Honeysuckle & Wild Roses

Reviewed by Michelle Ellis © 2006

Wild Child Publishing.com © 2006

Title: Honeysuckle & Wild Roses
Author: Zinnia Hope
Publisher: Freya's Bower
Genre: Fantasy/Erotica
ISBN Number (if applicable): 1-934069-14-0
Release date: July 2006
Author's website: http://zinniahope.blogspot.com
Warnings or ratings if applicable: Spicy

This is a prequel to author Zinnia Hope's Daughters of Trinity Series and it's also the first in the Goddess Freya Series offered by Freya's Bower.com.

Honey has a visitor in the night. Someone who haunts her dreams. She can't see his face, but she feels comfortable when he visits, when he touches her...

Sharing a small home with her mother, brother and many sisters, you would think Honey would be overjoyed that her mother, Amberon, has found her a husband. Accepting coin as payment, Amberon announces Honey is to marry the handsome Kaedric. Honey doesn't like him and wishes the man in her dreams would become a reality so she could marry him instead.

Shandy, Honey's brother, hates Kaedric. After their families have shared a meal together, he sees Kaedric trying to force himself upon Honey. Shandy then vows to find some way to stop the marriage.

As Honey's birthday will bring her magical powers to the fore--being the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter--preparations for this special event are well underway when Shandy invites Honey into the forest to collect honeysuckle. Amberon protests, as she is afraid the Green Man will snatch Honey away. Shandy insists he will protect his sister, and they embark on a journey into the Great Wood.

Freya, their goddess, appears to them. She tells Honey of a decision she must make. Shandy confesses a well-kept secret, and Honey finds herself with much information to digest. Decision made, she goes on to live her new life.

If I explain the plot further, it will spoil this wonderful tale for other readers. With magic, beautiful images, and word usage that invokes author envy, this is a story anyone in love with myths and legends will adore.

The erotic scenes are tastefully done with touches of love and passion and not just sex. I wouldn't expect anything less from Zinnia Hope.

A tale with a twist that made me gasp, with imagery that sings from the page, Ms. Hope's prose has once again converted me, but this time I've become a faerie tale fan!

I loved Honeysuckle and Wild Roses--an exceptionally well written, well flowing read. I marvel at Ms. Hope's ability to take me to the places she creates, to feel what the character feels, to imagine I am Honey.

Outstanding!

Rating: Five cats.

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To find out more about how to purchase Honeysuckle & Wild Roses, visit Freya's Bower.