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This is no fairy tale
Haunted by nightmares of a black dog, sick to death of my mind-numbing career and heart-numbing fiancé, I impulsively walked out of my life—and fell into Faerie. Terrified, fascinated, I discover I possess a power I can't control: my wishes come true. After an all-too-real attack by the animal from my dreams, I wake to find myself the captive of the seductive and ruthless fae lord Rogue. In return for my rescue, he demands an extravagant price—my firstborn child, which he intends to sire himself
With no hope of escaping this world, I must learn to harness my magic and build a new life despite the perils—including my own inexplicable and debilitating desire for Rogue. I swear I will never submit to his demands, no matter what erotic torment he subjects me to
92,000 words
Wagon-wheel chandeliers and red velvet. Why on earth every damn hotel in Wyoming seemed compelled to decorate their conference rooms like nineteenth-century saloons escaped me.
But then, everything annoyed me lately.
I shifted, sipping from my glass of Jameson. My feet throbbed from standing around in my heels all evening, and restless irritation crawled across my skin. I'd rather be home, having a quiet evening with my cat, Isabel. I should be in the lab trying to make sense of that last batch of probably worthless data. Being Clive's convenient arm-candy fell pretty low on my list.
And yet, look where I'd ended up. I'd caved to him. Yet again.
The reception was really important to him, and as his fiancée—and here Clive had pulled out the big guns, since he usually only referred to me as his girlfriend—I should be by his side. I always found the energy for my job so if I really loved him, I would. On and on and on. Sometimes I think I agreed with him just so I wouldn't have to hear about it anymore.
What the hell was wrong with me these days?
My brain pulsed against my skull. The fragile bones felt as if they could explode from the sheer pressure of what seethed inside.
I couldn't keep living my life this way.
How did you realize these things? Not in a flash, I thought. Not the epiphany complete with rays of light and singing angels. Instead, it was a slow, creeping restlessness. A depression that sent out fingers of anguished rebellion. You gradually noticed that every morning you dreaded going to your prestigious university research job. Worse, every night you came home to face the guy you thought was The One and you find yourself on the doorstep, hand on the doorknob, and you're suddenly desperate to be anywhere but walking into that house.
I suppose I was finally facing the fact that I was miserable. Dreams about a black dog, both compelling and terrifying, had been disrupting my sleep with a message I couldn't interpret.
Or, more precisely, that I didn't want to hear. When I met Clive he'd seemed so different, so mature and, well, like husband material. He fit the neat little peg-hole in the car of my personal Game of Life. Somehow in shining up that image, I'd forgotten that a nice salary and polished shoes didn't make someone a good partner. I'd been just as guilty—letting him see me as the cool, logical scientist. He'd never signed up for a woman with a formless restlessness and these dreams that lately obsessed me.
No, it hadn't been a flash, but standing at that party, it became obvious to me.
I didn't love Clive. Half the time I didn't even like him. Nothing in my life had turned out quite as wonderful as it had seemed when I planned it.
The conversation washed over me. The usual ballyhoo about oil, more drilling, politics, crazy environmentalists. Nothing new. I'd heard the conversation twenty times over and knew better than to argue any of the points. I didn't even think I was listening until I found myself saying, "Oh, Clive, that statistic has been discredited ten times over!"
Clive gaped at me. The other men looked surprised that I spoke.
Try to be softer, my mother said. So far as I could see, soft got you nowhere. Soft got you married to a man who spent his life making up problems to solve and leaving you to sleep alone. Besides, Clive knew I was right. I'd proved him wrong on that point before.
Not what I expected nut definitely not disappointed. I’m a fantasy lover. I love a big long sweeping fantasy that you can sink your teeth in and Rogue’s Pawn does not disappoint. But this isn’t your every day run-of-the-mill fantasy story. Dragons, check. Magic, check. Hot guys, check. BUT – it’s different. I like different. It’s different enough to make you sit up and take notice. The worldbuilding is excellent. It’s not the Faerie I think of when I think of that place. It has a cast of colorful people who are intriguing. Who keep you guessing. And we never quite know who’s an ally and who’s an enemy. I love that sort of mysterious storytelling.
The characters are well-drawn. The voice is smooth and engaging. I was immediately pulled in and thought I would read this as I got to it. But I was wrong. I was immediately pulled under the spell of Lady Gwynn and Rogue. I couldn’t stop reading. I found that after I stopped reading the book, the characters and the story lingered with me long after. Even after reading the last page I was like, “WHAAA?? More.” Like a kid throwing a tantrum. I wanted more! More story! I loved Starling and Liam (the sexy human officer who teaches Gwynn self defense and has a little smoochy time with her). In fact, I really want to see Liam again. I loved him so. I don’t know why. But he’s the kind of guy I’d fling myself at in a heartbeat. Anyway… great story, intriguing plot and the story ends with lots of unanswered questions inviting the read to beg for more. Which of course I did. And am thrilled to hear there will be another story. Hoorah!
Magluvsya03
Posted January 4, 2013
So, this a really interesting story. You have a college professor with a PhD and scientist, who almost literally falls into Faerie. HA! It’s almost ironic when things begin to unravel, the ish hits the fan and things get crazy.
I like Jennifer as the main character. She is smart, sassy, strong willed, and is willing to fight for her survival. At some points in the story, I feel sorry for her. Other points, I’m trying to not to strangle her and then most of the time I want to cheer her on!! She is in a complicated position as she is now owned by a man in Faery who isn’t such a nice tinker bell sorta fairy. And to make it worse, he wants nothing more than to break her spirit so she will do his bidding blindly.
The world building of this story is probably my favorite part. The way things were created made the story so cool. It’s an interesting concept with a pretty unique plot line, and though there were some parts I was disappointed in, there were a lot of parts I really liked. It’s such a fun way to begin a series and I have some good objectives that the next book will be better and even more if a thrill ride.
I don’t think I can completely characterize this story as romance, as it’s not really romance-y but it’s definitely in the urban fantasy chats gory. And even though there are some gruff scenes and darker moments, I still enjoyed the ride. I really do look forward to book two! And if you’re in for a ride and a transporting to a whole new world, I will definitely recommend this one for you!! 4 PAWS from me! I can’t wait for book two!
Anonymous
Posted September 13, 2012
But it seemed to end right when it got REALLY interesting!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted September 12, 2012
I enjoyed this book and the author's spin on worldbuilding. The plot moved along and the characters were interesting. I do think the ending was rushed and that the story could have had some smoother transitions but overall I recommend this for anyone looking for a romantic fantasy. Not sure if there will be a sequel, but if one appears--I will be reading it!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.dreamer2229
Posted August 2, 2012
Fun and scary look at what would happen if a mortal fell into the Fae realm. The heroine’s dream man turns out to be a bit of a nightmare; and she definitely didn’t sign up for powers and everything else that is happening to her.
This book has adventure, torture, romance, secrets, magic, love, and power struggles all set in a unique look at the Fairy world. The story is well-written, humorous, sad, and stands on its own in a genre saturated with fantasy stories. Rogue’s Pawn is a fresh and enjoyable look at the Fae world.
I give this book 4 out of 5 clouds.
This product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.
Erlessard
Posted July 16, 2012
What began with a woman tired of her husband, turned into a world so unorthodox and unusual that I literally had to reread passages to understand what the hell was going on. If the author intended on the reader experiencing the same emotional turmoil as the narrator, then congrats. The moment Jennifer/Gwynne entered the fairy realm I was thoroughly as confused as she. I felt like I was watching a foreign film with subtitles only initially the subtitles were in the wrong language, so I had to piece together everything through very careful reading. Let me give you some pointers to help you read this book:
a) The people in this fairy realm are neither human nor do they talk in English. The only way for Gwynne to communicate with them is to read their thoughts and project her thoughts to them in response.
b) The names of many of the characters are chosen because of the meaning she connectes with the perceived image of the real name. These are not their accurate names.
c) Things are not described, they are compared in an endless stream of metaphors and pop culture references.
The characters are pretty unique both in appearance and personality. I like the how much thought was put into the social structure from the servants up to the role of Titania, the goddess.
The ending saved this book for me. It answered many of the questions I had by chapter two or three. Some of the questions I had that developed later on in the book weren’t resolved, but I’m assuming that there is a sequel planned.
I think that this book didn’t live up to its full potential. The actual story was excellent but it was written in a way that requires a lot of work for the reader. It requires a lot of faith in the author to trust that that question annoying you like a gnat in chapter one will be finally explained before the book comes to a close. I wish that there was more explaining early on in the book. Oh, and there is a lot of emphasis on sex and sex appeal in this book.
Anonymous
Posted October 23, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted November 3, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
This is no fairy tale
Haunted by nightmares of a black dog, sick to death of my mind-numbing career and heart-numbing fiancé, I impulsively walked out of my life—and fell into Faerie. Terrified, fascinated, I discover I possess a power I can't control: my wishes come true. After an all-too-real attack by the animal from my dreams, I wake to find myself the captive of the seductive and ruthless fae lord Rogue. In return for my rescue, he ...