Review: Anyone with a fascination for myths, legends, fairytales, and the like, will be spellbound ...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 24, 2014
I received this book in exchange for an honest review through the Goodread's group, Lovers of Paranormal. When I first started reading, I thought I'd made a mistake by agreeing to read and review it. I was a little overwhelmed and didn't think I was going to like it. That changed very quickly. Before I knew it, I was in deep. I didn't want to put it down and found myself stealing time to read it here and there.The writing is like poetry or the lyrics to a song. The author doesn't just tell the reader what's going on or what the scenery looks like. She paints you a picture with her words. It's definitely not a book you can just walk through, you have to pay attention but, if you do, you'll realize what a beautifully-written story it is. Surprisingly, the story has a lot of Dom/Sub elements in it, that I didn't expect. These were also written in such a way as to bring a sort of beauty to the scenes. There are occasional 'raunchy' words thrown into the dialogue but it's done in a way that adds to the personality of the character speaking, and doesn't really take away from the prose-like feel of the narrative.The characters are multi-faceted and, though they are paranormal creatures, they have a realness to them that only enhances the story. Humans and monsters have learned to live together, for the most part, and the supernatural beings live and work just as humans do, only after dusk. You get the fantasy of a paranormal realm with a bit of reality thrown in. Not too much, just enough to give it a sense of believability, with a twist. The main heroine, Elsa, is a strong being who gives the impression that nothing can phase her but we get glimpses of her soft underbelly the minute she reveals her attraction to the main hero. She brought tears to my eyes on a few different occasions with her vulnerability. The main hero, Marshall, on the other hand, actually believes he's a strong, cold-as-ice, hard-ass with no weaknesses. As the story unfolds, we find that he's as layered as any other being, once you chip away at his shields.Speaking of characters, there are so many awesomely, interesting characters in this story that anyone with a fascination for myths, legends, fairytales, and the like, will be spellbound. You'll find a variety of beings here, from ghosts and pixies, to vampires and brownies, each with distinct personalities and quirks. It was amazing to me that I could keep them all straight but they're so well-written and individually interesting, that I had no trouble at all.I'm not going into detail as to spoil the ending but I just want to say that I loved that Marshall wasn't appalled by Elsa's 'true form'. That part, to me, was so very beautiful and, I admit, I got a little teary-eyed. Elsa deserved to be loved completely, and so did Marshall, for that matter. Lovers of happily-ever-afters won't be disappointed, and that's all I'm going to say. Happy reading!!