Faerie Strange Circumstances - almaasi

A well written fanfic in which an injured Dean finds a seven inch faerie Cas in a box beside the road.

by Raymond E. Feist

This one kept getting recommended and after trying a sample, I decided to give it a read. It's my first Feist and possibly my only, as sampling another of his novels didn't impress me as much.

It's a very dark story that wraps folklore, especially Irish mythology, around a modern day setting. A family buys a farmhouse with woodland attached to the property and there are local stories about the woods and some sort of sleeping evil.

What I liked was that this isn't a standard monster story with one nasty critter causing all the problems. Various otherworld entities encounter the family members, some in harmless ways and others, well, you have to read to see what happens.

The story was more sexual in parts than I expected and not always in nice ways. People really sensitive to anything suggesting rape might want to steer clear. The strange experiences are fairly subtle at first and build as the story goes along.

Another thing I liked was short chapters! It's really easy to decide to read just one more, and just one more since it's only a few pages. I got 149 pages in on the first sitting! Then towards the end found myself getting through a lot of pages without realizing as things really heated up.

The family who are central to the plot are well defined characters and some of their close associates also come across strongly as individuals. Even the twins become distinctive as their part of the story develops. At times I didn't know where the plot was going and wondered if it was just meandering or if it was setting me up for something specific, but it all came together in the last couple of hundred pages.

My one niggle is the mixing of different cultural histories and mythologies. As it happens, I recently read an academic book on Persian Zoroastrianism/Magic and crossing that over with the Illuminati in Europe and a mix of Irish/English/Germanic folklore stretched believability a little far.

Putting all that aside, I enjoyed the story and fully approve of the ending. Highly recommended for dark fantasy fans.

I have an old battered copy of Tithe - a copy so old it took some digging to find even a passable photo of the cover, and I had to delete most of my 2014 Goodreads review to write a new, updated one. When I read this again in 2014, I did say that my review was closer to a 4, but now I would definitely rate it a full 5. There's just something about Tithe, and Kaye, and Roiben that I love so, so much and keep coming back to.

so someone tell me why the ever loving fluff I have not read the rest of the series yet. seriously.

Faerie Godmother - Abbie Zanders

Faerie Godmother is an amazing paranormal romance by Abbie Zanders.  You know an author is talented when they write something you usually avoid...and you love it.  I usually avoid, no, I actually avoid anything that has vampires in it, but surprise, this book is full of vampires, shifters and other types of paranormal beings.  Vlane, the ruling vampire, becomes human for a day after kissing a woman, but his memory is gone.  Ana only wanted to go to the party and get back home without anyone noticing her.  Ana and Vlane's story is full of drama, humor, action and sizzle.  I enjoyed reading Faerie Godmother and can't wait to get my hands on another book by Abbie Zanders.  This is a fairly quick read, perfect for those with limited reading time.  Faerie Godmother is book 1 of the Mythic  Series but can be read as a standalone.  This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.