Gwen’s review of Faeries Gone Wild by MaryJanice Davidson, Lois Greiman, Michele Hauf, and Leandra Logan (no author site)
Contemporary paranormal romance anthology released by St. Martin’s 2 Jun 09
This was a cute anthology and you’ll see me use the word “cute” a lot in this review. All stories are placed in the modern world, have romances, and faeries are the protagonists. A couple of them have some suspense elements, but the stories are really quite lighthearted in nature. Read on to see which of these romps was rompier than the others…
“Tall, Dark and Not So Faery” by MaryJanice Davidson (70-pgs)
This story was a complete tongue in cheek, goofy frolic of a story. I don’t think a single paranormal being was left out – vampire, werewolf, giant, faeries, dryad, and… wait for it… a possessed SUV named Judith. The Violent Fairy’s sister has come to town to count everyone on the farm. In the process, the SUV hooks her up with the local mechanic. The story is a little schizophrenic and light with some interesting interactions between all of the characters. Not sure I care for the writing style where grammar and line returns are used to impose mental interruptions in the characters’ thought processes. But it was fun and made me chuckle a couple of times.
Grade: B-
Summary:
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Scarlett is not your typical pint-sized faery. At six feet, four inches tall, she’s an unlikely candidate for a match made in heaven. But when she ventures to Cannon Falls, Minnesota, on royal orders to survey its extraordinary residents, she stumbles upon the one man who just may measure up to size…
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Read an excerpt here.
“Pixie Lust” by Lois Greiman (102-pgs)
This was another cute story. A mortal man falls head over heels for a fern faery and in the process trashes his life – a multimillion dollar career, an important development deal, and his engagement to an uptight bitch of a fiancee. But he saves a meadow and glade of trees.
Yeah. I had the same reaction.
The story starts very slowly and the ending was rushed. I would have preferred the opposite. There are some rather extreme suspense elements at the end of the story that seemed oddly out of place. Good, but not great story.
Grade: C+
Summary:
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William Timber is a cutthroat developer who refuses to let a few trees come between him and his next million. But when Avalina-a sparkling faery charged to protect all things green-comes to town, William is forced to choose between life as he knows it and the unknown reaches of his heart.
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Read an excerpt here.
“Dust Me, Baby, One More Time” by Michele Hauf (101-pgs)
This was a better story than the last, primarily because the heroine is so appealing. The Tooth Fairy falls for the Sandman. There are some really very funny elements in this story – Dart Sand “prematurely dusts” his dates, knocking them out before he can “finish the deal” if you know what I mean; and Sidney Tooth falls for the guy because he brings her cinnamon-flavored floss, mouthwash, and the Cadillac of toothbrushes/tongue cleaners (screw the flowers).
I had the most fun reading this story. The romance is nice, the characters are fun, and the story is appealing.
Grade: B+
Summary:
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A librarian by day and a tooth faery by night, Sidney has absolutely no time to find Mr. Right. Until she flies smack dab into sexy, sun-bronzed Dart Sand, a man who makes her wings a-flutter…and whose allure could get her banished from the Mortal Realm.
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No excerpt available.
“A Little Bit Faery” by Leandra Logan (115-pgs)
I enjoyed the fun of the previous story, but I liked this last story more because it’s more well-rounded. It has the fun and the suspense nicely balanced with a cute romance. It’s a very engaging “Ugly Duckling” story about a 1/2 faery-1/2 human girl who does nothing but gross-out faery men manages to find her niche with humans, who find her beautiful and sweet smelling.
Again, the suspense elements seemed a bit overly dramatic given the tenor of the story. But if you roll with it, you’ll still enjoy it. I wanted to eat the hero with a spoon, though. Yum.
Grade: A-
Summary:
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Tia is mystified when she strikes out on the Luna faery singles scene, in spite of her hourglass curves and vivacious charm. Then she takes off for Manhattan and lands on the doorstep of a steamy firefighter who sets her soul on fire-and shares a strong connection to her secret past.
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No excerpt available.
This was a very cute anthology (told you I’d use the word a lot). If you’re a fan of lighthearted faery stories, you’ll like this book. I can recommend it to anyone who is a fan of these authors or who is looking for a quick poolside read that is just made for a fruity umbrella drink.
Overall grade: B
