Royal Enchantment
Skeleton Key Series
Lia Davis
Expected Publication: June 15, 2016
Genre: Fantasy
Ava Green has made a name for herself in the real estate world by reconditioning old, historical homes with her partner and friend Jeff. But her newest project, a three-story Victorian in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, promises to be her biggest moneymaker yet. And one she’s undertaking on her own. During her first walk-through of the house, however, she discovers a locked door, and a skeleton key that seems to appear out of nowhere. Unlocking the door, she is transported to a mystical world of fae and mythickal creatures and meets the King of the Morna. The sovereign of the Dark Elves.
King Finn Sylcan has searched for the one who can bring the magick back to his world, Edra, for eons. An old prophecy told of a female of both Dark and Light elven descent, a hybrid both Calim and Morna. It is said she is the only one who can repair the damage the war between the Dark and Light kingdoms caused. But after searching for so long, Finn never dreamed that she’d just show up outside his palace walls. Or that she’d be his mate.
Review copy provided by the publisher thru NetGalley
I was so ever disappointed by the length of this story. The synopsis had me believed that I would read a full-length ARC novel with just the minor mistakes with some punctuation and grammar.
But it wasn’t even that.
I didn’t connect with Ava Green. She had a life before being thrust into the world of Edra, there must be something more than her being the child of two star-crossed lovers and being the prophesied child. And I really didn’t buy her seemingly immediate acceptance of this alien world.
What was her relationship with her parents? What were the activities they did that made her open to the idea of another world without her parents spilling the beans about her heritage? What was she like as an ‘ordinary’ woman before she was a special snowflake?
The same goes for Finn. Other than he’s hot, strong, commanding, sexy, sweet, protective, and gorgeous, who is he?
And Edra itself! Come on, people, it’s another freaking world. A whole other world with weird creatures, unusual topography, elves, magic and obeys natural laws other than our own. It’s a WHOLE, OTHER WORLD! I want to immerse myself in it and feel that I am walking amongst the roses in Finn’s mother’s garden.
The plot to me was hurried. There was no proper build-up. No tension. I wanted it build on the danger, the mythology of the elves, the world, the prophecy, the history behind war. And then it would all come to a head in a climax that would have made me gasp and grip the pages, eagerly turning them to know if the heroes had what it takes. But it was all too easy, what our special snowflake did.
And I am not even going to talk about that instalove.
Not to say that Royal Enchantment doesn’t have potential; it does. What I want for the finished, final copy is a story of length and breadth. With fleshed characters and their backgrounds, established settings and atmosphere, you won’t go wrong.
But it wasn’t even that.
I didn’t connect with Ava Green. She had a life before being thrust into the world of Edra, there must be something more than her being the child of two star-crossed lovers and being the prophesied child. And I really didn’t buy her seemingly immediate acceptance of this alien world.
What was her relationship with her parents? What were the activities they did that made her open to the idea of another world without her parents spilling the beans about her heritage? What was she like as an ‘ordinary’ woman before she was a special snowflake?
The same goes for Finn. Other than he’s hot, strong, commanding, sexy, sweet, protective, and gorgeous, who is he?
And Edra itself! Come on, people, it’s another freaking world. A whole other world with weird creatures, unusual topography, elves, magic and obeys natural laws other than our own. It’s a WHOLE, OTHER WORLD! I want to immerse myself in it and feel that I am walking amongst the roses in Finn’s mother’s garden.
The plot to me was hurried. There was no proper build-up. No tension. I wanted it build on the danger, the mythology of the elves, the world, the prophecy, the history behind war. And then it would all come to a head in a climax that would have made me gasp and grip the pages, eagerly turning them to know if the heroes had what it takes. But it was all too easy, what our special snowflake did.
And I am not even going to talk about that instalove.
Not to say that Royal Enchantment doesn’t have potential; it does. What I want for the finished, final copy is a story of length and breadth. With fleshed characters and their backgrounds, established settings and atmosphere, you won’t go wrong.
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