A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson
Rating: ★★★★☆
Long after the Towers left the world but before the dragons came to Daluça, the emperor brought his delegation of gods and diplomats to Olorum. As the royalty negotiates over trade routes and public services, the divinity seeks arcane assistance among the local gods.
Aqib bgm Sadiqi, fourth-cousin to the royal family and son of the Master of Beasts, has more mortal and pressing concerns. His heart has been captured for the first time by a handsome Daluçan soldier named Lucrio. In defiance of Saintly Canon, gossiping servants, and the furious disapproval of his father and brother, Aqib finds himself swept up in a whirlwind romance. But neither Aqib nor Lucrio know whether their love can survive all the hardships the world has to throw at them.
A Taste of Honey is a shock of the mind, like sweetness and spice, interesting and then all of a sudden gone in a flash. Wilson weaves, quite literally, in and out of time and story. The format and structure is not something you will understand until the very end. It leaves you wondering how all the pieces fit together.
Thrown into a world of Black royalty, dark toned gods with neon hair, matriarchal women Wilson fuses of mathematics and magic.
Aqib is son of the Master of Beasts, cousins of the royal family. Walking with a cheetah named Sabah, Aqib meets Lucrio, a Daluçan soldier. The Olorumi are representative of a African culture and the Daluçans, inspired by African-American culture. Lucrio speaks in a dialect similiar to that of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) while Aqib speaks much like how you would think a member of a royal family would. He is often shy, humble, and concerned about propriety.
We follow their love story, from one time span to another. This is the first time I’ve read two Black men falling in love in a fantasy and I hope it won’t be the last. I’d love to read more black men expressing love for each other in this genre, and in literature generally.
Kai Ashante Wilson tells a beautiful, atmospheric tale that grips tight on to Black queer love. The prose is gorgeous, the world is fascinating, and a non-western setting is just what I want more of. Wilson has some interesting stories to tell.
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