Title & Author: Reparation by Eli Easton
Anthology: Stitch (Gothika #1)
Release Date: April 21, 2014
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Pages: Unknown (the entire anthology is 294 pages)
Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
Stitch is an anthology of 4 novellas by m/m romance authors, each with a Frankenstein/Creature theme. It is the first in a series of gothic m/m romance anthologies called gothika.
Reparation by Eli Easton
On the harsh planet of Kalan, weakness is not tolerated. When young spore farmer Edward suffers an carriage accident that kills his mail-order bride and his factory manager, Edward has little chance of survival, until Knox—an enormous “reconstitute” labor slave—plucks him from disaster.
Recons are part machine, part human remains from executed Federation prisoners. But Knox is different from other recons. He can read and has flashes of brilliance. With no one else to rely on over the bleak winter, Edward forms an alliance with Knox, and against social taboos, they become friends. Edward struggles against his growing lust for the large humanoid, and while Knox thrives in his new life, memories of his past torment him.
A twist of fate brought Knox and Edward together, but there will be a price to pay in blood when they learn how deeply their lives truly intersect
My Thoughts:
I should probably start by admitting that I’m not a fan of Gothic novels. In university, I read a few chapters of Frankenstein and couldn’t get into it. The characters, the language, even the settings just didn’t draw me in like I wanted them to. Later, I tried a few chapters of Jane Eyre. Same reaction. And, though I gave Wuthering Heights the old college try, before long the idea of putting my head in an oven held more appeal to me than finding out how Catherine and Heathcliff fared at the end of the novel.
So you think I’d avoid this anthology like the plague. However, there is just no denying the power of that cover. It. Is. Awesome. Moody and dark and evocative. All of a sudden it didn’t matter that I don’t typically read horror or sci-fi or Gothic novels; I had to read this one. (So bravo, Ms. Easton. Clearly, if this author thing doesn’t work out for you, you won’t go hungry.
Eli Easton is a real life Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. There is no other rational explanation for how the author of the sweet, fluffy, holiday romance Blame It on the Mistletoe is also the author of the darkly romantic slave tale, Reparation. But while I really enjoyed the first, it is the second that I know will stay with me over time.
Simply put, Reparation blew me away.
In Easton’s introduction, she mentions that the inspiration for her novella was a mix between Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights. And, while I can clearly see the parallels between those two classic novels and this one (with a little Pinocchio thrown in for good measure), Easton managed to give Reparation a few twists all her own.
Readers are introduced to Edward in the wake of a horrific carriage accident that has left his young wife and his foreman dead and his own life’s blood pumping steadily into the soil beneath him. This is how Knox, one of Edward’s Reconstitutes – a part human, part robot, entirely slave cyborg – stumbles upon him in the face of a terrible storm. Even devastated by his losses and fearing for his life, Edward can’t help but notice the unusual tenderness and compassion with which Knox handles him. And neither can I.
Life is sacred.
While I appreciated Edward and his struggles, all it took was one simple thought to have me putty in Knox’s overly large hands. There were just so many layers of complexity and vulnerability to his character that I couldn’t help but ache for him. And root for him. And love him. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time a character gripped me by the throat and refused to let go of my attention until I had discovered every last facet of his personality and history. And the fact that Easton managed a character of this depth within the space of a novella is all the more impressive.
And then there’s the story’s setting – that of the fictional planet of Kalan – which was at once both completely foreign and strangely familiar to me. I had no trouble envisioning the planet’s stark beauty, its endless “fields” of lichen, the haze of the spores in the air, the razor sharp rocks that cut Knox’s feet like glass, or the ferociously icy wind storms that swept away everyone and everything in its path. And then there were times as I was reading that I would feel this oppressive pressure in my chest – a sort of borderline claustrophobic feeling – at the thought of being surrounded by all that completely toxic air. It was legitimately frightening. It may sound strange, but for me, Easton described Kalan so vividly that it became another main character in the story – a beast that the story’s actual main character, Knox and Edward, had to battle together.
The story’s conflict felt inevitable and the resolution, organic; both were true to every breath the characters had taken to get to that point. I believed their actions. I believed their words. And I believed in Knox and Edward’s happily ever after.
As I said in the beginning of this review, this story is a memorable one. I have a feeling that at the end of the year – with hundreds of books read and thousands of characters met – this will still be one of my favourites of 2014. I hope that you read it and love it as much as I did.
Still to read in this anthology:
Made For Aaron by Sue Brown
Watchworks by Jamie Fessenden
The Golem of Mala Lubovnya by Kim Fielding
My Rating:
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