The Bard and the Fairy Prince

DNF - PG 112

Why?

Because the romance is so incredibly awful. Oh my gosh. It's horrid. (The romance isn't why I kept reading the two previous books, (awesome found family and curious mystery) but at least the first wasn't awful and I liked the second.)

But let's back up a moment. The book starts off with Janskoller's (the bard) introduction. And it took me forever to get into the book. I thought it was my fault. (Later I discovered that my first impressions of Janskoller was telling me to run fast and far, though at the time I didn't know why.) But then Nemirac (the ‘fairy prince') is introduced and things flowed smoothly. For about ten pages.

So, Nemirac isn't a bad character, exactly (Janskoller is but more on him later, because it's impossible to talk about why he is so awful without talking about Nemirac) but he is a very poor choice for a love interest in a story. (I'm predisposed to like suspicious magic users with a rather skewed moral compass. Seen first, I think, in Raistlin Majere, but most lastingly in Anders from Dragon Age II.)

Nemirac is twenty-two years old - something that is mentioned quite firmly in the book as him being ‘of age' - but, if I would have had to guess his age from his actions, I would have said he was much younger. Maybe fifteen. Definitely a teenager because he has the brattiness and attitude of a teenager down perfectly. (Even his reasoning (that I know, anyway) for what he's doing is a teenager's reasoning.)

Now we have Janskoller. Jaskoller is, self admitted, about a decade older than Nemirac. So...early thirties. But, it must also be considered that there are some strong hints in what I read that Janskoller is, in fact, immortal/unaging/cursed. And is significantly older. Like several hundred years older.

I don't actually like large age gaps in my romances. It's not a thing for me usually, because it often sends the equality of the romance out of balance. The huge age gap in the first two books of this series didn't bother me because it didn't feel like there was that much of an age difference. (Due to personality and actual life experiences, I guess.) In this book, the age difference - because of Nemirac's attitude, partially - seems huge.

This is compounded by Janskoller being a creepy, creepy lecher. He feels, honestly, rather predatory. Early on in the book, Janskoller thinks that Nemirac is ‘asking him to kiss him with his eyes'. (First of all, ugh.) So Janskoller tries to kiss Nemirac only to be soundly rebuffed. Nemirac tells him no, very, very explicitly.

Janskoller proceeds to A) keep flirting with him in lewd ways, B) have sex with another man in their shared room, C) invites Nemirac to sit on his lap after Janskoller and the other man have sex, while Janskoller is sitting naked on Nemirac's bed and D) admits that ‘usually no is enough but that he likes Nemirac's responses too much to leave him alone'.

What pisses me off almost as much as all of this combined, is that Janskoller is the first explicitly bi lead in this series and ... and he is the biggest slut in the series. Almost exactly halfway through the book and he has slept with three people - none of which is his love interest. (I easily forgave the first two, because it was early on, but the third one was almost like he was having sex with this other guy just to get a rise out of Nemirac.)

So, while I am curious about Voidy, I cannot finish this book because every time I pick it up I am reminded of how horrid Janskoller is. Yick.