Ever After

by Kate SeRine

[Berls]

4.5 stars
I'm continuing to love this series and the way Kate SeRine has reinvented fairy tale / folk tale classics. In Ever After we have a heart wrenching second-chance romance between Robin Hood and her Little John.

We already met Little John in the previous books - his name is actually Gideon - but this is the first that we get even a glimpse of this part of his story. I don't want to spoil anything, which makes this hard to write, since so much of who he truly is was a surprise for me. I loved getting to know him better and his love for his Arabella (aka Robin Hood) was heart melting. He has believed her dead for hundreds of years (the fairy tales don't die of old age) and while he has loved again, he's never fully given his heart to anyone else.

Somehow - and you'll enjoy learning the how - Arabella is not dead and still loves Gideon too. But there are several things standing in their way -- things she knows but tries to spare Gideon. Watching them fight for their love made me fall in love with them. Things get quite steamy, but the heart strings were most powerful in this book. If you're someone who loves love -- the good, the bad, the heartbreaking -- this book hits all the right notes and weaves an emotional web.

But it also broke my heart. The obstacles in their way were devastating and dangerous - leading to some pretty amazing action scenes, including a showdown at the Fairy King's castle. The tangled web of fairy tales -- Robin Hood along with Arthurian Legend -- not to mention the tales we've already met and get to see more of (yay!), continues to surprise me with how inventive but also how fitting they stories are.

I cannot wait to read the next book and see who else Kate SeRine makes me fall in love with!