siege outside of the house, the queer women allies, the pretentious justification of evil with a lot of philosophical faff about purity...especially towards the beginning it was almost beat-for-beat. But since I heard of this book from the glowing reviews of the author of Think of England, I tried really hard to enjoy it for itself. There are also two more books to follow, which should be able to open the world and give the characters a different story to inhabit.
Besides, as I've mentioned before, I love Think of England.
The only thing that got me about this book was how closely it resembled [b:Think of England|34715257|Think of England (England World, #2)|K.J. Charles|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490705360l/34715257._SY75_.jpg|40168913]. We had the house party setting, the solid ex-soldier with a damaged knee, the more gender-fluid, charming, sultry spy, the antagonist who initially honored the soldier's service and thought he would join the antagonist's side until he found out he was involved with the spy, the performative sex scene to allay suspicion, the rescue of one of them from a torturous imprisonment, the siege outside of the house, the queer women allies, the pretentious justification of evil with a lot of philosophical faff about purity...especially towards the beginning it was almost beat-for-beat. But since I heard of this book from the glowing reviews of the author of Think of England, I tried really hard to enjoy it for itself. There are also two more books to follow, which should be able to open the world and give the characters a different story to inhabit.
Besides, as I've mentioned before, I love Think of England.