Lenore Kosinski
4.5 stars — I’ve decided I’m not going to clean up this review, I’m just going to post it as is. You’re welcome for the crazy. I had a problem at the beginning of the story with the whole height stuff, and almost little people discrimination (Cassidy ew), hence rounding down. After I got past that, I was totally enchanted and sucked in. I stayed up until 3am finishing it because I couldn’t put it down. I FELT ALL THE FEELZ. Like I really felt the connection between Robyn and McHale, even when it was shaky, and so I felt the heartache and despair over the freaking FFG. Witch with a b. Even though McHale could be a dumb*** sometimes, I absolutely adored him. And what I loved is that even in his dumb***ness, through the story I got to learn and understand why he was the way he was, and how he got that way. It was fascinating watching him be ostracized by his clan, often unintentionally. It was like the author took the normal discrimination that I’m sure little people feel and turned it on its head to illustrate. My heart hurt, ached for little boy him, and even grown him. But I LOVED this shy, quiet, introvert, beta male. OMG, it was like he was made for me. And that accent! *swoon* The narrator was AMAZING. As I’m not Irish, I have no idea how authentic her accents were, but as a Canadian I LOVED it. It felt real. Her voices were just amazing. She never faltered on having the wrong voice for the wrong character. I could always know who was talking. And I FELT SO MANY EMOTIONS because of the way she narrated! I was so freaking invested. I LOVE HER LOVE HER LOVE HER. Robyn was an interesting heroine. I’m sure there are many who wouldn’t connect with her or understand her, but I got her. It was like, she accepted her fate and decided to embrace it and hope for happiness. I liked that she wasn’t a pushover, but she also tried very hard to make it work. The romance was just freaking adorable. I got so many butterflies. And I believed the progression. I seriously swooned all over the place. GAH! From the basket of berries, to the tub of gifts, to the hot dancing scene, to the first kisses…I just was so invested. I feel like it’s been a long time since I shipped a couple that hard. Cassidy and Rock totally threw me off. I wasn’t expecting their strange little side story. I kind of loved how that played out. They were both really fleshed out for secondary characters. I love how important Robyn’s relationship with Cass was, how integral to who she was. They were so different, but they complemented one another well. I’m sad the second story is likely never going to be written. While my favourite parts were definitely the characters and the romance, I appreciated the world that Ms. Higgins built as well. I mean, leprechauns…who saw that coming? And the fae stuff was crazy, you could really feel their awesome power. I was concerned about the FFG, and the way that played out with McHale (because I hate cheating), but the author really made me believe in the Fae power. I loved that Robyn’s parents played such a strong part in her life, and that they had such a close relationship. I loved that she wanted a fabulous love story because she was inspired by her parents love for one another. So yeah. That was a whole bunch of stream of consciousness, but it all boils down to despite a hiccup at the beginning of the story, I COMPLETELY fell in love with it and I can totally see myself listening to it again.