A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows
Genres: Fantasy, M/M Romance
Pages: 544
Cover: Paperback
Age rating: 16+
Buy on: Amazon, Kindle, Barnes and Noble
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“Stolen me? As soon to say a caged bird can be stolen by the sky.”
Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry at all, let alone a girl from neighboring Tithena. When an ugly confrontation reveals his preference for men, Vel fears he’s ruined the diplomatic union before it can even begin. But while his family is ready to disown him, the Tithenai envoy has a different plans: for Vel to marry his former intended’s brother instead.
Caethari Aeduria always knew he might end up in a political marriage, but his sudden betrothal to a man from Ralia, where such relationships are forbidden, comes as a shock.
With an unknown faction willing to kill to end their new alliance, Vel and Cae have no choice but to trust each other. Survival is one thing, but love―as both will learn―is quite another." - Goodreads
Review:
​​​Characters and Plot
I randomly bought this book from the stunning cover, and I glad I did. This was the first time I read the marriage of convenience trope, and I enjoy it. The sweet, tender moments between Vel and Cae were everything, they were so cute, and the spicy scenes, fill with emotions, and it was earned. I also love how Vel took his time to heal and recover from the horrible rape that he endured earlier in the book by his ex... Never thought I could hate an ex more. I do had to say this book is slow, had a lot of family politics going on, which even though was a bit confusing, I like reading them. ​
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The revealing of who was the mastermind behind all the killing and bandits weren't shocking, I had my suspicion earlier on, though the author did a good job of making the villain extremely hatable, I never want to slap someone so bad, the gaslight go hard there...
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I love that there is a mute character being represent in here, and I love how the author handle it. The mute character - Markel, was shown to be as capable as other character, he might not be able to speak, but he can convey through sign language, I also found his friendship with Velasin was sweet.
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Conclusion
Overall, if you enjoy low fantasy, m/m romance and healing arc, this book is for you, never heard of anyone talking about this book, which is a bummer.
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