Reviewed by Dee
TITLE: Cythera
AUTHOR: Jo Graham
PUBLISHER: Supposed Crimes LLC
LENGTH: 156 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 31, 2013
BLURB:
Cythera is a sacred courtesan, one of the fabulous Adepts of Menaechmi, famed through the Nine Worlds for their opulent beauty and decadence. However, when a fragile peace treaty hangs in the balance, the power to stop an interstellar war suddenly rests with her — a mission for which she is unprepared and unqualified. If she is to save thousands of lives, Cythera must not only rely on her wits and sensuality, but on a man she never thought she’d see again who has haunted her dreams for seven years.
Athain Kinslayer is a captain in the Calpurnian navy, a star voyager who has given up on personal happiness in pursuit of his duty. His job is to stop a war. The last thing he expects is to have to rely on a sacred courtesan, a woman with whom he spent one unforgettable night seven years ago and has never been able to forget. Together they must undertake a dangerous journey, face unexpected enemies, and delve into the deep and sensual waters of the most hidden rites in order to save their worlds — and find each other.
REVIEW:
I’m not a huge fan of sci-fi stories as I tend to find myself overwhelmed, if not a little lost, in the world building. However, a combination of the cover, title, and blurb drew me to this story. Am I glad it did. The author did a marvelous job of bringing the characters, spaceships, and planets to life. The vivid descriptions planted me smack bang in the middle of the story. I could feel the g-forces each time the crew had to buckle up for a ‘drop’.
The first chapter is about Cythera and Athain, and involves what I’d call a femdom scene. A bonus for me, but not what others might expect to find in this type of story. With that said, I was fascinated reading about the training and explanations of Adepts and Blossoms. I quote “It is a defect for an Adept to only respond to a narrow range of gender.”
Chapter two jumps ahead seven years and thus begins the journey of Cythera and her crew, her reuniting with Athain, and their pursuit to end a war. When they end up on an unknown planet, action and adventure ensues. Again I was riveted to the pages.
I don’t want to rehash the plot as I’m loathe to give away spoilers. I will say it held my attention from start to finish.
Even though I read this story to review for a same sex blog, I’m not sure what category it falls into. I don’t want to pigeon hole it as it would be a shame for readers who don’t like MM or FF not to take a chance because I label it as one or the other. This story is tagged as bisexual, and while there is a very brief FF scene and equally brief MM scene this story is very much a FM story. The erotic content is subtly inserted, no pun intended, and at no time overwhelmed the story for me.
I recommend ‘Cythera’ to readers who enjoy well crafted sci-fi stories, regardless of the characters’ genders.
RATING: 
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