Poison is a very strange novel. I actually can't say if I fully understand it.

In a fantasy regency world, Rimania, people are divided in Elite and Workers. They are a closed cast society and only Elite can do politics and have access to high class; they are so strict on their rules that a worker is not even allowed in presence of an Elite if not as personal servant.

Tobias is the nephew of the actual regent. His father attempted to his brother's life and was executed for this reason. Now Tobias prefer to have a secluded life in his manor with a matchmaking mother. He is not interested in politics, but when his uncle is murdered and some days after also his cousin, only another cousin remains between Tobias and the regency. And he is not very happy of that.

Meanwhile Geln, an outworld spy of the Alliance who wants to take over the power in Rimania, infiltrates in the Elite's society through Tobias' mother, posing as her lover. Geln is a spy and also a "whore": he uses sex to reach his purposes; after being the "prostitute" of a revolutionary worker, Arjes, now he is the paramour of Dressia, Tobias' mother. But when Tobias is poisoned, surprisingly Geln saves his life. Tobias is an innocent 23 years old man, who is not aware of all the politic troubles around him: he only realizes that people he loved were killed and he wants to know why. But when he meets Geln, he realizes also something else: he is attracted by a man, even if they said to him that, in this new Elite society, homosexuality is extinct.

Tobias and Geln embark in a strange relationship, where Tobias discovers his sexuality and Geln tries to teach him how beautiful can be sex with a man and meanwhile tries to go on with his plan without using innocent Tobias as a pawn. But Geln is not tough enough as he thinks, and past experiences make him a little skittish when he faces a true and sincere love.

Both Tobias than Geln are unwilling heroes, and truth be told, they don't have the physique du role to be a full figured hero. Tobias is not enough on an idealist, he is more a child who finds himself to play with an "adult" game, and he doesn't know the rule. He could use the help of someone more experienced, but Geln is not that man. Geln is, as Tobias, a man who is thrown in something bigger than him and not even having all the necessary information. But two halfs maybe make an entire, and Tobias and Geln together manage to play in this game. Among betrayals and perils, the reader starts to understand to not trust no one and maybe the less human of all will be the more trustworthy of all.

http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/poison

Amazon Kindle: Poison

Amazon: Poison

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Cover Art by Anne Cain