Book Review: And if I Offered Thee a Bargain by Jules Jones

Review orignally posted at The Romance Reviews
http://glbt.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=10642

And if I Offered Thee a Bargain
by Jules Jones
Musa Publishing
M/M Paranormal/Faerie
Short Story
5 Stars

Blurb:

One night of your life for seven years of love. Would you pay the price?

Jack never dreamed that a reluctant trip back to his home town would thrust him into the world of the sidhe. He finds that the legends are true, but the sidhe have changed. They have a new bargain to offer the mortals who bring them fresh stories and share new technologies.

But is the price of this new bargain worth it?

Review:


This was a wonderful, passionate short story that keeps you reading from the very first line. It being set in Ireland endeared it even more to me, being Irish myself. It was lovely to read again some of the legends I grew up with and the twists the author added to them.

Sci-fi and fantasy fan Jack falls asleep on an Irish hillside while listening to his latest audiobook. When he wakes, a handsome stranger with pointed ears and golden cat-like eyes is staring down at him.

Jack at first mistakes the man for an escapee from a nearby fandom con, but he soon discovers the truth. The stranger is one of the Fair Folk, the Sidhe, also known as elves. There is an instant attraction between them and after they first make love, Fergal the elf offers his bargain. One night will pass in Jack's world, if he will stay with Fergal for seven years in the land of the Sidhe.

But can you ever really trust the Sidhe?

This was a short story, but was as satisfying a read as longer novels.

It's told in first person from Jack's point of view, and while that normally isn't my preference, it works here so that you too are drawn into the mystery and magic with Jack.

Fergal and Jack were both great characters and they feel well-rounded, even though it's a short story. I loved the fact that the elves adored stories and Jack spent many a night reading from his ebook collection to rapt elves.

The ending is bittersweet, but it couldn't really be otherwise for this story. If I had one complaint, it would be that it could have been longer. I would have quite happily tarried a good long while in the magical world the author created.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby