Professor Bryce MacLeod has devoted his entire life to environmentalism. But how effective can he be in saving the planet when he can’t even get his surly neighbor to separate his recycling?
Former Queen’s Enforcer Mal Kendrick doesn’t think his life could get any worse: he’s been exiled from Faerie with a cursed and useless right hand. When he’s not dodging random fae assassins in the Outer … Outer World, he’s going toe-to-toe with his tree-hugging neighbor. And when he discovers that the tree hugger is really a druid, he’s certain the gods have it in for him—after all, there’s always a catch with druids. Then he’s magically shackled to the man and expected to instruct him in Supernatural 101.
All right, now things couldn’t possibly get worse.
Until a mysterious stranger offers a drunken Mal the chance to gain back all he’s lost—for a price. After Mal accepts, he discovers the real catch: an ancient secret that will change his and Bryce’s life forever.
Ah, what the hells. Odds are they won’t survive the week anyway.
(This book can be read on its own, or enjoyed as part of the Fae Out of Water series.)
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EJ Russell continues her incredible stories of the group of fae brothers who ranked high in the Faerie’s Seelie Court as Queen’s Champion (Alun), Queen’s Enforcer (Mal), and Queen’s Bard (Gareth). In ‘The Druid Next Door: Fae Out of Water Book 2’, Mal Kendrick has been exiled from Faerie for preventing the death of his brother Alun by removing the would-be assassin’s (the faerie queen’s consort) sword hand. Because of faerie law, he is cursed with a useless right hand and is dismissed from his position as Queen’s Enforcer. His life becomes even more complicated when it is discovered that his attractive next-door neighbor, Bryce MacLeod, is a druid in need of guidance and training. Dr. Bryce MacLeod is in touch with nature in a way that extraordinary having acquired knowledge from his grandmother by the time he was twelve years old. David’s aunt is notified about the unaffiliated druid next door and she takes him on as an apprentice and charges Mal to teach him about the supernatural world after magically bounding them to each other, to ensure the lessons are taught. His unhappiness with all of the changes in his life drives Mal to get drunk and a mysterious stranger offers him an opportunity to regain all that he’s lost and he goes for it only to discover an ancient secret binding the fae to the ultimate will of a druid. The stranger’s proposition offers a way to save the realm from ultimate destruction if only the Seelie Queen can be persuaded to see value in his unorthodox offer. There were so many delightful twists and turns in this exciting novel. The pacing (the rate at which the writer introduces key elements in the story) and balance (distribution of varying types of element in the narrative) is impeccable, offering a reading experience that’s free of dull points, sparse subplots, and frustrating oppositions. Though conflicts in the current story are beautifully resolved, challenges for the series arc exist for readers to happily anticipate. Goodness, how I’ve enjoyed this book!
No saggy middle here (an audio review)
This book picks up a couple of months from where the first one left off. David and Alun are settling into their lives as a couple, Gareth – the younger brother – is still performing with his band and moping – and Lord Malwin is…well, he’s not coping well. While saving his brother from the vile Rodderick, he severed the man’s hand. As the horrible man was the Queen’s consort, he had certain protections. What was done to him would be wrought back to the doer. Mal severed the hand, his becomes useless. Now, he’d do it over again because otherwise his brother would have died, but he’s descended into a pit of self-pity where being drunk is…acceptable.
Mal lives in a special sub-division where environmentalism isn’t a token, it’s an expectation. His neighbor is the self-proclaimed head of this area, and Bryce’s work on maintaining the wetlands is admirable. In today’s day and age, though, sometimes those battles are uphill or even unwinnable. Pristine ecosystems are laudable, but humans have a tendency to leave their mark. When Bryce sees Mal essentially littering, he loses his, uh, stuff. Bryce doesn’t want to hear Mal’s excuses, but when the man gets injured, Bryce is there to help. Or, force help upon Mal. Mal figures this is more baggage from the Fae world, but does call in David, his brother-in-law, to tend to him. David brings his Aunt Cassie the druid. Aunt Cassie meets Bryce and all of a sudden Bryce’s life takes a sharp turn with no warning.
Turns out Bryce is a druid. His affinity to the natural world comes, well, naturally. From there, the story moves at quite a clip as Mal continues to try to regain sensation in his hand. He even makes a deal with a shady character, not really reasoning out the consequences. I adored Mal, but he didn’t always make solid decisions. I also liked that he, uh, wound up taking the subservient role in the bedroom. I love turnabout in this way, and it was cute the distress it caused in both men as they’d seen themselves as set in their ways.
I did not see the ending coming and the book has set up the finale of the trilogy beautifully. While I’m waxing poetic, I’ll mention Joel Leslie and what a great job he did narrating these books. He has the perfect voice for each character and made the stories come alive. I can’t wait for the next book.
The Druid Next Door is the second book in the Fae Out of Water series and a fantastic addition to the series. This book should not be read as a standalone since the events in the second book follows immediately from the first book.
I thought the plot of this book was really unique, and loved how E.J. Russell incorporated the traditional fairy and folk tales into her worldbuilding but did it in such a distinctive manner that it made the story feel fresh and fascinating. The characters were also well crafted and with a lot of depth and layers. The romance was sweet and spicy with a lot of steamy, sexy moments.
The audiobook was narrated by Joel Leslie who did a wonderful job with the narration. The characters were voiced perfectly and I really loved the performance Joel gave. It was engaging and entertaining. Pair that up with a well done audiobook production, I found this to be a great listening experience.
His right hand rendered useless due to a curse, fae Mal ends up in a confrontation with his neighbor, Bryce, who turns out to be unaware of his own druid nature. In short order, however, they are magically tethered together and involved in tasks put to them by a mysterious third party, with the fates of Faerie, and Mal, in the balance. This was a very enjoyable tale of two men who struggle to understand what their true natures are when they are together, and the sexual and emotional pull they feel toward each other, while attempting to stay alive. The plot is a bit involved, but I was on board for all the twists and turns. Recommended!
This was ok in terms of the world building, but on the whole neither the characters nor the plot were a home run for me. The enemies to lovers made me a bit uncomfortable in the way it was carried out and for me there were consent issues I couldn’t quite get past. Joel Leslie’s performance was exceptional as always.
As expected, Kendrick brothers continue to amuse and entertain. Out of three, Mal seems to be the most conceited and pig-headed one. It doesn’t help that while saving his older brother’s life he lost everything dear to him – his world, his title and his hand. Now, surly and brooding he spends his days moping and being defeated by the simplest of tasks. But his boredom is soon replaced by a chance to reverse the curse and a man whose bloodline he hates yet can’t stay away from literally and figuratively.
Bryce MacLeod’s life revolves around nature where is the closest he feels content. He never questions anything and trusts only facts. But an unpleasant encounter with his new neighbor opens up a new world of possibilities and a chance at finding love, for Bryce is a druid. But nothing is ever simple with ancient laws governing all creatures. And Bryce is caught in a magical bond he never knew about, a plot to poison his beloved planet and lies that Mal can’t stop spouting.
Both men change in the course of the book. It spans approximately a week or so, and in that time Mal sees his past existence as that of a spooled arrogant useless lord that can do much better with himself and be the man Bryce can be proud of. Being caught between his older brother Alun, the Queen’s Champion, and his younger brother Gareth, the last Fae Bard, he always had to try the hardest to stand out. In the end he was left with regrets, no friends and no hand. Despite magic bringing Bryce and him together, he was finally able to let go and find what he was missing all this time, someone to lean on and help him shoulder responsibilities. Bryce, on the other hand, with the help of others finally found his strength and finally felt loved and needed. It felt like two puzzle pieces neatly fitting together.
The way Mal went about the breaking of the curse could have been handled with a bit of finesse but Mal’s desperation won out. In the end without knowing it, Mal restored the balance that was missing in the Fae world thus bringing peace to Bryce’s wetlands and forests. I loved the mystery of the night time visitor that helped Mal with the curse, the Queen’s maneuver and later glimpses of her true feelings were an awesome addition to the story. Now it’s time to see what Gareth gets up to! I liked this story a lot and recommend it!