Part of Tales from Tarot multi author universe, Amanda dives into the Hight Priest(ess) card. In the Cleric of Desire she blends the line of fantasy and reality with this demiboy and djin/incubus pairing.
From the blurb:
Including making a pact with the incubus he finds chained in the tunnels.
Odai has served many masters and mistresses over the centuries, including Madame Mattie, but never before has one captured his attention so fully or given him hope that maybe, finally, he might have found the one who can free him from his torment. Every wish he grants only grows his desire to grant more and to nourish himself on the desires of the flesh that Jeffrey offers him.
He can only hope that Jeffrey will ask the right questions quickly enough to save himself from the doom that has befallen all masters before him.
Cleric of Desire is a standalone MM romance novel as part of the multi-author collaboration Tales from the Tarot. This book is based on the major arcana card The High Priest(ess).
Molly Otto's review:
A truly remarkable tale of understanding identity and embracing it. Jeffrey runs the underground brothel tours of Madame Mattie, where he embraces his feminine side. When not embracing Mattie, he is the complete opposite in a shy nerdy man. One night after the tours, he comes upon an Odai, a dijin/incubus hybrid who changes everything. While Odai helps Jeffrey save Madame Matties, the two grow an unbreakable bond, yet they know it has to end if Odai can not be set free. So Jeffrey seeks the help of the Owner from the Magic Shop to see how to set his lover free. When the High Priestess card is drawn, he must learn to embrace his true self before he is able to set Odai free.
Amanda did an amazing job of tying fantasy into reality where the ties are so seamless that you feel this could be real. As with previous works from Amanda, expect kinks to explore that you may not know you have and enjoy the beautiful ride she lays out for us.
Rogue's Review:
- paranormal
- gender identity
This is set in the shared Tales from the Tarot universe, and the card that inspired this story is the High Priest(ess). I don't really know very much about Tarot, but I liked how the meaning of the card was tied into the story and it made sense for Jeffrey. Jeffrey when we first meet him doesn't really know where he is on the gender spectrum, and doesn't know there's a word for what he is, and can't find himself. He meets Odai, who is a djinn cursed to grant wishes, among other things. These are two people trapped between two things both struggling to find that balance. Jeffrey has to find himself before he will be able to break Odai's curse.
Amongst all this there's the thread of trying to save the business Jeffrey works at, telling the story of Madame Mattie and coming up against opposition. I loved how Jeffrey ultimately resolved all that, with a little help from Odai too, and I liked the story overall. If anything the ending was a little too neat but I enjoyed the story and liked both Jeffrey and Odai, and was happy I got to see them get their HEA.
I'm so happy to see another release this year that has a demi boy, and a demi girl character. I've only come across one other book that has had a demi-boy MC before I read this one, so for this story to not only have the MC be a demi-boy, but for there to also be a demi-girl side character was really cool!
Jeffery loves his job performing as Madame Mattie, he can be the closest he can get to his 'true self' whilst he's portraying her. But even though he feels the most at ease in his costume, there's still something that doesn't fit right. When the own let's him know that he's thinking about selling the shop, Jeffery is down on his luck.... Then a pretty amulet appears, as does an incubus who can grant wishes. What can go wrong?
I found the buildup of this story to be written well! I liked how Amanda created a beautiful and well detailed world before diving into the MC's relationship with one another. The creativity that went into writing Odai's character was terrific! You could tell Amanda put a lot of work into writing not only his character, but how much work she also put into creating Jeffery's.
All of the wishes added a nice touch to the story and kept things interesting. The whole time while I was reading I kept wondering what the 'correct' questions were, and wondering how Jeffery could set Odai free. I appreciated that Jeffrey's self discovery of himself happened gradually... He knew the things that didn't feel right, he just didn't have a name for it, Until CJ insisted on a makeover that led to him finding a name for what he's been feeling.
If you're looking for a high-heat, insta-lust romance story full of wishes, tail play, rude Karen's, slightly devious tendencies, wonderful friends, and not to mention if you want to find out about the wonderfully uniqueness of the Tarot Cards, this is the book for you!
Cleric of Desire is currently available as an e-book and paperback and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription
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