Synopsis (Goodreads):
The Man of Her DreamsMy Thoughts: I really enjoyed book 1 in this series and I had wasn't sure what to expect with Dai's book. I mean, the curse had been broken, Dai and Roan had escaped to the Fixed Realm, what was Dai going to have to overcome now? Turns out he had plenty of obstacles... the biggest one being his own guilt and the way he feels out of sync with the world around him.
He is like a prince in a fairy tale: tall, outrageously handsome, and way too dark for her own good. Amanda has been hurt before, though. And with her daughter's illness, the last thing she needs right now is a man. But the power of Dai King is hard to resist. And when he threads his hands through her hair and pulls her in for a kiss, there is no denying it feels achingly right.
In a Land of Nightmares
After being trapped in the Shadowlands for centuries with the goblin horde a constant threat, Dai revels in his new-found freedom back in the human realm. But even with the centuries of magic he's accumulated, he still doesn't know how to heal Amanda's daughter--and it breaks his heart. Yet for the woman he loves, he'd risk anything...including a return to the Shadowlands.
Here's the thing... it took a looooooong time to get to the point where things were moving along. The first half (or longer) of the book was a lot of rehashing how Dai felt (guilty, didn't want to be powerless, alone) and how Amanda felt (guilty, lonely, powerless against her daughter's illness). I liked that these two lost souls were working toward one another and feeling each other out (VERY TENTATIVELY) about the potential for a relationship but the repetition slowed down the narrative. A lot. It wasn't until Dai started acting decisively that I found myself unable to stop reading. However, once he was kicking ass and taking names, things rocked.
I enjoyed the bits about Meryn and his troubles in the Shadowlands (dude is MESSED in the head from all his years as a goblin) and I liked seeing Eliza and Roan settling into a normal life together, I just wasn't enamored of the constant circular thoughts that plagued poor Dai and Amanda. Also, I think I would have punched the Birch Trustees in the junk after the stunts they pulled. IN THE JUNK. There would have likely been tears. Not mine this time, either.
Enjoyable once the action picks up and Dai starts revealing his secrets (I do love my tortured heroes, you know) but you have to wade through a fair amount of slow moving introspection to get to the fun. Still, I can only guess that the things we learned about lives and rebirth will have some impact in later books. Or at least I hope so because that part was pretty neat.
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Books in this series
0.5. The Summons
1. The Goblin King
2. Kiss of the Goblin Prince - Paperback | Kindle
3. For the Love of a Goblin Warrior
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PUNCH THEM IN THE JUNK.
ReplyDeleteIs it weird that I'm hung up over the fact that there is a character named Amanda?
Yup! PUNCH THEM IN THE JUNK!
DeleteNo, it's not. Yesterday's D-H review had an Amanda in it, too. It's Amanda week on the blog!
I have this one but waiting to see if I can get my hands on the first one before reading it. :)
ReplyDeleteI think book 1 is the stronger of the two. Plus, you get to see how and why they ended up cursed (which I think is something fairly important). Also, the novella prequel is pretty cool.
DeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed it! I thought that it was really slow in the beginning. It was almost maddening watching Dai and Amanda circle each other. :)
ReplyDeleteYes. It took FOREVER for the two of them to get down to business and stop thinking circles around their potential relationship.
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