Genre: Paranormal, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Tony
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About The Book
Life isn’t always easy for a Bureau agent who’s also a dragon.
Ever since Ralph Crespo was trapped in human form, he’s been going through the motions at a job he once loved. Maybe that’s why the Bureau chief seems to have demoted him to messenger. But this time a letter delivery allows Ralph to meet Anton Steinmann, and Ralph’s life takes a turn toward the unexpected.
Anton loves his remote home with its extensive caves. He’s less fond of his leadership position, however, and definitely doesn’t want the offer Agent Crespo hands him. Then Anton is kidnapped and tortured. Someone wants him dead and he doesn’t know why.
How can anyone be true to himself in a world where he doesn’t really belong? Perhaps Ralph and Anton can find the answer together—if they survive long enough.
The Review
Ralph Crespo is an agent from the Bureau of Trans-Species Affa, and he’s on a mission. It’s not much of a mission on the face of it, but he feels it reflects how useless he has become at doing his job since his ‘problem’. He has no idea how significant the mission will prove, and on so many counts.
There is so much more at stake than you’d expect from ensuring he gets a letter delivered into the hands of Anton Steinmann, a gnome, and waiting for a response. He does get one – no, make that two responses. One to take back to his boss, and a personal one he can respond to as he chooses to.
Yup, Ralph, that cute gnome, wants to get rather closer to him than he expected. Everything hangs on Ralph’s reaction to the suggestion, as you will find out if you read ‘Camouflaged’.
This is a great read. Ralph and Anton are lovely company, and their growing attraction is delicious. The restrained description of their making out is just right – not too sticky or pornographic. I can fill in the gaps all on my little ownsome, but never mind that.
The story is so much more than their relationship. It’s about Ralph coming to terms with his predicament and how to deal with angry gnomes who are not all happy little chappies, and who can be just as nasty as humans, when they want to take control and another gnome is in their way.
What else? There was a minor continuity gap and a bit of unnecessary (according to me) stuff at the very start. I’m being deliberately vague so as not to spoil anything. I could live with it as it is. Big of me? Well, I am taller than a gnome, so it’s not a stretch.
I liked the way gnome life and society was described. I really did not have any idea about how gnomes live and how dragons were linked in their history. It was just brilliant, what with both races being into hoarding jewels, etc. Apparently, they like to get a bit physical with each other, which was a plus.
I liked this story so much that I purchased a copy of ‘The Bureau Volume One’ based on this reading. A darn good read!
The Reviewer
Tony is an Englishman living amongst the Welsh and the Other Folk in the mountains of Wales. He lives with his partner of thirty-six years, four dogs, two ponies, various birds, and his bees. He is a retired lecturer and a writer of no renown but that doesn’t stop him enjoying what he used to think of as ‘sensible’ fantasy and sf. He’s surprised to find that if the story is well written and has likeable characters undergoing the trails of life, i.e. falling in love, falling out of love, having a bit of nooky (but not all the time), fending off foes, aliens and monsters, etc., he’ll be happy as a sandperson who has just offloaded a wagon of sand at the going market price. As long as there’s a story, he’s in. He aims to write fair and honest reviews. If he finds he is not the target reader he’ll move on.