Assassin's Gambit
Hearts and Thrones #1
Amy Raby
ISBN: 9780451417824
Read Sept 16, 2014
Faux-historical 'roman empire' fantasy romance.
This one isn't a random romance read - I picked it up because it actually seemed like it would be decent. And it was!
Vitala is ethnically Riorcan, but appears to be a member of the Kjallan Empire, which has driven her small country into poverty and slavery for several generations. She's a freedom fighter, an assassin, and she has been trained for one single purpose - seduce and kill the young Emperor Lucien.
Of course, things never go according to plan, and the rest of the novel works through the implications of usurpers, dynastic squabbles, political relations, and ethnic tensions. And the really fascinating thing is that it actually worked really well. There might have been a place or two where a close look revealed the plot wheels grinding away, but for the majority of the book, I was totally willing to follow our two main characters along as they work out their political and personal difficulties.
The fantasy was minor and backgrounded despite being important to the plot on several occasions. It was fairly standard 'fantasy world magic' with wards and healers and specialized magic schools divided by class or country.
Technology was interesting - the country was an obvious Roman analogue, but they had gunpowder, cannon, single-shot personal guns, and explosives.
There was a fair amount of frank sex or sexual situations throughout - the main character is an assassin, trained to kill through (and with) seduction and sex, and that is dealt with quite plainly, as are several rape or dubiously consented sexual scenes.
The next in the set is Spy's Honor, which jumps back in time to a younger Lucien and his cousin Rianne (who makes a small appearance in this story).
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