Review: Saving Liam

Title: Saving Liam
Author: Sasha L. Miller
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Publication Date: 25 April 2012
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 120,000 words

Rating: 3 out of 5

Blurb:
Leyton lived a quiet, simple life as a prosperous, thriving merchant alongside his twin brother Liam. But that life is shattered when Liam goes missing, and Leyton is told that the only way to save his brother's life is to seduce a king. The task proves to be even more difficult than Leyton feared, and soon he is swept up in a tide of political machinations, betrayal, and a looming threat of execution once the men who blackmailed him are caught.

But the threat of his pending death is nothing alongside the constant fear for his missing brother's safety—and the tangle of intrigue in which he is caught is nothing like the tangle he put himself in after breaking the heart of a king...

Review:

Main Characters:
Although the blurb would have you believe that Leyton and Mijah are the main characters, the primary cast is rather broader. In addition to Leyton and Mijah are Leyton's brother, Liam, Mijah's brother, Temel, and Luam's partner, Shakil. Yes, they're all main characters, not secondary.

Leyton is the soft-spoken one of the bunch. He's got some steel under his mild mannerisms, though, and is also a savvy businessman who's taken over running the family wine trading business after the death of his mother. He's half of a set of incubi twins (Liam being the other half) and shares a soul bond with his brother that he uses for everything from communication to tracking to pain-blocking.

Shakil is a Kingsman, a clandestine agent of the kingdom of Samaria. He's huge and not above looming to get what he wants, but he's also a mage with the ability to see energy across different magical frequencies. He's upbeat and teasing, rarely serious. He owns a jacket in which he can store anything, up to and including a tent.

Temel is Mijah's brother, the eldest son of the late king of Adina who was passed over in succession due to his being a mage. He's short-tempered and irascible, and doesn't like to ask for or accept help. Although a mage, he's not a particularly advanced one, noticeably weak in aspects like offensive magic, as his father refused to allow him to train in anything he thought might be a threat, leaving him to focus more on theory.

Liam is Leyton's twin brother and Shakil's partner in the Kingsmen. He tends toward smugness and manipulation, though rarely maliciously, and will do anything to protect Leyton--except tell him the truth about what he is.

Mijah is the new king of Adina, following the death of his father and elder brother, Ghalib. He never wanted the role thrust upon him but is making the best go of it he can.

Chemistry:
There are actually three main couples: in the beginning, Leyton and Mijah; in the middle, Temel and Shakil; and in the end, Leyton, Liam, and Mijah.

Leyton and Mijah are a charming couple, even if they came together under less than savory circumstances. They both bring a vulnerability to the table, Leyton because he's desperately trying to seduce a king to save his brother only to find that said king is more than a mark, and Mijah because he's reeling from the death of his family. Leyton is adorable when he realizes that Mijah is seducing him as surely as he is Mijah, and it's obvious that Mijah is quite brokenhearted when Leyton's deception is revealed. Although I knew it wouldn't end well (at least initially), I ended up quite invested in their brief affair.

Temel and Shakil were less appealing for me. Although I saw their romance coming (mostly when Leyton choked over Temel's implied reaction to Shakil's threat to tie him down), I never really felt that they had any chemistry leading up to their first kiss, and that what chemistry there was afterward was rather tepid. I liked their dynamics as a couple, but it felt to me more like a romance of convenience than passion.

And, finally, Leyton, Liam, and Mijah. This is a very late development in the story, not even being mentioned as an option until less than fifteen pages before the end of the book. There was some foreshadowing in Mijah's reactions to Liam and Liam's occasional musing, but this was another that could have used more development. As opposed to Temel and Shakil, though, I did feel that they had more in their relationship than power dynamics and sex; they balanced each other well, all contributing equally to the relationship rather than centered on one person.

It should be noted that there is incest in this book; it's implied that Leyton and Liam are or have been intimate, though there is nothing more graphic than a kiss. Those who are bothered by incest in any form will probably want to either read with blinders or give this a pass.

Secondary Characters:
Given the size of the primary cast, the secondary is surprisingly limited; I can't think of any characters that last the length of the book. Some are more fleeting than others, but I never really felt that even those that stuck around longer had enough development; their characters and motivations came across as a little flat.

In some cases, they just completely eluded me. I'm still not quite certain I understand Grenville's motivations. Or Princess Marceline's. Not to mention Aifric's. None of the villains really had enough exploration into their characters to make them believable threats.

Story:
Given the title, you'd think that the story was about, well, saving Liam. And it is, initially. Liam, however, is quite thoroughly saved in the first third, leaving the rest of the book to focus on the plot behind his injury. It's an interesting story, but it dragged in parts (particularly between Liam's saving and the final confrontation with Aifric).

And then there were the holes.

Liam is found in a Healing House, not rescued from Grenville's clutches. How he came to be there is never revealed, as far as I can tell. It's stated that Grenville thinks he's dead, but the transition from tortured prisoner to Healing House patient is never really clarified.

It's apparently a non-modern world--they travel on horseback and fight with swords and daggers--but they have a heater under the tub? There's no mention that it's charmed, so I can't help but wonder about its origins.

After Aifric's plot falls apart, everyone is certain that he remained in Adina, but I couldn't find a reason why. Why linger there? And why the absolute certainty that he did so?

Aifric is stated to be a scholar and not a soldier, and hides as someone about as far from a solder as one can get. When he pins down Leyton and Mijah, though, he not only holds them at swordpoint (despite being a blood mage and presumably able to deal with them magically) but also has the fine control to whip the blade across Leyton's cheek and open a fine warning cut. Where does that skill come from?

Leyton and Liam as incubi twins are regarded with suspicion, but no real alarm, implying that they as another race aren't particularly noteworthy. So, if incubi are common enough to not engender panic and awe, why do we never have so much as a mention of any other instance of another race? There could have been a little more worldbuilding there.

Writing:
Although mostly pleasant, there were some quirks in the writing style that drove me nuts.

Statements frequently ended with question marks. It's a particularly annoying affectation? There are other ways to convey uncertainty that might work better than giving the impression of a valley girl speech habit? I'd thought initially that it might only be Leyton because of his general lack of confidence, but as the story progresses other characters do it as well. There were a few places where it made sense, but most of the time it was just bad.

Revisiting the non-modern world thought from above, there's a lot of modern language used. The first time someone was referred to as a jerk completely threw me.

There's a lot of redundancy in word usage (e.g. Mijah's thoughts travel to certain thoughts). It happens to all of us, but a little more editing might have caught a lot of it.

Punctuation is quite questionable at times, and there are some habits that made me blink each time they showed up. (Commas belong anywhere, but in the middle of this sentence.)

Each of the main characters has a section that's presented entirely from their point of view, but I felt at times that the switch was arbitrary, coming about just as I was getting to know each character and not when a particular character's focus had actually been completed. I did appreciate that within each section the point of view was limited, but I still could have done with fewer points of view overall.

Other Thoughts:
Early in the story is an offhand mention that Leyton's incubus magic ensured that he and Mijah came at the same time. I couldn't help thinking that this could be more inconvenient than not, depending on one's preferences and any games that might be being played.

Overall:
Despite my complaints, this isn't a bad story. I found it difficult at times to move past the flaws to really get into the story underneath, but if you can do so you'll find plenty to enjoy here.