It’s funny, the “low-fantasy-fantasy” genre has been around for a long time now, but I remember it getting super popular with a certain show that bragged about how it was “fantasy for people who don’t like fantasy.” Definitely in the top ten sentences that make me roll my eyes. I've been on a roll with all these fantasy books I’ve been reading lately! Though, this one was less “dragons-and-wizards fantasy” and more on the realistic side of things. Anyway, wonderful character writing, wonderful story writing, wonderful. Also, I liked how Caethari had to have things explained to him in excruciating detail, because sometimes I needed things explained in excruciating detail. But most importantly, all of these aspects blend together naturally without issue! Hurray for no jarring tonal shifts! Velasin and Caethari were both fantastic characters in their own right, but they became so much better when they were together on the page. This also had everything I love in a fantasy mystery, political intrigue, and a sweet and tender love story. I could tell that a lot of care and respect went into crafting not only this fantasy setting, but also in taking the time to make the romance between Velasin and Caethari progress naturally, which I thought was especially necessary in this book given certain plot points that transpire. Written with a simple yet powerful prose and set in a diverse fantasy world this book tells a story two people who find home and safety in each other.

It is a book that will live in your heart long after you finish the last minute. Foz Meadows's A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is an exploration of gender, identity, and self-worth. Survival is one thing, but love - as both will learn - is quite another.īyzantine politics, lush sexual energy, and a queer love story that is by turns sweet and sultry. With an unknown faction willing to kill to end their new alliance, Vel and Cae have no choice but to trust each other. But while his family is ready to disown him, the Tithenai envoy has a different solution: for Vel to marry his former intended’s brother instead.Ĭaethari Aeduria always knew he might end up in a political marriage, but his sudden betrothal to a man from Ralia, where such relationships are forbidden, comes as a shock. When an ugly confrontation reveals his preference for men, Vel fears he’s ruined the diplomatic union before it can even begin. Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry at all, let alone a girl from neighboring Tithena.

'Stolen me? As soon to say a caged bird can be stolen by the sky.”

A strange and stubborn endurance sequel