Princess Gossamyr de Wintershinn, destined to sit upon the
Glamoursiege throne, is on a quest to save her people in
the land of Faery. Willingly, she does so for a myriad of
reasons, not the least of which is to put off her impending
loveless marriage. Gossamyr, whose heart was captured by
Avenall Rougethorn, an Elven lord banished from Faery for
the sin of loving her, is uniquely qualified to be Faery's
champion. Her father, Shinn, a feared and respected King of
Faery and the man who banished her beloved, has groomed
Gossamyr to defeat the nefarious Red Lady who now resides
in Paris.
The Red Lady, a twisted banished Faery sorceress, now calls
all of Faery to her, like a black widow with a siren's
song. Once there, she steals their essences and causes
their bodies to return to Faery as hideous monsters with
horrible powers. Someone must stop her, and Gossamyr alone
can possibly prevail. There's a secret that only Shinn and
Gossamyr are aware of, which gives her the slim possibility
of succeeding in the Otherside. Gossamyr is not purely of
Faery, since her mother, Veridienne, was human. Therefore,
the very powers that the Red Lady covets and can bend to
her will, should be covered up by Gossamyr halfling blood.
Thus the King, a father who loves her and is willing to
sacrifice his only child, sends Gossamyr with a watcher and
promises aide from the other side.
On the Otherside, Jean Cesar Ulrich Villion is on a quest
of a very different nature, a quest to bring back to life
someone he lost very dear to him - his daughter. The only
way for Ulrich to succeed is to find the unicorn that
belongs to the horn he's carrying and replace it upon the
unicorn's head. Should he accomplish his quest, then the
unicorn will grant him any request. Ulrich has no love of
anything Faery, for twas Faery who stole him, making him
dance away 20 years of his life in a heartbeat. His only
crime had been to stumble upon a circle of toadstools, an
entry way into their magical land. Only a short time
passed, but when he was pushed back into his mortal realm,
it was to find that his wife had remarried and his
daughter's life had been given to a dragon. Plus, he
returned even more cursed than he realized, for the land of
Faery "gifted" him with something else, the ability to talk
to the dead. Now at every crossroads, in any place where
lost souls who can't find their way gather, he's plagued
and harassed by those who want to pass on. Gossamyr is a
curse and an enchantment he can't seem to get away from
and, when love steps in, his quest may be for naught.
This seductively beautiful adult fairytale by Michele Hauf
is a wonderful treasure to read. Skillfully she weaves the
history of Paris with skeins of romance and a type of
Gothic fantasy together to make this an enchanting,
captivating story. There are heartfelt twists and poignant
turns that delight as well as wrench the reader's emotions
as the story unfolds. Truly anyone who wants an adult
fairytale full of quests and romance will find themselves
more than satisfied with this offering.
Disenchantment threatens those who enter the mortal
realm...
The Red Lady plots to destroy faeries who linger in the
mortal world, by draining their essence. Only those without
glamour can withstand the succubus's wicked enticements. So
now Gossamyr de Wintershinn, half faery, half mortal, vows
to use her wits, fighting ability and hint of glamour to
face the Red Lady in her Paris lair.
But this is Gossamyr's first trip to the war-ravaged mortal
realm, and it seduces with its own enchantments. With her
new traveling companion--a soul shepherd with more than one
secret--Gossamyr take the first steps to save her people.
Yet as she strives to defeat the Red Lady, she discovers
that incredible power can be found in the truth--and in
learning true names. And a danger, as well...
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