Fantasy Lover
by Sherrilyn Kenyon
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Book Reviews of Fantasy Lover
Book Review: Great Read
Summary: 5 Stars
Being trapped in a bedroom with a woman is a grand thing. Being trapped in hundreds of bedrooms over two thousand years isn't. And being cursed into a book as a love-slave for eternity can ruin even a Spartan warrior's day.
As a love-slave, I know everything about women. How to touch them, how to savor them, and most of all, how to pleasure them. But when I was summoned to fulfill Grace Alexander's sexual fantasies, I found the first woman in history who saw me as a man with a tormented past. She alone bothered to take me out of the bedroom and into the world. She taught me to love again.
But I wasn't born to know love. I was cursed to walk eternity alone. As an ancient Greek general, I had long ago accepted my sentence. Yet now I have found Grace-- the one thing my wounded heart cannot survive without. Sure, love can heal all wounds, but can it break a two-thousand-year-old curse?
Grace had only had one Sexual encounter in her life and it was not a good one. So she pretty much has stoped the hole dating scene not wanting to get hurt again. For her birthday her best friend Selena decided she needed a man to show her its not all bad and bring her out of this rut she is in. Selena found this book believed to possess a great love slave that if you release him on a full moon he will stay and serve your every desire till the next full moon.
To Graces shock the spell works and she is confronted with a naked man from the book. She is stunned and not knowing what else to do she brings him in and cares for him. learning that he is not only a Spartan warrior but a cursed one. She sees his pain and torment he has gone though his hole life even before his curse and she is compelled to help him find a way to break this curse and be free.
Julian has been curse for centuries but never has he found a woman like Grace she is beautiful and strong and she sees him as man not a worrier who has won menny battles or a slave who is only here to please her, she actually wants to do things just to please him. He has never had a woman take such care of him, or such gentle touch. He wants her like no other woman. But to what end he will leave once the full moon comes again and once again he will be trapped in darkness.
I liked this book it was different. I loved the Greek Element to it and all the Greek mythology she mixed with the background story . I think Julian is a strong warrior and your heart aches for him and his past. Grace is also strong in her own way she doesn't see her self the way Julian dose . She had been used and discarded before and feels that it will be that way again .I enjoyed all the characters .This book was a good choice i will continue the series for sure.
Book Review: A Unique Blend of Originality and Imagination
Summary: 4 Stars
Sex therapist Grace Alexander is turning twenty-nine, and her track record in relationships with men has been less than stellar. Her closest friend Selena, a gypsy palm reader, is concerned that Grace lacks a love life and gives her a very special birthday gift. A two thousand year old book that, according to legend, contains a Greek God trapped inside its covers for all eternity, to be summoned by a woman as her own personal love slave. Grace is skeptical, but jokingly plays along with reciting the words to bring him forth. Nothing happens.Well, initially nothing happens. But a little later she finds a huge, gorgeous, and very naked warrior in her house ready to fulfill her every fantasy. Now while most of us would nail shut all the windows and doors, take the phone off the hook, and never leave home again, Grace refuses to give in to her urges. In fact, she insists he wear clothes, takes him out in public, and treats him as a human.
A Greek general, and son of the goddess Aphrodite, Julian of Macedon was cursed by his jealous brother, and placed in the book to spend eternity alone. Except for when a woman summons him, and then he spends from one full moon to the next pleasuring her, and he knows everything about pleasuring a woman. Julian learned long ago to accept his fate, and no longer feels anything, but Grace changes all that. Now together they will work to figure out how to break the curse, but when they discover how, will they each be willing to follow through with what's required?
This remains one of, if not the most unique romance novel I've read to date. When I decided to read this book, it was with a mix of intrigue for the original storyline, and trepidation it would be too far-fetched, and might be to the point of ridiculous. But the fact this book is on the Romance Writers of America's Top Ten List, of the year it was published, prompted me to give it a try. And I have to say I wasn't disappointed. This story is very well written, and even though it stretches the limits of the imagination, it does not come off as ridiculous or silly as I had feared. The mix of myth, romance, tenderness, humor, intrigue, and yes, some really sizzling love scenes, makes for an intoxicating and memorable reading experience. I actually read this several months ago, and even though I've read many books since this, I still remember this one.
If I had to come up with something negative, it would probably be that I felt the climatic ending was stretched out a little too long. The number of events that occurred then went wrong, thus requiring Aphrodite's intervention, got a little frustrating for me. I'll leave it at that; so not too much of the ending is given away. In the grand scheme of things, that was only minor, and this book is definitely worth checking out for yourself.
Book Review: Review on Audio CD of Fantasy Lover.
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a review on the Audio CDs of Fantasy Lover. Read by Christine Marshall.
I have read the book Fantasy Lover, and I liked it. I thought it was a good start to the Dark Hunter series. I love a good "man trapped woman saves him" story, especially with some excellent erotic scenes and it being fantasy driven. Julian of Macedon is a love slave trapped in a book, only released when a woman who knows how to do so wants him to pleasure her for one month. Its a curse that was put upon him many years ago by a family member. Grace, the woman who summoned him as a joke, is a sex therapist who shys away from sex because she has been poorly treated in the past by men. When Julian is brought into this century, its all brand new to him and he doesnt understand our use of language. Kenyon could have used this as an interesting issue, but instead has Julian uttering phrases such as "Why would anyone one want to eat food that touts itself as being hard as a rock?" when going to the Hard Rock Cafe, and after Grace says "she is a housewife" Julian comes back with "Is she married to a house?" This is my only complaint about the book over all, the cheesiness of Julians confusion over being here in Graces time and not his. Oh that and how Grace "Hisses" all the time.
HOWEVER, despite some cheese, its a heartfelt romantic well plotted out book. If you love the Black Dagger Brotherhood series J.R. Ward Box Set You will enjoy the Dark Hunter series as well.
Now onto the Audio CD Issues:
The audio version is terribly inadequate. Poorly read. Christine Marshall has apparantly won a "Audiofile Earphones Award" for her readings of books, but for this one I wouldnt give her a paper certificate of achievement much less an award. Grace is in New Orleans but sounds like she is in Atlanta fanning herself during the Civil War. Graces accent is also not consistent throughout. The voice that Christine uses for Julian is excrutiating! You are supposed to picture him as being a warrior, strong and masculine and skilled in the sexual arts, he is from Macedon which is in greece. Marshall give Julian a voice that sounds like its part Dracula, part smarmy italian guy and she does not make it deep enough. Hearing her read the intimate parts was painful, they are supposed to be steamy, heart pounding and loving and instead they come out sounding weak and uncomfortable.
In closing, just read the books, Skip the Audio CDS.
Book Review: Fun Romance about a Greek General Turned Love Slave
Summary: 4 Stars
FANTASY LOVER is silly fun. In one sentence, it's about a modern-day sex therapist who, as a joke, beckons forth gorgeous Julian of Macedon (the mortal son of Aphrodite) to serve her as a love slave - and when he actually appears, what she goes through to help him break the curse.
Yeah, it has some incredibly cheesy moments, but I liked those moments simply because I liked the book. I think it's the first romance I've ever read that had an Ancient Greek (or rather, Macedonian) hero and dealt with Greek mythology. That alone made it a worthwhile read (as opposed to the millions of cookie-cutter romances about the ton, pirates, Vikings, knights, Native Americans, etc.). I think the dopiest moments in FANTASY LOVER are when the modern-day heroine utters "Holy guacamole!" The best, however, revolve around Julian, the 2,000-year old general-turned-love-slave who is trapped by a curse to serve the women who summon him. He is, in turns, gorgeously wicked and painfully vulnerable. I loved how the author let us into his psyche (no pun intended), letting us see just how tormented and lonely he is. And just how much he loves Grace.
Grace was a good heroine. She is described as slightly unattractive, but she is so great to him that I never even noticed. When her looks were insulted, I was just as outraged as Julian. The author did a fantastic job of making Grace a most sympathetic, easy-to-relate-to heroine. I imagine her as someone I'd actually like to be friends with.
A couple of footnotes. FANTASY LOVER is apparently a "prologue" to the Dark-Hunter series, which I have never read. From the reviews, however, the books in the Dark-Hunter series are a lot better than FANTASY LOVER. This was good news for me, because I will definitely now begin reading the series.
And, yes, there are some bizarre plotlines and coincidences in FANTASY LOVER. The Greek gods also have no problem using American slang. And there is a serious obsession with sex in this book (Julian IS a love slave). But, you know what, I forgave all that (which, for the record, I rarely do - just see my review of KISS OF THE HIGHLANDER or some of Johanna Lindsey's books for proof). There was something about FANTASY LOVER that charmed me, regardless its problems. Maybe it was the writing style. Or the fun characters. Or the fact that it's about Greek gods. I don't know. I think you'll just have to read it and decide for yourself. Have fun! I did.
***For similar stories, read THE PLEASURE SLAVE by Gena Showalter or TIGER EYE by Marjorie M. Liu.***
Book Review: Wow! The relationship in this book sings.
Summary: 5 Stars
Twenty-nine year-old sex therapist Grace Alexander has been celibate for four years after experiencing a horrendous relationship with a self-centered, cruel former lover. Grace's flamboyant, exotic friend Selena decides it's time to get Grace back in the swing of things and she has just the solution -- an ancient tome holding a magnificent male specimen cursed to live between the pages of the book for eternity -- until he's called forth with a magic spell to serve as a love slave to his summoner for a period of one month. Having experienced Selena's so-called magic spells before, Grace isn't worried that the gorgeous guy in the picture is going to magically appear. Surprise, surprise, and happy birthday to Grace!Julian of Macedon, half God, half mortal, is so exceptionally good looking that he made women fall at his feet and men green with envy and jealousy, in his time -- 149 BC. Jealousy and atonement for his sins, is what finds Julian cursed and trapped between the pages of a book only free for one month at a time, if he's lucky. Sometimes that freedom only comes once every one hundred years. When Grace summons him from the book, Julian is resigned and ready to fulfill her every sexual dream and fantasy. Grace, however, has other ideas for Julian. When she discovers just what a heartbreaking, loveless and dark life he's lived, Grace decides to show Julian just what friendship and love mean.
Ms. Kenyon creates an absorbing tale filled with larger than life characters from the lowly mortals on up to Greek gods, goddesses and mythological beings. Grace is one of the strongest, most compassionate heroines and Julian one of the most sympathetic, confused and tortured heroes to ever grace the pages of a romance novel. Julian's family runs the gamut of evil to misunderstood, with his mother, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, taking center stage toward the climactic and poignant ending. Readers get a glimpse of things to come and an introduction to the character in the beginning series of Dark Hunters, which I can't wait to read!
FANTASY LOVER is an exceptional, fresh and original story from the compelling first page to the exciting, explosive end. I was enthralled throughout, barely able to put it down when real life intruded. Ms. Kenyon is a true word wizard with incredible writing talent. I highly recommend Julian and Grace's story as one that will stay in your heart long after you reach the last page.