Rating: 3.5🌈

The Fae Managerie by Edie Montreaux is the fifth book in this fabulous multi author fantasy series and I found it very entertaining.

While the traveling magical coin is not as much of a character element as it is in the other books, it serves as the item that will bind together two the highly different main characters here.

The concept is interesting if not fully developed or explored or perhaps explained in the story. A fae, Doyle, has been imprisoned by his mother the Queen because of his flippant attitude towards love and romance. Staying in a magical glass prison with viewing hours (actually it’s far worse) until he, Doyle, finds true love. Yes, there’s holes in that. And there’s also a bigger storyline behind that attitude and family dynamics that pops up unexpectedly towards the end of the book. I wish Montreaux had brought this thread into this couple’s storyline earlier along with the other fae drama because it would have made more sense of the dynamic between mother and son.

This sort of choice the author makes for their characters is the same one they make for the other main character of businessman Parker, the one that ends up being imprisoned with the fae Doyle through the nefarious ploy of a ex boyfriend. His background isn’t fully developed, just hinted at in the oddest manner. A shame because the reader isn’t sure if his father is a mobster or monster in a business suit.

Human Parker and fae Doyle go through a ton of trouble, in that prison, where they are often on display for others to view. It’s interesting in the manner that this author makes use of a glass prison plot that’s imaginative but frustrating at the same time. Specifically when it comes to the Warden, an incubus and the fellow prisoners. We just don’t know enough about the situation and prison conditions to make sense of the moment to moment changes or narrative choices.

The relationship between Doyle and Parker feels very real and relatable but everything else keeps impacting on how much we connect with the situation.

A another issue for me is the lack of accountability for the crimes committed against the pair and the lack of any true justice or regret for any of the actions carried out here against a group of characters. I think the author understands that the readers will be uncomfortable with this aspect of the story and tries to insert an explanation into the end of the story. But all it does is serve to highlight further exactly how unsatisfactory this approach is going to remain. This world stays status quo. A penal system that’s not truly explained or understood within the book is allowed to continue with its original warden who committed crimes.

So there’s a really strong romantic element here, with two terrific characters, Parker and Doyle each having their own version of a personal story that ends in a loving relationship. The Fae Menagerie has some interesting ideas and great side characters too, but also quite a few that need further thought, more development, and greater attention to detail.

Did I enjoy this? Yes but also left a bit unsatisfied. Still a recommendation.

These covers are fantastic , some of my favorites in years.

Fortune Favors the Fae – 15 books:

✓ A Fae Coin Transported Me Into Another World and Now I’m the Gay Holy Maiden by AJ Sherwood #1❤️

✓ The Wolf’s (Un)Lucky Fae by Michele Notaro #2 ❤️

✓ Bound to the Wild Fae by Tavia Lark #3 June 13❤️

✓ The Sorcerer’s Thief by Lee Colgin #4 ❤️🔷

✓ The Fae Menagerie by Edie Montreaux #5

◦ Never Darling by Sam Burns #6 – July 4,2024

◦ Prince of Poison by Alice Winters #7 – July 11,2024

◦ Grave Misfortune by Nazri Noor #8 – July 18,2024

◦ Fae for Pay by Meaghan Maslow #9 – July 23,2024

◦ Kisses at the Crossroad by Morgan Lysand #10 – August 1,2024

◦ Smoke and Mirrors by Kai Butler #11 – August 8, 2024

◦ Siren in the Rain by Chloe Archer #12 – Aug 15,2024

◦ I Destroyed the Elf Prince’s Harem by Jocelynn Drake #13 – Aug 22,2024

◦ A Fae Called Wylder by Michelle Frost #14 – Aug 29,2024

◦ Lucky or Knot by Eliot Grayson #15 – September 5,2024

Buy link

The Fae Menagerie

Blurb

“You will remain here until you learn what love is.”

Trapped in the light court’s prison, Doyle will never know the meaning of love. When luck summons him to the human realm to “take care of” Parker, he grasps at the possibility to finally escape.

This isn’t the first attempt on Parker’s life, but it’s the most creative. His ex tried to summon a demon and landed a fae prince instead. Too bad the prince is trapped in a glass cage for eternity. When Doyle drags Parker to prison with him, the death threats don’t stop with the location change. Now everyone in the fae realm wants Parker dead, too!

Parker’s not into Doyle, or anyone for that matter. The coin must have been unlucky-side-up when it paired them together. Still, Doyle is desperate to honor his promise to take care of Parker. Only true love will free them both from the fae menagerie.

The Fae Menagerie is a male/male high romantasy between an imprisoned fae prince playboy and a demisexual human virgin. This forced-proximity slow burn romance features versatile characters, fated mates, lots of hurt/comfort, snark, spice, and a happily ever after!

The Fae Menagerie is a part of the multi-author series, Fortune Favors the Fae. From spicy to sweet, zany romps to epic adventures, there’s something for everyone in this mystical series. Discover destiny and true love and follow the coin on its fickle journey to the next world and a new magical adventure. Each book can be read as a standalone and in any order.

• Publication date: June 27, 2024

• Language: English

• File size: 5428 KB

• Print length: 328 pages