Review: Wings Of Desire (Fey Chronicles, Book 1) by Arianna Skye

 

Title: Wings of Desire

           Fey Chronicles, Book 1

Author: Arianna Skye

Release Date: February 14, 2012

Publisher: CreateSpace

Category: Contemporary Paranormal Romance Fantasy

Type: Kindle/Paperback

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Book Blurb:

Not your (grand)mother's fairytale... Rhiannon Kinsley's life goes from boring to downright crazy when a freak lightning bolt strikes her laptop. To make matters even more bizarre, strange words and symbols flash across the computer screen and she hears a mysterious voice. Time to call the men in white coats! Then Cerne Silverwing, an intriguingly sexy man, appears. He insists she's a faerie princess whose fate will determine his own. What a crock! Now she knows who really needs those white coats. With the Dark Faerie forces threatening their kingdom, Cerne kidnaps Rhiannon and brings her to Fey, a land where magic knows no bounds.

He's performing a duty to save his kingdom and nothing more--a duty that will bring him his wings and the strengthened magic that comes with them. If he doesn't unite with the princess as her consort, those wings will never grow. But this princess grew up in the land of laptops and instant messages, and she's convinced they're both crazy. Despite their differences, the two are thrust together to defeat the whip-wielding Dark Faerie Queen before she takes over their kingdom. Passion and peril aside, will Rhiannon and Cerne discover their true destiny? WINGS OF DESIRE is the 2011 Booksellers' Best winner for erotic romance.

Book Excerpt:

            No one interesting was logged into chat tonight either—not even Cernunnos, the cyber-sex maniac. Not that she really cared. He was the king of cheesy cyber pick-up lines.

            She couldn’t help but laugh. Almost everyone who logged into Otherworld Chat had some sort of deity for a screen name. As luck would have it, her real name just happened to belong to a mythological deity. She could thank her Fleetwood Mac-loving parents for that. Then again, they had always been good to her. Rhiannon glanced over at the picture taken with her parents at her college graduation. Even two years after their death, she still missed them.

            She minimized her chat screen to check her email and highlighted the next unread message. A mass of garbled words and symbols filled the screen. What the hell was that crap? Probably some ancient language or something.

            She laughed. Yeah right, a virus was more like it. He fingers hovered over the delete key, ready to vanquish the unsolicited mail.

            An annoying buzz reverberated from the speakers, startling her. She minimized her email and went back to the instant messenger program. Cernunnos had sent a chat alert and waited for a reply.

            Wassup, you sexy goddess? Where u at?

            Shaking her head in mirth, she typed back: Sexy goddess? You must have me confused with another deity. Perhaps Aphrodite or Venus?

            I’m talking’ ‘bout my Mother Goddess—Rhiannon. Another message bleeped across the screen. N-E-thing fun goin’ on 2nite?

            God, how she hated those abbreviated chat words. “Apparently not,” she said and typed at the same time.

            So whatcha wearin’, hottie?

            Yay! Cernunnos was horny. Then again, when wasn’t he? Every time she logged in, he was eager to jump net-bones. Not to say she never got horny, but she needed a little more than a steamy cyber-sex session to get off. It wasn’t like she’d never taken part in such an adventure, it just wasn’t high up in her list of cyber-priorities. She figured a real cock beat out a virtual one any day. Unfortunately for her, three years ago she and her best friend Lara had taken a vow of abstinence until they met the right man. Definitely not Cernunnos, the wannabe Celtic Horned God.

            Jeans and a t-shirt. Rhiannon fibbed about her attire. No need to egg on the ever-insatiable Cernunnos.

            What kinds sexy goddess doesn’t want 2 have sum fun?

            “The kind that’s tired and wants to go to bed.” Jeez, would this guy ever give up?

            I’m bushed. I had a long day at work. It wasn’t a complete lie. She’d had a horrid day at work. Three servers went down, three people called in, and three others were fired. The rule of threes was definitely in effect today—if there even was such a rule.

            Rhiannon, Cernunnos shot back. It’s time.

Oh great, Cernunnos really needed some release.

Umm…time for what? A cyber-hummer? Rolling her eyes, she clicked the send button.

I am serious, my sweet. Time is drawing near.

Serious? She doubted there was one serious bone in this bozo’s body.

Dude, you’re weirding me out, she replied, alarmed with his abrupt change in tone. It was like he’d logged off and let someone else use his screen name.

Beltane is upon us, my sweet. There was a pause, and the message continued. Our souls must join together to overcome the darkness that threatens. You must return. Your people need you.

Really, C. You need to lighten up with this chat stuff. You’re taking this role-playing a little too seriously for me.

Wonderful. Everyone had warned her about psychos on the Internet. Now it looked like she’d found the biggest one.

I’m very serious, mo cridhe.

My love? How did she know what that meant?

Trobhad, he typed in a strange language, similar to the one in the email she tried reading earlier. Trobhad, he repeated.

“Come to me? What the fuck?” Yep, it was official! Cernunnos had left the building.

What the heck? She responded. Are you okay?

“Come to me.” She heard a faint voice in her ear. The sexy Scottish lilt sent a shiver up her spine, and her breath caught in her throat. An odd heat spread throughout her body and her heart raced—not in fear, but something more exciting and primal. She craned her head and scanned the room. What the hell? It was only her and her overly expensive computer.

            A deafening crack of thunder shook the house. Damn! Where’d that come from?

Sorry, C. It’s storming here. I gotta go.

Have no fear, Cernunnos messaged back. The thunder and lightning will help activate the portal that will bring you back home.

I think you need to call a psych—

Another loud blast boomed, and a flash of light streaked through the open window. The lightning whizzed past Rhiannon and a blinding flash surrounded her.

“What the hell?”

Dialogue Highlight: (adult content)

Cerne Silverwing drew his fingers over the mirror and closed off his connection to the human world. If Rhiannon Kingsley, as they called her on earth, was indeed their princess, their kingdom was doomed.

He traced the frozen image in the mirror. Her hair, though red with curls, was too short. She painted her face like a human woman and wore clothes only a mans should wear. However, she did look ravishing in those tight cutoff breeches and flimsy tops, but it just wasn’t done in Fey. She wasn’t faerie; she was human. And even if she were faerie, her time n Earth had tainted her faerie spirit.

But tonight she’d come to the portal window naked. Tantalizing flesh flecked with drops of water, just begging him to lick the trail from the rosy bud of her nipple down to the hidden treasures at the apex of her thighs. He groaned, his member throbbing against his mushroom-shin breeches. If she wasn’t their princess, she was a temptress sent by Korrigan to lead him astray. Even with her Earthly attributes, there was something pure and ethereal about her. Such an aura could not be imitated. And she understood his words. Korrigan’s minions were not so daft to acknowledge they knew the faerie language. Then he’d seen the royal sign, the small star-shaped birthmark that graced her stomach.

He grumbled. All the signs, despite the deep foreboding in his chest, pointed to her—this impudent human who challenged his calling.

“Blasted elders,” he mumbled, pulling his fingers from the mirror. Rhiannon’s image evaporated into the mists, leaving him staring at his own reflection. The faerie elders had spoken. He had no choice but to honor their wishes.

A giant flash of light emanated from the center of the room. Despite the suddenness, he wasn’t fazed. “Maeve.” Smiling, he bowed. “How can I be of service?”

Maeve Windsong stepped forward, bathed in soft light. Her translucent lilac gossamer gown flowed around her. Long flaxen hair whipped gently about her face while her peridot-green eyes glowed with warmth and vitality.

“Cerne.” She allowed him her hand for a kiss. She was already an elder, even though they were near the same age. “I hear you’ve found Princess Rhiannon?” She floated above the floor, her iridescent wings fluttering with the breeze.

He should’ve had his wings by now. Since he turned ninety, he had been destined to become the prince consort. Alas, his destiny had been thwarted when Korrigan, the conniving Dark Faerie Queen, managed to steal the babe, Rhiannon, from her parents and sent her to the human world.

“I found a young woman residing in the human world named Rhiannon Kingsley. However, I should point our many people on Earth have now adopted the use of Otherworld names.” He chose to leave the bit about the birthmark to himself. He wasn’t sure the human-reared Rhiannon was ready for the battle that headed their way. When he brought the princess into their world, the entire kingdom would be consumed in chaos. If she proved her human upbringing, peace would never come.

“Korrigan’s army grows stronger. Soon she’ll have enough minions to attack. We need Princess Rhiannon—now.” Maeve fluttered down to the settee and lounged, allowing a shapely leg to dangle from the plush cushion. She twiddled her toes in anxious excitement.

He arched a brow. “Are you here to discuss the elder council, or have you come for other reasons?” He lounged against the stone wall and raked a hand through his hair.

Maeve’s eyes flashed and tapered to a gentle glow. “Belenus and I are now wed—very happily, I may add.” She fluffed the gossamer gown to cover her leg. “If I were interested in a dalliance, I would’ve shown you more than a leg.” She winked. “And Bel’s and my offer still stands, if you’re interested. One needs to become versed in the art of pleasuring a princess.”

He stifled the chuckle that threatened to burst from his mouth. Did she truly believe he needed lessons in lovemaking? A princess, underneath all that princess garb, was still a woman. Cerne grinned. And he was well versed in  pleasuring the fairer sex.

Her giggle broke him from his thoughts.

“I can read your mind, you know.” She flashed a wide smile. “Not that I want to know what goes on in there. But you’re correct, you are well-versed.”

With the grace of a swan, she lifted herself from the settee. In a giant swoop, she fluttered her wings in playful salute. “All things considered, as prince consort, you are expected to attend the princess’s orientation into the faerie pleasures.”

Maeve swooshed and flitted toward him. “It’s part of the ritual, you know.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “If you want to guarantee the princess’s pleasure, you’ll join Belenus and me.”

“I am to be prince consort. My only wish now is to pleasure my princess.”

Maeve floated behind him and placed her hands on his shoulder, rubbing in a slow circular motion. “I sense you need, Cerne. You want her. I can feel it. The time is now.”

“She’s beautiful.” His breath hitched as he recalled Rhiannon’s image in the mirror. “But she may be tainted.”

“The elders will be the judge of that. I’ve come to give you your orders. You’re to use this portal you’ve found and bring Rhiannon back. Your mission begins now.” Her voice echoed in his ears as she evaporated into the mists.

The elders had spoken. His journey had begun.

Review:

I have to say that Ms. Skye excelled at creating a world of her own. I have read Fey stories before and each one has its own unique differences. The same hold true for this book. Rhiannon was taken away as a baby and Cerne has located her through a chat room no less. Hence the excerpt I chose. It is a good example of how the story begins and what challenges both Cerne and Rhiannon will face as the story progresses. Not much is revealed within the excerpt, but I felt that it whets the appetite well as an excerpt to share. In this story, Tatiana and Oberon play a part as well. Names sound familiar, yes? I believe this was the first time that faeries I had read of in well known literature played a rather instrumental part within a novel. I like how Ms. Skye brought some familiarity into the story with a spin entirely her own.

Also interesting was Cerne’s role as consort. He is to prince and then king, yet his role while paramount to Rhiannon’s success is also a role of lesser importance. That probably sounds confusing, but I think the reader will understand it better after reading the book. Highly intriguing to me was Cerne’s mission to pleasure his princess. Now that is a role I can get on board with. And entertaining were the “lessons” that Rhiannon engages in prior to her joining with Cerne. I simply cannot go into explanations of the “lessons” as they are much better left for the reader to discover on his or her own. Also clever were the common sayings on Earth frequently spouted by Rhiannon that the faeries did not quite grasp.

My only problem with the book was that Rhiannon seems seriously conflicted with her transition from the human realm to the fae world. She expresses her intentions to return to Earth continually, yet her actions belie what she says. For such an internal conflict in whether to embrace her role as princess or reject it and live as a human, she seems to phase right into her royal duties without issue. Not that I blame her with a consort such as Cerne as a temptation, but it seemed a little too easy.

But overall I enjoyed my time spent with Cerne, Rhiannon, and the rest of the fairy characters. The “war between the dark faeries and the white faeries was the catalyst to this particular story. Though I wonder about the conflict in the following books. The major conflict seems to have been dealt with, but the rest of the series has a lot of possibilities with several secondary characters introduced. That said, a lot was left – not unanswered per say – but not exactly resolved either, which I expect will be plot lines as the series progresses. I also was pleased that I did not find myself overwhelmed with secondary characters. Don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of them, but they made sense and served a purpose. And the sex – HOLY WOW! Ms. Skye does not miss a beat and moves right into some seriously hot scenes. And the best part was the scenes did not fizzle out as the book went on. Sometimes you get an incredibly hot scene and then the rest is just meh. Not so here! I will say that those who like their intimate interactions toned down … well, you aren’t going to find that here. Bring on the stimulation and the blushes because DANG!

I can say for sure that I am looking forward to seeing how this series develops. Ms. Skye has several directions she could go and I am curious to find out what happens next. Not to mention the secondary characters that I would like to know more about; both their characters and situations. If you find that you enjoy this book and the writing of Ms. Arianna Skye, you can also check her out writing as Sidney Ayers. For those that enjoy the Fey, a bit of snark, and some super hawt faeries who know pleasure, you are very likely to enjoy this book.

(PDF copy provide by Bewitching Book Tours and author for review.)