GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ A Feast for the Imagination | I Smell Sheep

Monday, June 27, 2011

A Feast for the Imagination

Merrie Destefano has done it again. She has released a book that isn’t like any others currently on the market. Many people have been confused by Feast because it wasn’t what they were expecting. This isn’t a traditional Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance. It is a dark Fairy Tale, a Fantasy. A story of dreams and nightmares, where the spoken word has a power of its own. Her descriptive prose builds a magical atmosphere. I had no problem entering the dream-like world Merrie created.

Blurb:
Madeline MacFadden ("Mad Mac" to fans of her bestselling magical stories) spent blissful childhood summers in Ticonderoga Falls. And this is where she wants to be now that her adult life is falling apart. The dense surrounding forest holds many memories, some joyous, some tantalizingly only half-remembered. And she's always believed there was something living in these wooded hills.

But Maddie doesn't remember the dark parts -- and knows nothing of the mountain legend that holds the area's terrified residents captive. She has no recollection of Ash, the strange and magnificent creature who once saved her life as a child, even though it is the destiny of his kind to prey upon humanity. And soon it will be the Harvest. . . the time to feast.

Once again Maddie's dreams -- and her soul -- are in grave danger. But magic runs deep during Harvest. Even a spinner of enchanted tales has wondrous powers of her own

Darklings are magical creatures that live around humans and feed off of their dreams at night. They call this Harvesting and there are rules they must follow. Darklings have territories and protect the humans in them from rogues who kill the humans they feed from. In return for this protection, the town will give the Darkling permission to feed from them. They are terrifying to look at in their true form and can shape shift to appear as an animal or human.

Ash, is a Darkling tied to the mountain town of Ticonderoga Falls. His story broke my heart. Once a powerful Darkling, he is now lonely and sad from the loss of his mate 100 years ago. He sees him self as cursed and feels he deserves to live in the shadows.

When author Maddie MacFadden and her son come to vacation in his town, at the time of the ritual Harvest, he is drawn to her dreams like an insect to a flame. He isn’t the only one though, his Darkling cousins have come to take Ash’s territory from him.

He must protect Maddie, the town, and his half-human/half-Darkling daughter from the Rogue Darklings.

Let yourself be suspended in this dream like world Merrie has created. She will take you to the place of nightmares, but don’t worry; you will not be left there. Like in all good fairy tales, love is the strongest magic and the happily ever after is worth fighting the darkness for.

4 Dreaming Sheep




SS (edited by BAK)

7 comments:

  1. I have been watching this cover for some time and I am glad to read the the story sounds as good as I had hoped. Thanks for sharing today.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Denise, this would make a great movie.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My copy of Feast was mailed to me today! I really hope it will be here soon, but seen as the mailmen here are often lazy in delivering my packages I think it will be here somewhere next week :-(

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sharon, What a stunningly beautiful review! I'm so glad you enjoyed the book and that you understood that it was supposed to be a fairy tale for adults. (Yay!) I grew up on fairy tales as a child and I wanted to share that magical love of danger and deception, combined with the possibility of a happy ending. Thank you so much!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nicely worded review. Merrie does write beautifully.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great review Sharon! Can't wait till tomorrow when the interview goes up! Woot! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. @ Merrie and Midnyte - thanks for the compliment. It took me over a week to get the nerve to write this review. I still don't think I did the story justice. It is hard to explain the magical tone of the book. You will just have to read it to understand :)

    ReplyDelete