Review: Fantastically Erotic (and a really good story)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 14, 2013
I've read a few books by Aimelie Aames so far, and I really enjoy her writing.  She has a way of taking things to a different level and really creating a beautiful atmosphere for her characters that you don't see too often anymore.  I like her style of writing, too, and her writing voice really pulls me in every time.Anyways!  On to my review:What I loved about the Marechal Chronicles is just how much you're pulled into the story right from the get go.  There's no waiting around, dancing through backstory and trying to set us up to where we want to be, it's just straight into the story, and it's exciting right from the start.  Maybe even more than exciting.  The sample for this story is what really got me excited for everything, because it's just so different, but wonderful all at once.And... from there it gets even better.  I would personally classify this story as something akin to a fantasy adventure mixed with sort of romantic suspense tones to it.  There's a lot going on and I liked that.  It switches between various perspectives, which gives you a neat look at what's going on at different parts during different times, which was great.The Marechal and Melisse are fascinating people, too.  They have real character and personality that I liked a lot.  In some regards, this story reminded me a lot of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy books, which are also some of my favorites (and they're both vaguely set in a sort of medieval/historical France, as well!).One thing I preferred in this book compared to the usual fantasy fare is that the adventure part doesn't seem overly forced?  Sometimes that can bother me, where the characters are like... nearly forced into being a part of something they don't exactly want to be a part of.  And, I mean, there is that in some regards here, but it didn't seem the same, you know?  I guess I would consider it more "unlucky" than really 100% absolutely made to do it, which is the huge difference for me.  It's more fun to read about characters like that than it is to read about characters who are dragged into some huge apocalyptic prophecy, at least for me.  I mean, I liked Harry Potter and all (this story isn't really like Harry Potter), but do you know how hard it is to relate to a character like him?  Melisse was easy to relate to in comparison, and I even liked the Marechal's character in a lot of ways, too.  They seemed more realistic, even when set in a fantasy world.The story was wonderfully fun, too.  Definitely exciting.  There's a lot of twists and turns going on and it's not your standard "Alright, let's go here and do this and then go there and..."  Again, it seemed a lot more realistic to me, even being fantasy, with magic and fantasy creatures and all of that.I liked it a lot because of that.I really think this book is a bit more than just "fantasy" in a lot of ways.  Even if you aren't into fantasy, but just like historical romance (for example), or you like stories with suspense and intrigue, I think you'll like this one.  It really transcends the typical genre boundaries, while also offering fans of those genres the types of things they're looking for without being overbearing and confusing.If you're looking for something different and new, I'd highly recommend you check out this book!  (And there's some more after this one that follow along with the story, which is great, too)