If I Were Fire by Heloise West

Title: If I Were Fire
Author: Heloise West
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Cover Artist: LC Chase
Genre: Historical
Length: 20k
Formats MOBI, EPUB, PDF

In 18th century Siena, Count Salvesto Masello returns home to find the family villa and his father’s estate deeply in debt. In order to save it, he sells valuable heirlooms, but he is running out of silverware. Somewhere in the villa, his deceased father has hidden the art treasures that will pay the debt—but Salvesto can’t find them anywhere.

Amadeo Neruccio has been on the run from the vicious pimp, thief, and pawnbroker Guelfetto, whose toughs finally catch him and bring him to the cellar where Count Masello is selling off his silver. When the count learns what fate Guelfetto has in store for Amadeo, he intervenes, and trades the last of his mother’s dowry for the young man’s freedom.

Salvesto left home over ten years ago to live the life of adventure he craved and leave his broken heart behind. When he rescues Amadeo, he does not expect to find love again—or the start of his next adventure.

I love being taken away in time and being told a story that could only happen then, with characters who are very much of their time and place. This creates an issue for a lot of MM romances, because of the historical attitudes. Having to sneak around to avoid jail or execution adds tension.

Amadeo and Sylvesto are two characters who do this job for me. Their story is set in 1715 Sienna, Italy, a place I first discovered in my horse-crazy preteen years. The Palio, an insanely dangerous bareback horse race in the town center was an established tradition by the time Amadeo rides in it.
Amadeo’s in deep trouble because his race didn’t go as planned: his win wrecked the betting. He’s run afoul of a notorious criminal and is about to be sold into slavery to make up for his debts. His friends have abandoned him, and he doesn’t have much hope until Sylvesto, who has troubles of his own, manages to extricate him from his fate. This was cleverly done, and I had to chuckle about a side bet.

The author does a good job of setting the scene in the town and the surrounding countryside, and cluing us in to the politics of the time without it taking over the story. I could have wished for a little more here, because Sylvesto’s years away adventuring needed some context. It was clear enough why he personally went, although such a life changing event would brand the other guy’s name in your mind.

Amadeo and Sylvesto don’t have a lot of opportunities to develop a relationship, but the class issues and the secrecy issues do get overcome. The first kiss was accidental, but sparked so much more. None of it would have a chance to blossom, though, if Sylvesto’s dealings with the evil Guelfetto had gone differently, and for that, he needs to thank Amadeo. This also brings them from a large social gulf where Amadeo is stuck with a case of hero worship to a more even equal footing.

My quibble with this story is that several of the exciting things mentioned in it were only mentioned. We hear about Amadeo’s ride in the Palio but don't ride it with him, we don’t get to see the race alongside Sylvesto, or watch the jockey fall into disgrace. We find out about a crucial discovery after the fact. What we do get to see is nice, but only at the end do we get to experience the full excitement of the goings-on.

I did enjoy the plot and the resolution, and I want the lovers to be happy. The author has a good sense of place and history, and  I will happily read her next story. 3.5 marbles

Alike as Two Bees by Elin Gregory

Title: Alike as Two Bees

Author: Elin Gregory
Publisher: Etopia Press
Genre: Historical
Length: 20k words

Horses, love, and the tang of thyme and honey...

In Classical Greece, apprentice sculptor Philon has chosen the ideal horse to model for his masterpiece. Sadly, the rider falls well short of the ideal of beauty, but scarred and tattered Hilarion, with his brilliant, imperfect smile, draws Philon in a way that mere perfection cannot.

After years of living among the free and easy tribes of the north, Hillarion has no patience with Athenian formality. He knows what he wants—and what he wants is Philon. Society, friends and family threaten their growing relationship, but perhaps a scarred soldier and a lover of beauty are more alike than they appear.

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Elin Gregory draws us into the ancient world of Greece, where democratic ideals didn’t necessarily penetrate to the countryside and the hand that holds the purse rules the world. Lovers are just as sweet in that past. Alike as Two Bees takes us to the sculptors’ yard where beauty we are accustomed to finding in museums is just today’s work.

Philon, plucked from among the stonemasons to train as a sculptor, is old for an apprentice because of his change in trades. He hangs back rather than put himself forward and acts more than he speaks.  He’s drawn to Hilarion, the scarred veteran of foreign parts, whose first duty must be to keeping his impetuous cousin Aristion from setting the countryside on its ear. One way or another, the two find ways to be together—duty always calls, and the demands of family take precedence, but Philon and Hilarion manage to find some privacy.

The slightly formal language of the story and the somewhat distant third person keep us from entering entirely into their heads. This actually works best in the one sex scene, where a few lines of breathless dialog and the barest of actions let us create an entire encounter more completely than describing every grunt and thrust could do. A number of important scenes take place in a third party’s POV, which creates a distancing effect—it isn’t even quite clear who the lovers will be until quite far into the story. One could possibly be thirteen year old Anatolios, who is a much livelier and more interesting character than Philon, although he enjoyed nothing more than admonitions to stay away from an older sculptor if the man had been drinking. The forced innocence of the two young men seemed one of the few modern notions grafted onto the past.

Philon is peculiarly innocent for a man who’s lived in the masons’ yard since he was old enough to leave the company of women, and because we don’t see deeply into his head, he comes across as a little simple. Still, he’s attracted the more worldly Hilarion, whose slightly clumsy courtship comes with choice olives and offers to ride double upon his fine mare. It’s cute, sweet, and fraught with difficulties seldom seen in a more industrial world.

At no time does the language break period, and if the turns of phrase are not translations from the Greek as they seem to be, they are very much in keeping with the world and sound very authentic. Alike as Two Bees is a charming look into the human side of antiquity. 3.5 marbles