A Sprinkle of Fairy Dust, Elizabeth Bevarly, Elaine Crawford, Marylyle Rogers and Maggie Benson Shayne
I don't usually read romance novels. In fact, I have an intense dislike for most of the genre. But then I saw this book of four novellas lurking on the "New Releases" shelf at the local bookstore. Those who have seen most of my pages know that I have an intense fascination with fairies. I decided to give this book a chance because, hey, it involves fairies, this book can't be all bad.
I was surprised. This book isn't all bad. In fact, the major problems I had with the book's stories were not with the stereotypes of the romance genre, but the ways in which fairies were portrayed.
The first novella, Elizabeth Bevarly's "Ever True," is an odd little story that takes elements of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and urban America and mixes them together with an odd-couple romance and some very unique fairies. The fairies are a blend of traditional myth and contemporary attitudes. I found this story sweet, not because of the fairies, but because of the romantic plot.
"Fairies Make Wishes, Too" by Maggie Benson Shayne was the weakest of the four stories. Her fairies are another mixture of the mythical and the Victorian, but this time not for the better. The female human-sized winged fairies weren't believable (if one can say that of fairies) and the plot, taken almost directly from the Disney version of "The Little Mermaid," didn't hold my interest.
Elaine Crawford's "Magic and Mayhem" was my sentimental favorite. The fairies are the little winged things, which normally I find cute and laughable, but in this case added to the story instead of distracting from it. An Irish girl is sent to be a contract servant to a Colonial family during the American Revolution. Politics and romance become intertwined, and there of course is a happy ending. I read a lot of historical romances in junior high, and I still have warm feelings for the genre. Even though I had doubts as to the accuracy of the history, I could ignore them because the story kept me hooked. The fairies are integral to the plot, as one quickly finds out.
I've always liked the view of fairies as human-like beings with special powers. "Fairy Dreams" by Marylyle Rogers is the tale of a novice dying on a pilgrimage to Ireland. She is found by the Faeries and, while being nursed back to health, gets involved in internal politics and falls in love. I liked this story the best of all. Rogers' Faerie remind me vaguely of Kurtz's Deryni and Tarr's Fair Folk; this novella is the closest to being a fantasy instead of just being a fantastic romance. Her other novels involving Faery should be worth checking out, if this story is any indication.