Silk & Sand by Katherine Diane
(Book 1)
Fantasy, LGBTQ+ Romance
Kindle edition
March 7, 2024

Review by Kate H.

This book has tension.  Tension between different personalities.  Circumstantial tension.  Loads of sexual tension.  And on top of that, plot tension. And, if you don’t realize it’s going to end on cliffhanger, it might just rip out your heart and stomp it on the floor.

But the tension is developed so artfully. And, next thing we know, a really lovely relationship develops between the two at-odds main characters.  Seth is an uptight arcanist, responsible for bringing a fellow arcanist to justice for murder.  He is unquestioningly focused on his mission. The only man who can take him across the sands to whether the fugitive is said to be is the extremely attractive Raider, who hides a lot of pain and personal history behind the persona of a rascal.

The world, a mash up of the desert lands of West Asia and a fantasy world where arcane objects, djinn, and other magic lurks, is well described by Katherine Diane, without the kind of excess that screams worldbuilding is happening. 

Seth and Raider are start as different characters and remain different.  Just because they fall in love, doesn’t mean their rough corners get sanded down.  But as they encounter various obstacles, making their way across the dangerous desert, they start to see behind each other’s façades.  Their physical attraction to each other becomes something much deeper.  Both have a repressed but strong desire for rough sex.  What we call BDSM has no name in the book, but as they engage in it, they manage to adhere to conventions of proper consent.

This book is so well-plotted that I didn’t notice that until I finished.  There is a lot of action, quite a bit of hot sex.  Conversations, check.  Personal ruminations, check.  Restful parts where you are just expecting the next challenge.  Challenging parts, where you are hoping for the next rest.  I don’t think I ever got bored for a second.

I feel like I’ve been rolling in aphrodisiacal pollen, because I just can’t say enough positive things about this book.  I am literally pining for the sequel to come out.

CW: violence, BDSM, sandworm

Grade: A