If you’re only experience of “the fae” is Tinkerbell in Peter Pan, you may be a little shocked to meet the real thing here. But Mel Sterling’s “Trueheart” brings the true mythology of the fae folk to gritty life. (although, if you did read Peter Pan, you known precious Tink was pretty cruel and calculating, actually).
Okay, so I preorder this one and read it in less than 24 hours… I simply couldn’t put it down! Overall, the pacing was great… Clean writing, with an obvious depth of research into the subject matter to make the mentions and details of characters and lore of the fae world very believable and acceptable. The good guys (Thomas and Tess) were appealing, well-drawn, and had a wonderful chemistry right from their first meeting. The bad guys were suitably menacing, though in decidedly different ways. My only complaints are that it ended at all and that I have to wait until 2017 to continue the journey.
Review breakdown below (Possible Spoilers, though I’m trying to avoid it)
Plot: The plot can be divided into three parts that involve the main characters.
Thomas, the lead male, is a human/ fae who was captured and enslaved by the seductive Queen of Faeries more than 200 years ago. Striving to be free from his bondage, Thomas does what the Queen wants, including the current assignment to find out who is stealing from her. As to what is being stolen, and why, you’ll have to read to find out.
The second plot track involves Tess, a social worker who is trying to find out why so many young men are showing up in her care with delusions about “green men” and such. Some are reduced to catatonic states, others withering away and dying. Tess’ quest to help her patients leads her to the Underbridge market, and into the path of Thomas.
The third plot is the romance element of the story, and the author does such a wonderful job here. The credit goes to shaping such believable, and lovable, characters. Both have flaws that must be overcome, but the acceptance of one for the other is so beautiful that you find yourself really feeling for them, rooting for them to succeed.
Characters:
As mentioned above, Thomas and Tess are so wonderfully drawn and filled out. You feel what they feel, want them to succeed and be happy.
As to the “bad guys”, which are all of the fae world, their is a wide variety of creatures guaranteed to frighten and amuse. The main bad guy, Hunter, is described very visually (in fact, you get a glimpse of him in costume on the beautiful front cover), but you also sympathize with him in some ways, as he is also bound to the Queen.
The Queen? Vicious and vibrant, bad and beautiful, clever and cruel… We’re don’t learn her “truename” during the course of this book, but hopefully we will in the future, when somebody takes the b*tch down. 😉
Quality of Writing:
Smooth writing style, clear and clean. The depth of research done on the subject of the fae world and its lore was obviously extensive and brings a authenticity to the story that is necessary in a genre piece. In addition, the knowledge of the city of Portland and the surrounding area is also extensive. I don’t know if the author has ever been to those places, but based on her writing she would never get lost if suddenly dropped there. I am now looking at large grass-covered mounds in an entirely different light.
Originality:
I am a newcomer to the paranormal romance/ urban fantasy genre so for me this was a very original piece. My limited experience with anything resembling faeries prior to this consisted of Peter Pan and Tara Janzen’s Chalice trilogy, so the subject matter was fresh and fascinating to me. I found myself looking up things like “kelpies” and “trow” so that I knew what I was reading about.
Cinematic Quality:
The categories I used for this review are based on screenplay reviews I used to do, so that’s why I’m throwing this one in. I think when you read a book, you see it. Like a movie in your mind. And the movie I saw with this book was SPECTACULAR!
So that’s it… Five stars for sure! And I can’t wait for the next installment, “Ironbound”.
GABRIELLA MESSINA WRITES 