Sparkwood

    Sparkwood By: Daria Defore    ***

I enjoyed the book, although it was an unusual book for me to read. I chose the book based on cover art and description that included murder mystery and fairies. The fact that it also included gay/queer/bi-sexual characters was more a curiosity factor for me. As in; how does a murder mystery involving gay/bi-sexual characters differ from a murder mystery with heterosexual characters? Umm – not that much, LOL.

Set in Sparkwood, WA – a small rural town on the edge of great forests, and the “mirror image” of Sparkwood – the town where magical fairies live. The story starts out with 2 fairies in a human diner. Humans are aware that fairies exist. The book is lacking in background details of when this action/realization occurred or if it is a welcomed occurrence.

I felt the characters were only fairly well described. The same goes for the locations in each town. Readers were given brief physical descriptions of the characters and for no apparent reason, included the characters sexual orientation. I feel the characters could have been given more personality and more background history would have given the book more substance.

I'm NOT trying to write a scathing review. I DID enjoy the book. I simply feel the story has more potential.

For a heterosexual female, the sex scenes did not creep me out because they appear to be tastefully and artistically written. I could have said “lovingly” but the characters didn't seem to develop a “loving” relationship before falling into bed with each other. BUT, on the other hand, that is also true of most couples in society today. So I can't hold that against the author. It was actually realistic.

In the end, the story did elude to the promise of a life-long romance, love and a committed relationship.

To sum up the book, it's a murder mystery, fairies, romance with a little coming out and self-acceptance, finding love when you least expect it. Running off (to a warmer climate) for a happily ever-after.

I received the book free in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my rating nor review.

My review will be posted on amazon, netgalley, goodreads and moonshineartspot.blogspot.com

Terri/Aunt Meanie