They crossed centuries to find each other. Their love will shatter worlds.
THE ABSINTHE EARL by SHARON LYNN FISHER
Publication date: October 15, 2019
Published by: Blackstone
Series: The Faery Rehistory #1
Genre: fantasy romance
Synopsis
Miss Ada Quicksilver, a student of London's Lovelace Academy for Promising Young Women, is spending her holiday in Ireland to pursue her anthropological study of fairies. She visits Dublin's absinthe bars to investigate a supposed association between the bittersweet spirit and fairy sightings.
One night a handsome Irishman approaches her, introducing himself as Edward Donoghue. Edward takes absinthe to relieve his sleepwalking, and she is eager to hear whether he has experience with fairies. Instead, she discovers that he's the earl of Meath, and that he will soon visit a mysterious ruin at Newgrange on the orders of his cousin, the beautiful, half-mad Queen Isolde. On learning about Ada's area of study, he invites her to accompany him.
Ada is torn between a sensible fear of becoming entangled with the clearly troubled gentleman and her compelling desire to ease his suffering. Finally she accepts his invitation, and they arrive in time for the winter solstice. That night, the secret of Edward's affliction is revealed: he is, in fact, a lord in two worlds and can no longer suppress his shadow self.
Little does either of them realize that their blossoming friendship and slowly kindling passion will lead to discoveries that wrench open a door sealed for centuries, throwing them into a war that will change Ireland forever.
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About the Author:
Smart, twisty, passionate tales—mash-ups of science fiction, fantasy, and slow-burn romance set in lush and atmospheric worlds.I live where it rains nine months of the year and am mom to two lovely tweens, two huge dogs, two ridiculous goats, an orange cat and orange mare, and a fluctuating number of poultry.
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The Absinthe Earl by Sharon Lynn FisherMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I'm going to be completely honest: I had an extremely difficult time getting the smallest bit invested in this story, and once I was able to get drawn in, there were moments I strongly considered throwing in the towel. I probably should have just admitted defeat, as it took me quite a few days of struggling to finish. This is not to say that the story was frustrating or made me angry, I think many others will find that they connect better with the writing, especially if they are into Celtic mythology. However for me, there was something missing that made it difficult to care for the characters.
At the start of the book, we meet Ada Quicksilver, a student at Lovelace Academy for Promising Young Women. She studies Celtic mythology and she's researching abroad in Ireland for her thesis on the "gentle folk" (or the fae.) More specifically, whether or not the highly potent liquor Absinthe really does have a connection to the sightings and stories. She meets Edward Donoghue, earl of Meath in a bar one night and he's behaving very strangely. She isn't sure if it's wise to take him up on his invitation to visit a burial mound in Newgrange, but she can't resist the temptation of such a rare wealth of information she could find there. I should have felt some excitement or thrill over their first interaction, but sadly their formal and polite dialogue was so incredibly dry. It did nothing towards the development of creating intriguing characters that I would want to know more about. There was a definite bland and generic quality that made their personalities feel lacking.
One of the things I did like was the fact that Ada was a self-supported woman and independent for her time. It was rare that a woman was not financially dependent on anyone else, and the fact that she was such a scholar at that level was refreshing to read. In the beginning I thought she may be a little bit mousy or timid, but as the book wore on, she really came out of her shell more and displayed a huge amount of courage. She went on the trip with Edward believing it would be a simple detour on her vacation, having no idea what kinds of shocking revelations would be revealed along the way. Or how she was tied to this man in ways she couldn't imagine.
I have a huge weakness for fae fantasy, but it seems I've finally found one that didn't excite me the way I had hoped. The heavy Celtic mythology that lost me along the way, but I think someone who has a love for the subject or at least a fascination with it will find this the perfect book for them. The mystery regarding Edward's sleepwalking and blackouts had a bizarre, though original explanation. I can't say I've seen anything remotely like that in a book before, so I give the author credit where it's due.
Overall, I thought the plot was highly creative, and though I didn't fall in love with the story it did have a pretty exciting conclusion in the end. I'm glad I stuck it out to see how it all came together.
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