Review: A Return to Form for Ms. Ashley
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 2, 2014
The PremiseThe fourth book in Ms. Ashley’s Fantasyland series, focuses on Ilsa Ulfr, who has suffered greatly by the hand of her abusive husband, Apollo “Pol” Ulfr, and has been on the run for years. Just as he tracks her down and seems ready to do away with her, Apollo Ulfr from a parallel universe pops into her world and whisks her away to a strange, fantastical place.Apollo Ulfr, of the House of Ulfr, has mourned his wife, Ilsa, for four years.  When he discovers that everyone has a “twin” in another universe, he tasks the witch Valentine, to bring his wife’s doppelganger, to his world. But what he finds is a woman who may look just like his wife, but  the broken Ilsa nothing like his beloved, and further, wants nothing to do with her.My ThoughtsI’ve been a big fan of Ms. Ashley’s books and I have gladly devoured her entire backlist.  Lately though, some of her new books weren’t up to her usual standard and have been a bit...generic, for me.  While I enjoy her particular formula, there has been an emphasis on the formula and less on the individual characters and what makes them tick...the very things that drew me to her in the first place.However, while Broken Dove isn’t perfect - there is some stilted dialogue, and some of the descriptive passages can go on a while longer than I’d like - it is a step in the right direction. Ms. Ashley’s strength has always been a “stream of consciousness” type of writing that pulls you right into the character’s mind and evoking intense emotions.  The chemistry is strong between the MCs and the love scenes are fantastic.In this book, Apollo and Ilsa (renamed Maddie in honor of her new life), you get a great glimpse into Maddie and Appollo’s minds - both have had vastly different experiences with their spouses, and Ilsa in particular definitely suffers from battered woman syndrome. During moments when her behavior was frustrating, at least it felt true to character, and completely in line with the life she led before she met the Fantasyland version of Apollo.  Apollo is a good alpha hero who, while he makes some questionable verbal choices regarding Maddie, is trying to do right for his kids, which is always appealing. Seeing the other MCs from previous books was fun, and yet they didn’t overtake the action.  That said, I think that it’s a book best read in order.  It would affect the enjoyment of the book, since an ongoing plotline comes to a conclusion in this entry and without the buildup, it loses some of its emotional punch.The Bottom LineI was concerned going in, but I absolutely enjoyed this latest installment in the Fantasyland series, and I look forward to reading the next adventure - Noc seems like a character with great potential.