Review of Wizard's Wife

This is the review done by Paranormal Romance Guild. a Dual Review in which two people review the book then talk about it:

Gloria Lakritz - She Said: | Penelope Adams - She Said:

Review by Gloria Lakritz

Senior reviewer and Review Chair for the Paranormal Romance Guild

5*****Stars

I opened The Wizard’s Wife late Saturday afternoon and could not put it down. What a glorious change of pace from many of the darker books now out to read.

Megan McMuir, newlywed, was having a bad day. Her first stop to the doctors office told her that her birth control patch failed, she was pregnant. Upon arriving home to tell her husband David his news, that she was in great health and had did not have a virus, his news got even better. After hearing her explanation about the baby, he felt the need to share with her his news. He was a faery !

David, we learn is from an alternate universe, with portals to get from one to the other. His father is King and he a Royal Prince and Champion of White Fire in the land of Ais Linn. Their enemy is the Lord of Dark Fire, Exeter Dubhtina.

Megan and David's personalities were easy for me to love as well as Ossain, the man servant, and his twin sister Brigid, the housekeeper. Megan’s internal voice was funny and smart, and quite the heroine throughout the storyline. How she went with the flow was lighthearted and fun. She held steadfast in her love for her husband David.

David, or Master Tavy, had not been quite forth coming in is past and who he was. All he knew when he met Megan that night, was that she was everything he desired. She was beauty, innocence, and the light of his heart. Everything Megan saw was Glamoured by his magic; their home, their species. Megan now learns the King and Queen were not at their wedding, because the Prince chose a human. So you can imagine what this news will create, for the child will be a halfling.

When Megan asked all the Glamour be removed, she found the beautiful estate she thought she lived in, with a long driveway and beautiful gardens, was actually a vacant lot with a very large tree, and they all lived in the tree.

There is war, untruths, and many things both tied up and left open. This story is a must read for every person that loves a Fairytale. Ms. Sweeny has left infinite possibilities for sequels, and I for one will want to read them. Bravo.

Review by Penelope Adams

Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild

4****Stars

Newlywed Megan McMuir has just received news that she didn’t want to hear, she’s pregnant. Now she has to tell her husband, David, and is dreading it, since he has expressed his desire to not have children right now. Little does Megan know that telling David her news is soon to be the least of her problems.

After breaking the news to David, Megan learns not only is she married to a faery, the beautiful anti-bellum home she lives in is actually a huge oak tree. Her husband’s butler/assistant (Ossian) and his twin sister (Brigid) are also faeries and, oh yeah, there is something called the Harmonic Convergence approaching, which could cause Earth and everyone there danger.

Talk about a bad day; it can only get better right? Um, nope, it can go from bad to worse. David is heir to the throne of the White Fire, and must defeat the Lord of the Dark Fire. So across the Magic Portal into his home land of Ais Linn David goes, leaving Megan with Brigid to protect her. Not one to sit around and wring her hands, Megan, along with Brigid, crosses the portal into Ais Linn and manages to get herself captured by the Lord of the Dark Fire. Welcome to a world of werewolves, unicorns, leprechauns, wizards and all sorts of magical things that go bump in the night.

What a fun book this was. Toni V. Sweeney, who also writes under the name Icy Snow Blackstone, seamlessly starts us out in an Atlanta, Georgia mansion and takes us to a magical Irish-like land of fairy tales. We get to meet leprechauns living in trees, beautiful brave unicorns, drop dead gorgeous faeries, mean nasty (but still drop dead gorgeous) faeries and all sorts of other magical shape shifting creatures.

When we meet Megan, she is a little naïve, even though she is married but still manages to possess a pure soul. During the course of the book, she looses that naivety but retains her purity of soul. I thought she was a little namby-pamby in the beginning of the book, but by the end, I liked the spunk and fire she had developed and cheered for her.

David, oh what can one say about David. He’s one charming Irishman. He straddles both worlds with skill, he is not bad on the eyes, has a cute sense of humor and did I mention not bad on the eyes? I didn’t get the feeling he wanted to embrace his heritage in the beginning of the book, by the end, not only had he embraced it, he won it.

There are a number of secondary characters, all of whom we get to know pretty well. The bad Dark Lord is beautifully dark and dangerous; you can’t help but dislike him. His sister, Siobhan, is equally evil and doesn’t have a good bone in her body (although she isn’t hard on the eyes either). Together they make formidable foes for David, Megan and company.

As I mentioned, Toni Sweeney writes books under another name, one of which we have read and reviewed already, The Irish Lady’s Spanish Lover. This caused a little bit of deja vou all over again for me, one of the names used in that book is also used in this one. Each time I read the name, I would have to remind myself which book I was reading (I’m easily distracted). I also felt the story was wrapped up a little too easily, but other than those two small issues, I enjoyed this book.

I would love to see a sequel with Ossian in it, yummy. There is a small amount of sex, not graphic, almost PG, but it is there. Some small violence, again almost PG, one can’t battle evil without getting one’s hands dirty after all. If you enjoy a world of magic, Irish lore, knights, and fairy tale creatures, this is the book for you.

Now that the reviewers have read each other's thoughts...

G: Wizards Wife by Toni V. Sweeney really captured my interest immediately. Penny, we both saw the tongue-in-cheek saying BAD HAIR DAY for Megan McMuir. What an eye catching opening for the reader, all within the first pages. Through the smooth writing style of our author we were pretty well caught up right away with what we were in for... sorta.

P: The twists and turns helped keep my interest, along with handsome faery hubby David and Ossian the manservant... boy I would like to know more of his story. I agree with you, we should have a sequel for Ossain. Our wonderful story teller Toni V. Sweeney, also writes under the name of Icy Snow Blackstone, who had just charmed us previously in our last Dual Review for The Irish Lady's Spanish Lover.

I thought Megan took finding out her gorgeous Antebellum Mansion was a BIG Tree in the middle of a vacant lot, very well. I might have freaked out after finding her husband had glamoured everything she saw. And when he removed the glamour at her request, she had a hard time finding her bedroom , having to walk on a bed of moss...What say you Penny, How did you find the humor, and mystery?

G: I agree, the twists and turns were great; I was never bored and kept turning the pages as fast as I could. You know me, if I were to discover that my southern mansion was really an old oak tree, I imagine you would be able to hear me for miles away. I think she took everything in stride pretty well, maybe a little to well. Hubby tells me he's a faery prince and really has wings and antenna, my house is a tree on an empty lot, my world may be in for a huge mess and my child is going to be a halfling not accepted by the in-laws - a couch might be involved for a number of days. I'm just saying.

P: The author's view of the other side of the portal was fun, who wouldn't like to ride a unicorn? I did feel the last few chapters seemed a bit rushed and felt the whole 'what happened while they were apart' was glossed over pretty fast. How long did David and Megan stay in Ais Linn, and what happened while they were there? I would have liked that part of the story to have been fleshed out a little more. Here's hoping for a sequel so we can find out.

G: Sooo, the pregnant pause... I need to address with ***NO SPOILERS*** and no pun on words. Our author was kind to Megan skimming over what happened to her when she was captured by the Lord of the Dark Fire and the repercussions therein. Our Prince, however, was not so forthcoming when he was visited by Siobhan, the sister of the Dark Lord, when they were in the alternate universe Ais Linn. This does give me hope that Ms. Sweeney has plans for us to return... and yes a sequel!!!

P: Exactly, and he got to ride a unicorn even. That small chauvinistic plot hole aside, an enjoyable book.

Good night Gracie.

G: Hahaha, and Goodnight George. Yes and thank you Toni V. Sweeney for allowing us the pleasure of reading and discussing both your books. We await m.o.r.e. Please???