The dynamic between the fairy heroine and her succubus best friend was fun. They are both feisty and aren't afraid to drop a few "F-bombs" here and there, which works for me. The writing toward the second half seemed to have lots of short, choppy sentences and that was a bit jarring at times, but it didn't stop me from reading on. There is no sex until late in the book and it is tame so you don't have to worry about getting too hot and bothered if you're reading on a break at work, or at a coffee shop, etc. (But then again, I don't know what turns you on so truly YOU might get hot and bothered.) Over all, it was an interesting story about a fairy fighting her dark side and finding her mate. It's worth a read.
Excerpt
A scream echoed down the hallway and reached Barrett at his desk. He knew they didn’t have a banshee in the vicinity, which always required extra precautions, but his eardrums had never met a sound more sinister than the bellow ringing in his ears.
Captain Syd stormed into the station room, his gaze locked on Barrett.
“Your fairy is driving everyone mad.”
Yep, Barrett had guessed right. His mate was causing a scene. Looked like Barrett would be forced to deal with the consequences.
The rest of the men and women at their desks studied his confrontation with the captain. They weren’t missing any details.
They all knew the fairy was Barrett’s problem, which would reasonably lead anyone to believe the two of them were involved in a relationship. Barrett’s place in the hierarchy among the men just dropped. He was probably going to lose his job.
Barrett pushed back from his desk. “I’ll go talk to her.” Damage control time. Maybe it wasn’t all over.
Captain Syd’s hot breath smacked him in the face. “You better not just talk to her. You better silence her!”
Barrett rarely heard the captain yell. This situation wasn’t going to be easy on anyone. Super.
With a scowl, Barrett headed for Dray. The woman had a sharp hook sunk into his chest. No matter how hard he tried to wiggle free of the catch, the hold buried deeper. She was his problem now. The captain had made the truth public.
Barrett strode toward the prisoner cells. The moment he entered the room, the fairy stopped screaming. He walked right up and glared at her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Thank the heavens.” The hag two cells down stopped rubbing her temples.
Barrett chose to ignore the older woman.
Dray blinked at him, as wide-eyed and innocent as a doe. Barrett knew well enough not to be fooled.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Barrett’s own anger mounted.
“Tell me.” Dray threw the words out as though she didn’t have a care in the world.
“Everyone knows you’re my responsibility now.” His heart thudded at the admission. The statement wouldn’t go over well with his mate.
Dray’s eyes flared. “Embarrassed?”
That wasn’t even close to what Barrett felt. He had no idea how to put the chaos inside his chest into words. “You’re not making it easy to like you.”
“Ha! Feeling’s mutual.”
He should have known she would throw the sentiment back in his face. “I’m not your biggest fan, either, sugar.”
Dray snorted. “You couldn’t possibly dislike me as much as I dislike you.”
Now it was personal. “Listen, Beth—”
Her eyes bugged at the nickname. He’d seen her full name on her record.
He smirked. “If you think you can come into my station and run that sassy mouth like the Second Ending is coming and the world will parish without hearing your wisdom, you’re sadly mistaken. I should lock you up for the simple reason that someone thought it was a nice idea to match your surly little temper with those soft and sexy curves.”
Her mouth dropped open.
Using his index finger, he brushed his calloused skin against her soft chin and pushed up so her lips pressed together again. And in that insane moment, he wanted to kiss her.
She smacked his hand. Pain sizzled along his nerves. “If you ever touch me again, I’ll castrate you with my fingernails.”
He looked down at her short, efficient nails, and then back up at her. “You’re welcome to try.”
Her eyes flared, her power shifting behind her gaze. It had been a long time since he’d seen someone this riled. The little firecracker in front of him was set to burst.
“You’re just like every man I’ve ever met.” Dray turned her back on him.
Barrett couldn’t stop the spike of jealousy. How many men had there been? “You’re nothing like every woman I’ve met.” No one else drove him to this level of ball-busted crazy.
Dray’s shoulders hunched, and he couldn’t get a read on her. She refused to continue their conversation, and that was fine with him. He worried about what he might snap at her in his current mood.
His mobile buzzed, a welcomed distraction, and he quickly read the message.
“Jiva’s here to bail you out.” He had no idea how Jiva had known where her friend was. He hadn’t known how to get a hold of the succubus.
Dray continued to stare at the back wall. Barrett couldn’t see any part of her face. A moment of helplessness overwhelmed him. What was he supposed to do with this fairy? He had no idea how to proceed. “Be careful.” He couldn’t prevent himself from warning her. “Don’t go anywhere alone. The soul-sucker is still out there.” He’d never forgive himself if something happened to her, even if his temper peaked at his max.
She didn’t glance back or acknowledge him.
“Please, be careful.” His words scratched from a dry throat.
A long silence stretched. “I don’t need you to protect me.”
Her words struck him in the gut. Air puffed out of him. Rejection raged through him, uncontained. Wasn’t that the point? The little fairy didn’t need him at all. He chose to walk away then. She’d made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him. Maybe he would make it easy on her and just walk away for good.
He turned his back. No matter how much he wanted to give up on their torrid relationship, that wouldn’t be possible. It looked like they would both have to see this through to the end, whether that end included happiness or death.
Bio
Kinley Baker has a terminally tender heart and aninconvenient sense of humor. She loves puppies and cries at celebrity weddings. Kinley believes that romance novels are the keys to world peace, because if you're holding a book, you can't be holding a gun. Kinley supports all supernatural lifestyles and believes "happy ever after" isn't only for the normal.
Her books Ruined, Denied and Freed are available now from Crescent Moon Press. Excuse My Fairy is available now from Etopia Press. Look for more in the Misbehaving Magics series and the final book in the Shadowed Love trilogy in 2013.
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This book was provided to me free, by Bewitching Book Tours, for my honest opinion.
