TEST
If the devil is in the details, then Fantasy Lover is going straight to hell, or rather Hades. This thoroughly entertaining book is one of those teeth-gnashers in which the good book before you makes you long for the great book it could have been. The premise is a knockout: for 2000 years, Julian of Macedon has been imprisoned in a scroll, later bound into a book. Cursed for hubris by the Greek god Priapus, he is imprisoned on the page except when someone summons him to be her love slave for a month. At the end of the month he returns to his book to await his next summoning. In between times, he’s deprived of all sensory input except hearing, which keeps him somewhat abreast of shifts in language and technology.
In modern New Orleans, Grace Alexander’s best friend Selena buys Julian’s book and brings it home to Grace. Perhaps because so few people nowadays are fluent in Ancient Greek, it’s been a hundred years since Julian’s last airing. In a drunken birthday celebration, Selena persuades Grace to order up a sex slave. Julian arrives buff and beautiful and ready to get down to business. Repressed Grace is the first woman he’s ever encountered who doesn’t jump his bones immediately, and he’s not sure how to take it.
Julian is incredibly lovable. Far from the himbo he first appears to be, he’s actually got depth and past sorrows reminiscent of Russell Crowe in Gladiator. It feels as though immense thoughtful attention went into creating his character. This is augmented by the author’s knack for not showing her whole hand at once; details about Julian’s history are revealed gradually with impeccable timing. Julian is the victim of a family feud on Mt. Olympus, and his irreverent squabbles with the gods are highly entertaining.
Grace is not nearly as novel a character – why, why, why is it a requirement that all female sex counselors in romance novels be incredibly repressed and inhibited? Dr. Grace, once burned by love and now far too shy to approach the flame again, is a screaming case of Physician, Heal Thyself. The book would be even more fun if she wasn’t such a doormat. Many of the secondary conflicts are a result of Grace’s insecurity; it would have been nice if she had driven the story towards different twists by being more assertive. The book could have crackled off the page if Julian had a heroine who matched his depth.
The romance here is on the coolish side of Hot. There’s a lot of talk about sex (never venturing past strictly vanilla) but not as much bang for the buck as you might expect from the premise. Early on Julian learns that the only way to break his curse is to spend the month with Grace and not sleep with her until the final night, then have one marathon don’t-break-contact session that sounds like a bit of a trial. On the upside, Julian loves it when Grace reads aloud to him, and I’ve always found a good reader rather stimulating myself. Bonus points for that.
The Greek Gods side of the story plays out beautifully. The author really captures the flavor of the petty squabbles and incredible vindictiveness of the Olympic pantheon. Given his background Julian is perhaps too tortured: it’s true any mortal who caught the attention of the gods was in for a world of hurt, but I can’t think of any myth where said mortal didn’t have somebody willing to stand up for him. Late in the book this point was explained to my satisfaction, but I wish the same could be said of the dozens of other minor details that struck the same distracting note. A small sample: I can accept that Selena the psychic best friend is a learned woman, but claiming she’s a Rhodes Scholar is overreaching. No one ever questions the competence of a sex therapist who’s not only completely screwed up herself, but doesn’t even acknowledge she has a problem. And I wouldn’t lick Cheez Whiz off a cracker, let alone follow Grace’s serving suggestion. Each of these details is minor, but there are so many that the book is like a sonata played on a piano with a tin middle-C: it’s only one little key among many, but it comes up a lot and is hard to ignore. This is also one of those books in which minor characters are often grotesquely mean-spirited just to give the main characters something to react to. If I could have one wish for this author, it’s that she finds an editor or critique partner who will point out the fine line between creativity and wretched excess.
Even with all these quibbles, the future looks extremely bright for Sherrilyn Kenyon, who pens historical romance under the name Kinley MacGregor. Fantasy Lover is an awfully good time, with a creative spark and depth of feeling many more polished books can’t match. Rarely have I been this enthusiastic about a book that seemingly has many flaws; luckily they’re all small deductions that don’t affect the grade all that much. This is a story that’s definitely worth checking out and I look forward to more good to come.
Grade: B+
Book Type: Fantasy Romance
Sensuality: Hot
Review Date: 06/03/02
Publication Date: 2002
Related Reviews
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.