Review Tuesday: The Star Gods' Slave by AT Lander -- #MMRomance #Mythology #ReviewTuesday

The Star Gods’ Slave by AT Lander

Pride Publishing, 2022

Roman mariner Lucius secretly dreams of being taken and used by a powerful master, but in the puritanical republic he calls home, he hasn’t dared to act on his shameful desires. When his ship is wrecked, he’s kidnapped by Greek pirates. Hauled naked onto the auction block and offered for sale to the highest bidder, he quickly understands the difference between erotic submission and real slavery.

The handsome, mocking stranger who purchases him instructs Lucius to call him “Sir”, but his first command to his new slave is hardly onerous: he instructs Lucius to rouse him the next morning with a vigorous round of fellatio. Inexperienced though he is, Lucius throws himself into the execution of his appointed task – a precious fantasy he thought he’d never get to realize. However, his new master seems surprised and embarrassed when he wakes to find himself pouring his seed into Lucius’ eager mouth. This man seems totally different from the cheeky gentleman of the previous night.

Lucius soon learns that he is in fact a different person, or rather, a different demi-god. It turns out that his rescuers are none other than the Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux. Castor is brash and cocky; Pollux is considerate and shy. A twist of fate and a brotherly sacrifice mean that they alternate in splitting their time between Olympus and the Underworld, always separate. As close as they are, they can communicate only through the letters they leave for one another – and the gifts that they offer, like Lucius himself.

The Star Gods’ Slave is the second book in AT Lander’s Gods and Men series. I loved the first volume, The Forest God’s Favor. This book is equally original, full of delightful detail (I adored the snarky talking horses), sizzling male-male sexual action, and sweet, hot romance. The author brings the dusty Greek myths alive, reminding me of stories that I’d forgotten: that Castor and Pollux had two equally unlucky siblings, Helen and Clytemnestra; that Herakles had a nasty temper; and Ixion, the first kin-slayer, was strapped to a burning wheel to light the Underworld for all eternity.

I really enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as Book One, for two reasons. First, although the author (who provided me with an Advanced Reader Copy) warned me it was kinky, it was a bit mild for my tastes. ;^) Castor is more than happy to spank and rough-fuck Lucius, but that doesn’t happen until pretty late in the tale. The earlier sex scenes, where Pollux initiates and tutors the virgin Lucius in homoerotic pleasure, are arousing but mostly vanilla.

My second issue is, surprisingly for me, a typical romance reader’s complaint. Both Castor and Pollux love Lucius, and that love is reciprocated – but the three of them can be together only in Lucius’ dreams. Thus, though the book is labeled as ménage, it’s really not. I wish they could form a true polyamorous triad. But that would require breaking the laws of Olympus and altering the myths – something that the author is apparently not willing to do.

I do respect her for that. A total happy ending would have been easy, but less poignant.

All in all, I heartily recommend The Star Gods’ Slave to fans of M-M romance. It’s creative, engaging, well-crafted, funny at times, and deeply romantic.