When I was a junior in high school, my teacher (Ms. Jenkins) asked us to write a fairy-tale. To say I was super excited would be an understatement. I was thrilled! Here was my chance to write mayhem. (Yeah, not what you were expecting right?) See…the thing that I appreciate most about fairy-tales is the inevitability that something will go horribly wrong. Someone is going to eat a poisoned apple, be cursed be an evil witch, or hell…even be locked in a very tall tower because they have magical hair. The story will always end beautifully, that’s the way a fairy-tale works, but not without the evil “B” first getting her payback handed to her on a rusty platter. It’ important to be happy of course, but if the beautiful princess, (with her hair so shiny and bright) didn’t have oodles of missteps and evil ogres chasing her along the way, she would never be able to fully appreciate her happiness in the end.
In LK Rigel’s “Give Me, An Adult Fairy Tale” the journey IS the story and the happily-ever-after…well, it’s just a fact.
“A young witch with a good heart. Two lovers in mortal danger. A spell that ends in disaster.
Lilith Evergreen lives in the California desert, an ordinary woman until her fiancé returns from London with a ring he bought from a street vendor. When Lilith puts it on she dreams of a green land that’s anything but desert, a tree at cliff’s edge, a ruined castle, and a handsome prince.
Then she discovers that it’s all real.
When Lilith visits the ruins of Tintagos Castle, she discovers a world of magic and love – and its dark side when she’s entangled in the remnants of an ancient spell gone bad. From the moment Lilith sees Cade Bausiney, she’s overwhelmed with desire for him. Cade is drawn to Lilith too – but their feelings might only be sparked by dark and dangerous magic.
Lilith and Cade must break the old spell or be forever possessed by spirits who’ve waited a millennium to consummate their love.”
Ok, so first let’s talk about the synopsis. It’s…a little misleading. Yes, the story is about Lilith and Cade, but not in that “all encompassing” way the description implies. As a matter of fact, they are only about 1/3 of the story. The “human embodiments” if you will. In truth the story is about Galen and Diantha, two people who were ripped away from each other hundreds of years ago by a really pissed off witch, who… (wait for it) …holds their souls captive because of a beef she had with her sister. (See… mayhem!)
Anyways, as far as stories go, this one was a pretty interesting. Not only did LK (whom I adore by the way, and whose novel “Space Junque” happens to be free right now) manage to embody all of the elements necessary to make a fairy-tale succesful, but she managed to do it in a very unique way.
How was it unique exactly? Well…for starter, we are first introduced to Galen and Diantha through Lilith’s dreams, (as in: I’m-a-ghost-and-I’m-going-to-take-control-of-your-subconsious-but-don’t-worry-all-I-really-wanna-do-is-have-sex-with-my-fiance-so-this-will-be-a-hot-dream type unique) Rigel then went on to masterfully infuse a very intricate magical history (aka back story) with today’s inclination to disbelieve anything that can’t be logically explained. (wow…that was really wordy way to say “she makes you believe in magic.)
The characters were interesting, though some could have used a touch more embellishment when it came to their “nature” (*cough* Galen) and for the most part the plot was very well thought out. My only complaint would be with Rigel’s choice of narrative formating. (Huh?) Instead of alternating chapters between present and past, or even using * marks to transition, Rigel chose to plot hop. What does this mean exactly? It means that one second I would be reading about Lilith and then WHAM! the next thing I knew I was 500 years in the past learning about looking glasses. This didn’t damage the plot (or the way the story was told) but it was mildly frustrating. In short…it could have used some separation.
Overall however, very enjoyable little ditty that does well to remind us all why we love a good fairy-tale.
Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Even Glenda the good witch had her moments of PMS.
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[Rating:4/5]
Great review. I’ve read Space Junque and have her others. Sounds like I better get to reading.
my brain is not up to very much plot hopping right now. This will be on the tbr list but maybe a few down 🙂
I love both Give me and Space Junque!