One of the things I love most about the queer romance subgenre is how it is so accepting of speculative fiction concepts that are unique and unexpected. Calley’s debut novel opens with a moment of high action that swiftly transitions to a quieter, but no less intense, fascinating quandary regarding reincarnation. Whether the speculative elements of this story are science fiction, purely fantasy, or some mixture of the two becomes secondary to the story and characters themselves.
The expected conflict of two reincarnated souls finding each other becomes more complicated when the initial conflict set up by the opening doesn’t turn out quite the way the reader expects. Instead, the story revolves more around the discovery of why a character makes a certain choice…or whether he is the character we think he is at all. I enjoyed this twist on the fated mates trope that allowed for a more natural progression of relationship development, though the slow burn elements of this story might disappoint readers more used to the fated mates trope leading to certain shortcuts. In contrast, this story is much more heartwarming and cozy than hot and spicy.
I made a prediction at about the 60% mark of the book that eventually proved to be correct, but rather than lessening the impact of the story, I instead became invested in how it set up fascinating future conflicts that would need to be resolved. The moment of reveal could have been angst-ridden, but ended up feeling more tragic and poignant. Calley provides enough subtle details earlier in the text that the eventual resolution feels sweet rather than neat or too easy.
Overall, this is a solid first book written with a distinctive voice that takes excellent storytelling risks. Though I would have preferred more story and characterization and less walking tour of London, I’ll definitely be adding Calley to my list of new authors to watch. I look forward to seeing where the stories in this particular world go, but also to anything else he might write.
Disclaimer: I received a digital review copy of this book from the author.