I expected more along the lines of her Earthrise trilogy, which I liked very much. The tone is similar, but this reminds me more of the romantic fantasy of Grace Draven.

An interesting romance of conquered west meeting magically advanced east and a romance between a man, an hermaphrodite and a neuter. Yep, three people. It works, too. Hogarth also plays with different cultures and societal norms and throws in some entertaining insights into the workings of the minds of musicians.

The story is pretty mellow and slow-paced, the characters are all fairly chilled and there is not an awful lot of tension. The general pleasantness is met with the required conflict and strife about 70% into the book. Luckily enough though, the author avoids the usual, annoying romance cliches and our lovers behave like adults and communicate.

Heat Level: not-explicit, some sensual thoughts
Relationship: Hermaphrodite/male with poly asexual neuter third
Conflict-level: low

I would recommend or gift this to a friend. Probably a good choice for fans of Grace Draven.

I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!