Fairies are drawn to David, describing his great “shine,” but David knows only too well how quickly fairies can forget humans, and thinks he’s destined to be alone. He can’t see his own brilliance or understand how desperately Tulip wants him, even if Tulip believes David can do better.
But exhausted and more than a little tipsy at a Christmas party, David makes his feelings too obvious for Tulip to deny any longer. Because of a past heartbreak involving a human, Tulip is convinced someone as shiny as David could never want a “silly, stupid fairy” in his life. Now, if he wants to keep David, he’ll have to be as brave as his shiny, careful human.
Three things:
First off, I haven't read all of the books in this series. I have read A Boy and His Dragon. If you're in the same boat as me, you'll be happy to hear that Arthur and Bertie make an appearance near the end of this installment.
Secondly, these books are stand alone. I had no problem jumping into the world R. Cooper created.
Finally, I've come to realize that each book has a common theme: they all have that slow-burning, self-pitying, let's not talk about what we're really talking about way about them.
Now for the review.
Fairies: hippies of the preternatural world. They have a strong aversion to clothing, usually forget their keys, and phone, and the projects they're working on. They love sweets and often eat candy for meals. They are easily distracted and forget often. (You know, apart from the naked thing, I feel like I'm describing myself here...) They love happiness, burst with colorful glitter, and they rarely stay still. But sometimes... Sometimes they meet the right person, and they settle. They stay.
They keep that human and they treasure them.
Tulip has been there, done that, and has the broken heart to prove it. Now he's the fairy with the reputation for not dating humans. That's a complication when he only has eyes for David.
When we meet David, he's maudlin and lonely. Overworked and frazzled, he is the furthest thing from happy.
David also shines. He's the shiniest thing his fairy friends have ever seen, and they tell him all the time. Frankly, he's sick of it. What has being shiny ever done for him, besides break his heart and fuel his attraction to fairies - which is not a good thing, because fairies aren't known for their attention span. David can't take another beautiful, glittering creature getting bored of him and forgetting him.
Yet again, David finds himself in a hopeless situation. For three years, he and Tulip have been dancing around each other. Three years of want, and longing, and settling for friendship. He has all of these feelings for Tulip, and after having too much to drink, and not enough sleep, he asks Tulip for more.
And Tulip lets him down gently.
Welcome to the Pity Party. Population 2.
There was so much angst!!
The good kind of angst, though. The unrequited kind.
But my god, these two were drowning in it.
I just wanted to smash their faces together.
If these two had just talked to each other, really talked, they could have just... boned already, and not wasted so much time! UGH!! *throws hands up and walks away*
There's another commonality to this series as well: Confusion. Conversations are half-held or end before they even begin. Information is never given when it's needed. I spent a lot of time wondering WTF I was missing. It wasn't until 87% in that I got a good handle on what shine was.
"That’s what shine is, after all. It’s the light of the strongest and the most vulnerable, the ones who need help the most, but also with the most to give. It’s no wonder fairies are drawn to them, or that certain humans are considered being-bait. You can all see it, in one way or another. You treasure them, and in return, the humans love you.”
So shine is a reflection of who the person is, not what they are. But even David, the shiniest of them all, didn't know that! He didn't know why Tulip only wanted friendship, or why the fairies were so invested in his happiness. He didn't know much of anything really because there was too much left unsaid.
Some of this confusion is down to the world in which these two characters live; it's filled with prejudices that shape their perceptions.
There's also a significant language barrier between them. Fairies experience things and have difficulty properly explaining their meaning. What seems simple can be infinitely complicated. The same applies to humans, whose misconceptions of the fairy world and their feelings often have fairies planted firmly in the silly, superficial category. Add in short attention spans and fairy personalities, and it often feels like they're having two conversations at once.
And some of it is down R. Cooper's writing style. The author writes angst in spades and uses this confusion and noncommunication as a way to achieve it.
Regardless, if these two had just been able to communicate properly, instead of a hundred conversations that were derailed by short attention spans, noncommunication, and self-pity, they could have saved a lot of heartache. But then again, the journey wouldn't have been as fun, either.
(My frustration is easily buried under a pile of glitter and pure innocence.)
If you're a sucker for sexual tension, unrequited love, and angst, this is the book for you. It also has the added bonus of fantastic secondary characters. From the best friend, Flor (who's just looking for love) to Clematis (who only seeks out cheap interactions because humans view him as vain and cheap), everyone was compelling in their own special way.
And sparkly. It's hard to say no to a beautiful, glittery, candy loving fairy.
There was a missed opportunity with suspenders *grumbles* but at least David got one thing right
Dreamspinner Press
Goodreads
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