Never More (The Gray Court #6)
By Dana Marie Bell
Blurb:
Amanda
Pierson’s long-overdue holiday at the Dunne farm unexpectedly turns into a
working vacation when she’s roped into throwing together a last-minute dream
wedding for Michaela Exton and Robin Goodfellow. No biggie for one of the best
party planners at Fantasy Events, Inc., right?
Right.
A
monkey wrench lands with a thud when the groom’s son—who’s been watching her
every move—declares they were meant to be together. Raven Goodfellow is
everything she doesn’t want in a lover. Brash, bold and goth. Yet there’s
something almost . . . magical about their attraction.
The
moment Raven saw Amanda’s picture, he had suspicions. Now that he’s seen her in
person, he’s certain. She is his truebond, though it will take a delicate,
feather-light touch to bring her into his world.
Love
takes wing faster than a bird in flight. But when the Dark Queen sends agents
to destroy him, Raven finds himself in a desperate fight to protect all he
holds dear . . . or the Dark Queen may succeed where so many others have
failed.
Themes: magick, paranormal, Fae
Rating: 4.25 stars
Review:
A wonderful story of redemption for a man that
once fully embodied the dark side of life, not necessarily by his choice, but
that has finally found his way to the Light (for the most part at least) and
has earned a truebond to balance his darker urges. The story is one I have been looking forward
to for the past two or three reads in the series, about the dark and deadly son of
Robin Goodfellow, the prince of the powerful Gray Court. The way that Raven
blew onto the pages during Robin’s courting of his mate was one that could have
destroyed the known world, as Robin’s anger is nothing to be underestimated and
discovering he had many grown children that have been turned to the Black, was
certainly life altering. As we got to
know more about Raven in his subsequent appearances on the scene, I began to
really root for him to find his very own truebond to keep him level and bring
him the happiness he was denied for so many centuries at the hands of the Dark
Queen. If you are a fan of this series and/or Shakespeare’s tales of Oberon and
Titania you will still never be prepared for the full extent of this strange and
varied group of people that have come together as a family. I am really looking
forward to the next book in the series as I have a strong feeling I know who
will get his HEA next and couldn’t be more thrilled to read that story.
Raven
and Amanda’s story is one of emotional turmoil, battles for their lives, and of
course the sweetness of Robin and Michaela’s wedding. Amanda is a wedding planner that has gotten
pushed not just into the deep-end but into the damn Marianna Trench of
Weddings, and she also finds herself with a new man drawing her attraction and
desire. She is determined to give Robin
and Michaela the wedding of their dreams, but with one of Robin’s sons telling
her she is his mate and another out to kill them all, she’s in over her head,
especially when she learns that almost every member of the wedding party and Robin’s
little “family” are not even human. I
loved Amanda and her ability to embrace the absurd, keeping her from becoming
the type of character that all women hate, a TSTL heroine. Instead Amanda handles all the crazy changes
to her reality and her life with a beautiful aplomb and quirky sense of
humor. I loved that she decided that
Raven was taking too long and decided that she was going to take the bird by
the feathers (sorry couldn’t resist) and seduce her man. Raven
himself was a different type of character, though we have seen the tortured
hero character many times before, his ability to embrace the beauty around him,
even when he was fully Dark sets him apart in my mind. His sensuality and sweetness are apart in
equal measure and it became obvious immediately that he will be a perfect mate
for his Amanda and will treat her like the princess she will become, even when
he is making her scream his name. I also
enjoyed his apparent intelligence and ability to outmaneuver his opponents when
they tried to frame him and ultimately destroy his entire family.
Characters,
plots, setting, and continuation of the series ARCs make this story one of the
most fulfilling in the story, bringing some relationships to a crucial step,
expanding the Gray court to include some interesting new folks, and even
bringing a few humans into the mix. I am
really looking forward to the next story and hope it is the one I think it
is. If you are a fan of Bell’s work, her
Gray Court series is not to be missed, but I would definitely start at the
beginning and read them all, maybe a marathon read weekend would be in order,
because only by having an understanding of all the stories will you appreciate
the true greatness that is Oberon and his people.
*eARC provided by publisher (via
netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No
compensation was provided.
No comments:
Post a Comment