I was happy to finally see Sam's book but felt vaguely uneasy about the actual relationship once it got started. I'll have to think on it. Azami's (Thorn's) character seems very cliche and maybe even worse. I liked her but didn't. I might be speaking from a general time of irritation, lack of sleep and a reading slump because I stopped about halfway through this due to all of the above. I enjoyed the overall plot, the action sequences and didn't mind the sex scenes. Their talk during the first one I thought was really well written. But the tea, the whole I'll not show any affection and a few other things made her seem more like a caricature of what Americans think of Japanese women. I'm also a bit confused by the teleportation. Are they teleporting or are they just moving really fast and calling it that?