In a sultry magical realm, an enchanting Lady ensnares a virtuous tax-collector into her dangerous double life. Lady by day, lockpick by night, Em has some serious misgivings about her latest sneak job. It stinks of espionage, and she’d be more comfortable with straightforward theft. Her intuition proves right when she is confronted by her client, a sweet and sexy mind-reading tax-collector … tax-collector named Quintin. The job turns sour when they are discovered by his blackmailing boss. Posing as lovers to throw off the scent, their passionate embrace haunts Em even as she returns to her brittle facade as a pampered Lady of the Realm.
This double life is further threatened when her criminal contact is thrown in the stocks, leaving her in danger of exposure, and even worse, with no way to support the temple that has been her responsibility since her mother’s death. In desperation, she seeks Quintin out and is horrified to discover he is a Hand of Destin, marked for service to the Troika by a feline familiar. Hands are loyal and true, defenders of the weak, upholders of the law, notoriously honor-bound. In short, everything that she, a willing outlaw, is not.
Despite their differences, the attraction between Em and Quintin only grows stronger, even as she seeks out new ways to earn the beans she needs for her temple. When Em’s father starts talking marriage settlements with a wealthy, but odious, suitor, Em realizes just how much Quintin means to her. But can she find a way to save her temple and still marry her poor but perfect tax collector?
more
Just in case you’re like me an not too quick…. the hero in this novel is a tax collector!! Bwahhahahaha! I love that, just love it! There are all kinds of ways Jarvis could have gone wrong with that (in fact, it takes a talented and deft author to do it right!) but Quinton turns out to be a phenomenal character (and, yeah, pretty dang perfect!).
This is a FUN and fresh book that, for some reason, put me in mind of when I read my first Jasper Fford book as far as really being a REALLY wonderful surprise from the very first page.
Great world-building and a sultry, perfumed feel to the scenes that is redolent of that scene in the first Indian Jones movie (I know, I know–really dating myself here!) My point is that Jarvis really engaged my senses as well as built a vivid picture in my mind’s eye.
The book goes quickly and I definitely wanted more of both Em and Quinton!!
Taxing Courtship is a Fantasy Romance that has every ingredient needed to make a dynamic story! It’s the kind of book that you won’t want to put down! There are colorful characters who are facing trials and dangers set in a lush world of esteemed temples and honored customs. There’s a subdued magic system that doesn’t overshadow the story. The romance is complicated, but the chemistry and love is all there.
Who would have guessed that a taxman could be swoon worthy? And, why would a lady from a wealthy home be driven to thievery? Find out in Book 1 of The Hands of Destin series by Jaycee Jarvis!
I will admit it: I actually downloaded Jaycee Jarvis’ Taxing Courtship (The Hands of Destin Book 1) because the cover was so darn beautiful. Having said that, boy am I happy I did as this book was totally fabulous. Em and Quintin’s story was wonderfully imaginative, exciting, sensual, romantic, adventurous … I will stop now as the list can go on and on. Superbly written and filled with string characters and a great plot. Who knew a book with a tax collector hero could be so great? But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.
In a fantastical realm dominated by the worship of elemental gods, where cacao beans are exchanged as money and nobles ride okapis, Lady Emmanuella a’Fermena dons a laborer’s chiton and slips out into the night to engage in thievery. It’s the only way she has, apart from marrying a rich man she doesn’t love, to keep afloat the temple she inherited from her mother. This particularly job, however, turns out to be something other than it seems, and results in a hasty, deliciously awkward, passionate embrace with Quintin, a virtuous tax collector. Compulsively honest, duty has always come first for Quintin in his role as a Hand and an auditor, but from the first moment her lips touch his, he’s enthralled by the mysterious, beautiful thief he knows only as ‘Em.’
With lavish, sensuous language, Jarvis draws you into their world and intoxicates all the senses as these two struggle to face down their enemies and conquer their doubts about themselves and each other. Completely engaging from the first chapter to the end. An absolute joy to read.
Taxing Courtship is the first in author Jaycee Jarvis’s Hands of Destin fantasy romance series. The slow-burn romance between the Em and Hand Quintin is cute. Their romantic moments are sensual. There is a twist here in that Em, a royal Lady of the Realm, is a Robin-Hood-type thief, stealing from others to support her temple while Dustin, the Hand (someone devoted to serving to the Troika) is a virtuous tax collector.
It took me forever to suspend my belief enough to really get into the story, but once I did, I enjoyed the romance. The setting is exotic, however, it seemed to me to be a hodge-podge of vocabulary borrowed from multiple cultures, thus it didn’t feel cohesive (one of the reasons I had trouble suspending my belief). For example, the animals in this book are named after real animals, but pulled from different continents (cassowaries are from New Guinea and okapi are from Central Africa).
I have no words to express my delight with Jaycee Jarvis’ debut novel, a taxing courtship. It came out on kindle today and I love love love it. If you like fantasy, I think you will like it too. It’s like a Mercedes Lackey novel in the richness of the world and the characters. I lurves it, I do!