Book Review and ARC Giveaway: Kiss of The Goblin Prince by Shona Husk

This is a nice romance and fast read.

Kiss of the Goblin Prince: Shadowlands series

by Shona Husk

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (May 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140226206X
• ISBN-13: 978-1402262067

Available in Kindle and other ebook formats.

Genre:  Paranormal Romance
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2012 | Series: Shadowlands

"Steamy, sensual, and dangerous...Dark and delicious."—Fresh Fiction on The Goblin King

The Man of Her Dreams

He is like a prince in a fairy tale: tall, outrageously handsome, and way too dark for her own good. Amanda has been hurt before, though. And with her daughter's illness, the last thing she needs right now is a man. But the power of Dai King is hard to resist. And when he threads his hands through her hair and pulls her in for a kiss, there is no denying it feels achingly right.

In a Land of Nightmares

After being trapped in the Shadowlands for centuries with the goblin horde a constant threat, Dai revels in his new found freedom back in the human realm. But even with the centuries of magic he's accumulated, he still doesn't know how to heal Amanda's daughter—and it breaks his heart. Yet for the woman he loves, he'd risk anything...including a return to the Shadowlands.

Review:
Dai is an ancient warrior whose family was cursed as goblins for nearly two thousands years.  Now that the curse has been broken (Book 1, The Goblin King) Dai and his brother Roan are able to live again as humans in the “Fixed Realm” which is the human world instead to the dark Shadowlands where the Goblins dwelled. Dai sought out magic for years trying to break the Goblin Curse.  He has become a mage but wants to make better use of the magical skills.  He is in conflict with the Birch Trustees who are refusing to return his library of magical books.

Amanda meets Dai at the wedding of her sister-in-law, Eliza, who is marrying Roan.  Amanda lost her husband seven years ago, before their daughter, Brigit, was born. Amanda has clung to the memory of her first love as she struggles as a single mom taking care of a child with serious asthma illness.  For the first time in seven years Amanda is drawn to a man.  Dai immediately notices the thread of attraction and desire between them. He has been abstinent for an even longer time with his tortured past and secrets keeping him from making love to any woman.

There is a lot of magical use woven through the story and I enjoyed Ms. Husk’s method of showing the weave of magic within objects through Dai’s eyes.  An eerie character from Birch Trustees, Vexicon, shows up to question Dai’s use of magic. There are other characters who turn out to have a past life connection to Dai, including his cousin Meryn who turns up human and hiding in the Shadowlands. Dai stages a rescue even though Meryn doesn’t recognize him and attacks Dai during the rescue. I’m am curious to see what the author has in store for Meryn in book three.

I enjoyed the reluctant passion between these two.  Amanda must decide to give up the loyalty to her dead husband so she can have a present life.  Dai must risk sharing his scars with Amanda in the hope that she might love him in spite of his horrible past. There is some repetition of their respective struggles but fortunately the story keeps moving. Although the romance is the focus, the persistent warmth and charm of it kept me interested until the action scenes appeared near the end of the story.  If you like a warm romance with magical overtones this is a solid entertaining selection.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Here are two quotes regarding Dai’s visual gift:

If he let his vision slide, he could see the threads of magic that made everything...or that everything made, depending on the school of magical theory.  Location 194

Amanda was changing the fabric of his reality with just a glance and a smile. Location 2953.

Thank you to Sourcebooks for providing this book for review.

This is set in Perth, Australia for the Where Are You Reading Challenge. I will also add it to my ARC challenge list.

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY for ARC Copy:
1. Tell me if you know another story about Goblins Or share why you would like to read this book. This is required for entry.

2.  For an extra entry, become a follower on any media (GFC, Twitter @MSEREADS, Facebook fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/ReviewsByMarthasBookshelf , Goodreads or Linky - links on right sidebar) or tell me if you are already a follower.

It isn't necessary to use separate entries unless you want them in different chronological order.
(Two total entries possible.)

* This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.

* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on May 18, 2012.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries.
WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED on May 19. 
Winners will have 72 hours to respond by email or the winners form linked in the announcement.