I borrowed a copy of Stephanie Burgis‘ Enchanting the Fae Queen from the local library. I read and reviewed the first book in the series last year.
Queen Lorelei is a notorious fae seductress, with a trail of broken hearts in her wake. But behind her glamorous lifestyle and sparkling mask lurks a dangerously intelligent woman who’d do anything to keep her people safe, including kidnap the empire’s most famous hero.
The virtuous high general Gerard de Moireul represents all that is moral and true. He has to, after his parents were executed for treason. The last thing he needs is the Queen of Balravia, who showers glitter and rainbow-colored sparkles everywhere she goes without the slightest regard for good taste, decorum, or royal dignity.
They’re opposites in every way, but when they’re swept up together in a grand–and deadly–fae tournament, they discover all of each other’s most hidden truths–and how perfectly they might be suited for each other after all.
I found this an enjoyable cozy fantasy. Gerard is honorable and good in all the best ways. Lorelei is cliched, but purposefully so. She uses people’s expectations for her own ends, and it makes what might otherwise have been a grating personality bearable. Both have tragic, believable backstories that are incorporated into the plot in meaningful ways. They make a lovely couple whom I liked spending time with.
I also find some of Burgis’ dry humor really engaging and had fun with the narrative. I did think once they had decided to be together, things wrapped up a little too quickly, with too many of the “but how is that going to work” threads left open. I’m trusting Burgis to tie them off in the next book.
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