Fairyville
Emma Holly
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East meets West across time and tradition as three young American women and their Indian immigrant mothers take first steps toward true sisterhood, shattering secrets and sharing joy and tears in Emma Holly's
Fairyville
.




Buy *Fairyville * by Emma Holly online

Fairyville
Emma Holly
Berkley Trade
Paperback
320 pages
September 2007
rated 5 of 5 possible stars

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Fairyville is clearly an unusual place - not only are there several wacky residents (notably Zoe, a medium but who also sees fairies) but some parents wonder if their children born in Fairyville hospital were somehow switched with another child. Surely their natural children shouldn't be able to levitate objects?

The book Fairyville follows two couples as they try to get to the bottom of the swapped-children mystery while learning about themselves and each other. Zoe Clare, the medium, has been in love with Magnus Monroe, her landlord and manager, for two years. He seems to like her very much, yet every full moon he spends the night with another woman, although that's a one-off and he doesn't see the woman again. Zoe decides to seduce him, but he seems strangely resistant. She doesn't know why, but the reader is told that Magnus is a fairy princewho is only allowed to stay on Earth if he gives the women with whom he makes love their hearts back afterwards so that they don't love him any more. He feels strongly for Zoe and isn't willing to have her indifferent to him after a night of sex; thus he holds back.

However, Magnus's plans aren't working too well when Zoe tries to seduce him, especially as almost immediately afterwards her old flame Alex Goodbody returns. Alex is a private investigator who has been hired to look into whether a young boy, Oscar, isn't actually Mrs. Pruitt's son but was swapped when she gave birth in Fairyville. Alex left Fairyville under a cloud after being discovered having sex with his football coach, but Zoe still loves him and his arrival in town rekindles some of the feelings.

To add to the complication, Alex is visiting with his fellow private investigator, Bryan McCallum, with whom he's just started a sexual relationship. Bryan and Alex have worked together for ten years, and Bryan is deeply in love. His character is written well as a gentle, kindly and thoughtful man who is also masculine and strong. Bryan not only can see the interest between Alex and Zoe; he also finds himself attracted to Zoe. Much of the sex in this book is gay sex between Bryan and Alex, and also between Bryan and Magnus, but there is also a three-in-a-bed session including Zoe and other sexual practices that some might find distasteful; this is definitely a book for those who know what to expect in erotic romance and feel comfortable with it.

As soon as Alex and Bryan arrive in Fairyville, strange things begin to happen - rocks shower on them in a hotel room, angels are summoned by Zoe to rescue them, and a relative of Alex's speaks to him from beyond the grave. As soon as Zoe meets Alex again, some of their feelings come back, which leads to jealousy on Magnus's part and insecurity for Bryan. These elements are wrapped up fairly well by the end of the book, but the tension between the four main characters and their interactions (usually sexual) are the main thrust of the story. As the story continues, Alex finds out more about his own past, Magnus's fairy status causes him more problems, and the relationships among the four become more complicated - especially when Alex travels to Fairy with the young boy Oscar.

This book is described as an erotic paranormal romance; it's certainly erotic, with lots of sex scenes including gay sex, three in a bed and other stuff. It's paranormal with fairies, ghosts, angels and fairy wars; however, it isn't particularly romantic as the relationships among the four main characters are more based on lust and friendship rather than romance. Emma Holly is an excellent writer in this genre, though, and she keeps the story moving along well. It isn't always obvious what is going to happen, all the threads are resolved (although some in a manner the more traditional reader might not entirely find comfortable), and her portrayal of the world of Fairyville is interesting. The world-building isn't as good as in some of her other books (such as The Demon's Daughter), and there is a higher ratio of sex to plot in this novel. It is still well written and will reward those who like this genre.



Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book at www.curledup.com. © Helen Hancox, 2007

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