Today I bring an exciting first to the blog: an erotic book review! And I can think of no title best suited for that than Tempest, Take Me Home, a cozy high-seas romance and the debut novel from my peer and friend Charlie Knight.
Tempest tells the story of Eli and Max, a genderqueer pirate out to make a name for themself and their cartographer partner who is able to create magical maps which bring it’s bearer directly to what they seek. An excellent resource for a treasure hunter! After Eli and their crew is contracted to chase down the Elements of the Gods, eight mythical stones of extraordinary worth, they agree to have Max, who typical remains safely ashore, come about their ship to help. Here we are further introduced to an endearing crew made up of Tevin and Dava, orc siblings who double as both the muscle and crucial managerial supports for Eli, as well as Yen, a deadly but sweet elf, Ros, a bubbly and energetic halfling chef, and Jakgrout, a grumpy but lovable dwarf carpenter.
The first thing that really jumps out is the representation. It’s fucking incredible! Not only are there numerous queer and gender nonconforming characters, but disability is also handled with tremendous love and care, without making it the source of some trauma story. I can think of very few authors who have been able to write disabled characters so considerately, but Knight nails it. On a personal note, I also related so damn much to Eli’s overwhelming anxiety and catastrophizing. As somebody who is frequently stuck in my own head, worrying and overthinking, it was cool seeing a strong, successful, desired character with similar struggles going on, yet still doing their best!
And then there are the sex scenes… holy fuck, y’all! There aren’t a ton of them, but the few we get are unbelievably hot. I’d say the main two occur within the first hundred or so pages, one of which is an outstanding threesome, with other racy moments of varying intensity peppered throughout the rest. Each is exciting in its own way and I may have enjoyed a few of them a second, even third time, later on.
My one major complaint is how quickly the main adventure is resolved. Not only are all the elements found without too much struggle (save for one close call on some cave diving), but we only really see two of them. The other six are recovered behind the scenes, or right at the tail end of things, without us even getting to see what those moments were like. Additionally, we never really hear much about the stones either. What exactly are they? Were they just rocks? Did they have unique properties? I appreciate that the focus was more on the relationships, especially between Eli and Max, as well as in their triad with Tevin, but I would have really enjoyed some more high-seas excitement and world building framing than there was.
Here’s the kicker though, none of that takes away from the charm and romance of Tempest, Take Me Home. Eli and Max are absolutely adorable throughout and I was enamoured with how Tevin became a bigger part of their dynamic. It felt so natural and I loved how non confrontational it was. Seriously, it’s refreshing to see a polyamorous relationship depicted without jealousy or resentment being a core part of that. Sure, feelings happen but at no point are there major fights over scheduling or attention or who was giving who the googly eyes. Here we just get polyamorous people being happy together and having sexy fun. It’s really fucking nice!
Overall, Tempest is a solid 4 out of 5 for me! The sex scenes are hot, the main characters well written, and the representation for queerness, disability, neurodivergency, and polyamory, was all top notch. Highly recommend the read!
You can buy an ebook copy from Kobo, Nook, and other platforms, as well as the paperback from both Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Check out Charlie’s Books2Read page for links to all these sales sources.
Alternatively, consider picking up an awesome autographed copy, complete with an art card, bookmark, and stickers, from Charlie Knight’s official site. That’s what I got, and it was worth every penny!
Finally, be sure to follow Charlie on Bluesky.
A special thank you to this month’s blog sponsor: Mischa!
Be sure to pick up your copy of my latest book How Do I Sexy? A Guide for Trans and Nonbinary Queers online or from your local queer owned indie bookstore!
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