Review: Omarati by D. C. Juris

When Prince Obyn is banished from the palace, he takes his unwilling slave Calliph with him. But as soon as they step foot on the boat meant to take them away, Calliph meets the man he is sure is his soul mate, Mateo. With Obyn determined to keep Calliph for himself, how will the pair ever be able to be together?


*spoiler alert*


As this book began, I was enraptured by Calliph's character and the rich fantasy world that DC has created. Because of the way it opened -- depicting Calliph's slave relationship with his master -- I wondered about the happily ever after. Who would it be with? His master Obyn or the sexy werecat Mateo. By the time I learned what the word "Omarati" meant -- soul mates -- I knew that Mateo would be the one. And their relationship was combustible. Every time they touched, sparks flew.

But there was a catch. Obyn wasn't willing to let Calliph go. And as it turned out, this was a very deep problem. Obyn almost seemed like too much of a problem for me. Whenever Calliph touched him -- sometimes willingly -- a little part of me soured. What about Mateo? I had to keep reading on, just to make sure that Calliph and Mateo gained their happily ever after. At times, I even thought that this would become a menage, but I fought against that prediction. I didn't want it to be because frankly, I didn't feel any connection to Obyn whatsoever. I wanted him dead, or elsewise out of Calliph's life.

Once he did die, that didn't ease the taint for me. Neither did discovering that Mateo had taken a lover during the eight years he and Calliph had been apart. As I neared the end, this portion of the book switched to Mateo's point of view. Perhaps it was because it was all through Calliph's eyes before, but I wanted to read more about Calliph. I wanted to know what he did during the five year gap and how he felt about events. I felt more connected to him than I did to Mateo, though for Calliph's sake I wanted their happily ever after. When the end to this book came, I still didn't feel closer. I feel as though it could go on. I love Calliph and Mateo and their ending, while sweet, wasn't at as happy a point as I would have liked. They could have grown, they could have found something more that this sweetness shadowed by their bitter pasts.

And speaking of pasts, what is Calliph's? While DC gives some of the details his past is barely skimmed over. Towards the end when it is mentioned, he leaves Mateo with an "I'm not ready to tell you yet," and never gets around to telling me (the reader) either! I'd love to see more of Calliph and Mateo, maybe in a sequel, to tie things up.



In a word, this book was


Enchanting.



Join me on Friday for an interview with the master behind this book, D. C. Juris himself!


Clara.