Review: To Touch The Light (Iron and Works #6.5) by E. M. Lindsey
“I see them…In you, I see them.”
Estranged from his family and locked in a demanding job which monopolizes all of his time, Head Chef, Mario Garcia, doesn’t exactly have holiday spirit. He spends all season creating magic for others, and for himself, he’s resigned to another lonely winter. There’s a reason he’s known as the Devil in Fairfield Resort’s high-end kitchen, and he has no plans to change that. What most people don’t realize, however, is that Chef Garcia has a soft spot for one man—a half-blind, Russian dishwasher who is the first person in years to make Mario feel.
Viktor Popov’s life is full of secrets and lies. He showed up in Fairfield with a handful of suspicious papers, no past, and secured a job in the bowels of a resort kitchen. He spends his waking hours washing dishes and trying his best to manage his failing eyesight without anyone taking notice. Once upon a time, he was a man of wealth and reputation, and now he’s living day-to-day, hoping no one will ever take notice.
It’s been forever since Vitya believed in anything, and these long years of loneliness only proved to him that miracles didn’t exist. At least, until the night when warm hands pulled him out of the cold, and a soft voice whispered in his ear that he mattered.
Life isn’t easy, and both men have never expected any different. But maybe, by the soft light of the menorah, both men will finally be able to see that for each other, they’re exactly what they need.
To Touch the Light is a 43,000 word holiday novel set in the Irons and Works Universe. This book contains no cheating and an HEA.
I GOT THE BOOK FROM KU.
Dear E.M. Lindsey,
I have not read the previous books in this series, but a DA commenter mentioned this one and I figured that a Hanukkah story with a Russian speaking Jewish protagonist in it and an all together not too sweet holiday romance sounded very good. The other part of the couple is a trans Latino man who is a Chef in the kitchen where Victor works as a dishwasher.
I graded the book high enough because I really liked both characters together and separately – their issues, their angst, their love for each other it all worked for me, it all made sense. I did not even feel that it was an Insta love despite the fact that them getting together was rather abrupt, as I kind of felt that the author showed that they both watched each other from the distance long enough. I don’t know, it just worked for me.
I of course cannot speak about how well the trans guy was portrayed – the issues he faced, obviously I know little about, all I can say is that I enjoyed him as a character. The hard hard work he did to get to the place in life he was and his desire to do the best work in the restaurant and do well for the visitors and his people and not tolerating any bullshit and trying to defend those that he felt needed defending.
I liked Victor too and admired him a lot, and the reason he lost everything in Russia was real and made perfect sense, and he as a character made sense – the best from the Russian Intelligentsia did stand up to the regime more than once and often paid for it with their freedom and their lives.
I am sorry to say however that the fact that he actually ended up in America made zero sense to me, just zero. No way would he have been allowed on the plane – off to prison you go, where you could be easily killed, please. He was well known? So what? The regime does not care how famous are the people they choose to destroy if those people decided to oppose them, they really do not.
I understand that the author actually needed to tell a story and if Victor was in prison or dead the story would not have been told, but maybe a less of a silly set up for that? Victor actually running on his own rather than choosing to stand up and be counted so to speak, for example?
I can of course buy his horrible circumstances here, but not how he ended up in America.
Also, did I misread the story or did they light up all the candles on the Chanukiah when Hanukkah was far from over? I think even the rabbi did that and it was not at the end of the holiday? That is just not correct if so and no, I don’t have a deep knowledge of the tradition, but this is rather basic.
I also felt that ending was quite rushed.
Grade: B-
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Sirius
Sirius started reading books when she was four and reading and discussing books is still her favorite hobby. One of her very favorite gay romances is Tamara Allen’s Whistling in the Dark. In fact, she loves every book written by Tamara Allen. Amongst her other favorite romance writers are Ginn Hale, Nicole Kimberling, Josephine Myles, Taylor V. Donovan and many others. Sirius’ other favorite genres are scifi, mystery and Russian classics. Sirius also loves travelling, watching movies and long slow walks.
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I’m glad you mostly enjoyed it! As a dumb American it did not occur to me that Victor’s presence in the US was a gross error, but as a Jewish American I should have caught the Chanukiah/menorah mistake. You are supposed to start with one candle (plus the shamash “lighter” candle) on the first night and add one more each successive night. Maybe they just wanted it to look fully festive even though it wasn’t the first night. Lindsey has included Jewish characters in some of their other novels, so I’m assuming they have some first-hand knowledge of the religion, but I could be wrong.
Thank you for the recommendation. I mostly liked yes . I would describe Victor’s presence in America as highly unlikely to happen in those specific circumstances described in the story. If he just tried to escape on his own – sure but regime deciding to let him go after he took a stand ? In my opinion highly unlikely.
Right , I agree with how you are supposed to light the candles . I believe that was a second night ?
So I am still thinking about this story and I still think that Victor would not have been allowed to come to America under circumstances described in the story, but I should have added that I can see later ( if he was THAT well known in certain circles). I could see maybe he could have been exchanged for the Russian criminals/ spies whatever who were arrested in the US, now that I can see, but again if thats what would have happened, no way his circumstances in America would have been that dire to begin with, so it is like no matter what I am trying to come up with, something does not work in according to reality.
@Sirius: It’s funny what aspects of reality are important to us in fiction. Sometimes it even varies by the book.
@SusanS: Oh absolutely. Seemingly small detail can increase in significance in my head and jerk me out of the story.
I know what you mean about small details jerking you out of the story. A while ago I was reading a booking a non-New Zealand author which featured a NZ character. I thought the author was doing quite well with him, until he happened to say something about the South Seas. It’s a very old fashioned term which I’ve never heard anyone use in a non-historical context – the current term would be Pacific Islands or Pasifika, although anyone from that area would more likely identify as Samoan, Tongan or whatever.
But that’s a detail which probably wouldn’t bother most people, just as the details about menorahs would escape me!
I read a holiday romance set in Chicago where one of the MCs took the other to see the Christmas window decorations downtown and they immediately found street parking in front of Macy’s / Fields and I was like Nope! Ruined the entire story for me.
And other times I’m able to suspend disbelief on much more egregious errors.
@Cleo: I hear you, but I think I would have laughed at this too ( if they were to find easy street parking in front of Macy’s on 34th street in New York . There are some things that will take me out of narrative that I can predict, but some end up being quite surprising.@Suzanna: Right, but if you are familiar with the setting, I think you are obviously ( and quite justifiably) are going to notice the mistakes more than someone who is not familiar with the specific setting.
@Suzanna: I had a similar experience with an Australian author writing American characters. She was doing an excellent job until one of the characters used the word “daresay.” A word I’ve never heard in all my decades in the US. I have sympathy in this case, the author would have had a hard time knowing this.
When does the book take place? It sounds like Viktor’s backstory is from before the fall of the iron curtain, is that correct?
@Janine: I am
not sure. I automatically aged the story few years before it was published because it doesn’t hide the year but I am pretty sure it is at least early 2000s I want to say 2010s even.
@Sirius: Was it very hard to leave Russia back then? I am very ignorant on this topic. During the Cold War it was widely known how hard it was to defect, but I’ve heard very little about that since.
@Janine: when ? In the early 2000s? Not really if you had money but Viktor did not just leave the country because he decided to go ahead and leave the country . His specific circumstances of leaving the country is what I found hard to believe .
@Sirius: I see. That’s what I thought, I just wanted to be sure I wasn’t missing something.