Treat yourself to an absolutely delightful collection of stories from a bright new author who will make you laugh, and cry with stories both funny and poignant. There’s not one story in Faery Special Romances that won’t give you a giggle or a sigh and I for one loved each and every one.
Faery Much in Love (Summer 1199)
Shaylah a faery is sent on a task by Queen Yana to help Sir Darian find his true love, and with the help of Yana’s daughter Keely, ends up to be Shaylah herself!
*** Keely is introduced in the first story of this collection of Faery special romances. Although she is quite old in human years, she is an adolescent fairy and her magic is somewhat haphazard. The romance between Shaylah and Darian takes it’s rightful course, in spite of the pesky Keely.
Much Ado About Faeries (Faery Court, 1599 (in the human Year))
Caedmon, the last of the Golden Clan warriors is commanded to woo Gracie of the Red Clan, his betrothed to ensure an heir and keep the powers of the Portal rather than cede them to the queen. Caedmon and Gracie end up playing parts of the changeling Will Shakespeare’s play – A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
*** Our two leads, Caedmon and Gracie were definitely at odds, but Caedmon was determined not to let the Queen take over his guardianship of ‘his’ portal. Watching them play parts in Shakespeare’s play was extremely innovative in helping them to end up mating the way they should – in spite of Keely’s interference?
Faeries of the Caribbean – London 1655
With the help of her Faery Godmother Keely, Myra who is down and out and working in a tavern is whisked to a pirate ship captained by Captain Devlin Angel… Would Myra’s dreams come true of marriage to a handsome, wealthy Viscount or to a pirate of the sea?
For some reason, I never thought of faeries being anywhere but in the isles of the United Kingdom. This was truly original and a good take on a Cinderella type of scenario. You’ll love Myra, the down and out and tavern maid, who had managed to keep her innocence for her very own Prince Charming to find her, even though he was just a Viscount.
Faery Thee Well (1750 in the Human Year, Catskill Mountains) ……
Rhionne, Goddess of the Harvest is told by Queen Yana that she is to bear the child of Lugh, God of the Sun – only her golden dream man Duncan Fletcher is a human. Will Rhionne with the help of Keely convince him to mate and remain in the faery world?
*** Let me see, the choices here are should Duncan remain in the human world, to grow old and die, or should he make the decision to mate up with a gorgeous faery woman for eternity? Umm, now that may or may not be a hard decision for some, but when Keely is around to interfere – you can bet anything can and would happen. This was definitely a very sensually inspired story.
My Faery Lady (London, 1814)
Posing as Lord Kemball, Gryffyn has created eye glass lenses for three human lively elderly ladies. On the day they come to pick them up, he meets Miss Euphemia Edeson (Effie). Gryffyn had never pursued any female faeries before but something about this human Effie has taken hold of his heart.
*** I’m not sure why but I truly loved this story, probably because I could empathize with the human frailty of faulty eyesight and because Gryffyn was such a warm hearted and simply wonderfully characterized faery. Effie was also very warm and her love for Gryffyn even though she was betrothed to a Duke was extremely heartwarming.
A Faery Good Bet (The Human Year, 1850)
When the human Zachary Dillon is brought to the faery infirmary to be healed by Gwennyth the faery healer, she had to use desperate measures to save him. In the process she lost her heart and later her healing powers, and needed Dillon to come back and be her mate for all time!
*** This was a very different story that also showed originality and creativity. Gwennyth’s healing abilities had never been tested quite so severely as when Zachary was brought to her more dead than alive. Naturally she fell in love with him but had to release him back to the human world to take care of his ‘kids’ and the author shows her heartache in letting him go. In intertwining stories from the first part of the book, the author enables the two to get together as well as complete a condition that allowed a couple in the earlier part of the book to complete a promise. The little pixie Morketo is an absolute delight!
The Duchess and the Dirtwater Faery (Idaho Territory, 1885)
Kegan a faery himself who stayed in the human world to avoid marriage to a shrew of a faery meets Grace, the childless Dowager Duchess of Willoughton. Keely is sent to negotiate – marriage and a few thousand years to live childless in the faery world, or a human lifetime with lots of babies in the human world. Which realm would they decide to live in?
Kegan is just wonderful in this amusing story. Isabelle (the duchess) is totally inept in trying to adapt to life on the frontier, not knowing how to light a fire, let alone cook. When she discovers that Kegan is a faery man who helps her to escape her pursuers, she really doesn’t blink an eye that he happens to have wings. The author puts the two in some amusing and adventuresome predicaments and ends this in a very satisfying way.
Faery Foxy Flapper, Upstate New York, 1926
Jazzie the faery flapper needed a job in order to live in the human world. Also hanging about in the human world were Quinn, the faery flyboy whom Jazzie had a crush on for 400 years and Blair, who according to Keely was Jazzie’s true soulmate. Could Keely be wrong? You’ll have to read it to find out.
*** This was amusing from the very first sentence to the very end. I loved the idea of a 1920’s flapper, along with the author using the 20’s cant in the dialogs. This was another original and imaginative story with Keely sticking her nose in where it sometimes didn’t belong. Very amusing.
Faery Hot Date (Homedale, Idaho: 1968 Human Time)
Dr. Sean Morgan practiced dentistry by day, and played the tooth fairy for his region at night. When the very luscious Candi Collins walked through his office door, Sean’s heart did a flip flop but could he turn human for her or would Candi and her daughter Moriah live in the faery world with him?
*** Now this was a perfectly delightful and precious story. Who better to be a ‘tooth fairy’ than a dentist by day, and faery by night. The interaction between Sean, Candi and her daughter Moriah was perfectly paced and heartwarmingly real (or as real as fantasies stories go) . This was totally charming.
Faery Good Advice ( Auburn, Washington: Shortly after the Frozen Time)
Keely tries to make it in the human world running Virgin Freedom Travel and having a hard time of it. When Tyler Grant chose to book his honeymoon, Keely didn’t have the heart or the opportunity to tell him his fiancé was pregnant and marrying the father of her baby. Tyler was ecstatic when he found out, he didn’t want to marry his fiancé anyway because it was an arranged marriage. Instead, he convinced Keely to accompany him on his honeymoon…. Oh my!
*** Keely finally found the man of her dreams, and surprise of surprises her dream man, Tyler has close ties to one of the original stories (my lips are sealed!) Believe me when I say, this entire volume has a delightful collection of stories! This impressive author took the concept of the young faery Keely and brought her through the ages (Faeries live thousands of years, don’t cha know!) from pesky adolescent to adulthood. In each story she is sometimes charming, sometimes bossy, but always amusing in her antics and smart aleck dialogs. Each tale is charming all on its own and you will learn a lot about faery life from this wonderfully conceived and precious collection of short stories that will entertain you from the first to last page!
Marilyn Rondeau – Reviewers International Organization (RIO)