Alexander

by Harlowe Savage

Alexander knew what was expected of him.

As son to the great Philip II of Macedon and next in line for the throne, he knew that one day he would need to take a wife and produce an heir of his own. But despite the best efforts of endless suitors, Alexander never understood desire; that is until his handsome best friend, Hephaestion, offered him something more tempting than anything he had ever experienced before.

Torn between duty and love, Alexander tries to navigate the intricacies of expanding an empire, discovering himself, and understanding what family and legacy mean to him.

Genres: Historical Fiction

262 pages, Paperback

Published December 20, 2022

About the author

Harlowe Savage is a queer author dedicated to creating stories that depict queer romances with the same amount of spice and passion that readers get from their straight counterparts. She firmly believes that the gap between the amount of LGBTQIA+ erotica and heterosexual erotica in the mainstream is far too large and intends to rectify this through normalizing queer romance novels and increasing accessibility of the genre.

Reviews

[Carla · Rating 2 out of 5]

decent smut, not much more than that.

i don't usually mind authors taking artistic liberties with real historical events to make the plot of their novels more interesting, but this one just felt like they didn't even bother. it was like they took the dot points of alexander the great's life and sprinkled them here and there to add a smattering of vague historicalness to what was in essence a very basic, cliched romance plot that could've fit any royal or aristocratic protagonist (male or female, gay or straight) in pretty much any time period in history except for ancient greece/macedonia. it's a shallow glance at what was in reality a very layered person, relationship, and society, written in a quite juvenile tone and examined through an oddly contemporary lens. it's just odd. my words fail me past this point, but it's just... an odd book.

i'm giving it an extra star because it made me laugh a lot, but i don't think it was INTENDED to be funny, so...

[Malinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

My criticisms should probably be taken with a grain of salt considering this is a debut novel. However, I’ve read much more sophisticated debut novels, so I must admit I was rather disappointed with the writing. This book is written for a mature audience but I can’t imagine a mature readership enjoying this much with how juvenile it is.

I found the writing to be rather lacking. I honestly would have categorized this as a youth or even YA novel with how simplistic it reads. I often found myself bored. There was no tension. Every chapter wrapped up as neatly as a Saturday morning cartoon. For the few battles Harlowe did wrote about, only one briefly described the fighting, while the other was a single sentence akin to: Alexander fought hard and won, yay!

The story was simple, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but Harlowe took far too many liberties that were often distracting. The historical inaccuracies were glaring. This is Ancient Greece, why is Alexander wearing pants? Why is everyone speaking with modern slang?

I was rather taken aback by the spice in this novel. Since the beginning reminded me of reading a grade school level history book, I wasn’t expecting such explicit details. Not that I’m complaining about those details, but I think readers may be taken off guard.

The spicy parts of this book were otherwise terrific. I think Harlowe really excels in those moments. It was perhaps an opportunity missed by not writing this as a novella with all spice and no plot. The book would have also been far more palatable had it been a AU retelling in a modern setting.

Honestly, there’s two books here. One is a delightful historical BL for young readers, and the other is a fun and raunchy MM. The two don’t work together the way I wish they would. Separate I think Harlowe would have two really great books (ok, one book and one novella) on her hands.

[Hazel Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sent this book as as ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

I don’t generally read historical fiction, but I was intrigued by both the subject matter (I’ve always loved Greek mythology, and history) and by the MM aspect.

Overall, I think this is a really good debut novel. It’s comprehensive, clear and precise. It tackles quite the character, and adds a few twists and turns that aren’t wildly unbelievable.

Watching Alexander and Hephaestion’s relationship grow from a simple friendship to an all-encompassing love affair was the obvious focus of the story. They met every obstacle head-on, always ending up together and stronger for it. The characters of Barsine and Roxana were a nice addition, whether real or not, and I appreciated how they propelled the story forward.

I do think the novel could benefit from a little more… luxuriating. Each scene seems to go by so quickly, and the characters’ dialogue is fast and sometimes takes large steps that the reader struggles to keep up with.

The modern dialogue, in the setting of Ancient Greece, is really strange, as well. I’m absolutely sure that the phrase ‘dicked down’ wasn’t commonly used in Alexander the Great’s time. This is purely just a personal preference, though.

Also, the mention of the Aeneid really took me out of it. Don’t quote me, but I’m also quite sure that the Aeneid wasn’t written by the time Alexander came around.

Other than that, though, if you’re interested in more of a personal look into what might have been Alexander the Great’s life, this would be a good read for you!

[Lydia R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in a single night!

What a beautiful story! I started reading and was instantly hooked into the relationships, the politics, the setting...it was all gorgeous. This is a new to me author, but I'm immediately downloading their next book

[Lira · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure how to rate it so let it be 3 ⭐️ I was so pumped to read an ARC of the MM version of the story about Alexander the Great. How it should be (a very queer story indeed) in my opinion as well. So I started reading with a lot of expectations, you see..

It is a very romanticized version of the story. Very shortened, very simplified version. I would say that it felt like YA but there is smut here and there are very strong and deep YA books out there. But it felt.. simplified. Ugh. I can’t imagine the real Alexander to act the way he was described 🤷🏻‍♀️ He felt immature even with all the brave and strong decisions he made, as it seems.. He was a conquer, in my opinion, not what I just had read.

And yet I was surprised and angry at the end of the book on behalf of Hephaestion and Alexander. Then glad for them. It is VERY romanticized. So maybe, in some other Universe, the couple’s story is a HEA. But I didn’t believe it after the reading. Such a great historical character should be written about after a LOT of research and more in detailed way, with more depth.

*An ARC copy was provided by the author for review purposes - thank you!*

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up at Phoenix Fan Fusion from the author's table and started reading it as soon as con was over. There are a lot of things I liked about the book, the characterization, the more heartfelt scenes were well done, there was a lot of spice, and it felt like reading a fanfiction (which is where my love of reading started, so I have a deep appreciation for that). ((And I guess historical fiction with real historical figures is fanfic about them regardless))

There were some small things that bothered me when reading tho. Mostly grammatical errors and some historical inaccuracies beyond the way something going through a life's history with broad strokes and a happier ending than real life has. (Specifically the mention of pants, realistically they would have been hiking up a chiton to get frisky) However I don't generally fault self-published authors books for editing/thing that would be fixed in beta reading and I am genuinely looking forward to Harlowe's next book (and would love to be considered as a beta reader)

[Shannae Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had the honor of meeting @harlowesavage at Phoenix Fan Fusion. The first thing she asked me was if I read queer romance. YES, almost exclusively.

I was able to get all three books in her Monarchs of Eros series. The series is about historical figures who are rumored or confirmed queer. The first book Alexander explores his relationship with his longest advisor and best friend Hephaestion.

Alexander is a quick read set in Macedon filled with gay smut and sweet romance. It felt a bit like reading an American Girl novel but with really grown up and queer scenes.

[Ιωάννα Σερίφη · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given a copy as a ARC reader. I dont know what to say about it expect that it was a pretty nice deput novel with a lot of spice and some good romance. But it was historicaly inacuarate and i mean a lot! Also I can't picture Alexandre act so inmatuarly. There were some points in this book that felt like I was reading a good fanfiction.
Overall i would recommend it to some of my friends that also enjoy a good MM smut.

[Vee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book needs a lot of polishing. It read more like a contemporary LGBT romance (which would've been great) vs a historical romance of one of the most famous conquerers in history. Why give the characters modern language, clothing, and conveniences if set in this time period? It could have been good if they kept the writing and made it present time (though the writing does need work), or kept the setting and characters and made it much more accurate for the time period.

[WahchachaO_o · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never read an MM romance before, I never thought I would be able to get into one, but Harlowe's writing is so captivating that I couldn't put this book down. This book is absolutely for steamy romance readers of everywhere. The story is so sweet and erotic, I can't can't wait for more from Harlowe! Definitely recommend.

[AbigailReadzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first historical romance and overall it was a lot of fun!

Our two MCs relationship going from friends to so much more & seeing all of the challenges and trials they had to face to get there was really interesting.

I think the setting of this book was really cool as well.

This was a unique take on MM romance & it was a pretty fun book.

[Tiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

🩶mm
🩶friends to lovers
🩶forbidden love
🩶arranged marriage(not mc)
🩶historical retelling
🩶hurt/comfort
🩶found family
🩶hea
🩶first time
🩶gay awakening
🩶secret relationship
🩶small miscommunication/owd(resolved immediately)
🩶secret relationship(kinda)
🩶fast paced
🩶war battles
🩶one mmf scene(but like not really)

[Aurora♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

~𝟓 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔~

I was at a Con and I saw her stand so I froze to see what it was about. But she waved me to come over so I did. Best decision of my life. The author is so sweet. Besides that, I actually finished this book a while ago and just now making a review. I loved every minute of it, read half of it on the way home after the con.

[Megan Benoit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book at Phoenix Fan Fusion ‘24 at the authors table. It’s an easy feel good romance. A cute historical fiction that’s not very historically accurate, but I’m personally not a stickler for such things. Was a good amount of spice with feel good characters.

[Hillary]

I did not finish this book. While the idea is intriguing, I found the writing to be stilted and cliche. I didn’t feel like I got to know the characters. I know this is the author’s first book and I hope she keeps writing because there is potential but she needs to find her voice.

[Julia K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm in love!

I couldn’t put it down! The romance was so touching and moving and sweet, and the spice was incredible!! I can't wait to read more by this author!

[Carol (bookish_notes)]

DNF @ 1%

The writing style isn’t for me.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rok