#REVIEW: The Furious Muse by AJ Nuest

Title: A Furious Muse

Series: The Golden Key Legacy #1

Author:  AJ Nuest

Published Date: November 27, 2014

Publisher: HarperImpulseUK

Format: ebook

Pages: 106

ASN: B00O7CP4ZI

Genre: fantasy

Add to: Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

Rating: 4 ½ stars

Synopsis: Since the day of her birth, Princess Faedrah Austiere has been defined by her place within the kingdom. As the single heir to the half-blood gypsy king and his prophesied white queen, she is fiercely protected, shuttered inside an ivory castle and well-trained in the art of war. Yet neither her obligations as future queen nor the black infestation threatening her kingdom fail to hinder the mysterious pull of the antique armoire hidden in her parents’ bedchamber. And stealing the golden key for a leap through time is the only way to confront the dark lord haunting her dreams. 

One face. The image of one defiant, relentless woman has been stuck in Rhys McEleod’s head ever since he was old enough paint her luscious curves on the canvas. But the day she walks into his life off the street—sexier than hell and itching for a fight—he’s not convinced she’s the same women he’s envisioned since childhood. That is, not until he spots the golden key around her neck—an object he’d never fully shown in any of his paintings.

Now if he could just persuade his lovely muse he’s not the enemy. Unless the elusive Faedrah Austiere learns to trust him, he’ll never have her in his bed—the one place he’s convinced she belongs.

My Review: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts out with Faedrah, the princess of the Austiere Kingdom, trying desperately to measure up to the high self-imposed expectations she has in regards to her mother. She wants to be just as beautiful, strong, warrior-like, graceful…the list goes on and on. In finding out that an evil mage, apparently the same evil mage that has been haunting her nightmares, is destroying her kingdom, she goes against her parents’ wishes and enters into the magic mirror.

And suddenly we find ourselves in modern-day Chicago. How she didn’t suddenly have a massive culture shock is beyond me, but of course, she is Faedrah. She meets Rhys, whom she instantly distrusts and is convinced he’s the evil wizard. Rhys is just an artist obsessed with a certain woman in his head, who just so happens to pop into real life, in the form of Faedrah.

The world built around the book is fascinating. I love the change of language tone between Rhys with his modern day speech, and Faedrah, with her stilted, overly formal speech. I haven’t read the first series, so I wasn’t introduced ahead of time to the previous characters of the King and Queen, but its really not necessary to enjoy this series.