Reviewed by Cheryl

TITLE: Fae on a Roll

SERIES: Kontra’s Menagerie #25

AUTHOR: Charlie Richards

PUBLISHER: eXtasy

LENGTH: 113 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 26, 2018

BLURB:

Prudhoe Rison is a specially trained fae enforcer and had been sent to the human realm to search for a missing prince. After completing that task, he should have returned home, but feeling a pull to stay, he’s remained for several weeks. Wandering the town to discover the source of the sensation has proven fruitless…until he drives past the library. The pull he’s been feeling intensifies, and he follows it into the building. There he meets Korvyn Peruke—his paramour—the other half of his soul. Prudhoe is drawn to Korvyn’s friendly disposition and outgoing personality. Even though the human is wheelchair-bound, it doesn’t stop Korvyn from enjoying life.

At first, Korvyn doesn’t understand why the serious and handsome Prudhoe is taking an interest in him—until he puts two and two together. A visit from a fae enforcer alerts Prudhoe that people in his own realm are talking about him. It also tells Korvyn—who already knows about paranormals—that Prudhoe is something other. Can Prudhoe keep Korvyn safe when trouble from the fae realm comes calling, or will he have to make the ultimate sacrifice to keep Korvyn safe?

REVIEW:

I made a bit of a mistake with this book, and I hold my hands up to being the idiot who read a book thinking it was standalone when on the cover it quite clearly says Book 25. Most of the issues I ha when reading the book would never have arisen if I’d realized that. Therefore, I would very strongly recommend that you don’t read this book as a standalone. It is possible to do so, the story is certainly strong enough to carry its own book, but there are characters that pop in from nowhere, especially at the end that feel like deus ex machina if you don’t know them from previous books.

All that being said, Fae on a Roll was a pretty solid book. I can’t say I entirely “got” Prudhoe. Yes, he’s a fae and I suppose us mere humans are not supposed to entirely understand how his mind works, but I did find myself jarred by his thought processes, actions and motivations sometimes. I figure this might also be something to do with the fact that there have been twenty four previous books exploring the make up of a fae.

As a character, I prefer Korvyn. Although he’s unable to walk, I would say that Korvyn is not disabled as nothing gets in the way of what he wants to do. He’s a strong and complex character and I feel he has more weight than Prudhoe. As a couple, they’re pretty unlikely, but they work.

The story has just the right blend of action and introspection and I liked the way the relationship developed. Even though it was one of those situations where there is an instant connection (such as fated mates etc. In this case paramours, which I think is so sweet and old fashioned) Korvyn wasn’t easy prey and he made Prudhoe work for him. It was lovely to see the hulking fae enforcer bend to the boy in the wheelchair.

There was a strong supporting cast—some good and some bad—and I particularly enjoyed the beastly librarian and Prudhoe’s brother who is a smarmy, arrogant (insert preferred swear word). He’s awful, but a great character.

The sex scenes are sizzling and the romance is sweet but always with an edge. The story flows well, and if there are bumps on the way, they can be explained by previous books (at least I’m assuming so)

There are a lot of motorbikes around, which is great, so yet another reason to read, if you’re into bikes. It’s by no means a deal-breaker if you’re not into bikes although one or two things might zip over your head.

In conclusion this is a fabulous book to read as part of a series. If all the previous books are as good I would urge you to go back to the start and follow them along. As a standalone, it’s still a great story, but you don’t get the full flavour and parts of it feel wrong.

I’m marking it on the basis that I haven’t read all the preceding books and am assuming they fill in the blanks and round off the rough edges as I suspect they do. If I were marking purely as a standalone, then I’d mark lower.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

eXtasy

Amazon