Having thoroughly enjoyed A.J. Demas’ Sword Dance when I read it for a TBR Challenge prompt recently, I quickly picked up book two, Saffron Alley, which provides a change of pace and focus in that it’s centred far more on Varazda’s domestic life and the growth of his relationship with Damiskos than on a mystery. I enjoyed getting to know more about Varazda; in Sword Dance he comes across as enigmatic and confident, only allowing a little vulnerability to seep through once he begins to fall for Damiskos, but here, we get to see him at the home he’s made in Boukos with his found family – daughter Remi, and eunuchs and former slaves Yazata (who acts as the household’s cook and housekeeper) and Tash/Ariston – a budding artist and sculptor.

When Saffron Alley begins, it’s been a month since Varazda and Damiskos parted. Varazda went home to Boukos and Damiskos returned to Pheme intending to resign his post at the quartermaster’s and then to travel to Boukos to stay with Varazda so they can get to know each other better and see if their relationship, begun in extraordinary circumstances, has the potential to become something more. The day of Dami’s arrival is more chaotic at home than usual – thanks to a demented goose, Yazata’s unexpected disappearance (and no food in the house) and the equally unexpected delivery of a cartload of clay for Ariston. The author does a great job of conveying Varazda’s mounting frustration and panic when nothing goes as planned and he ends up going to meet Dami’s ship feeling hassled and unprepared – so much so that he doesn’t even realise he hasn’t put on make up or brushed his hair until he’s almost arrived at the dock, Remi in tow.

It’s a bit discouraging to realise that Damiskos doesn’t even recognise him at first. And there’s more disappointment is in store when Dami tells Varazda he can only stay a week – instead of resigning his post, he got promoted, albeit only temporarily, and he could only get a short leave of absence. Varazda tries not to show his disappointment too keenly – after all, he hadn’t even answered Dami’s three, very short, letters during their month apart, so of course, Dami had no way of judging his welcome. So their reunion is a little bit awkward, made worse by the fact that Yazata is obviously suspicious of Damiskos and openly hostile towards him.

There is a mystery in this book, although it’s not the main focus, and it begins when Ariston arrives home in a state and confesses to murdering his artistic mentor. It doesn’t take long for Varazda and Damiskos to work out he’s covering for someone else, but before they can stop him, Ariston takes himself off to the office of the watch to confess. They’re not surprised to receive a visit from Marzana – an old friend and chief of the watch – the following morning, although they are surprised to learn that the man Ariston claims to have murdered is, in fact, alive. The mystery plot bubbles along mostly in the background, resurfacing here and there until later in the book when things take a decidedly unpleasant turn that raises the stakes considerably for our heroes.

I really liked the focus on the domestic in this story, as it allows for some excellent relationship and character exploration as Varazda and Damiskos admit that picking up where they left off is hard, especially as they don’t quite remember where that was.

“…we went to bed together without knowing each other particularly well… and without the expectation we’d have much time to spend together.”

And here is where they have to do the hard lifting. They know they want to be together, but navigating a new relationship amid family, work and cultural stresses isn’t going to be easy, and on top of all that, Varazda worries that maybe he won’t be enough for Damiskos; his traumatic past – enslaved as a child, made a eunuch and then used as a pleasure slave – is something he struggles with (unsurprisingly), and he has deep-seated insecurities about his ability to be the sexual partner Damiskos deserves. The author handles the subject of Varazda’s past with a very light touch; nothing is stated explicitly, and Varazda’s doubts and concerns over his ability to continue to satisfy his lover make perfect sense.

But Damiskos wins all the prizes for Best Book Boyfriend. He’s a deeply kind, patient and caring man – as well as a commanding soldier when he needs to be – and he’s completely content to take his cues from Varazda when it comes to their physical relationship. I admit that sometimes he seems just a bit too perfect – but he’s so obviously head-over-heels in love with Varazda and trying hard to do the right thing and fit into his life that his near-perfection wasn’t an issue; he gives Varazda exactly what he needs, unconditional love and someone to love in return. They have terrific chemistry and I loved the quiet moments of togetherness and connection they share, but if I have a complaint, it’s that there aren’t really enough of those. The conflicts within the household and the mystery take up a fair bit of time, so while the story does deal with the two of them working out how their lives can fit together, I wish there had been a few more scenes of just them, together, talking and working things out.

Where Sword Dance was told from Dami’s PoV, Saffron Alley is told from Varazda’s, and I really enjoyed getting to know him as more than the aloof spy, getting more insight into his feelings for Dami, and his thoughts about his non-binary identity. The author makes very clear that being queer and genderfluid is nothing to do with his being a eunuch – he mostly dresses and identifies as male, but sometimes feels more comfortable dressing and identifying as female, and he’s attracted to men – and both those things are intrisic to who he is, not caused by something that was done to him.

The imaginary/alt-ancient world the author has created continues to impress, the attention to detail – to the streets and alleyways of the city, the buildings, the traditions, the food and drink, the clothes – really putting the reader right in the thick of it. The secondary characters – mainly Varazda’s friends and found family – are interesting and well-rounded. I liked Ariston especially; he’s full of energy, enthusiasm and youthful awkwardness, and I really liked his narrative voice. Yazata, on the other hand, I found it hard to warm to; his passive-aggressive behaviour and attempts to come between Dami and Varazda are out of order, and although I understood that his actions are coloured by his own experience (his former master was a tyrant and he’s wary of all men) and he is concerned for Varazda, I wish Varazda had confronted him earlier instead of just hoping Yazata would eventually come around.

Despite my couple of small niggles, Saffron Alley is a lovely read and a terrific follow-up to Sword Dance. It’s a different type of book, but it works very well as it is, a story about two people who obviously care a great deal for one another working out how to be together in the long term. By the end, the mystery is solved and the relationship has developed, but there’s a mini-cliffhanger that paves the way for book three, Strong Wine, which I’m sure you’ll want to jump into straight away.