Urban Fantasy Reading Challenge: Motor City Fae by Cindy Spencer Pape

On By MikaelaIn Book Recommendations, reviews

The Particulars: Urban Fantasy, Carina Press, available as e-book
The Source: Purchased at Kobo ( I think.)
The Grade: C
The blurb:
Detroit artist Meagan Kelly has had a strong sixth sense all her life, but that doesn’t mean the gorgeous stranger’s crazy story—that she’s a half-elf, half human heiress—is true. But Meagan can’t deny the evidence of her own eyes—he’s Fae. A tall, blond, handsome, pointy-eared elf—and a man she just can’t get enough of.
Ric Thornhill’s assignment just got a lot more complicated. The more time he spends with Meagan, the harder it is to see her as a political tool to prevent an all-out war between humans and Fae.
Now Meagan’s in a race to master her newly released powers in time to prevent the conflict, convince a jealous Queen not to strip Ric of his powers, and find out if she can build a life that straddles two worlds.


The Review:
I think I have started reading this book twice before, but put it down. But people kept praising this series, which made me wonder if I had missed something. So I decided to read it again. So what did I think?
Despite the fact that the world was populated by the standard races ( werewolves, fae and magic users), it felt unique. One important reasons were that the elves wasn’t perfect breathing mannequins. No, they are delightfully flawed. Some are ruthless, some xenophobic, some honorable. Just like humans.
This is reflected in the plot. The stakes in the plot gradually increased, thanks to the pressure of the Queen. The plot twists took me by surprise, yet they had been cleverly foreshadowed in the plot. A lot of them stemmed from actions by characters, and the characters feelings ( both good and bad).
I loved the sense of loyalty that exuded through the plot. Ric was loyal to the queen, Meagan loyal to her friends, Ric’s friends supported him. But what I didn’t feel through the book was a spark between Meagan and Ric. Which was a disappointment, since the romance subplot was an important part in the book ( The hints about Aidan and Eileen did make me want to read their story.)