Reviewed by True
TITLE: Luxuries of Lust
SERIES: Passing Through Café #3
AUTHOR: Nik Knight
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 505 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 13, 2025
BLURB:
When it came to love, Rusty had resigned himself to never being enough, and Gem knew he would always be too much. Turns out, they were both wrong.
As a Pyclon from Lust, Rusty learned early the cruel rules of the Pentagram. Happiness is for the privileged. Hope for the weak. And absolutely nothing comes free. So he accepts a life of happy enough, of good enough, of just… enough. Anything more is impossible for someone like him.
That is, until he meets Gemae Akyllo.
With a brain that never rests and an ass that won’t quit, Gem is objectively a lot. His physical size is rivaled only by that of his personality—neither of which he will ever apologize for—but there’s a cost. He’s fun for a night, chosen first for a good time, but come morning, his bed is cold and empty. Always wanted, but never kept.
That is, until he meets Rusty Róisyn.
Rusty never wanted love, and Gem doesn’t need it. But together, they find it all the same.
Join Gem and Rusty and the rest of the eccentric staff of the Passing Through Cafe in Nik Knight’s rom-com, urban fantasy series, full of found family, absurd antics, healing hope, and a love that takes their hearts by storm.
REVIEW:
First, I’m a big fan of this author’s work, second, this addition to the Passing Through Cafe series was more than unique.
We already met Gem and Rusty in the previous books, but now we really got to know them!
Gem is a happy, emotional, bright Araknis, with a big heart, and he’s a proud confident slut (his words), known for loving d!ck. Rusty, a Pyclon, is the grumpy one, quiet and guarded.
They work together, there’s somewhat of a friendship, that got way deeper when Rusty opened up to Gem, showing him his vulnerable true self. If Gem didn’t already love him, he did now.
Rusty is getting more aware of his feelings for Gem, he has never felt like this before. It’s a slow process; at some point, he has to admit Gem means way more to him than he thought and expected.
Their friendship is special, but wait when it turns into something romantic, my heart, those kisses, it was just purrfect!
It’s a lively, sparkling story. There are hilarious moments where I laughed out loud, and there were super emotional scenes where my eyes kept dripping. The joy, the hurt/comfort, and the realness were palpable.
Gem and Rusty were awesomely executed!!
All the character species: Araknis, Pyclon, Elsa, Rhopa, Mantodes, Avis, and more, were so extraordinarily designed, they were one of a kind!
The writing style is phenomenal, every aspect was more than wonderful to absorb.
This series is an experience, a must-read!
RATING: 
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