In Twelve Days Of Faery, King Markon of Montalier is at the end of his tether. His son, Prince Parrin, is afflicted with a rather nasty curse that slaughters, maims, or brutally attacks any woman with whom he so much as flirts. After the rumour that sweeps around the kingdom, promising that any woman breaking the ‘curse’ will be eligible to marry the prince, there is no shortage of willing volunteers. Unfortunately, there is also no shortage of bodies piling up.
Markon needs to do something, but what? Can a visiting enchantress from Avernse help, or is she simply another accident waiting to happen? And will Markon be able to give her up to his son if she does break the curse?
Twelve Days of Faery is the first novella in the Shards Of A Broken Sword novella trilogy.
"Readers of Young Adult, fantasy and even paranormal or romance fans will find something to like here, but so will anyone who likes a light, enjoyable read. "
Reviewer: Reader for Bookangel.
Prince Parim is cursed. Any woman who falls in love, or even flirts with him, suffers a horrible fate but he is still the prince and that won't stop them. With the body count rising and one international incident that threatens to be only the first, his father, King Morkan, has to step in. With the help and hinderance of the court's nobles, diplomats, and servants, he allows the enchantress Althea to try to break the curse - and her first step is kissing the Prince. It is going to be a busy twelve days.
The twelve days of the story are largely told from King Morkan's point of view in third person, with occasional cuts to others. Althea is fascinating, intelligent, funny, and a likeable lead. A nice touch is the word-play throughout, the traditional role in magic of ensuring that everything is exact, is nicely done. Althea's history is slowly revealed but, much less showily, so is that of the king and kingdom as the unlikely investigators search for anyone with a motive. The royal romance is utterly believable, and develops naturally throughout the book.
Overall "Twelve Days of Faery" has a likeable cast, a sly wit throughout, and a plot that twists and turns. With a mystery to solve, a touching romance, and a sprinkling of fairy magic over the top, this book is a very enjoyable read. I can't fault it. Actually that's not true - the only thing I can fault and this is me being picky, is the formatting. The paragraph indents vary in size and in places are completely absent. I noticed, but I was too caught in the story to really care. Spelling and grammar seemed fine, and despite the paragraph issues the presentation is perfectly readable.
Readers of Young Adult, fantasy and even paranormal or romance fans will find something to like here, but so will anyone who likes a light, enjoyable read. Rating:4
I am not normally a fantasy fan, but I have to say that the mix of paranormal and romance elements is certainly interesting to see. I do enjoy a light read, especially this time of year when I am bogged up with school work and the more academic type readings. Might be a nice break, so thank you.
