Once upon a time, a spell went awry and Make Believe characters were cast into the ordinary world. And the results aren’t always happily ever after…
Everyone thinks fairy godmothers can do no wrong. But if not for a certain spell mis-cast by Lavender Seelie, Cinderella’s former fairy godmother, the Tales would not be stuck in the Here and Now. Fortunately for Lavender, she’s about to get a second chance at a happy ending…
The Refuge, a sanctuary for wayward Tales, seems like the perfect place for Lavender to start a new life—especially when she discovers an unexpected ally in Seth, the brooding werewolf who’s been typecast as a villain ever since his run in with Little Red Riding Hood. But when humans from nearby towns start turning up dead, their bodies mutilated with archaic Tale symbols, Lavender wonders if Seth’s deep sensuality has blinded her to the truth. And that distraction could put innocent lives in danger. Including her own…
Lavender is a fairy and has been having a hard time with the Charming’s for years. She was Cinderella’s fairy godmother but Cindy has turned into a snob and someone Lavender once thought of as a friend has betrayed her. Then there’s ye ole prince, James Charming, who’s smarmy and gross and she’s not real upset that she shrunk his love stick. James is pissed, however, when Lavender accidentally sets their house on fire. Tess, otherwise known as Red (as in Little Red Riding Hood) sends Lavender off to The Refuge to hide from James and try to start a life anew. The Refuge is a town of Tales (characters that used to live in Make Believe) and Lavender is looking forward to being an independent woman.
The person that Tess actually sends Lavender to is the Big Bad Wolf aka Seth Wolf, who is Tess’s ex-boyfriend. Seth isn’t thrilled with Lavender as she’s a magical being and he’s not a fan of magical beings. He does end up liking Lavender once he gets to know her a bit and they stick together when people start disappearing in The Refuge and Ordinaries (humans) start dying in a ritualistic way. Lavender recognizes the magic that is being used in the rituals and she’s determined to find out who’s behind it.
This book was a total surprise for me. Yes, the blurb caught my eye but when I started reading it I found I was completely taken with the whole premise of the book. Meeting the characters in the book that were actually people from Make Believe (fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters) was fun and interesting. We met Tom, Tom the Piper’s son, Little Bo Peep, Puck from A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Hansel and Gretel and many more. It was a very different approach but was very well done.
I really liked Lavender’s character in this book. I loved that she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind as well as show her vulnerability. She was a pretty tough cookie as she’d been though quite a bit but she didn’t let that get her completely down. She made me laugh on more than one occasion and that’s always a plus in my book. Seth was a hunk a burnin’ love. lol He was kind, smart, fun, funny and a wonderful hunk of a wolf. He was kind and loving toward Lavender and I really liked the two of them together.
The story was pure fantasy but fast-paced and engrossing. Yes, there’s definitely a suspension of belief here but if you can manage that it’s well worth it. There was love, sex, intrigue, murder and much more. I’m very much looking forward to the next book in the series.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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