Reviewed by: Taylor
Title: Rarely Pure & Never Simple
Series: Variant Configurations #1
Author: Angel Martinez
Publisher: MLR
Pages: 145
Blurb:
A search for missing children throws a misanthropic human GPS and an obnoxious human torch together in a struggle to survive dangerous conpiracies and each other.
Damien just wants to be left alone. Too bad his variant talent as a locator makes him the go-to contractor for the government’s missing person cases. He can refuse, but it’s not so easy when the missing are variant kids.
Blaze Emerson is a sparker. People fear him as much for his ability to call fire as his obnoxious, violent temperament. He’s good at what he does, though, and he’s intrigued by the quiet man who can find people with his brain.
Conspiracies, treachery, and wild rumors are only the start. First Damien and Blaze have to survive each other.
Review:
The blurb for this sounded wayyyyyy cooler than the final project. In saying that, I still really liked this book, but it got a little draggy for me. Characters were good but the pacing just didn’t hold my interest.
Damien is a variant whose talent is the ability to locate people, in which the government tries to use him often for their missing person cases. He wants to be left alone and the less interaction he has, the more peaceful he feels. Blaze is a sparker, and just like with most sci-fi characters that have fire as a power, he can bring about flames usually the easiest when he’s at his most temperamental. The two of them are paired together to find some missing children (Damien as the locator and Blaze as Damien’s protector) and come across all kinds of different obstacles, from a government agency that may or may not have their best interests in mind, to an ex and rogue variant, to lost and determined individuals working towards a cause.
I loved Damien right from the start. I don’t know why but if you give me a character this is all scraggly and isolated from society by his own choice and because he’s a smart mofo; I’m usually sold. He’s broken and tired, but good at his power, even if it’s unwanted at many times. His issues and broken-man trope did become a bit tiring at times, but I still enjoyed him as a character. However, I did appreciate that the author combined his power and his anxiety and OCD tendencies together in a realistic way. The need at which Damien feels to control his surroundings and the need to feel safe and have others safe was written beautifully and with care.
Blaze made me laugh and he’s a very emotional feeler, he’s a protector, he’s been hurt before and it’s all a bit sad. There is a lot of sexual tension between Blaze and other characters and he seemed to be a nice, comfy guy that people wanted around them.
The plot is action-packed and initially moves fairly quickly. Right from the start I was totally interested in the missing children, Damien’s role, and whether or not some sinister actions or people were involved. But towards the second half everything started going downhill for me in regards to tension, character relationships, and whether the ‘cause’ felt fresh and interesting. I kept wanting something awful to stand out, something to root against, but there wasn’t really anything that was so cut and dry. A third character had personality enough, but what was presented felt unfinished. Maybe we’ll get to delve deeper in to him in future books? But that brings me to my next problem…I felt more connection between Blaze and this third character than I did between Blaze and Damien. It isn’t necessarily the author’s fault or anything written there or not written there for me to feel that way. I can see that the way it’s written, Damien and Blaze are affectionate and have a ying/yang ease with each other, but I still felt more of connection with the other two men. I guess maybe I wish that the added drama of this had been excluded so I could focus solely on the two main characters and their fight with the outside world.
Overall I liked this. I’d definitely read the next book, but I’m not necessarily desperate to read it. It’s good, solid fun with likable characters and a nice X-Men-ish plot line.
Rating: 
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