Lustlocked

I just read and adored Matt Wallace's first Sin du Jour adventure, Envy of Angels. Thanks to the friendly people at Tor.com, I was given a review copy via NetGalley of the second in this (hopefully long) series of hilarious culinary monster stories. It says on Tor.com that books 3 and 4, Pride's Spell and Idle Ingredients will both be published in 2016. YAY!

LUSTLOCKED
by Matt Wallace

Published by: Tor.com, 2015
Ebook: 224 pages
Series: Sin du Jour #2
My rating: 8/10

First sentence: They aren't biting today.

Love is in the air at Sin du Jour.
The Goblin King (yes, that one) and his Queen are celebrating the marriage of their son to his human bride. Naturally the celebrations will be legendary.
But when desire and magic mix, the results can be unpredictable.
Our heroes are going to need more than passion for the job to survive the catering event of the decade!

Holy shit, David Bowie is the actual goblin king!! I'm sorry for that outburst but in Matt Wallace's world and in this story, the king of the goblins is David Bowie and his singing and acting career is just a fun way to pass the time among us unsuspecting humans. Labyrinth is one of my favorite movies ever and "meeting" its goblin king Jareth again in a story where I really didn't expect it was just wonderful, especially in the light of Bowie's recent passing. I giggled with joy and then I almost cried.

Okay, now on to the actual review. The New York catering restaurant Sin du Jour is hired to cater the wedding of the goblin king's son... so, the goblin prince, I guess. Goblins, apart from not looking the way we'd expect from fantasy stories, have interesting dietary habits which involve lots of precious metals and gemstones. Of course, the Sin du Jour crew have done their very best to create an unforgettable meal for the wedding.

My expectations for this second adventure in Matt Wallace's hilarious series have been surpassed in some respects, and met in others. Darren and Lena are now official chefs, although still in their probationary period. Darren, other than being gay and much slower in the kitchen than Lena, doesn't have much personality and he stayed mostly in the background in Lustlocked. I'm totally fine with that – he has potential but there are a lot of other characters that I fell in love with and want to see do stuff all the time.

Lena resolves her tension with sous-chef Dorsky, who is still a little shaken by having lost to her in their knife-fight. You know, because Sin du Jour is that kind of place. When gigantic, horny lizard-monsters attack (read: try to hump everyone to death), Lena and Dorsky have to work together to survive. And we all know how near-death experiences and being forced to cooperate can create a bond between two formerly bickering characters. I get a big fat grin all over my face just thinking about it.

"This giant lizard thing in a tux is trying to bone that dude from Grey's Anatomy," Pacific says, totally unfazed. "You know, the one with the hair."

My other favorite part of Sin du Jour is the stocking and receiving department, consisting of Ritter, badass Cindy, idiot (but lovable) Moon, and Hara. I liked these four right from the start and seeing them on one of their missions is always fun. Ritter also shows aspects of his personality that were only hinted at in Envy of Angels. I am really curious where all of this is going.

Lustlocked -- which, by the way, sports another perfect cover and title - also introduces some new characters. Little Dove and White Horse are just the kind of bickering grandpa/granddaughter team I love to read about. So the cast is growing to a considerable size which makes me hope for a novel-sized story about Sin du Jour, sometime in the future.

Also, without spoiling anything, that ending was totally not okay and I need the next instalment or short story or something RIGHT NOW!!! Please, Matt Wallace, and please, Tor.com, give us more of Sin du Jour. These are seriously funny stories with a great cast that plays out like a hilarious action movie in your head. I want more of the same. A lot more!

MY RATING: 8/10 -- Excellent!