Book Review: Only True in Fairytales by Christine Stovell

Only True in Fairy Tales by Christine Stovell
Release Date: 29th July 2014
Publisher: Choc Lit Lite
Buy: Kindle
Rating:

It’s never too late to believe in fairy tales … Eloise Blake has been fascinated by Prospect House, the shadowy romantic Gothic house opposite, ever since she moved to the village of Hookfield. When its new owner turns out to be best-selling crime author, Ross Farrell, whose work is grounded in gritty reality rather than happy endings, Eloise is determined to concentrate on her tapestry design business and her rescue dog, Gracie. She’s already given up on knights in shining armour and happy ever afters. Love, she thinks, is only true in fairy tales – even when Ross keeps appearing just when she needs help most. But is he the Prince Charming she thought didn’t exist – or is he a beast in disguise?

When Ross Farrell (best selling crime writer, who obviously has a disturbed imagination to invent the gruesome crimes he comes up with…right…?) moves into the grand Prospect House, just down the road from tapestry designer Eloise, it is not him she is interested in, but the mysterious, gothic house that he’s now residing in. Eloise has been hurt in the past and doesn’t believe in romance and happy ever after. She’s happy living with her timid greyhound, Gracie, and certainly doesn’t need any pesky men in her life, complicating things.

Taking an immediate dislike to Ross, his ‘girlfriend’ Kim and the modern renovation of Prospect House, Eloise is disgruntled to find herself in a series of difficult situations in which Ross seems to always come to her rescue. How unreasonable of him!

However, the more she gets to know Ross the more Eloise discovers that he doesn’t seem so bad after all. Firstly his ‘girlfriend’ isn’t all that she seems and secondly it might be quite nice to have someone look out for her for a change…

But can Eloise allow Ross into her life? He’s the writer of gruesome murders (although her own mum might be a fan, that’s beside the point) and what if Eloise ends up getting hurt again? After all, love is only true in fairy tales…isn’t it?

I knew I was going to like this story as soon as I learnt there was a Dachshund in it…Sorry, sorry, it had to be mentioned!
In all seriousness Only True in Fairy Tales is a gloriously fun, enjoyable novella. I liked the fairy tale theme that ran throughout the story and Eloise made for a great heroine. Ross was also a charming character and you’ll be desperately hoping that the two end up getting together.

My favourite character was of course, Wurst, Eloise’s parent’s miniature dachshund, but he’s only in the story briefly. Eloise’s greyhound Gracie is adorable too and will certainly break your heart (and have you strongly disliking her neighbour Brett Dorling-Jones! Grrrr) If you’re a dog-lover then this novel is bound to appeal to you as Gracie adds a heart warming touch to proceedings.

Only True in Fairy Tales is a magical gem of a novella; however I almost wish that it had been a full length novel as I felt there was so much more to these characters that we could discover and I would love to get to know them a little better.
Brilliantly written, great cast (of both the human and animal variety!) Only True in Fairy Tales  is the perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon…

*A HUGE thank you to publishers Choc-Lit for sending me a copy of Only True in Fairy Tales to review.

 

Winning a tin of chocolate in a national essay competition at primary school inspired ChristineStovell to become a writer, an ambition she neglected for far too long thinking she had to have a proper job . After graduating fromUEA, she took various jobs in the public sector writing research papers and policy notes by day and filling up her spare drawers with embryonic novels by night. Losing her dad to cancer made her realise that if she was ever going to get a novel published she had to put her writing first.Setting off, with her husband, from a sleepy seaside resort on the east coast in a vintage wooden boat to sail halfway round Britain provided the inspiration for her novel ‘Turning the Tide’. Christine lives on the beautiful west Wales coast where long-distance running helps her plan her plots. Half marathons, like novels, both begin with small steps.

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