The second in Gannon’s A Kinda Fairy Tale series. Folks who enjoy the archetypes (particular the more brooding, controlling heroes common in them) will definitely like this book better than the first in the series.
Plot: Prince Avenant was born Bad to Good parents who hated him. One of the biggest differences between people born Good and Bad is that Bad people recognise their True Love on sight, while Good people don’t (because otherwise the Baddies would probably accidentally kill them otherwise – oops!). Avenant met his in Kindergarten – Good girl, Belle. He didn’t know how to deal with this since everyone he’s ever met has been a full blown asshole, so he was also a full blown asshole. For like, 20 years. In response, Belle was also a full blown asshole. Things escalated from spelling bees to coups and the story starts after Avenant successfully escaped the Wicked, Ugly and Bad asylum and was determined to get his kingdom back. Shenanigans in a labyrinth ensue.
Gannon is such an imaginative writer. It’s so rare for me to read books where I am genuinely surprised by the various turns the story takes, especially one that isn’t particularly interested in suspense. The book is also more professionally put together than the first and working harder to establish a whole universe of characters to draw on in future books. These books are very much the proof of the saying don’t judge a book by its cover, because these books will surprise you with how clever, funny, and sweet they are.
I note at the top that Avenant is a more controlling hero than Merrick was in the first book and this is true. If you typically like heroes that come from the pulling pigtails school of seduction, and I know many of you are, you will prefer this book to the first in the series by a huge margin. I wouldn’t skip the first one.