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Review: Crystals and Contracts – A.A. Fairview

Crystals and Contracts - A.A. Fairview

Genre: Paranormal, Romance

LGBTQ+ Category: Bi

Reviewer: Jay, Paranormal Romance Guild

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About The Book

My landlord is going to hate me for what I’m about to do.

I’ve never had a father and never wanted one either. To my dismay, I do have a father, Arthur le Fay–a crime lord witch. Afraid for not just my safety, but the safety of my friends and coven, I have no other choice but to make a deal with a devil. A little drastic? Maybe, but it’s certainly effective.

At least it would be–if the devil would agree to make a deal with me!

Now I have a devil in my apartment and no idea what to do about the le Fays. I just want them to leave me alone… or maybe I want them afraid of me. Fear is one hell of a motivator. But no amount of fear will get this devil of mine to behave. He’s much more partial to exchanges, my body for his benevolence. Nothing good can come from feelings, especially when he insists he has none.

Warnings: Violence, death of a parent, cancer, discussions of death and terminal illness, infidelity (not involving the main couple), sexually explicit content, slut shaming.

The Review

The book is part of a series set in a world with ‘hidden’ witches, minor devils, fae, werewolves and vampires.

Minerva, a witch, summons Rosier, a minor prince of Hell, but he rejects her offered contracts either to exact revenge for her father’s abandonment of her and her mother, or to lift a curse on her family.

They live together in increasing mayhem aided and abetted by sundry witches and succubae. They rescue a kitten, Leaf, from a dumpster and the kitten often steals the show. The rest of the book is a mixture of banter between the various characters, confrontations between Minerva and her family, and a lot of kinky (but always consensual) sex.

If the sex and banter appeal, you’ll enjoy this romp with its surprisingly happy ending. But the amount of disbelief I was expected to suspend made it a hard read for me. Since the title is available in KU, readers with a subscription could try it and see whether it suits their tastes.

I was less than impressed by the writing style and the proofreading. Neither were so bad as to throw me out of the story, but were irritating in a novel I found too self-consciously humour-filled and too full of sex that did not enhance the plot. Although I will not be following the series, I am sure some readers will enjoy the ride.

The Reviewer

I’ve been doing book reviews on my website, crossposted or linked to various social media, for a few years. I read a number of genres but I really enjoy all kinds of speculative fiction so thought I’d like to share my views with you. I love sci fi and other speculative fiction because of the way it can, at its best, make us see ourselves in a new light. Quite apart from the exciting stories, of course! I used to be an English teacher, and I’m a writer (fantasy) so I can be quite critical about style etc. but I hope I can also appreciate properly some books that don’t appeal to me personally but might be simply perfect for others. I have, obviously, read widely, and continue to do so.

The Paranormal Romance Guild was established in 2009 by 8 Indie Authors and one Reviewer to be a constant help for authors. You can be a free author member, submitting your work for review OR become a Premium Author Member for a small yearly fee and enjoy many extra services including Free Beta Reads, Author Giveaways and many others. Your reviews are posted on our 3 FB Sites, Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter and Instagram. WE REVIEW ALL GENRES LGBTQ+ welcome.

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