The fantasy genre is one I’ve rarely dipped into, although I’ve read a few of the classics over the years, but fantasy erotica has recently appeared on my radar, thanks largely to this author.
I will say at this stage that I did have the opportunity to read an early draft and give the author some feedback, but that hasn’t affected my opinion and this review is of the final, published edition which I bought.
The opening could be that of any gentle fantasy story. A man finds himself trapped in the remote cabin of a young woman by a blizzard. They flirt amusingly, and he begins to tell her a story; the story the author wants us to hear, about a young woman named Mabel. This device continues throughout the book, as we hear how the tale affects the man’s efforts to seduce the woman.
The story itself also begins calmly enough. I won’t give too much away, but the author builds the pace slowly and carefully, elements of the fantasy realm beginning to pierce Mabel’s reality.
Her marriage to Galen, the woodcutter, seems ideal but things change when she moves to his cottage by the Dark Wood of the title. A local nobleman soon takes an interest in the woodcutter’s new wife, and their lives will change beyond recognition because of it.
Their adventures in the Dark Wood involve many of the elements you’d expect in fantasy fiction: fairies, werewolves and unicorns, all surrounded by mystery and menacing darkness. And some intense sexual encounters.
The author achieves an excellent blend of fantasy and erotica, one leading to the other and coming from it. Mabel is feisty, adventurous and curious; likeable from the very beginning. Her journey through the dark wood – naked and newly pregnant – is full of twists and turns and she has to use her wit and guile to survive.
The writing style is perfect for the subject. Deliberately slightly archaic, but eminently readable and the dialogue is almost poetic at times, drawing you along with surprising speed. The author isn’t afraid to make us laugh either, with some light touches, as well as some more obvious things; the village of Fanny-on-Poke being just one example. Each character has a distinct voice which tells you much about their personality.
Those characters are all well-drawn. Mabel, her husband Galen, the Duke, and Vasqua, his personal knight, all play significant parts in the story, and you feel you know them almost from first meeting. You’re drawn into their lives; their history, their strengths and their weaknesses.
It’s hugely entertaining, and as it’s the first of a two part story, by the end you really want to pick up the sequel and devour it. If you enjoy classic fantasy elements, a cracking story, well-written characters and some highly erotic sex scenes, then you can’t go wrong with this book.
This is a review of the 2020 Kindle edition.
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