Title: The Kitchen Boy
Author: August Li
Genre: High Fantasy
Length: Novella 126 pages
ISBN: 978-1-63477-127-6
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (4th April 2016)
Heat Rating: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 3 ½ – 4 Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: Kitchen servant Yoli is one of only three men who know a carefully guarded secret about High Commander Koehen, the brilliant general who united their lands against a common invader. The enemy wants that secret, and they are willing to use either kindness or cruelty to obtain it.
Yoli must decide if his loyalties lie with the commander, who has shown him more affection than anyone in Yoli’s life, or with his own best interests. High Commander Koehen’s attention is capricious at best—he summons Yoli only when it is convenient for him, and Yoli knows there’s little hope of a future together. Is a glimmer of a hope for love worth sacrificing a chance for prosperity beyond his wildest dreams?
First Edition published by Silver Publishing, 2013.
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7576
Review: Yoli is just a kitchen boy who has been trusted with one of the most well-kept secrets in the land. Even knowing the truth his loyalty lies with High Commander Koehen. Although Yoli is only called when it is convenient for Koehen, he can’t help, but dream for more. When Yoli is offered everything he has ever wanted, his loyalty is tested and he is torn between his dreams and his feelings.
This story is great. A story of love, loyalty and limitations. If you were offered the world would you betray the one you love? Yoli is one of a very small number of people who know the High Commander Koehen’s secret and that secret has led to Yoli falling in love with Koehen. But, he knows that he will probably never have more than a few snatched moments in the dark, even though he secretly longs for more. When the enemy can’t break him with torture, the kindness throws Yoli for a loop and Yoli has to think long and hard on what he truly wants.
Oh, poor Yoli. He really goes through the wringer in this story. All he has ever wanted was to be a bard. But, he is stuck in the kitchen with no hope of ever getting out. Coming to the attention of Koehen does nothing but make Yoli dream. During the story this young man is faced with choices that would break a lesser man, and he comes to realisations about what he needs over what he wants.
Koehen is very much a more secondary character, but he never really fades into the background, and he has his own moments of soul-searching after his best friend points out facts to him.
The relationship between Yoli and Koehen isn’t what you would call a true relationship. Even when they sort things out between them, the story is set in a land where it is more than frowned upon. And with Koehen being the High Commander in a time of war, it could also cost them everything.
Yoli is a fantastic character who rapidly grows and develops.He has great insight for one so young and you just root for him. I must admit I found myself wavering alongside him. You get pulled along with Yoli’s hopes and dreams and you feel his disappointments. You understand his loyalty, but you can also understand the temptation he faces. He really is a great character.
I will recommend this to those who love conflicting emotions, a medieval setting, great characters, a touch of loving and a happy for them ending.