Acquainted with the Night by Tymber Dalton

But Mark and Dale put each other first, always. Yes, they loved their master and needed him almost as much as they needed each other. Yes, they were in a relationship with their master and (eventually) his two other pets. Just thinking about them gets me all gooey and weepy. The unconditional, forever, no-matter-what love they had for each other. I love the love that Dale and Mark shared. Did that make their relationships less loving and real? Absolutely not. Once they were bought, they had an identification tag pierced in their ears. Before they were bought the aliens inspected them for breed-ability. They were in frames, in a strip mall, waiting to be purchased. I loved the introduction to their planet, there was no doubt that these men were seen, literally, as pets. I loved it, I loved the dynamics of the master and their pets. But, for me, the weird stuff was more fascinating than off-putting. There is a lot of weirdness to digest to be able to get to the good stuff. This is a story with such an emotional punch it knocked me right off my feet.Is it for everyone? No, probably not.

Pushing aside the sci-fi smut and weirdness, at the heart of it this story is about love and loss, grief and healing, and those times when one becomes acquainted with the night.First up, there is some weird-ass shit in this book.

That just made the story that much more poignant and touching, and really brought home the theme of being “acquainted with the night”, a reference to the poem by Robert Frost (the favorite poet of the characters). I really enjoyed that fact that the author spans this book to cover the characters’ lifetimes up to and including their deaths (even if it made me go back into gross-sobbing mode). The interactions between the characters were just so wonderful to read and make this book such a surprising gem. This book is so character driven that I don’t even care how fucking weird it was. I’m talking full-on sobbing complete with snot and grossness. And I don’t mean quiet tears slowly slipping down my cheeks. That being said…it’s been a while since I read a book that made me cry that hard. It’s smutty and ridiculous and just plain weird.

Acquainted with the Night by Tymber Dalton