Author: TJ Nichols
Publisher: TJ Nichols
Cover Artist: Tiferet Design
Publication Date: April 2, 2019
Length: 203 pages
Reviewed by Sammy
Synopsis
Police officer Jordan and dragon shifter Edra might have to work together, but they don’t trust each other—even if sparks do fly between them.
If anyone finds out Jordan’s a mytho sympathizer, it could kill his career. No one can know that he frequents the satyr dens and uses the drug Bliss. A dead satyr might not get much attention, but two dead humans who appeared to overdose on Bliss? That shouldn’t even be possible.
And it might not be an accident.
Edra, Mythological Services Liaison, has been covering up mytho crimes to protect the community’s reputation. With a mayoral election looming, the last thing his people need is a scandal like this one.
To get a murderer off the streets, Jordan and Edra will be spending a lot of time together, and it won’t be easy to keep up with their deceptions. Or keep resisting each other.
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Review
With a brief but packed introduction outlining an experiment
that went disastrously awry, the world of Tariko was literally pulled down onto
earth by using something known as the Hadron Collider. Now all manner of
creatures live among the humans and after years of being herded into internment
camps, hunted and killed and essentially hated and reviled, the world has
settled and humans have begun to grudgingly accept that the mythos as the
Tariko inhabitants are called. However there is still great resistance to the
cultures and lifestyles that came with the mythos. In order to try and bring
some sort of justice to the vast array of hate crimes still being committed
against his people, Edra agrees to be the liaison between Mythological Services
and the police. While still trying to
cover up any crimes done by his people, Edra finds himself having to work
closely with a detective that actually seems to want to help the mythos—a rare
cop indeed.
Jordan likes his job but just having come off a long
undercover job, the last thing he wants is to become known as the cop who
sympathizes with mythos—a definite career killing reputation to have. However,
he really doesn’t understand why everyone loves to hate the mythos and his own
dabbling in illegal Bliss (a sexual enhancement drug that is forbidden for
human consumption) has taken him into contact with many of the creatures. When
he is told he will liaise with the human looking dragon from Mythological
Services, Jordan is less than thrilled. However, as time goes on he sees how
the police have turned a blind eye to the myriad of injustices done to the
mythos—everything from theft to murder. Jordan is determined to do his job and
if it brings him closer to the tempting dragon shifter Edra than that is
something Jordan will have to deal with—that and the incredible feelings of
lust he experiences for the man every time they are close to one another.
Throw everything you know about fantasy novels out the
window. When author T.J. Nichols decided to begin a new series with the release
of Lust and Other Drugs, no realm was off limits primarily due to the fact that
the new world created was inhabited by mythological creatures. From gods to
dragons, ogres to satyrs and everything in between this is not your normal run
of the mill paranormal story. Instead it is a unique take on some very real hot
button issues we face today, namely bigotry, xenophobia and rising hate crimes.
Wrapped up in a mystery with a sensual slow burning romance, this story sets
the scene for future installments which I think may feature Edra and Jordan,
the two main characters, again. I’m guessing here but given that the novel ends
with a tentative happy for now or perhaps a ‘we’re ready to take the plunge
toward a happy ever after’ is a more apt description, I think the author isn’t
quite finished exploring the dynamic between these two. Either way I am hoping
we get more of these guys because they are incredible and their chemistry is
amazing.
I appreciated the way in which the author chose to have
Jordan grapple with his own bias against the mythos and have to come to terms
with the idea that he could possibly want to have a relationship with Edra,
despite the tension that would cause at work and the bigotry the two of them
would face both from mythos and humans. This novel didn’t sweep away the doubts
that Jordan and Edra had, instead it gradually made the lust they immediately
felt for each other slowly morph into something more solid and real—something
that could no longer be denied or brushed aside.
I also loved the little secret that Jordan had and how Edra
was the first man to appreciate it—that made for some very sensual moments
between the two of them. Edra’s interesting mating habits and his surprising
desire for the detective that was mirrored in Jordan’s own growing affections,
made watching their story unfold that more exciting and fascinating. No matter
how unique and surreal the mythos were, this story had me hooked from the first
page by keeping the action moving and the sexual tensions high till the very
end.
If you are a fan of the paranormal/ fantasy genres then Lust
and Other Drugs is the novel for you. It is a fascinating first book in what I
hope will become a collection of stories that features these two interesting
men.
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