Skipped book 2, because I needed more of Ravnos (or should I say Aubrey?) and Seht. This is basically a pre-quel to book 1, "Victorius Star", covering Seht and Ravnos's backstory.
I'm absolutely enamored with Seht, who's a natural dominant, yet he lets Ravnos call the shots. They are such an intriguing pair. There was a comment in "Victorius Star" about them needing a female to balance them. I don't think it was a female, so much as a submissive. Seht gave up his dominance over Ravnos, because that was the only way he could keep him. The threesome allows him to play dominant.
In a way, this book was more intense than "Victorius Star". The raw passion between these two men is palatable. They just can't decide who's in charge, at least not comfortably.
Sometimes I do comparisons between books because while reading the book screams a connections to previous books I read. This isn't one of those cases. But, after finishing this book, I sat down and tried to think of other m/m pairs where there wasn't a natural D/s relationship (either of the kinky kind or just in terms of personalities). Where the men are basically both dominant and both on an equal footing. Who bows to whom? Who bottoms to who? Do they switch off.
In the Anita Blake world, when Jean-Claude and Asher were a couple, who topped? Who would top now? Like Ravnos and Seht they seem to have flipped roles. Like Seht, I would say Asher was the more dominant man early on in their relationship. But now, Jean-Claude, like Ravnos is calling the shots. And, yet, we still haven't seen Jean-Claude and Asher on stage together.
Then there is Jean-Claude and Asher's menage a trois with Julianna. She too kept two dominant men together. Anita, on the other hand, is dominant all on her own. Clash of three dominants.
So, yeah, didn't mean to take up half of the review with the compare and contrast, but Ravnos and Seht have me thinking about dominant men sparking off each other. It really is as intriguing as a natural D/s pair.
If you didn't guess by now, this and book 1 are highly recommended. I'll get around to book 2, which features a different group of characters, sometime soon. (And not Jared's soon. *g*)
****
05/15/2020
The problem with reading really good books again a good decade later is facing the fact that the author is clearly not planning to give you more of their story. Not that anything was left unfinished, only, I get attached to characters. In this case, Seht especially.
I love their switch dynamic when they first come together again as grown men.
By the way, for me this was the perfect blend of sf, sf romance, and sf erotica. The sex is plentiful, but the surrounding story is just as compelling. And, most of all, the characters are unforgettable.