A year or two back I stumbled upon Kate Sherwood on a writers’ forum and took the opportunity to tell her how much I loved her writing. I was truly taken aback that such an amazing author like her was so modest, saying how she needed a lot more experience and she was just a beginner writer. Truly? Even after years from her Dark Horse series no other author has managed to write a better M/M/M, yet this really wonderful woman thought her work was just beginner level. I wonder if Kate Sherwood has any more excuses to be modest after this masterpiece .
It’s why I wanted to read Sacrati even though, to be honest, the blurb and cover didn’t appeal to me. Because, Knowing the quality of Kate Sherwood’s work I couldn’t imagined it being anything other than flawless. What I got though, exceeded even my expectations.
Like Dark Horse, I don’t think this book will ever be unpopular for the M/M readers. It will be an iconic read. The plot, the characters, they were all flawless. But beyond all that, I loved the message of the book, the emotions it makes you feel.
At first it made me think a lot of Captive Prince. The idea itself is very similar in the beginning, but then the book, thankfully, takes a completely different and original route. The action is placed in a fictional world where civilizations are divided in valleys. On one hand there’s the Torian Empire with its many valleys and the Elkat valley, one of the few left unconquered by the Empire.
Theos is a Torian Sacrati- a group of highly trained soldiers. He’s grown up and lived in a society where people are separated by gender: women live in the city, they rule over everything that doesn’t have to do with war. Once a year they choose men to conceive their children with and then men and women never see each other again until the next year. Men live outside the city, in barracks; they train, have sex and go to war. For Theo’s society, sex with the same gender is normal and natural.
On the other hand, Elkati have completely different principles. They believe in mating for life and only with people from the other gender. When Prince Finnvid of Elkat is captured by Theos and his men, he’s forced to change his whole view on sexuality and social customs.
The story would have been beautiful just like this. But that’s only one layer of the story. Mrs. Sherwood went much farther than that, layering levels upon levels of complexity to the plot. She brought in political intrigues and emotional betrayals. She forced her characters to face their fears, she made them see behind the façades and challenge everything they’ve been raised to believe in. For example, while Finnvid learns that Torians aren’t the vulgar, barbaric people he was led to believe, Theos understands there is much more to the world than having sex and going to war.
You’ll find touching pieces of dialogue, superb characterization and so much adventure it will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
I’m telling you, you will never forget this book.
*Disclaimer – No, I do not know the author and I was’t paid to write this, in case anyone’s wondering. I just loved it SO much and I vow to bugger everyone I know to read it !
Shayla Mist 