"EXCELLENT new addtion to the world of fairy tales..."
The title intrigued me; and I really enjoyed the story. Jane Drysdale, after hosting a successful "Pleasures of the
Realms" party has a flat tire on her way home causing her
to crash her car, but in the process runs over a bunny.
What should have been just a car accident turns into a
murder trial when her rescuers take her to Loweth where she
is to stand trial for the murder of Tivat. In the beginning of the story, Jane is argumentative and
disgruntled; I can totally appreciate her bitchiness and
confusion at finding herself in a foreign world. But rather
than staying this way, she adopts a "bring it on" attitude
that made her (for me) a remarkable heroine. Charlie is an all around great Whelphite, however he tries
to stay unnoticed - he's half elf and fairy and is very
self-conscious. Getting told he will be Jane's legal
council becomes a challenge for numerous reasons but
primarily because he spends a lot of time trying to follow
Jane's train of though; she is an avid watcher of Earths'
TV reruns. So half the time he is clueless regarding
whatever Jane is talking about. Despite this, or maybe
because of this, Charlie still cares for her rather than
treating her like someone who is psychotic. Trying to keep
up with Jane makes him deal with his heritage and he starts
to live. So pairing these two together was great. One of the things that really makes this story exceptional
is that while Jane was on trial for murder, the trial
really only encompassed a couple chapters of the book. The
rest of the story is about what happens after the trial...
which is really an epic journey through the entire kingdom
for Jane. I would really like to say more here, but there
is so much discovery that I don't want to spoil anything! The only thing I didn't care for with this book is the
sexual encounters between Jane and Charlie. While there is
a lot of chemistry between the characters, their joinings
are a bit on the frantic side of aggressive for me. It was
kind of like if we don't hurry up and mate, one of us is
going to change their mind. Which wouldn't happen because
both characters where drawn to each other like a moth to a
light. Cheryl Sterling has a fantastic imagination for writing
fantasy and did a wonderful job subtly reminding the reader
that the story takes place in another world. What I thought
was going to end up happening was off base, so the ending
was a total surprise - that was amazing! While the story
isn't laugh out loud funny, it does have its moments. WHAT
DO YOU SAY TO A NAKED ELF? is fast paced and thoroughly
enjoyable, I highly recommend this book for a fun read. Posted May 29, 2005
Reviewed by Cynthia Eckert
Posted December 7, 2006
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