16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jillian Hunter - where have you been all my life?????, January 30, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Fairy Tale (Mass Market Paperback)
I howled with laughter all through this novel starting at page 1. The blurb on the back cover made it sound like the standard romance I love - Highlands of Scotland, impertinent heroine, handsome "devil" hero - the works! But what it did not give me was a clue of how hilarious it was!! But besides all those truly funny situations and characters - the chemistry between hero Duncan and heroine Marsali was touching as well as exciting. I can't say enough good things about this book. A big 10+ ! I'm checking out what else Jillian Hunter has written! She's SUPER!!!!
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely Not My Fairy Tale, May 31, 2006
This review is from: Fairy Tale (Mass Market Paperback)
Let me begin by saying I love Jillian Hunter's writing. Her trilogy on the Boscastle family is wonderful: Humorous, Passionate, and Fast Paced. If you read my lists, you'll know that I absolutely adore romance novels (especially historical ones). Those focusing on the time period (in Fairy Tale) are among my favorites! However, Fairy Tale fell far beyond the standard set w/ Ms. Hunter's other novels. It's obvious this must have been one of her earlier (if not her first) novels.
Fairy Tale was EXTREMELY slow paced. The heroine was an irritating, ignorant, and crass little pest. I like a hard headed and independent heroine. However, Marsali was simply stupid and not at all likeable. The hero was a bit boring and his back story was extremely predictable and anticlimatic. The supporting characters were just as frustrating as Marsali. I tired of reading an entire novel in which 90% of the characters were working against the hero, Duncan, for the majority of the book. I thought Jillian Hunter did a wonderful job in showing why the characters resented Duncan, but she did a horrible job in showing how the characters evolved to accept him. Throughout 85% of the book, Duncan is resented, feared, and disrespected by his clan, then suddenly they don't hate him anymore. It was ridiculous.
The book is littered with material that does very little to advance the plot or develop the characters. This took attention from the romance between Marsali and Duncan. If you didn't know you were supposed to want them together (by reading the back cover), there was very little in the book that made you actually care for Duncan and Marsali as a couple. They had very little chemistry and their "love" story was completely underdeveloped. In addition, several "suspense" elements were thrown into the book. However, because the characters were so one dimensional (an not at all endearing), I found myself not caring what happened to them.
I think Ms. Hunter does a better job writing Regency romance than she does Highland/Scottish romance. I will continue supporting her. However, if you want a good Scottish romance, read Julie Garwood's Ransom, Saving Grace, The Secret, or The Bride. Fairy Tale is an utterly boring and unsatisfying read.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Be Prepared to be Totally Charmed!, June 23, 2003
This review is from: Fairy Tale (Mass Market Paperback)
Duncan MacElgin, had a reputation the devil himself envied. Hot-headed and ornery as a young boy when sent away to the army to learn discipline and find an outlet for his anger, he rose swiftly as a warrior then a battle hard general and minister of war. As the rightful heir of the clan MacElgin, he was ordered home to whip his clansmen into shape and stop them from raiding the British. Riding into the glen, he was attacked, beaten and stripped naked - not that he was expecting a hero's welcome, but this was ridiculous! - This band of misfits, were tarring him with honey and chicken feathers - and their leader was a woman!
Marsali Hay, was convinced that the man riding into the glen was an enemy, she had no idea that the beautiful specimen of manhood - now that she'd had a really good look - was the infamous "Black Duncan". Once he made it known who he was, their bloody chieftain after all - he would make Marsali pay dearly for her impertinence. Duncan would find though that the impertinent and darling of the clan, would have him at her knees as she and the band of mis-fits and characters that made up his clan would drive him to total distraction.
Be prepared to be totally charmed, from the dark and deeply guilt stricken Duncan to the innocent and spritely Marsali who gave him the redemption and love he needed as she and her band of misfit clansmen worked magic into his life. You will belly laugh through the antics of the supporting cast in this delightful novel from the battling ghosts, to the inept wizard uncle and the twin piglets! This was a totally outstanding read that I chuckled through and found so difficult to put down. Solid Gold!
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