All or None by Aurora Lee Thorton Book Tour
Author: Aurora Lee Thornton
Genre: adult, fantasy
Diversity tags: lgbtqiap+ representation (demisexual cis main character, pansexual cis main character, demisexual trans, bisexual cis, pansexual cis, asexual cis, pansexual polyamorous cis, pansexual polyamorous cis)
Publication date: August 2020
Publisher: Self-published
Book Synopsis
"In a world where everyone has a soulmate, uniquely powerful mage Royiora and reluctant assassin Kalo collide in the worst of ways.
Royiora Daralkaen, the only mage alive able to use all five kinds of magic, has a near idyllic childhood in the country of Porescalia – before war breaks out with their antagonistic neighbors, Kloria.
Kalo Porla, a naturally magic-proof individual known as a Null, is trained to be as an assassin by the authoritarian empire known as the Domain.
When Kalo and his partner assassin are sent to kill a mage and his apprentice, it starts a journey neither man was prepared to begin."
My Thoughts
Welcome to my stop on the book tour of All or None with Caffeine Book Tours! The full tour schedule can be found here.
Wow! This might just be one of the queerest books I've ever read, which is pretty awesome if you ask me! There seems to exist a casual queerness in the foundations of this society and I loved it. It felt like everyone on the rainbow was represented in a character somewhere. I loved seeing the characters grow and develop into themselves. This book also tackles the "soul-mates name literally written on your skin" trope in what felt like a really nuanced way which was pretty fantastic to see for a trope that can so easily be overdone.
This book also avoided one of my biggest pet peeves, which is the titanic amounts of info-dumping that usually come with fantasy books like this. Information was organically and brought up and explained in a way that felt natural. There were a TON of characters in this, but luckily the ones closest to our MCs Kalo and Roy were distinct and recognizable from the huge cast of this one. I really look forward to seeing the rest of these characters' journeys.
I definitely recommend this one if you want a fantasy that is just so incredibly queer it makes your heart sing! All or None is available on Amazon and Bookshop! I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book from the publisher and Caffeine Book Tours as part of my participation in their tour.
Representation: gay, lesbian, bi/pan, trans, poly
Content Warnings: harm to children, physical and psychological abuse, implied (off-page) rape, violence, mature language, minors in implied sexual situations (teenaged romance), implied sexual situations, bigotry towards fictional races, and suggestive language.
About the Author
Aurora is a nonbinary, asexual writer with a new goal in life: to write the queerest books possible. (And yes, xe means gay, but also weird is good too.) Xe loves dragons and fantasy, and someday hopes to complete a (soft) science fiction novel as well. Currently, xe lives with xyr two cats.
Author links: Author website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter
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