A dead Fae king, a hooker with magic gone wrong, and a missing true love charm. How far will a fairy godmother have to go to get her own magical, happy ever after?Tired of working as a lady of pleasure, Martha uses illegal magic at the local fair to bring two lovers together, when a fae inquisitor catches her. Dragged before the Seelie court, her fate is to be decided by the elders. But she has … be decided by the elders. But she has one boon: time. She has forty days to figure out how to prevent the judgment from being imposed on her.
Only her true love’s charm can protect her from losing her magic forever, but how can she acquire true love when he, the Fae King, has been dead for years?
All magic has a cost and a cure.
Don’t miss this spin-off series from the bestselling novel, Vampire King, featuring fan-favorite, Martha.
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Martha lives her life as a human prostitute who can use magic to push people towards their true love with her love potions. She also uses her magic to help the people of Farrington in other good ways. Then one night while she was just outside the forest, she was caught using magic on a human, illegally. Darragh is the Fae King of the Seelie Court, the main ruling Fairy faction in the Farrington area. He and his soldiers are preparing for war with the trolls that are threatening their lands when he catches Martha illegally using magic.
The night that Darragh meets Martha he cannot sleep although it is the night prior to when his army marches to attack the trolls. He feels the forest call to him so he goes to pick herbs his soldiers will need for healing during the battle. Once he captures Martha, he reveals to her she is what the faes call a changeling, a fae child switched at birth with a human child. He also informs Martha that according to Seelie Court laws it is illegal for a magical being to perform or practice magic on a human without a permit. Martha makes it known that she is not aware of any of this—her being fae, a changeling, or the permit issue. Darragh feels immediately drawn to Martha and they share one night together. He leaves her with an amulet to remember him by and warns her to get the magic permit. Skip forward 10 years. Martha still does not have the magic permit and while conducting a love potion, she gets caught by a Seelie Court inquisitor for practicing magic illegally. The inquisitor puts a spell on Martha that if she uses her magic prior to her court date, her other spells will come undone and she is facing serious punishment for using magically illegally on humans. However, if she can find true love within the next forty days, the Seelie Court may be lenient with her. Sounds simple right? Not so since Darragh died in battle ten years ago, Martha still works in the brothel, she does not do “commitment” and does not think she can love anyone but Darragh. Also, she has a serious alcohol issue going on. What the heck is a pleasure fae supposed to do to get out this scrape?
I have mixed feelings about this story. One it does not end on a traditional HEA. The ending is an emotionally hurtful cliffhanger for Book 2. Two Martha is not your typical romance heroine. She is drop-dead gorgeous with a nice rack and a sweet disposition; however, she is a working girl throughout the entire book and battles the decision to end her work for the man she falls in love with. And third, there are a lot of secondary characters that are important. However, the reader may not be totally sure if the character is on the side of good or the side of evil. It can be confusing at some points because it seems some of the secondary characters switch sides. I enjoyed the flirtations dialogue in the novel. Also, Martha remained self-assured of herself and used her brain to try to figure things out instead of her womanly assets. I have a lot of respect for Martha. Overall, the novel was well written, was entertaining, action-packed (lots of internal and external conflicts), and worth the read. I am not sure if I am going to read Book 2 because Book 1 had a lot going on. I am interested in reading the previous novels in this author’s fairy tale retellings.
Wonderful story with great characters and storyline. I always wanted to know Martha’s story. I read the collection of Three Kings and Martha was introduced in the first book, The Vampire King. Her life in a brothel and how she helps people really got my attention. Her life is not so easy as everyone thinks. Will she have a chance in true love? I know she deserves it. I really enjoyed this excellent story and can not wait for more.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Can true love save her?
Martha is a changing who has lived the last 10 years of her life in a drunken haze following the death of Darragh, the Fae King. She manages and works in a brothel and uses her magic and knowledge of herbs to create potions for the locals. It’s against the Fae law to use her magic since she has never been registered but if she is caught she faces prison or the loss of her magic forever.
Her life improves dramatically when she discovers that Darragh is actually alive but has no memory of her or anything else of his old life. The magic between them is still there whenever they touch but if his memories don’t return he will never know he loved her and she can love no one else.
This book has a lot of good action and I really like the characters in it. There are plots, subplots, and lots of magic. My only complaint is that it ends with a giant cliffhanger and I’ve never liked those.