In the Shadow of the Sun

Title: In the Shadow of the Sun
Author: Aislinn Kerry
Publisher: Amber Allure
Buy Link: Buy Link In The Shadow Of The Sun
Genre: M/M paranormal fantasy romance
Length: 34k words
Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

A guest review by Jenre

Summary Review:
An interesting take on the vampire myth set in a quasi-Ancient Egyptian setting.

THE BLURB

Aten, immortal pharaoh of the Two Kingdoms, keeps his eternal good looks by sucking the blood of innocents. Everyone knows it. His very existence is a blasphemy against the gods. So when Seth, a priest of Ra, is told to assassinate this tyrant at the masquerade celebration during the Festival of Opet, he accepts the task without questioning it. He seduces Aten and waits until they’re in the privacy of the pharaoh’s bedchamber before he strikes, driving a stake into Aten’s chest. But Aten doesn’t die. The stake shatters without even leaving a scratch, and Aten laughs at him for the attempt.

Seth expects to be executed for treason, but neither man can deny their attraction, and Aten’s intrigued by Seth’s misguided desire to see him dead. He challenges Seth to stay, to see if he can find a way to kill him—and maybe to see that he’s not the man people say he is.

The longer Seth remains, the more he struggles with his convictions. Is it possible that all the rumors are wrong? Can a man who survives on the blood of others possibly be good and just? And when the time comes to choose sides, will he honor his gods, or his heart?

THE REVIEW

Seth is a priest of Ra who has been sent to kill the Pharaoh, Aten, because the man claims to be a god. In order to do this, Seth seduces the king at a feast celebration. When things don’t go as planned, Seth stays with Aten, determined to find another way to kill him. However, as the days and weeks go on, Seth begins to realise that he may have been wrong about the king.

It didn’t take more than a few paragraphs before I was hooked into the world that the author has created here. The setting is very close to Ancient Egypt with its gods and Pharaohs but has subtle differences which lift it from being a straight historical, albeit with a paranormal twist. The descriptions of the feast, coupled with Seth’s nervousness but resolute determination to kill the Pharaoh, drew me quickly into the story and I read the whole book almost in one sitting as I grew more and more fond of Seth and his confused feelings for Aten.

Another part I liked was the way Seth’s feelings change over time. Like all assassins, he’s full of the strength of his convictions and fully intends to carry out his murderous task. He’s been fed a number of stories about Aten which, over the course of the book, turn out to be misguided and even untrue. His bafflement and self-doubt once he begins to realise that things are not as he originally thought was well done. Because the story is in the first person the reader gets to experience all of Seth’s feelings as he changes his mind, including his own puzzlement over why he stays with Aten, and what draws him to the enigmatic king.

One of things I really like about this author is the sensuality of her writing, and not just the sex scenes. When the two men are together the page sizzles with sexual tension from their very first meet. It made for compelling reading and it was that spark, that delicious push and pull in the relationship which was the highlight for me and overrode some of the weaker points to the book.

One of those weaker points is due to the story being so insular, and focused mainly on the two men. This meant that some of the complexities to the world building were swept through the book with a rather broad brush, giving us hints rather than specifics. We know that Seth is a priest and has priests duties – and later we find out that he has a mother too – but other than that, he is a blank page in terms of background to his character. Aten is more fleshed out which is surprising as we see him only from Seth’s point of view, but again, I would have liked to have learned more about his origins and some of his past history which he only mentions as the book progresses. The politics and complexities of Aten’s role as Pharaoh is something that the reader is only given hints about, and I would have liked to have seen more of this to understand exactly why Seth changes his mind about Aten.

Having said that, the book still works well as a romance and as that is the main focus of the story, I was happy. The positives definitely outweighed the negatives and I really enjoyed reading the book. If you are looking for a sensual romance with a bit of a historical paranormal twist then I would recommend In the Shadow of the Sun. As for me, I’m going to seek out more books by this author because I’ve liked what I’ve read so far from her.