Review: So much conceptual potential, but lacking editorial refinement...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 2, 2012
Etta Cooper learned at a young age that her fate was not her own to decide. Promised to a faerie prince she must marry or break the oath her parents made and let them suffer for it. Taken to Faeryland she grows fond of her would-be-husband, the eldest Fae Prince Bronn, but when he casts her aside she finds herself betrothed to the human hating prince Farron instead. Though elegant, Farron's cold air of superiority does nothing to warm Etta's sad heart. As the pair grow to know one another, however, she discovers there's much more to the broodish Fae Prince than she was lead to believe.Conceptually, TO WED A FAE PRINCE had so much promise. A teenaged girl who find out she has to leave the only world she's ever known to be married to a stranger. Having that stranger cast her aside, leaving her bound to someone she likes even less and knows hates her. Misunderstandings and deceit that create tension and conflict to evolve the romantic plot. Alas, poor editing and a lack of refinement keep this fae romance from being fully enjoyable.Etta is very immature and her first person narrative makes love scenes feel dirty, and not in a good way. Though technically Etta is only 16, Vervain uses the Fae world and her being human to explain away an aging process to make her 'adult' that I could not personally excuse enough to not find the graphic sex inappropriate. Farron seems a bit cookie-cutter and though not completely unlikable, he's not well fleshed out enough to be that interesting. As a romance, TO WED A FAE PRINCE, is likely to disappoint mature romance readers with weak use of the formula the genre is traditionally built around. For the New Adult audience I think this one will be more pleasing with the younger characters and very detailed love scenes.I wish Vervain's editor (if one was utilized) had pointed out that there wasn't any world building before Etta was thrust into Faeryland and that the storyline would have benefited from giving the reader a bit more to work with. Additionally, the wording in the love scenes felt like a child's descriptions of what they think sex is. As an avid romance reader I never want to see the word 'humping' used by a heroine. Aside from those frustrating areas there's a decent story of a hero and heroine breaking down one another's barriers to become friends and lovers. Worth a read for the late-teens aged reader who might not be ready for more erotic fantasy romances but still want some blush-inducing spice to their read.***Review copy received via author.