All That Glows
by Ryan Graudin
Emrys—a fiery, red-headed Fae—always embraced her life in the Highlands, far from the city’s draining technology, until she’s sent to London to rejoin the Faery Guard. But this isn’t any normal assignment—she’s sent to guard Prince Richard: Britain’s notorious, partying bad boy and soon-to-be King. The prince’s careless ways and royal blood make him the irresistible for the dark spirits that feed on mortals. Sweet, disheveled, and alive with adventure—Richard is one charge who will put Emrys’s magic and heart to the test.
When an ancient force begins preying on the monarchy, Emrys must hunt through the London’s magical underworld, facing down Banshees, Black Dogs and Green Women to find the one who threatens Richard’s life. In this chaos of dark magic, palace murders and paparazzi, Emrys finds herself facing an impossible choice. For despite all her powers, Emrys has discovered a force that burns brighter than magic: love.
When an ancient force begins preying on the monarchy, Emrys must hunt through the London’s magical underworld, facing down Banshees, Black Dogs and Green Women to find the one who threatens Richard’s life. In this chaos of dark magic, palace murders and paparazzi, Emrys finds herself facing an impossible choice. For despite all her powers, Emrys has discovered a force that burns brighter than magic: love.
Trying to get through this book was painful. Not only because I wanted to find things that I liked about it but also trying to find some sort of excitement in writing.
Story begins with Emrys being assigned to rejoin the Faery Guard and her assignment is Prince Richard – party animal who just graduated and needs some serious protection from soul feeders that are roaring London. But since advanced technology been growing, the Fae cannot stay within the city long enough without getting sick. With ancient Fae starting to rise against mortals to go back to the way it used to be, Emrys needs to protect Richard and figure out if loving him will be worth losing all of her magic.
I definitely couldn’t get into the story and one thing that bothered me most was narrator’s voice. Emrys is supposed to be this elder Fae who lived through centuries and supposed to be one of the most powerful Guards. But reading her thoughts and view on the world is like reading teenager’s diary.
Teenager: “Ahhhhhhhhhh he’s so cute, like OMG! I totally wanna kiss him but my mom is gonna find out but I want to risk like everything just to be with him”.
It’s like the author had a great idea for a great Fae warrior but got side tracked by an amazing romance idea. The story did have some potential but was poorly executed and was not for me.
