Favian still thinks of the kiss he almost shared with Prince Leonardo five years ago. A servant in a palace ruled by an abusive king, Favian's life is governed by monotony and desolation.
When the prince returns to the palace after five years at war, Favian's life is transformed, and he soon has to admit that the feelings his younger self developed for the prince never really went away. While Leonardo is eager to pretend that no hierarchies are keeping them apart, Favian tries to keep his distance, unable to get past the prince's status and the dangerous position it puts him in.
As the two inevitably grow closer, Favian has to grapple with his feelings for a prince he yearns for only in the secret confines of his bedroom, recognize his responsibilities for the people around him, and confront the realities of the oppressive system they inhabit.
A Gaze So Longing is the first book in the Fall of Livenza duology.
A Gaze So Longing deals heavily with various forms of abuse (abuse of power, emotional, verbal, and sexual abuse, as well as sexual violence), PTSD (related to war and sexual violence) including flashbacks and panic attacks, and issues of power imbalance within a romantic and sexual relationship. It features multiple explicit sexual scenes (consensual) and complicated in-universe negotiations of queerness, as well as the (unintentional) deadnaming and misgendering of trans characters, and the protagonist working through a bioessentialist understanding of gender and attraction.
A Gaze So Longing is intended for adult audiences.
For a more detailed list of content notes, see the back of the book or the author's website.