Dimitri Abramovich may have won back the throne of Novo-Svitsevo, but even after defeating his former husband, the usurper Alexey Balakin, he seems no closer to securing lasting peace for his people. Enemies are closing in on all sides, and pressure is mounting for Dimitri to play the one card he has left in a bid for stability—offering his hand in marriage for a second time.
But Dimitri is still healing from the tragedies of the war, his return to the throne, and Alexey's years of torment. Vasily Sokolov is the only person with whom he feels safe, and giving up the comfort of their budding relationship feels unfathomable, even if it's the only way to sever the alliances being formed among the countries surrounding Novo-Svitsevo. So as Dimitri and Vasily reckon with political treachery, the lasting consequences of Dimitri's resurrection, and the sinister legacy of Alexey’s use of the Holy Science, they must also work to understand what it means to love each other even as they prepare to let each other go—which might prove the most difficult of all.
"Nothing of me is left in you. You have no claim to me."
Laura R. Samotin's The Lure of Their Graves is the epic conclusion to a poignant duology about surviving abuse (HERE you can find my review of the first installment in the series). After the first book's gut-wrenching finale, here is a tale about healing, something that takes a lot of time and a lot of false starts, especially when one is also faced with threats against the kingdom. This book is especially angsty, a feat after the already bleak first installment, and many chapters are tinged with despair, especially when it comes to the political marriage aspect.
Dimitri lives for his kingdom, and the agony of having to choose a spouse for the good of his kingdom, instead of following his heart and choosing Vasily, almost tears him apart. This is amplified by the fact that he can't envision a sexual relationship for its sake and the sake of the kingdom: he's described as asexual, possibly demisexual, and the marital bed would be a violation almost worse than what he survived during his first marriage. Vasily's chapters are just as painful, because he sees the choice in fronts of Dimitri and knows that he has to do what's best, but it kills him. Their encounters are mired with so much pain, and so much love, that one has to pace the reading or else be overwhelmed with emotion. And yet, it's such a hopeful book, and gentle, and kind. It's also very explicit in its descriptions of the sex scenes between Dimitri and Vasily.
The supporting cast is a delight, expanding on the core characters of the first book, Dimitri's found family, and adding Dimitri's suitors from other realms, and others. The suitors are vibrant characters, very different from each other, each of them with their own goals and needs, and we can't hate them, even though their mere presence is agony. On the other hand, we're once again subjected to Alexei's hateful POV, and he's just as skeevy and completely oblivious to the damage he caused as in the first book. His threat is one that has to be confronted too, but there will be help from an unlikely source, bringing to a close and to a satisfying ending another heartbreaking subplot from the first book.
The world-building, inspired by Jewish and Eastern European folklore, continues to be fascinating. It's not expanded upon, but what we already knew is enough to frame the story without weighing too much on the mental journey of the characters.
The Lure of Their Graves is a powerful conclusion.
✨ 4 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment