Be Fairy Game: Starfig Investigations Book 2, Meghan Maslow

Being right isn't always a great thing.  That goes for what I was anxious about for this book as well as Twig and Quinn.  The ability to say "I told you so," doesn't feel great when you were hoping for so much more.  There were some incredibly sweet sentiments expressed, a few humorous scenes, and an incredible amount of potential for the series as a whole so the story isn't a total miss, there were just also some immensely disturbing scenes that left me feeling icky and not altogether comfortable.

What I was right about in my fears expressed in my review for book one is the relationship dynamic between Twig and Quinn.  In the name of "empowering" Quinn and not following a more stereotypical dominance dynamic Quinn continually undermines Twig's decisions, makes him doubt his intentions, belittles his instincts, hurts his feelings, and dismisses his fears.  Quinn has lowered in my estimations as a good partner for Twig.

Their whole relationship is a struggle for me, actually.  I'm still in love with their potential and I'm having a difficult time reconciling that with the reality.  There are so many, too many, times that their whole dynamic is brought up to dissect only to be dismissed or interrupted and it leads to too many moments of doubt, hurt, and unresolved frustrations.  There's a power thing going on that's taking a back seat to Quinn's consistent need for secrecy and putting his struggles, his feelings, and his issues above Twig's.  I'm not a fan.

One scene that gave me all kinds of icky feels was where Twig's first time with catching was under the influence of an incubus' magic crazy dust and Quinn's inability to care for Twig.  He's lucid enough to get acknowledge the effect of the powder and to get them to a relatively private space, but once again, his desires, his situation, is far more important than all the fear and hesitation that Twig has expressed over months of being together before this moment.  Just no.  So many times, no.  And then for Twig to reassure and comfort and seek out Quinn's well-being...this can only be a bad thing in the long run.

I don't want to make this a ranty review where it seems I don't like the story because I actually do in a general way and in the view of a series as a whole with fascinating characters and shenanigans that were quite entertaining (Bill's fear of garden gnomes, anyone?).  So in the interest of keeping the ranty bits short, I'll briefly mention the other things that bothered.  Twig's father, the too-quick-to-forgive moment with his mother, the surprising lack of empathy from Twig as we, once again, defer to Quinn's sense of right and wrong when it comes to feeling for and helping misunderstood beings (Twig should be the ring-leader in seeking to help and liberate instead of being uber judgy and needing Quinn to remind him of his own perception parallels), the lack of Twig's backbone with his father's discrimination and machinations, the lack of connections made between really obvious stuff...  I think there are a couple more, but that's quite enough, I feel.

While I don't know how I feel about focusing on Quinn in the next story, I am excited to see where this series is going.  And Bill, his yearning is palpable and when he's not acting like a preachy queen I'm absolutely in love with him and hope to see him get the being who will love him.  Bill's mention of Twig's scent is incredibly intriguing and I'll absolutely stick with this until we get that answer...there are a whole lot of little foretelling bits in relation to Twig and his eventual growth and power that I'm absolutely champing at the bit for and can only hope don't come through Quinn's power or control, but from him on his own and within himself.  I want to see Twig's brain truly engage and to find out what his fae gift is.

The list of things I'm looking forward to is arguably longer than the things that bothered me in this book so it's safe to say that I'm definitely in for more and am committed to sticking with the series and I'll be holding out hope that Twig and Quinn get it together in a way that makes me feel warm and fuzzy instead of apprehensive.

*$4.99 on Amazon

They’re baaacckk!

When a simple ‘find & fetch’ case throws private investigator Twig Starfig and newly-minted wizard, Quinn Broomsparkle, into the middle of an EBI murder investigation, it’s just another day in the Elder Realm.

If murder were Twig’s only problem, he’d be the luckiest half-dragon in the land. Murder he can handle. Fulfilling his promise to his scheming, power-hungry father to run for a seat on Lighthelm’s city council? Meh, he’d rather face a demon with a toothache.

On top of their case going sideways, and Twig running for a council seat he really doesn’t want, Twig and Quinn are forced to face some unpleasant realities about their budding romance, while still learning how to handle the wizard-familiar bond they now share. Throw in a red fury with abysmal taste in boyfriends, a ghost pirate-parrot who drinks too much, a murderer who will stop at nothing to get what they want, a host of new friends and enemies, and you’ve got a situation where no one is safe and everyone is Fairy Game.