Book Review: Thoroughly Kissed by Kristine Grayson

This is modern-day 'Sleeping Beauty' fairy tale that makes an easy and delightful read.

Thoroughly Kissed
by Kristine Grayson

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Reprint edition (June 5, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402248547
• ISBN-13: 978-1402248542

Genre:  Fantasy
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2012

Sleeping Beauty has sworn off kissing...

Emma awakens to an entirely different world than the one she lived in a thousand years ago, and although she's the real Sleeping Beauty, her life is no fairy tale. After parting ways with her supposed Prince Charming, she's determined to be a normal girl—she hides her magic and swears off kissing strange men.

But her gorgeous boss Michael knows there 's something unusual about Emma, and he thinks she's as infuriating as she is beautiful. Now Emma needs to teach Michael a lesson, which means mastering her magic. She knows she's flirting with danger, but after one look at Michael's perfect lips, all she can think is, "What's another thousand years ... ?"

Welcome to the fractious fairy tale world of Kristine Grayson, where the bumpy road to happily ever after is paved with surprises ..
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Review:
We met Emma in Utterly Charming when she awoke in a world that was absolutely foreign to her.  Her first kiss had placed her in a thousand year sleep.  She has spent the past 10 years learning a new language, getting college and doctorate degrees, and  establishing her career as a historian and college professor. She has avoided any relationship tangles not only because she hasn’t had time but also because she isn’t about to risk another kiss that might spell her to sleep again.

Emma Lost (a name she adopted upon her awakening) has met her new division head, Michael Found, who happens to also be her next door neighbor and wulfstrang - a powerful and handsome man. Michael has spent the last year on sabbatical researching the history of magic and its myths. Emma may be the most beautiful woman he has ever seen but the pragmatic and proper Mr. Found believes Emma and her popular book on Medieval history to be a fraud. Then Emma’s magic goes awry in his office and he has to reconsider his beliefs about magic, history and Emma.

Emma is destined to be a mage when she reaches the age or 50 or so. By ‘life experience’ Emma is only 30 so she figured she had another 20 years or so before she would have to face magical training. Now suddenly her wishes are coming true in odd ways; her powers are upon her but clearly out of control.  She has to travel from Wisconsin to Portland, Oregon to get her magical training’

She doesn’t have any friends to travel with her and it is just too risky to try to rely on her cat familiar, Darnell, to speak the reversal spells for any misguided magic. The fates aren’t going to make any exceptions or help her out. Perhaps she could ask Michael to help her since he has already seen evidence of her misguided abilities. After being manipulated into making the trip, Michael begins to fall under a different spell where Emma is concerned.  As they travel along long barren roads they face dangers of other wizards seeking to capture Emma’s wild magic. Can they make it safely to Oregon? And if they do, even if Michael can convince Emma to risk a kiss, how will they manage a relationship between a mortal man and a practically immortal mage?

Kristine Grayson writes characters  who are charmingly independent, stubborn and yet vulnerable. Even the cat, Darnell, has a most cat-like combination of independence and dependence. The plot is a bit zany but all fun. The writing is easy and light. There is sweet, sensual attraction with no need for sexual intimacy.  This is just a fun, sweet romance that I found delightful.

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Emma’s insecurities:

“Darnell’s the only person–if you want to call him that–who ever wanted to be with me more than he wanted to be with anyone else.”  Location 2575

Michael’s dilemma:

–why would a beautiful magical creature want to be with a stodgy professor?–she would at least know that he cared.  Location 2582.

I selected the ebook through NetGalley to review for Sourcebooks

This is set in Madison, Wisconsin for my Where Are You Reading Challenge.