Review: Honey and Pepper by A.J. Demas

Honey and Pepper (When in Pheme #1)
by A.J. Demas

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Historical Fantasy Romance
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/m

Blurb:
Newly freed from enslavement, Nikias is making a life for himself in the bustling city of Pheme, working at a snack stand, drinking with a group of anti-slavery radicals, and pining for the beautiful law clerk next door. When he sees his crush attacked in the street by an outraged ex-client, it seems it’s finally Nikias’s chance to be the hero.

Kallion doesn’t need a rescue. What he really needs is a skewer of octopus fritters (with extra sauce) and a friend. Nikias can supply both, and maybe, with the help of Nikias’s skill in the kitchen and Kallion’s excellent collection of wine, they can fight past their misunderstandings and the disasters of their pasts to something deeper.

But when civil unrest roils the city and old threats resurface, the trust these two have built will be tested. And they’d both better hope that Kallion’s vicious former master will just stay dead.

Honey & Pepper is a standalone m/m romance and also the first book in the When in Pheme series set in an imaginary ancient world.

My Review

Honey and Pepper is a romance story set in a fictional ancient world inspired by what seems to be ancient Rome. I enjoyed reading this one, it has a very nice slice of life cozy vibe to it, despite the serious topics that get addressed. It also feels quite unique and fresh as the setting is quite unlike other books I’ve read and I liked that.

Honey and Pepper is told from dual point of views of Nikias and Kallion, both are recently freed slaves. Nikias works in a snack stand and Kallion works next door as a law clerk and sometimes stops by for octopus fritters. After talking a bit more after Kallion gets attacked in the streets one day they grow closer. There is a bit of a misunderstanding and drama early on and it bothered me how they both handled that, but I liked how it gave the Nikias the opportunity to re-evaluate some of his beliefs. And after that there was basically no drama at all, just a gentle deepening of their relationship. Even some secrets and things I thought might cause conflict didn’t, which was refreshing.

I liked reading about both Nikias and Kallion. Both feel like realistic characters and it’s also clear how this world and their past have shaped them. I liked them together and could feel their connection. I also really liked reading about Nikias and the food he made, he likes cooking and there are multiple scenes and descriptions of food. I like reading about food and even though most wasn’t food I would eat due to it involving seafood, I still enjoyed reading about it and how food helped bring them together. It’s quite the prominent theme in this book and I liked that.

The only thing I did really struggle with is reading about slavery. It just makes me feel sad, angry and even more emotions that this ever was a thing and reading about the thing just didn’t make for comfortable reading. And when both characters their pasts came to light and what they had to do for their masters it just made me feel ill. The characters are definitely against the concept and do what they can and hopefully abolition is in the future of this world, but they’re not there yet.

To summarize: I enjoyed reading this book. It has a cozy slice of life feel and it set in a fictional ancient world. I liked the unique setting and vibe the book had. I also appreciated how despite an initial misunderstanding the romance doesn’t have any drama or conflict. I liked reading about Nikias and Kallion, they both feel like realistic characters who are shaped by the world they live in. I did struggle a bit with reading about the subject matter of slavery, it just didn’t sit well with me how normal it was in this world and it made me feel sad and angry to read about it. Hopefully abolition is in the future of this world as there are characters who speak up against slavery. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.