Tuesday, January 31, 2017

**Review with Excerpt** Fairly Certain by Deborah Ann Davis

 
Young Adult Romantic Suspense
Date Published: September 2015
Publisher: D&D Universe, llc
Love of Affairs #1

Synopsis:
What happens when a Computer Geek challenges a Medieval Outlaw?
   PETIR TAKES A ROUGH TUMBLE IN THE CONNECTICUT WOODS, and awakens in the middle of old England. His instinct to freak out is tempered by the arrival of a fair maiden wearing a bow… and arrow. In his college world, fair maiden types don’t ordinarily go for computer geek types, but for some reason he is no longer in his world. Petir is fairly certain he can try whatever he wants without consequence.
   WITH THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE ROYALS ESCALATING, MAID RIANNE has joined the outlaws hiding in the woods, outwardly defying the handsome and accomplished knight to whom she is promised. She is fairly certain she is simply flattered by Lord Petir’s uncensored admiration of her skills with the staff and bow, the same unmaidenly pursuits disdained by her knight. But, that does not explain her reaction to Lord Petir’s unguarded gaze.
   TO PETIR’S DELIGHT, AND MAID RIANNE’S DISMAY, the outlaws invite him to join their merry band. What better way to get close to her? Throwing caution to the wind, Petir decides he has nothing to lose by pursuing Maid Rianne, until she is captured by the enemy. Now, a geek with no ability to defend himself must find a way to rescue the fair maiden.

Review:
The author has a really unique and different way of writing that brings in different genres while not confusing the reader but instead, making the reader excited to turn the page to see how a scene is going to play out and how the plot thickens. She is able to mix what seems to be historical (from falling out of a tree and waking in a different time), sci-fi / fantasy (strange realm he has found himself in), and romance (wanting to puruse the young maiden). I started out reading this book thinking I would simply be filling in any possible holes from the other book in this set (This is the first book in the Love of Affairs series, the first book Fairly Safe by Deborah Ann Davis. 
You can find my review, here. ) . And although these two books could be read as stand-a-lones, I prefer and recommend reading them together simply because they are both pretty good reads (sort of like reading Nancy Drew books- all stand-a-lones but awesome as a series in order).  I really like how she did Petir. He is from a different cut of cloth. He's the cute guy who is really smart and nerdy. As to not give any spoilers, the one negative thing I have to say about this book is the explanation of the character Petir. It felt unsettled and rubbed me the wrong way. However, that said, I did enjoy this read and would recommend it. 

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Excerpt:


Maid Rianne leaned over and rested a cool hand on his brow. Petir’s mouth went dry.
“Does your head pain thee, m’lord?” she asked, her face troubled.
“A little. I…uh, not much. I mean, it was, but now it...it’s....” Maid Rianne squatted next to him and gently ran her fingers through his hair. That had never happened to him before.
“Enough talk, m’lord,” she instructed. “You should rest.”
Whatever you want, Maid Rianne. Petir fell silent, relishing her touch. It was glorious. This was turning out to be an excellent dream. He felt wonderful. He felt bewitched. He felt—
“Yow!” he yelped. “What was that?”
“M’lord, you have quite a bump here, but no bleeding. You must have hit your head when you fell.”
Jeez. That really hurt. He winced as he inspected the site himself.
Maid Rianne put her palms on either side of his face and turned him to look at her. Petir froze. A patch of sunlight beamed down between the trees behind her, creating a halo effect around her face. She moved her head slowly side to side, allowing the sun to splash across his face as she moved. She stared long and searchingly into his eyes. He stopped breathing, his pain unceremoniously shoved to the back seat.
She cleared her throat and released his face. “Your eyes show no ill effects from the blow, m’lord.” She held up three fingers. “How many do you see?”
She was only checking his vitals? He almost laughed aloud at his mistaken read of her actions.
 “M’lord?”
“Oh! Uh, three.”
“All appears well, m’lord, but you should be watched ‘til the next dawn.”
“Who...” Petir licked his dry lips and tried to swallow in his dry throat. “Who will watch me?”
“The ’ealer, of course, yer lordship,” piped up the redheaded boy.
What the hell is an eeler?
“Hey, Red, what’s your name?” Petir asked.
The kid gave Petir a cheeky grin. “They call me Cord, m’lord.”
“Okay, Cord, what’s an eeler?”
“Why, a person who tends to wounds and ’eals the sick, sir.”
“Okay, wait. Do you mean a healer?”
“‘Tis what I said, sir.”
“Yea, verily,” said Maid Rianne, smoothly standing while rubbing her hands on her pants.
I hope my hair’s clean. Petir touched the lump on his skull as he watched Maid Rianne rejoin the boys. Baggy clothes or not, she was kicking the warrior maiden thing.
A stretcher with a yoke took shape under the boys’ industrious hands. Using vines, they secured the smaller branches between two larger limbs. A third ran perpendicular to the first two. They worked quickly, speaking in hushed tones, occasionally glancing over their shoulders into the forest, as if dreading unwanted company. Petir followed their gazes, wondering what caused their concern. Should he be worrying, too?
Eventually they lifted the stretcher and carried it to Petir. It looked uncomfortable and unstable.
“I’m not getting on that.”
“Oh, but you are, m’lord.” Maid Rianne’s voice was calm but firm. “Consider your limited options.” She began counting on her hand. “You may get on, be blindfolded, and be carried to our camp. Or,” her sarcastic words belied her sweet smile, “you can try to walk to the camp blindfolded, which I do not recommend.”
“Or you can find your own way back from whence you came.” She paused, solemnly gazing at him over three fingertips. “Tell me, m’lord. Do you know where you are?” She arched her brows at his frown. “I thought not.” She folded down one of her fingers with feigned politeness.
“I know where I am. I’m in a damn nightmare,” he growled. Hottie or not, she was beginning to piss him off.
“Or, m’lord, you could simply remain here until you heal, then leave on your own accord.” The finger reappeared while she regretfully feigned a sigh. “Such a difficult decision is yours.”
The boys giggled, not the least bit cowed by Petir’s glare.
“Your decision, sir?” Maid Rianne asked, her features schooled into exaggerated patience.
“Fine!” snapped Petir. “I’ll ride that thing, but I am not wearing a blindfold.”
“No blindfold? As you wish, m’lord.” Maid Rianne lowered two fingers. “However, that reduces your choices by more than half. Shall ye be spending the night here, or making your way back?”
That was cold. He looked at the boys, who were now avoiding his gaze. The smallest kid was actually wringing his hands while he looked back and forth between Petir and Maid Rianne.
Petir’s head resumed its pounding in double time. Perhaps he needed to rethink his stance. After all, if this was a dream, it didn’t matter if he went or not. Refusing the blindfold, however, could result in Maid Hottie exiting the dream permanently. That would suck. Unless another hot maiden put in an appearance.
But, what if it wasn’t a dream? He still didn’t know where he was, and unless some bars magically appeared on his cell phone, he was going to end up sitting on his butt in the woods another night. Not to mention, he didn’t know where his cell had gone.
On the other hand, maybe these kids came from some kind of psycho cult and were hiding out. The deranged always acted suspicious in the movies. “Nope. I’m not wearing the blindfold. I don’t know you people. For all I know, you could-”
“Oh, please, sir! Accept the blindfold!” cried the small boy.
Petir blinked, his unease growing. The boy’s angst was contagious. Cord touched Maid Rianne’s arm. “Please, mistress, we cannot leave him here.”
“We can, and we will,” she replied, shaking him off. “I, for one, am not willing to betray our cause simply because a stranger refuses a blindfold. Are you?” She leaned forward. “And what if this is nothing more than an elaborate plot to reveal our whereabouts? Men, women, and babes—all sacrificed for a moment of kindness. Your family. Their families….”
The boy’s head dropped as he stepped away from her and closer to Petir. “’Tis not right, mistress. It is just not right,” he muttered.
Maid Rianne straightened. “May I suggest ye head back to the camp and ask for a volunteer to help bring this stranger to the nearest town? Perchance there be one who is willing to risk capture and spending the remainder of his days as a guest of the sheriff. But not I.” She strode to Petir. “Your final decision, yer lordship?”
“Please, m’lord.” Cord ran over and squatted next to him. “Ye be better off with us. I will not let any harm come to ye.”
Petir closed his mouth, which had somehow started hanging open again, and regarded the distraught young face. This kid was going to protect him? He probably didn’t even reach Petir’s shoulder.


About the author:
I currently reside in lovely Connecticut where I enjoy dabbling with living a sustainable life, developing my Girl’s Guide To Good Guys: The Power of Being Patient & Picky program to promote an empowering way for teenage girls to see themselves, writing novels for my Love of Fairs series (Fairly Obvious will be out in 2017), dancing, playing outside, and laughing really hard every day. I promote increasing the amount of movement throughout your day via Wiggle Writer posts on my blog, Merry Meddling, and on Twitter @WiggleWriter and @DeborahAnnDavis.

Contact Information
Twitter: @WiggleWriter and @DeborahAnnDavis.


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