Practical Uses for Princes with Pointed Ears
Otherworld Realms
Book 1
Isabelle Saint-Michael
Genre: Paranormal Romance/ Fantasy Romance
Publisher: Otherworld Romance, LLC
Date of Publication: November 14, 2014
Number of pages: 380
Word Count: 95,000
Cover Artist: CL Smith
Book Description:
Lillian Chambers was just an ordinary high school teacher, until she fell through a Fairy Circle. When she came to on the other side, she was surprised to find herself in the company of an Elven prince she thought only existed in her dreams. Now she’s slaying monsters and rescuing Prince Tallyn, instead of playing the part of the damsel in distress.
Tallyn had been the protector of his kingdom for over one hundred years. He knows that the world is filled with danger around every corner, but these days he’s finding himself babysitting the annoyingly fearless Lady Lillian.
When their worlds collide sparks fly, humorous situations ensue and the only thing for sure is that neither will ever be the same. Practical Uses for Princes with Pointed Ears takes readers on an adventure into a modern fairytale where we explore what it really means to fall for Prince Not-so-Charming.
Excerpt Practical Uses for Princes with Pointed Ears:
My dreams were more vivid than usual. It was like I was standing there with my favorite imaginary hunk. He and several others were packing up horses. There was a great deal of laughter and teasing among the men. They poked at each other until finally he had to step in and tell them to calm down. Even as he reprimanded them his smile shone brightly. I had never seen him smile with such a youthful presence.
Moments later another man appeared, just as handsome as my dream guy. “Tallyn!” he called, and my heart skipped a beat as I watched the man of my dreams turn to wave.
“Tallyn,” I could feel myself whispering. He turned and looked in my direction, as if he had heard me. His face fell a little when he couldn’t see me standing there.
“What’s wrong?” the taller man asked him.
I watched as Tallyn shrugged. “I was just thinking about how I was going to have to see your face every morning for the next few days and it quashed all the fun out of our camping trip.”
The taller man laughed, only to turn when someone called, "Maerryn!" which I guessed was his name.
I could feel the cool breeze on my skin, causing the hair on my arms to stand up. I watched with interest as the men finished packing up and began to ride away. I followed them through the forest I had seen a hundred times in my dreams. After a few hours they crossed the river in a shallow area then headed up a steep cliff, guiding their horses one at a time along the narrow ledge.
By midday the group reached the top of the cliff and stopped for lunch. The food smelled amazing cooked over the open fire. I felt my stomach rumble. When it did, Tallyn placed a hand on his stomach and looked around with confusion.
He was beautiful to look at, even with uncertainty creasing his brow. His green eyes deepened in color and his breath stilled. It was like he was looking right at me but couldn’t see me. With a shake of his head, he rejoined the conversation around him.
They packed up and left, heading across a path at the top of the cliff that led into another forest. The group seemed more hesitant when they entered the new area. They rode close together for hours, and when darkness finally threatened, they found flat ground and made camp. The horses were tied up, dinner was caught and prepared, and then the wine came out.
Boys will be boys, I thought to myself as they laughed, sang and passed around the bottles.
Behind me I heard the crack of twigs underfoot. Suddenly, I sensed someone else was there. I turned, looking in the direction of the sound, and I saw shadows moving through the woods towards the encampment. Panic filled me and I tried to scream, but I was just a watcher without a voice.
My Review
I tend to stick mostly with vampire and witch stories in the paranormal genre, venturing into the fantasy genre from time to time for a bit of variety. After reading Practical Uses for Princes With Pointed Ears, I can tell you without a doubt I'll be picking up every book this author decides to put out in the Otherworld Realms series...and I sure hope there will be a lot of them.
With an intriguing and wonderfully developed world, we're introduced into a lot of quirky characters, and one hell of a strong leading woman-Lillian. When we first meet her, she comes across as more quiet and unsure, but once she falls through the Fairy Circle, she truly blossoms into a character of amazing strength, and one who also inspires others. Tallyn is a fantastic alpha male character, strong, loyal and protective (well, at least when Lillian lets him LOL). The cast of supporting characters is rich with many other fantasy beings, and there are so many of them that I would love to see get their own stories.
From the start I was totally immersed in the story and didn't want to put it down. And it's not all adventure and laughs-though there's plenty of both-but you'll also get a nice dose of romance and steamy scenes that will leave you breathless.
An outstanding look at an enchanting fantasy world that will leave you begging for the next in the series, I give this book 5 fantastic stars!
Holiday Spirit for Hire
Otherworld Realms
Book Two
Isabelle Saint-Michael
Genre: Holiday/ Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Otherworld Romance, LLC
Date of Publication: November 14th, 2014
Number of pages:164
Word Count:41,000
Cover Artist: CL Smith
Book Description:
When life handed half-werewolf Grace MacGregor a pink slip four weeks before Christmas, she was determined to get back to work as soon as possible. She just didn’t expect it to be the very next day – or at the North Pole. She now has four weeks to make other people’s holiday wishes come true, but will she be able to grant her own while she is at it?
Justin Kringle is the nephew of Santa Claus and his job is to keep operations of the Pole on point. When Grace is dropped bed and all into his work shop, he can’t decide if it’s love or hate at first sight. First impression: she’s a total mess. Can he keep her on track and remember to not mix business and pleasure?
Excerpt Holiday Spirit for Hire:
I settled into bed with my favorite boyfriend, my laptop. Before long I had updated my resume, applied for a half dozen jobs, checked flights home, and Facebooked with all of my friends to see if anyone had any leads. I was about to shut down when the pop from my email caught my attention.
I closed the other tabs and stared at my inbox. It was from the OAC. The Otherworld Alignment Council was a group of magical beings, things that go bump in the night, and people that made sure that there were universal laws and regulations used across all the realms. They made sure there was a common language, rules about magic, and laws that kept peace between the different races. Why they were emailing me I didn’t know.
To: Grace MacGregor
From: OAC
Subject: The North Pole Needs You
Dear Ms. MacGregor,
It has been brought to the attention of the OAC that you are no longer employed during this busy time of the year. Every Holiday season we rely on the help we get from the Otherworld community to make the season bright. Your talents could be used now through the end of the year helping deliver joyful winter holidays across all the realms.
Please see the attached application. Applicants will be considered for a paid position. Please send a resume, two letters of recommendation and magical aptitude test scores to the email listed below. If chosen we will need you to report immediately for work.
Thank you and Happy Holidays,
Otherworld Alignment Council
I looked at the email again and shrugged. “Why not?” I asked myself. I attached my resume, two recommendation letters and a quick note explaining my father was a Scottish Werewolf Clansman and that I was half human. I figured my lack of magical abilities would keep me out of the fray. My father told me to always answer the OAC right when they contacted you because they made the IRS look patient.
With a giggle to myself I closed the windows on my laptop and shut it down. Snuggling deep into my pillows I closed my eyes, giggling about what use I could possibly be to the Great Holiday Front up North. Strangely enough I fell asleep with thoughts of sugar plums dancing in my head
I awoke the next morning to the sounds of clinking, clicking and power tools. I opened my eyes involuntarily when a particularly loud noise sounded right over my head. It was then I noticed my bedroom was swarming with Gnomes and they seemed too busy to care I was sleeping.
“Excuse me!” I yelled. “Why are you in my bedroom?”
A few of them stopped, exchanged looks with shrugs, and returned to work. I wasn’t answered until a man with a heavy red braid down his back appeared.
“You are in their workshop, and it’s about time you got up.” I climbed out of bed angrily, prepared to demand that they leave. “Nice pajamas,” he said with a grin as he looked me over. “If you follow me we will get you assigned duties, uniforms and the rest of your paperwork filled out.”
I looked around what should have been my room. I was on a toy factory floor. Only it looked like FAO Schwarz met Ikea. Bright colors with industrial-grade shelves mixed with the old world charm of hand-carved wooden trim. All around me Gnomes were hustling to complete toys. I looked in the direction the redheaded man had gone and chased after him, abandoning my bed to the factory.
My Review
I'm not normally one to read holiday books during the holidays, but I have to say-Holiday Spirit for Hire sure adds a dose of fun and yes, holiday spirit, to this time of year.
I loved Grace's character. She's fun, smart, good at solving problems...and just what the North Pole needs. Justin, Santa's nephew, is a bit moody at first but starts to lighten up the longer Grace is there. And everything between them seems mostly friendly-even when Grace is causing frustration for poor Justin-until things start to heat up between them. But with Grace only there for the holiday season, it seems things may not work out.
Speaking of characters-I loved Justin's mom, Joy. She's a lot of fun and I just wanted to reach into the book and give her a great big hug. And again here in the second book of the Otherworld Realms series we are treated to some excellent secondary characters that you'll want to see get their own stories (pretty pretty please???).
When you get right down to it, this is a holiday story...so of course it will make you smile (and probably fan yourself a bit), and you'll enjoy seeing how Grace and Justin's story ends up-I promise :-) 4.5 stars for this entertaining holiday read!
Isabelle Saint-Michael is a cupcake enthusiast, shoe addict, and globetrotter. She is known for her sense of adventure and geeky hobbies. She is frequently seen haunting coffee shops and pubs into the wee hours of the morning. No matter where she goes, shenanigans and mirth are never far behind.
4 prize packs full of goodies and swag
Jennifer Foor is an award winning Contemporary Romance Author. She's best known for the Mitchell Family Series, which includes ten books.
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