3 stars This is the final book in the Maxence and Dree saga, and it ends with an intro to the next book—about Max’s friend from Le Rosey, Tristan “Twist.” I never thought I’d give one of Blair Babylon’s books anything below a 5-star rating, but this one just didn’t thrill me like the others. Partly, I think it’s because I had trouble understanding the whole Dominant masochist dynamic. More than that, though, is that I didn’t feel anything for Max or Dree. This made me feel like a voyeur observing an intimate (and to me, dysfunctional) relationship without having the necessary connection to the characters to do so without judgment. Now, the first two books managed to tap into my emotions in regard to Dree and Max, but for some reason, this one left me feeling disconnected. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that I respect Blair Babylon so much as an author, and if I didn’t want to find out what happened next, I’m not sure I would have finished reading this one. I’m not going to go back to read to see if the style changed from one book to the next. I can only say that this time the writing was more clinical and less emotive. There were a few poetic descriptions, but these were limited to visual descriptions of people, and in that regard, there were many noteworthy ones. My favorite was the description of a woman named Mairearad: “She looked like she might be a monochrome picture of a white person except for her vibrant red lipstick. The effect was almost vampiric.” Emotional descriptions were less frequent and consisted mostly of feelings of losing oneself within the other person. Conversations between Dree and Max were sweet and sometimes droll. There’s a Mel Brooks reference, where Max said, “It’s good to be the king,” as he lifted an eyebrow and grinned at Dree. That made me chuckle. Other conversations were heartfelt and earnest, and I believed that they loved one another. There are the expected anti-fascist references to go along with a monarchy and Max’s desire to turn it into a democracy. Marie-Therese, Max’s cousin, attempted a coup, and Arthur, who is well-versed in these things, says: “Her primary mistake was walking in with them. Most dictators whip their supporters into a frenzy at an off-site location and then set them loose to do their dirty work. They don’t care what happens to the poor slobs who support them after they’ve used them. Dictators despise their followers and milk them for the power and money they can suck out of the masses.” Later, Max observes, albeit in his thoughts: “When treason is not punished and stopped in its tracks, it is only a dress rehearsal for a larger attempt at overthrowing the government.” These are the phrases that will stick with me most from this series and are worth sharing. July 6, 2021
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Elizabeth J ConnorWriter. Editor. Proofreader. Archives
September 2022
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