A BJ Review: A Policy of Lies by Astrid Amara

Rating:  4.5 stars out of 5

Twenty years ago, Levi Kaszeri survived a brutal rebellion on the mining colony of Tarus 9. Now as an aspiring reporter, Levi has a mission: to expose the massacre to the public, and bring the men responsible to justice. But after a violent attack, he is rescued—then seduced—by Tiergan Seoras, a young doctor with a dangerous past and a slave tattoo. Soon Levi finds all of his investigations leading him back to Tiergan. And he begins to fear that the best lover he’s ever had may also be his worst enemy.

Let me start by saying the title is VERY apt. This author came on my radar when I read and adored Song of the Navigator earlier in the year. That book impressed me so much that I nominated it for several categories in the M/M Romance’s member awards. Then I read an anthology, Charmed and Dangerous, and wouldn’t you know my favorite story of the group among a stunning cast of authors was Astrid Amara. Of course, I had to read more.

Nice world-building (some of the details were great, like the domed biospheres), sucked me in pretty quickly and kept me hooked with its fast pace, enjoyable female character, seriously sick-ass bad guy(s), and some serious twists. Plenty of action.

The POV character, Levi, is nuanced and well-drawn. We see the whole story through his eyes, and it was amazing to watch all the details coming together for him. Levi seemed stupidly trusting and a mite unobservant in some cases given his status as a investigative reporter and all he’d survived in his past. His single-minded quest for revenge perhaps put blinders on him at times.

Despite (or maybe because of) his mystery, Tiergan fascinated me from the start and that just kept growing as I learned more about him, his strength and sensitivity, his need to help others, his delighted love of birds, and all that we learn about him in the end just about broke my heart.

The characters had chemistry and heat, and would have enjoyed more interaction between them outside of the sex. What was there, I liked a lot, but more would have built up the emotional connection a bit more for me. And the way they jumped right into sex the same night together after Levi had been mugged and beaten pretty badly enough that Tiergan had to do some surgery on him seemed a bit rushed. Despite that, I couldn’t put this down. Highly recommended.

The cover is sexy but it doesn’t do anything to tell me that the genre is sci-fi or much else about the story.

Sales Links:  All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:  

ebook, 181 pages
Published September 9th 2008 by Loose Id (first published September 2008)
Original TitleA Policy of Lies
ISBN139781596327689
Edition LanguageEnglish
URL http://www.astridamara.com/pl.html