All the Hidden Paths
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
The follow-up to Foz Meadows's A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, All the Hidden Paths is a sultry political & romantic fantasy exploring gender, sexuality, identity, and self-worth.
With the plot against them foiled and the city of Qi-Katai in safe hands, newlywed and tentative lovers Velasin and Caethari have just begun to test the waters of their relationship. But the wider political ramifications of their marriage are still playing out across two nations, and all too soon, they’re summoned north to Tithena’s capital city, Qi-Xihan, to present themselves to its monarch.
With Caethari newly invested as his grandmother’s heir and Velasin’s old ghosts gnawing at his heels, what little peace they’ve managed to find is swiftly put to the test. Cae’s recent losses have left him racked with grief and guilt, while Vel struggles with the disconnect between instincts that have kept him safe in secrecy and what an open life requires of him now. Pursued by unknown assailants and with Qi-Xihan’s court factions jockeying for power, Vel and Cae must use all the skills at their disposal to not only survive, but thrive.
Because there’s more than one way to end an alliance, and more than one person who wants to see them fail…and they will resort to murder if needed.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Meadows's masterful follow-up to A Strange and Stubborn Endurance skillfully combines elements of fantasy, romance, and political thriller in a complex queernorm world. Aristocrats Caethari "Cae" Aeduria and Velasin "Vel" Vin Aaro, having foiled the plot against them, settle into their fledgling marriage, with both men still carrying trauma and grief from their recent pasts. As the pair learn to communicate with each other and Vel discovers the freedom and fear of being open about his sexuality, a series of suspicious accidents and attacks—culminating in an assassination attempt in the heart of Tithena's capital—puts the strength of their new bond to the test. In Meadows's own words, "this is a book about what happens after you come out," and the author does an impressive job of demonstrating that the path to happiness and self-acceptance does not end there. The result is just as pacy and self-assured as the series opener while also embracing the opportunity for a deeper exploration of the sexual politics in this fantasy world. Speaking thoughtfully to real-life questions of identity, and the vulnerability that goes along with visibility, this fantasy adventure wows.
