Duainfey-Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

Duainfey
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Baen, Mar 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 1416591672

Rebecca Beauvelley has little prospect for a good marriage ever since her arm was crippled in a phaeton accident in which the drunken young male driver died. In order for her younger sister to make a good marriage, Rebecca first must be wed. Shockingly, her father has arranges for her to marry some elderly rake. Though she would prefer not to, Rebecca has no say in the matter.

However Altimere the Fey crosses the thin divide to show Rebecca her mortal future of abuse from an uncaring spouse if she says I do or she can go with him and cross into his realm. She daringly chooses to accompany the charming Altimere. Once she enters the land of the Fey, she learns her host is using and abusing her as a degraded sexual pawn to gain political power.

At the Fey court, Meripen Vanglelauf awakens from his needed healing sleep after suffering torture at the hands of humans. He hates mankind who also killed his beloved after torturing her in their quest to control fey power. In spite of his dark feelings, his queen sends Meripen across the divide to the human side to learn what poison they are using to kill the woods.

This is an engaging erotic fantasy that fails to tie up any major thread even the anticipated meeting between the two flawed lead characters never occurs; the assumption is their encounter will happen in the sequel, LONGEYE. The story line is action-packed with both subplots fast-paced as the theme switches from a Regency romance to a dark horror fantasy. Radically different from the "Liaden Universe", DUAINFEY is a strong set up tale that will probably better serve the audience to read it just before LONGEYE.

Harriet Klausner