Devon’s review of Fairyville by Emma Holly

Paranormal Erotic Romance published 4 Sept 07 by Berkley Heat

Blurb: 

Zoe Clare is a medium who has no trouble communicating with the dead or with real live fairies, for that matter! But she can’t seem to get her feelings across to her landlord-slash-manager Magnus Monroe, Fairyville, Arizona’s most eligible bachelor. She’s tired of his erotic antics with every woman in town but her. So when her high school flame returns to town, Zoe is more than a little vulnerable to his charms. How Alex broke her heart is a scandal no one in Fairyville has forgotten. But even if Zoe isn’t ready to forget, she’s willing to forgive. The rules they’re about to break will bring out the jealousy in Magnus and the astounding truth.

Read an excerpt.

As I was composing this review in my head during my drive home from work, the following lyrics wouldn’t stop running through my head (with apologies to Ms. Holly.  🙂

You love her,
She loves him,
And he loves someone else,
You just can’t win…
“Love Stinks”, the J. Geils Band

What we have here is a romantic quadrangle, set in a quirky town where the mundane and magic collide. We’ve got kind-hearted psychic Zoe, who has been in love with Magnus for years, only to have her heart broken monthly. Magnus adores Zoe, but cannot be with her for that very reason. Zoe has never forgotten her first love, Alex, who has never been able to let go of her either. Alex’s PI partner, Bryan, has crushed on him since college. When an unusual case brings Alex and Bryan to Fairyville, what have you got? A recipe for disaster. Or maybe a wild orgy.

Fairyville is an erotic romance, first and foremost. Paranormal/fairy aficionados may find those elements a bit underdeveloped, but I found that the characters, the sex and the plot made up for that lack. Be forewarned: there are a lot of sex scenes, described in blunt language, featuring a variety of acts and permutations. You’ve got M/F, M/M and M/F/M. And man, it is hot!!! What distinguishes this book from a number of shagfests I’ve read recently is that the characters are well-developed and likeable. I cared about them and wanted to see the HEA. The sex is adventurous, but I did feel that each scene led to self-discovery for the characters involved. Their feelings grew (even if they weren’t for the person they had sex with. 🙂

The parallels between the characters were interesting. Zoe and Bryan are similar in that they are caring and supportive sorts, more comfortable with themselves. Magnus and Alex are more mysterious, secretive, yet likeable and big-hearted (amongst other things. Heh.). I could see the where and why of the various attractions, which made all the sexual antics interesting. Often menage scenarios have me rolling my eyes. I feel like they’re trying too hard, but this worked for me. And, oh yeah, hot!

This may sound odd, given all the sex, but I found this to be a very charming book. Charming characters, charming, quirky small town setting, even a cute kid. It put me in a good mood afterwards. The ending seemed to a bit sudden to me, and I found one of the HEAs to be a bit shaky. Monogamous gal that I am, the eye rolling set in at the end there. But the romantic in me hoped that everyone had found true love and happiness.

This is only my second read by Emma Holly, but I will definitely read more. With Fairyville, she certainly proves able to juggle the demands of a satisfying erotic romance (providing the reader with good romance and great sex) and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to any paranormal erotic romance fan.

Grade: B

You can find an ebook epilogue at Amazon for $.49 you can spent some more time in Holly’s world (another 29 pages ).

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