Fairies, fairies everywhere!
“Fairyville” by Emma Holly
After my long and arduous wait, I have read “Fairyville†by Emma Holly. This book isn’t for the fainthearted and it isn’t for everyone. If you have a problem with male/male/male (that’s right, I didn’t accidentally type in another ‘male’) groupings, you might want to stay away from this one. But I am nothing if not adventurous. Plus I figure if I can take horny horticulture, I can take on anything. Unless someone does a sexpose on Donald Trump. There I draw the line.
Zoe Clare is clairvoyant. (Must resist urge to take cheap shots). She has little fairies who do her hair for her in the morning (like the birds from Cinderella. Or that fat little mouse. “Cinder-elly! Cinder-elly!â€) and she hears dead people. She’s been lusting after her landlord, Magnus Monroe, for 2 years. Unfortunately for her, he appears to have eyes (and assorted other body parts) for every woman in town besides her. He has sex once a month with a different woman each time, and this is breaking Zoe’s heart. Which leaves her susceptible when her old flame Alex shows up in town, with his business partner Bryan in tow. Alex is a private dick. By which I mean he is a private investigator, naturally. He’s been hired by a hysterical woman, who thinks that her child was switched at birth, because her current son has magical powers. Since magical ability seems to be rather common in Fairyville, Arizona, Alex returns to his hometown, hoping to have a shot with Zoe again. Never mind poor Bryan, who is ALSO Alex’s lover. The plot thickens (among other things).
Turns out, Magnus is a fairy. And by this I don’t mean he’s gay, but that he’s a REAL fairy. Think Tinkerbell, but broad and built. And fortunately not pint sized either, because that would be really disappointing. He’s been in love with Zoe too, but as part of his magical visa for staying on earth, he has to sleep with a woman once a month, then return her heart to her. Because he doesn’t want to have to return Zoe’s heart once she’s his, he never sleeps with her. I’ve heard lots of reasons for why heroes have to sow the oats they do, but it’s the first time I’ve heard it linked to an immigration policy.
Lots of intrigue abound because Magnus can’t commit to a relationship with Zoe even though he really wants to. And so Zoe turns to Alex and Bryan. But unbeknownst to our lovers, Magnus and Bryan have also gotten it on and Magnus plants a little seed in Bryan. A MAGICAL seed ok? Which allows Magnus to enjoy the experience when Bryan is having sex with Zoe. And Magnus’ mother, Queen Titania (Magnus is a royal Prince of the fairies) is trying to get her errant son to return to the fairies, and help her cement her powers. Realising that her son is in love with a mortal, Titania tries to kill Zoe.
Think “Midsummer Night’s Dream†but with lots of sex. And fortunately no donkeys. Maybe I had high expectations of the book. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as good as say, “Beyond Innocence†which was a rather straight-forward (for Emma Holly anyway) romance novel. I was hoping for a nice, uncomplicated romance with lots of hot sex thrown in. Barring that, I’d settle for a nice uncomplicated romance. By this I mean both the hero and the heroine are simply human. I’m a bit tired of magical gifts and the ability to see dead people and fairies and heroes who can fly or turn themselves into bats (really? You want to wake up next to a man who can turn himself into a bat?) and heroines who can foretell the future.
All I want is a billionaire hero, whose only superpowers is how no pair of boxers can accommodate his gifts. Is that too much to ask? Why does every other book need to be a paranormal? Sure, it was interesting at first, but I think I’m getting into a bit of a rut. I can’t even get a historical romance without it containing some kind of spy-suspense plot. Or worse yet, a magical duke who’s also a spy and can turn himself into a ferret at will. Whatever happened to good old internal conflict, where the hero and heroine were kept apart by emotional issues that they needed to resolve, and not the fact that they had to save the Magna Carta? I’ve had enough of paranormals. Bring back the normal.
Sheridan Sakura Carlotta said,
November 8, 2007 @ 11:37 am
Again, you only have your curious little mind to blame. Did I not tell you that reading a book about a Hero who is a giant fairy was not a good idea? Hmm?
PS: If you are wondering who has been scattering leaves around your office at night and smearing sap on your couch, it’s Mimi.
La Lola said,
November 8, 2007 @ 1:16 pm
But I didn’t know he was a giant fairy when I picked up the book!
And that thing with the sap? That’s just gross.