Gods & Monsters by Saffron A. Kent

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is why I read romance. Saffron A Kent's latest novel, Gods & Monsters is intelligent, thought provoking, and a wonderful commentary on the relationship between religion and sexuality. It's so refreshing when an author pushes the boundaries within their chosen genre, when they reference a topical issue outside of the main characters' burgeoning relationship. And boy, is the relationship between Abel and Pixie the stuff of legend.

But I digress.

Gods & Monsters follows the coming of age of Evie, daughter to a puritanical mother and apathetic father. When she meets Abel, her tall, smirking, artistic neighbour, a connection forms which neither can or want to break. But wanting and having are two very different concepts, and choosing love over family does not always end in an immediate happily ever after. It does, however, lead to a sexual awakening which arises from, and despite, faith.

Evie's initial idolatry of Abel is naïve, there's no doubt about it. However, her resolute belief in him, and in his love for her, is what makes this story so freaking gorgeous. After all, when the reader strips back the layers of this novel, they discover three simple truths:
He is just a boy.
She is just a girl.
And they're in love.
It is a unique love, make no mistake, but it is unsullied in spite of the suffocating religious expectations forced upon them since childhood.

Kent's ability to draw the reader into the complex world of sex, religion, and the search for personal identity, is second to none. She has mastered her craft in this book, and shown readers once again why she is a literary force to be reckoned with.

Please, for the love of all that is holy, read this novel.




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