Bedeviled by Maureen Child
Publisher: Signet (January 6, 2009)
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Maggie Donovan isn’t interested in overthrowing a Faerie queen. She barely had time to kill the demon that devoured her fiancé. Then she comes home to find a scrumptious hunk in her living room who informs her that saving the Otherworld just happens to be her destiny, and Maggie realizes she may not have a choice...
MY REVIEW: (This is an ADULT title with a healthy does of romance. There are romantic situations, suggested ones, a few strong words.) The one good thing about being sick is being able to catch up on my reading (and movie watching). Child's BEDEVILED was a treat. An adult contemporary fantasy romance with fae folk and a sassy heroine who can't keep her mouth quiet. Maggie is an artist living in a seaside California town. When we meet her she is off to her ex-boyfriend's office. What she finds is some weird creature eating him. Ugh. Maggie must defend herself and she does, barely. Using quick thinking she yanks the bauble from around the creature's neck. A strange dust cloud forms, which she inhales, and her vision gets hazy. When she can see again, the thing has been reduced to a pile of ash. She leaves and climbs into her car. As she grips the steering wheel, it breaks in two. Should she give Marvel a call and sell her superhuman power?
Child's story is fun to read and full of likable characters. The Fenian warrior, Culhane, is an interesting lead character with some mysterious secrets up his sleeve. Maggie's sister, Nora, her niece, Eileen, and friend, Claire are also very likable. There were times when I thought the author played up the whole fairy/fight the evil Queen Mab lore a bit too much. There were also some sections where I began to skim over paragraphs of Maggie's need/her inner conflict over Culhane or her role as new Fae Queen. These passages dragged or went on too long or simply stated what had been said earlier (filler). Also, as mentioned in the Description, I found the climatic battle at the end weak and over too quickly (this was where I wanted to read more description and dialogue and see some good butt kicking).
Over all, despite a few minor glitches and a weak climax, the story worked. I continued turning the pages until the very end and look forward to reading the next installment, BEGUILED.
RATING: +++
BOOK SOURCE: Swapped.
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