Enchanting the Lady by Kathryne Kennedy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm not usually the biggest fan of romance novels. Normally the over the top cheesiness of the dialogue and the pathetic, damsel-in-distress type heroines usually have me running to the nearest bucket to barf.

Shockingly though, I was pleasantly surprised by Enchanting the Lady. Set in the late 1880's London in an alternate universe, ranks and titles are not wholly based on legacy but rather on the amount of magic you have which is tested before you are introduced into society. Which is unfortunate for the current Duchess-of-Honour Stonehaven, a Miss Felicity Seymour, as the possibility of being tested and found wanting could become a reality. If Felicity loses her title, not only will her lands and home be taken away but her dowry will go up in smoke and with that any chance of making a suitable marriage. With nothing but her name, who would marry let alone look twice at Felicity?

True, the damsel-in-distress is somewhat DENSE in this story but when you realise Felicity has been sheltered, shunned & ignored for most of her adult life, her ignorance & naivety can be forgiven... to a point. There might be parts in this story where you literally might want to slap her and yell "Wake up!!!" or possibly give her a comforting hug.

To make up for this, there is the steamy hot baronet Sir Terrence Blackwell. A were-lion, relic hunter & bodyguard to Prince Albert, Terrence is tolerated by a society that blatantly discriminates against his kind. His heart hardened by the recent death of his brother Thomas at the hands of a woman who misused one of Merlin's Relics, Terrence is surprised when he's more intrigued by Felicity herself than the hint of relic magic that he scents on her. Who is this mysterious, beautiful woman who is shunned and ignored by all her peers? Is she an evil villain or a innocent victim?

As his primal animal instincts go into mating overdrive, Terrence finds himself making "Relic Mission" related excuses in order to spend more time in Felicity's company. So while Terrence is trying to hold his desires in check whenever he's around her, Felicity is mostly completely ignorant of the torturous situation she has put Terrence in. Hilarious!!!

Though the story does seem to drag in places, overall it is an entertaining read, especially as a relationship blossoms between Felicity and Terrence. Perfect for a day where you want to read a little romance with minimal cheesiness.



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Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie by Maggie Stiefvater

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Dee & James are back in the dark sequel to Stiefvater's Lament.

Things are decidedly awkward between Dee and James, formerly the best of friends until a fateful text that ruined their friendship at the end of the last book. Now starting at their new art school, Thornking-Ash, they barely hang out and the air between them is heavy with the tension of words that have been left unsaid.

James is still as cocky and witty as in Lament. You often feel like either giving James a hug or a slap behind the head, depending on the situation. Nothing new there but his comical observations and one-liners are still as entertaining as ever. Dee, on the other hand... well apart from littering some of the pages of the book with unsent texts to James in lame failed attempts to bare her soul and the occasional odd Emo appearances that makes you want to slap her...really hard... or push her off a tall building, Dee barely registers in this book until the end. So without a doubt, Ballad is mostly from the view point of James, picking up where the last book left off.

Apart from the new friends James makes at Thornking-Ash, such as Sullivan a pretty cool down to earth teacher that let's kids drink coffee during lessons, my favourite character in this book is Nuala. Known as a leanan sidhe, Nuala is a solitary fey who inspires gifted humans to new creative soaring heights before feeding off their energy when they end up dying before their time. This beautiful but deadly muse has now decided to make her new mark James but he is adamant not to play her game. What follows is an entertaining & often comical battle of the wills/wits as Nuala tries to convince James to make a deal with her and James tries to lead a semi normal life. Key word - TRIES. Understandably hard when Nuala can turn into your deepest desire or worst nightmare. Still, as the story progresses you find that there maybe more to Nuala than she lets on.

Meanwhile Thornking-Ash is more than what it appears to be as well and as characters from the previous book start showing up during the course of the story you realise that there might be some unfinished business left to attend to and new dangers to face.

Overall it wasn't a bad book and it wasn't what I expected, which was surprising in a good way. As entertaining as it was to witness James finally "grow a pair" as Nuala puts it, I really hope there is a 3rd book that answers my old questions from the 1st book and the new questions from the 2nd book.






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