by Bonnie Dee and Marie Treanor, paranormal (2010)
Samhain Publishing, $4.50, ISBN 978-1-60928-201-1
Joel Thorne, the Wall Street wunderkind, has all the money and earthly comforts he can dream of, but alas, he feels that something is missing in his life. One day, while hiking in the mountain regions of Schlaushagen, he discovers what seems like an abandoned castle. It wasn't marked on his GPS. Curious, he makes his way into the castle where he discovers a sleeping lady. Well, this story is called Awakening Beauty, so who do you think the heroine is? Princess Aurora is certainly not amused to learn of how long she had slept and how she is now all alone in a time that she doesn't belong in. As she and Joel try to figure out what to do with her, you can guess what happens, I'm sure.
Awakening Beauty starts out pretty intriguingly, but for some reason, the story remains pretty conflict-free until the late parts of the story when the villain finally shows up. Our two main characters gaze at each other's navel (as well as at other attractive body parts) and generally wander around, occasionally dipping into mandatory steamy moments, for the most part of the story. Frustratingly enough, the authors fail to take advantage of the scenery chewing to develop the main characters. Aurora and Joel still remain on the rather flat side by the last page, although I give the authors credit for not turning Aurora into some silly Princess Peach type. Throughout it all, these characters behave so sensibly, so in the absence of villainy, the story is just not very happening for so long. I feel as if I was the one who had finally awaken from a long, long sleep by the last page of this story.
I know, this review is on the dry side, but then again, it's hard to muster much enthusiasm for a story that leaves me feeling indifferent.
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