By far my favorite troll-like being is Kokopelli, the hump-backed flute-playing trickster god of the Hopi and the Anasazi.  Like many of his ilk, he is a bringer and protector of fertilty, a bringer of spring rains (and chaser-away of winter), as well as a god of music.  He is mischievous, but not truly evil -- and who wants their supernatural creatures tame and docile all the time anyway?!

Another favorite, this one truly of the tug-at-heartstrings kind, is Dobby, the much-abused but finally liberated house elf from the Harry Potter books.  I mean, seriously, how could anyone not love him?

Other favorite supernatural beings (not troll-like):

* Witches

* Elves and fairies (of all incarnations) (Yes, I know, technically Dobby is an elf, too, but he looks much more like a troll or a gnome to me.)

* and of course, dragons!

(Task: Trolls, gnomes, dwarves and similar beings (some evil, some less so, almost all of them mischievous) are a staple of Scandinavian mythology and folklore, as well as other folklores and mythologies around the world and, of course, fantasy and speculative fiction.  Who is your favorite such creature and why? (No matter whether mythological, fictional or from whatever other source.))

Well, I liked and at the same time didn't like the story. It was interesting to follow Courtney's growth as a person but the hero of the story was despicable. I didn't like his way of thinking and the way he treated Courtney was awful. He was a mean bully. 

I just love Mercy Thompson series. 
I've waited for a long time for Adam and Mercy to have some quality time together. And it was absolutely amazing - Adam is such a sweetheart - and at the same time scary as hell. There have been very intense moments in this series but vampires, fae, and werewolves have never frightened me as this creature in the river did. I was so scared during Mercy's dream and when she discovered herself by the river at night, I was actually hyperventilating. 

I also realized that I have a strange habit while reading Mercy Thompson series. I read the first half of the book very quickly and then I start stalling because I don't want the story to end.

In The Primrose Way by Jackie French Koller we find a detailed account of the first years of settlement in the Boston colony and its environs. Beginning in 1633, we find Rebekah onboard a ship from England just as they sight the land surrounding Massachusetts Bay. Rebekah is coming to join her father, an elder in the church. She is excited to reach the colony yet after leaving the comfort of a cozy home with servants she is somewhat taken aback at the conditions she finds in Boston. Things go downhill once more when she leaves the relatively civilized Boston for the new settlement of Agawam at the edge of the wilderness. Throughout the story Rebekah will deal with betrayal, loss, and love. But will she opt to return to England and the chance to be a bride or choose to remain in the colony and seek her true love?

The Primrose Way is a clever tapestry of fact and fiction that is skillfully woven by the author. Great detail into the everyday existence of both white settlers and Native Americans gives the reader a true picture of what life was like in the early 17th century. Easy reading that will move you through the story at a rapid pace but you'll want to slow down and savor each finely drawn scene. Don't gloss over the details - they add so much to the story. And while the story is placed in early America the characters deal with problems that are relevant today.

This book includes a glossary of Native American terms as well as a detailed bibliography for further reading. Teachers and students alike will enjoy The Primrose Way not only for its story but for the lessons it teaches. Highly recommended.

One Thousand White Women is the story of May Dodd, a Chicago socialite from the 1800s, who signs on to the Federal government plan of Brides for Indians as a means to escape an insane asylum where her family has placed her because she had fallen in love with a man below her station. Through her journals May describes her life in the asylum and later her new life as a prairie bride of Chief Little Wolf of the Cheyennes. Along her journey she tells of her fellow brides who come from all walks of life. In return for their marriage to a Cheyenne and subsequent bearing of a mixed race baby or two, the government hopes to assimilate the Cheyennes into the white man’s culture. Along the way May meets an Army Captain and they fall in love but part, knowing that their love could never be. May continues on her journey, assimilating into the life of the Cheyennes as the third wife of Chief Little Wolf, all the while keeping a set of notebooks that become her journals.

The descriptions of life on the prairie are both breathtaking and brutal. But through it all May begins to question which side is the real savage – Native American or white Christian. A detailed and fast booking book, it will appear to the reader that the journals they are reading are true although the author states up front that everything contained in the book is fiction based on the true fact that such a Brides for Indians program was proposed but never acted upon.

I loved the different ‘brides’ who, although stereotypical, give much needed diversity to the story. And although we see Chief Little Wolf as a proud and courageous warrior we soon learn that he is so much more. Finely researched, cleverly written, and engrossing the reader will find this story difficult to put down.