A.J. Lancaster - A Rake of His Own

Marius Valstar doesn’t know which is worse: the dead body in his greenhouse or the naked fae prince on his desk.
The only rakes of interest to Marius are garden tools. Not fae princes. Certainly not the arrogant, selfish fae prince he has the misfortune to have a history with.
But when Prince Rakken turns up naked and bleeding in Marius’s college the same day a body appears in his greenhouse, scruples must take second place to solving a murder that could unravel the delicate balance between humans and fae.
Marius’s own developing magical powers are more hindrance than help – as is Rakken’s bloodied past. Forced to work together, they must forge an uneasy alliance if they are to track down the killer. But how can Marius trust the man who represents everything he’s trying to avoid?

Comment: In February I had read the first book in the Stariel series by author A.J. Lancaster and while it had good elements, it didn't fascinate me as much as I hoped for. Still, I made the decision then to read the fifth installment, an m/m story which could also be read as a standalone, and here we are.

Marius Valstar is a botanist who feels very passionate about his work, even though his efforts haven't always been recognized. He is also the oldest brother of Hetta, who is now married to a fae prince and is about to become a mother. While things seem to be going steady, there is still his complicated relationship with Rakken, one of his sister's brothers-in-law who also happens to be someone Marius is attracted to and who rejected him some months ago.

Things finally change because a fellow investigator is found dead in the college's greenhouse, as well as a dryad. Thus, Marius and Rake join forces to find out what happened and who killed the two victims... of course, this means spending a considerable time together, could it be they can solve the pending issues between them too?

When I read the other book, the first in this Stariel series, I wasn't too impressed because the writing felt like it dragged and the characters didn't captivate me much, Marius included. However, I thought that a story focused on him, with all the usual m/m details that certainly would be hinted at, would prove to be way more engaging and, thankfully, I can say it was rightly so.

Marius seemed a much more intriguing character here, perhaps because we hot to see how devoted he is to his plants, how much he cherishes his family and how lonely he feels because he is gay and that isn't considered as positive. I liked following him around and seeing his thought process. I especially liked how he wanted to ignore his attraction to Rake but the more time they spend together, the more obvious their connection. Although there are many things that should separate them, the slow but steady understanding of how strong their connection is makes for all those less positive details.

The romance isn't simple nor instantaneous. I liked it that the author found ways to link them step by step before anything physical really happened, and when it does it's extra special. Perhaps not as romantic as it could, this is true, since Rake is a fae and they have different types of rules in behavior and in how they acknowledge feelings, but to me this worked. I really liked to see the small things which bring them closer but that without a real bond could be simply good manners.

Rake is a little more complex, after all it's more difficult to pinpoint the whole spectrum of what it means to be a fae, and most authors give them all this aura of mystery, but I was happy with the ways things developed and how we got to know Rake for what he was feeling. To me, the real interest of this story lied there, in how an apparently aloof character started to feel why Marius was so important.

While the relationship develops, they face some challenges and go on a few adventures, which helped to strengthen the fact they were falling in love. At the same time, they were investigation what happened to cause the death of the human and the dryad and I must say this part of the story was also interesting enough. I mean, it's not one of those complex plots or a really intriguing mystery in any way, but it allowed them to interact in certain ways which, of course, added to their becoming even closer. The resolution of the case wasn't much of a big deal to me, but it was clever on its own way.

Throughout the novel, we also get to see the protagonists interacting with secondary characters who were certainly key players in the previous novels, some of which I remember from that first book. I think the standalone status is well done, I don't feel I've lost much by not reading those other three novels I've skipped. In fact, had I known, I'd probably not have read that first book either, this one is very well worth it on its own. I'd read more m/m by this author if more stories were to be available.
Grade: 8/10