Once upon a Time

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Wonderful!!
Review: An enchanting fairy tale! I totally loved it, I highly recommend it

Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: I'm a sucker for a good fairy tale - two of my favorite books are Bewitching (Jill Barnett) and A Basket of Wishes (Rebecca Paisley). Perhaps those tales were special because the enchanted characters were the heroines. In Once Upon a Time, the fairy is the hero. I'm not sexist, but this book simply did not enchant.

To give the book its due, the beginning and ending chapters of this tale are positively lovely -- the epilogue is downright magical. The remaining 18 chapters seem too mundane. There is not much first-hand magic going on. As such, the majority of the book is too much a standard historical and too little a fairy tale. Other than a sprinkle here and there, the magic of the book disappeared as quickly as pixie dust.

Perhaps it is that, for me, fairy tales work best as romantic comedies. There is a wealth of humor to be found in the ridiculous predicaments fairies and their loved ones face in the human world. This, however, is not a comedy.

Or, maybe it is that, unlike other favorite fairy tales, there was no dramatic break when the human realizes how miserable life is without the magic. Just as there were no laughs, there were no tears shed reading this book.

Regardless of the reason, the story fell flat. The connection between reader and lead characters never jells. The greatest pull I felt was toward the heroine's great aunt Daffy. I wish her story and that of her great love had been told instead.

Marylyle Rogers consistently receives the highest ratings for her work. I was similarly disappointed with another of her books but decided to give her another chance to win me over because of the accolades she receives. I shouldn't have bothered - and neither should you.

TTFN, Laurie Likes Books

Publisher, All About Romance

Rating:
Summary: Sprinkled with Fairy Dust
Review: If you love fairy tales and magic, you will love ALL of Marylyle Rogers' books. I do not believe that this author can write a bad book! From her fairy tale series to her historical stories, she has always entranced me. Without hesitation, I would name her as one of my all-time favorites!

Rating:
Summary: Delightful! I'm hooked.
Review: It all began with "A Sprinkle of Fairy Dust" and "Emerald Enchantment" each book having four short stories. In these books is Marylyle Rogers' story "Fairy Dreams" and "The Fairy's Tale" where she introduces us to Lissan, the sister of King Comlan, of the Tuatha de Danann fairy realm.

Lissan has fallen in love with a human in this story and has been given permission to give up her powers to join her human love. In giving up her powers to the earth, she leaves an eternal fairy ring of flowers.

In "Once Upon A Time" our Amethyst (Amy) has long heard from her ditsy, yet oh so beloved aunt, to stay away from the flower ring, but Amy longs to sit within the ring to draw. One day, as she draws the countryside, she believes she has fallen asleep and has been whisked away to the fairy land of King Comlan to dance with him and his people in a land more beautiful than any she could ever imagine. But was it a dream?
And then when her aunt introduces her to her friend Comlan, who is the image of her dream man, she begin to question her sanity.
(It seems her aunt is more involved with the fairy people than first we thought!)
This is a wonderful story as Amy struggles with family in England who stiffly want her to marry a man who repulses her and an aunt in Ireland who hints of a better life with this Comlan with whom she is falling in love.

And things just get better because as this story seems to end, it continues with the books "Happily Ever After" and "Long Ago And Far Away".

Marylyle Rogers delivers one of the best magical love stories that I have ever read, and I think that I've read almost all of them now. These people of the Tuatha de Denann will leave you wanting more. They are a wonderous clan. These stories are strong and true and not easily forgotten.

You will be enchanted.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect Fairy/Mortal Love story
Review: Unbelevablly well written. Truly delightfull reading. I didn't want to put it down. I am looking forward to reading the sequal to this book and any other books by this Author. I highly recomend this book to anyone that believes in a little bit of fairy magic.