Rage, Sex, and Teddy Bears: Queen of the Sylphs by L.J. McDonald or “Wat What???”

Friday, September 23, 2011

Queen of the Sylphs by L.J. McDonald or “Wat What???”

Publisher: Dorchester Publishing

Published: 9/23/2011

Buy here

Rating: Entrée

There are once more assassins in the Valley of the Sylph. Presumed to be sent from King Alcor, Leon , as the former head of the king’s security should be able to identify them, but Leon and Ril have not returned from their mission to save Lizzie. Without knowing who sent the assassins, Solie is reluctant to kill them. Deception and turmoil seem to be the theme of the day. As someone in the valley is killing battle sylph masters. The peace they had worked so hard to create is now in jeopardy.

I think each book in this series increases the intensity exponentially. This book literally made me sweat, gasp groan, laugh, cry and cuss a lot. Solie and Heyou have matured so beautifully. Although Heyou is still a horndog and a scamp. Solie has adjusted to her role as queen and is thriving under Heyou unwavering affections. *sigh* I want Heyou. This book, while still maintaining the optimistic theme of the first two books, struck me as the darkest book of the series so far. There is a truly insidious villain, that in my opinion gets off way too easily. We’re talking Hannibal Lecter evil. They truly tarnish the enchanting innocence of a great many characters.

Keep in mind, while reading this book, that L.J. McDonald has a penchant for springing surprises on the reader. A couple of things that happened caught me completely off guard. It didn't make me not like the book any less, but I cussed quite a bit. There is still a strong connection to the kingdom that Leon and Ril rescued Lizzie from, and that story plays heavily in this book. Although each book is a stand alone, not having read The Shattered Sylph will impact the readers understanding of Queen of the Sylphs. While this is a darker book, there is a huge payoff as well. There are some very heartwarming occurances. I am just so glad I had the honoring of reviewing this wonderfully unique series. I fervently hope it is a looooong one.