Boys of the Zodiac: Capricorn:Forgotten Faces

Title:  Capricorn – Forgotten Faces
Author: Vivien Dean
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre:  Gay, Paranormal,  Interracial
Length: Novel
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Stars

A Guest Review by Feliz

Summary Review: This was a new and intriguing take at the old concept that true love conquers time and space.

* * * Possible Spoilers Ahead * * *

The Blurb: Some call Caleb the Angel of Death, but he knows better. He doesn’t kill. He erases life. Centuries ago, the Higher Powers created him to walk the terrestrial plane, eradicating those from existence who have either earned punishment or asked for dissolution. No attachments, no commitments, no problems.

His latest assignment should have been as easy as the rest. But the second he gets invited into Leandro Warnell’s remote Alaskan cabin, Caleb knows something is different. It’s more than the overpowering physical attraction between them. It’s more than the inconsistencies that have plagued this assignment from the start.

It’s the mark Leandro wears over his heart, the symbol unique to Caleb’s body. Because the only way Leandro could have received the tattoo is if Caleb had given it to him. But the man who’s collected memories for the last thousand years has no recollection of ever meeting Leandro before.

The Review: Caleb has worked for his creators, the Higher Forces, for centuries. His job is erasing people, that is, removing them completely from the common memory of mankind.  The only one who remembers those people is Caleb himself, he carries the memories of all of his victims.  Between jobs, Caleb lives among the mortals, disguised as one of them; in this life, he’s an unremarkable college professor at Stanford with a two-bedroom in Palo Alto and a cat named Kuro.

 
As much pride as Caleb takes in his job, he has become tired of it during the last few centuries. The new assignment Lemuel, messenger from the Higher Forces,  brings Caleb doesn’t look very different from alll the others, but the more Caleb learns about it, the more his suspicion rises.  According to Lem, the new assignment  isn’t either punishment or request, but both, which is impossible for all Caleb knows.  Furthermore, Lem acts strangely, he seems to be almost reluctant to send Caleb on his mission while at the same time giving him lip about having lost his edge.

 
Despite his apprehension, Caleb goes about the new assignment with his usual care.

 
His fated victim is a normal unassuming Joe named Leandro Warnell who lives in Alaska. Caleb is prepared to trick his way into Warnell’s home, since he can’t enter people’s homes without being invited. To Caleb’s surprise,  Leandro welcomes him with open arms.  Caleb finds himself responding to Leandro’s familiarity in turn; Leandro literally strikes a chord within Caleb, particularly when he plays the guitar. Instead of performing his deadly ritual, Caleb falls into having sex with Leandro, amazed at how naturally and right their bodies fit together. With this occasion, Caleb finds out that Leandro has a tattoo which looks exactly like the ones Caleb himself has on his arms. Caleb knows there is something about this stranger  who his body seems to recognize even though his mind cannot. But he, who remembers thousands of lives, just can’t remember Leandro.

In the beginning, there isn’t much background information given; both Caleb’s and Leandro’s backstories unfold as the actual story continues. This way of worldbuilding can work out great in regard to the  story flow if it’s done right. In my opinion, the author did a pretty good job with it here, even though a number of things remained unexplained and open to the reader’s imagination. It didn’t bother me, although others may be left wanting.

 
It seems that Caleb loved Leandro so much that he’d rather sacrifice his own happiness than let Leandro die.  Leandro, on the other hand, yearned for Caleb in a way that he thought his life worthless without him. So Leandro resorted to desperate measures. In order to force a reunion, Leandro asks for his own dissolution, since he’d rather be dead than living on for centuries without Caleb. Bit by bit, Leandro coaxes Caleb’s memory back, taking the reader along every step of the way.

Caleb’s and Leandro’s love was pictured in a beautiful way. The irresistible attraction between them shows almost from the moment Caleb crosses Leandro’s doorstep, in little gestures as well as in the passionate sex scenes, which were clearly lovemaking rather than pure carnal desire right from the beginning.  Their connection reaches much deeper than the sex. Caleb’s zest for life suffered from losing Leandro even though he didn’t know what he was missing, and Leandro’s mortal humanity affected Caleb to a point where it almost overrun the invincibility the Higher Forces had accredited him with.

The focus of this story is entirely on Caleb and Leandro, with only one other acting character, Lem.  The story is told by Caleb in first person, but both Leandro and Lem come alive nicely through Caleb’s eyes. At times, Lem almost stole the show from the main characters with his shenanigans and his cocky remarks.

All in all, a well-conceived, and at times rather dark paranormal fantasy, featuring a love stronger than time and space, stronger than death and even stronger than the Powers of Darkness. It’s skillfully written and makes for a nice change to all the vampires who are  normally cast in tales of immortal love.