Right away my heart went out to Hans. He's young, figuring things out for himself with the help of a cute new guy in town, and so very responsible before his time. Dealing with a confused father, a massive debt, a twin who loves him but still manages to be a bit self-centered, and a passionate love of music and overwhelming talent but not being able to do anything great with it...there was just so much on his narrow shoulders that I couldn't not want more for him.
The plot twisting around a mysterious manor and some awkwardly shady dealings surrounding guests and lodgers was a much darker take on the story, but I actually felt it was incredibly modern in its subject matter. It was handled delicately, which was appreciated, except it felt a little unfinished. Rune's original job took over at one point and muddied the whole thing going on with Hans and it pulled too much attention away from what should have been the plot's focus. There were threads left untied, justice unserved, and questions unanswered by the end that took some of the attention and joy from the happier ending we got in the epilogue.
And speaking of the epilogue, it was totally sweet and very fitting, but it was a bit abrupt because we didn't really get a whole lot of settling into the happy between Rune and Hans. So while I liked Rune, there just wasn't a lot about him, not very much true telling of his own background to satisfy my hopes for him coming out from being undercover. The intimacy between them was alright, though truncated due to Hans' innocence and Rune's job objectives, and was kind of dimmed under the weight of everything that was going on. Because of that I didn't mind the fade-to-black bit near the end because without a lot of development between them with transparency a super steamy scene would have made me slightly uncomfortable to read.
A couple of other peeves of mine in the story were Greta and Red. Greta's self-serving attitude put them all in danger, though without her the plot would have gotten nowhere, so I can't be too upset. I just felt like their bond through the whole story was one-sided until the end where she only came to the rescue only because she overheard something that gave validity to all the warnings Hans had been trying to tell her about.
Red was supposedly Hans' best friend, but where was he? Knowing about Hans' difficult life situation, even if only the basics, should have meant that he would be genuinely concerned enough about him to check in every now and again, to at least inquire if he could help, or even just be there for advice about Rune. There were quite a few moments that I felt like there was so little support. That could have been the point, but it didn't match the characters. Even with the attitude of not airing dirty laundry for the town Hans didn't seem the type to have a best friend he virtually never spoke to until Red shows up in the epilogue to support Hans' public performance.
Despite a few frustrations, the story overall was incredibly updated and I truly enjoyed the reading. My favorite side character was Corey Orey and I wish so much that he had gotten a bit more page time, that he and Hans had a little more opportunity to develop a friendship and some collaboration to nurture Hans' curiosity and passion for his music. For now, I'm not ready to leave Ever After so I'm going to read Eli Easton's contribution with Billy & the Beast.
*$4.99 on Amazon
How much evil can you cook up in one small town?
When your father gets wonky, marries a weird woman, and runs off to Europe, leaving you and your twin holding the bag for the bills, what else can you do but –
Sleep a night in the forest,
Follow a trail of pebbles to a strange mansion,
And succumb to the attraction of cinnamon rolls, the world’s most beautiful piano, and Madame, the strange woman who gives you your dreams for next to nothing.
But fairy tales teach one lesson –
--when things are too good to be true – run!
Hans Meyer finds that out the hard way, when he wakes up tied to a bed in the dark. Even Rune, the cute guy who buys him root beer floats, isn’t who he seems.
Can piano power, twin power, and a healthy dose of love power overcome the darkness and finally make Hans happy in Ever After?
When your father gets wonky, marries a weird woman, and runs off to Europe, leaving you and your twin holding the bag for the bills, what else can you do but –
Sleep a night in the forest,
Follow a trail of pebbles to a strange mansion,
And succumb to the attraction of cinnamon rolls, the world’s most beautiful piano, and Madame, the strange woman who gives you your dreams for next to nothing.
But fairy tales teach one lesson –
--when things are too good to be true – run!
Hans Meyer finds that out the hard way, when he wakes up tied to a bed in the dark. Even Rune, the cute guy who buys him root beer floats, isn’t who he seems.
Can piano power, twin power, and a healthy dose of love power overcome the darkness and finally make Hans happy in Ever After?
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