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Anu
Jao is in a quandary. He can't find work, and he doesn't want to work for Kazematsuri anyway. That doesn't stop the crazy man from sending new recruits to test their skills on Jao.
There is also something going on with Jao's upper class boyfriend, Masahiro. Is he really so busy with his opium business that he struggles to find time for their relationship? Or is he getting tired of slumming it with Jao?
Then Kazematsuri turns up in person to employ Jao to find out what a new gang, the Anu, is doing in Okatsu. At the same time Fan, the daughter of his friend Akai, disappears and Akai hires Jao to find her.
Now Jao has enough money, but he also has several dangerous people to contend with. And he still needs to find out what's really going on with Masahiro.
NOTE: This book was previously published under the title, Field Guide to Assassins.
There is also something going on with Jao's upper class boyfriend, Masahiro. Is he really so busy with his opium business that he struggles to find time for their relationship? Or is he getting tired of slumming it with Jao?
Then Kazematsuri turns up in person to employ Jao to find out what a new gang, the Anu, is doing in Okatsu. At the same time Fan, the daughter of his friend Akai, disappears and Akai hires Jao to find her.
Now Jao has enough money, but he also has several dangerous people to contend with. And he still needs to find out what's really going on with Masahiro.
NOTE: This book was previously published under the title, Field Guide to Assassins.
178 pages, Paperback
First published March 9, 2014
97 people want to read
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July 5, 2014
First Reads Review - Anu by Tam MacNeil
So I was rather chuffed to win this book through the GoodReads First Reads program. This is the first M/M romance that I've won and I was beginning to fear that they were never going to send me any. And I wasn't disappointed by the book, which is a historical Japanese romance. It's definitely packed full of action and the story is tight and well developed, and the characters were interesting and worth rooting for, though I have no idea how Jao survived this book. With medical knowledge what it was at the time, he does come across as some sort of superhero at times, but it does make for some dramatic storytelling.
The romance itself actually isn't the largest part of the story, which is both nice and not, because I liked the romantic aspects of the story, and liked both guys and would have liked to see a bit more of Masahiro. That said, this is definitely Jao's story, and he is something between a masterless assassin and amateur detective. Really this is a mystery, with Jao trying to figure out what happened to his friend's daughter when she goes missing. It's that plot, more than the romantic tangle between Jao and Masahiro, that carries the story along.
The mystery plot is solid, though, with a number of strange situations and people being manipulated from the shadows, and Jao trying desperately to figure it all out before it kills him. He fights at the drop of the hat but he tries not to kill, which is nice to see and that makes Jao a more likable character. That he operates in this dangerous world with his own code isn't exactly new but it was entertaining, and that's mostly what the book is, light and fun and worth a look for fans of M/M romance, though this is quite tame, being meant for teens. The characters are sexually active but nothing is explicit, which was a little disappointing but it's t he style so okay.
In the end the book was fun and I enjoyed myself, though there were a number of times I was sure that Jao should be dead. The things he does would drop a normal person, but I guess that's what makes him the protagonist. Still, the mystery is interesting and resolves in a satisfying manner and I got my happy ending, so it would be very difficult to dislike the book. It was fun, and for that I'm giving it three stars out of five, though I would bump that up to a 3.5 if it was possible.
So I was rather chuffed to win this book through the GoodReads First Reads program. This is the first M/M romance that I've won and I was beginning to fear that they were never going to send me any. And I wasn't disappointed by the book, which is a historical Japanese romance. It's definitely packed full of action and the story is tight and well developed, and the characters were interesting and worth rooting for, though I have no idea how Jao survived this book. With medical knowledge what it was at the time, he does come across as some sort of superhero at times, but it does make for some dramatic storytelling.
The romance itself actually isn't the largest part of the story, which is both nice and not, because I liked the romantic aspects of the story, and liked both guys and would have liked to see a bit more of Masahiro. That said, this is definitely Jao's story, and he is something between a masterless assassin and amateur detective. Really this is a mystery, with Jao trying to figure out what happened to his friend's daughter when she goes missing. It's that plot, more than the romantic tangle between Jao and Masahiro, that carries the story along.
The mystery plot is solid, though, with a number of strange situations and people being manipulated from the shadows, and Jao trying desperately to figure it all out before it kills him. He fights at the drop of the hat but he tries not to kill, which is nice to see and that makes Jao a more likable character. That he operates in this dangerous world with his own code isn't exactly new but it was entertaining, and that's mostly what the book is, light and fun and worth a look for fans of M/M romance, though this is quite tame, being meant for teens. The characters are sexually active but nothing is explicit, which was a little disappointing but it's t he style so okay.
In the end the book was fun and I enjoyed myself, though there were a number of times I was sure that Jao should be dead. The things he does would drop a normal person, but I guess that's what makes him the protagonist. Still, the mystery is interesting and resolves in a satisfying manner and I got my happy ending, so it would be very difficult to dislike the book. It was fun, and for that I'm giving it three stars out of five, though I would bump that up to a 3.5 if it was possible.
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