A Fairy’s Quest by Maya Tyler
Publisher: Tirgearr Publishing
Genre: Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Paranormal Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 4 Stars
Review by DryasA century ago, the fairy crown was stolen from Alina Lehrer’s clan, but now the usurper is dead and it’s time to reclaim what’s theirs. Rylan Jackson, codename Orion, is The Court’s most trusted assassin who always gets the job done. Until his target is Alina, the one woman he can’t resist. Fate has placed them on opposing sides for the crown, but Alina soon learns Fate isn’t set in stone.
Before I start, let me share this warning: this story contains issues concerning Post traumatic Stress Disorder, if this will trigger you, please do not continue with this review.
This story starts with an explanation of how fairies became to be. They had come from another world and were sent to Earth as a punishment. Yet, they contained their mystical abilities and they turned into two factions, the fairies and wizards. As you can imagine one side tends to rule over the other, which happens with the fairy’s treating the wizards as servants. As history has taught us all this never turns out well and, as expected, the wizards waged war against the fairies. The feud is still going on during the present day and the fairy’s court has hidden itself in London a long time ago that has now faded into legend.
In Chicago we meet our main character, Alina Lehrer, her older brother Atlas, and his wife Lucie whose mother, Gina DeLafontaine was part of the royal family. Alina has had far too many expectations on her shoulder as a young child since Gina, who has the ability to see in the future, believes that her daughter will be the one who brings back their family’s glory.
Alina is a wonderful character that is dealing with the world she has been thrust into as best she can. She had enough of the pressure that was forced upon her and rebelled by canceling her engagement to another strong fairy family that had been set up since her days in the crib, and instead started her own business.
Alina uses her business to hide away from herself, refusing to deal with her past which makes it worse. You see, she had been captured, tortured, and was forced to watch a good friend, Kurtis being tortured in front of her. This caused her to experience flashbacks and anxiety attacks at any time when she is triggered by something or it could come upon her without notice. These attacks are horrible for anyone that has gone through a trauma as she is transported back to the room where she had been tied up in and expecting to die.
I have to admit that her business fits her like a glove as her gift allows her to feel emotions and auras that allow her to help her patience make the best decisions in their life. Too bad that she can’t use her gift on herself when she thought that her friend Kurtis was attracted to her and she thought they could make a life together. Unfortunately, this goes horribly wrong as she misunderstood his signals, which caused Alina to place an icy boundary around her heart. Like most of us that have gone through the first pangs of a crush that blows up in our face, she can’t see him without feeling embarrassed. Her pain is real and as she had watched him being tortured this also affects her ability to be in the same room with him. The only good thing that came from her mistake was to receive a book that was in Kurtis’ father’s secret library that was supposed to belonged in her family for many generations and proved their lineage to the fairy court.
What nobody knows is that she has a hit out on her because of the broken engagement although that happened five years ago, which is strange since if any fairy rebelled against the court, they were often taken care of right away. Rylan Jackson, the spymaster, and assassin of the court where the current leader, Monoceros sent him out to complete the hit.
Rylan is an interesting and complex character with his own moral guide that sometimes can make his life difficult. When he sees Alina for the first time, he is struck by her beauty and as they talk, he enjoys her witty responses and the strength that she doesn’t realize she has herself. He charms Alina and offers to be a guide in Paris. As you can imagine this goes against all the rules of his profession.
Paris is where Alina really becomes into her own. I love how she decides to throw everything that she was in Chicago and become a completely different person. It was fun watching her grow and allow herself to do whatever she wants with no expectations from her mother and the joy of exploring a beautiful city. A wonderful example of her feel free to express herself is when she goes and gets a Henna tattoo of a butterfly. It’s a great symbol for her as she is trying to go through a metamorphosis and hopes to bring back her new courage.
The relationship between Rylan and Alina is almost instantly full of lust, but also tenderness. Alina she has never felt for a man that she feels for Rylan, the protection, the willingness to spend time with her and actually get to know the person behind all her masks. This is a book that shows just how, when you’re suffering from unresolved trauma, that love, help from a professional and letting those that are closest to you in will help you work through the flashback and anxiety attacks.
There is so much strength and tenacity in these two characters that it draws you in. Yes, the plot is well constructed but it’s the characters that really carry it off. Each one has a wonderful personality and a history full of sorrows and happiness.
This is a good book with some wonderful characters that have had to grow and face betrayal, and a past that has ruled life far too long. We see fate take its hold on both Rylan’s and Alina’s lives as you can tell almost right away that they are made for each other. I absolutely enjoyed it.
