BEAUTY SLEEP - Anna J. Evans
Perfectly Wicked, Book 4
Ellora’s Cave www.ellorascave.com
ISBN: 978-1-4199-1244-3
April 2008
Erotic Fantasy Romance - Short Story
Rated: E-rotic

Outer Kartolia - Present Day

When Calliope La Fae was seven, she tried to give a fairy gift to the girl Rosamund, only to have it backfire, enchanting Rosamund and her castle.  Calliope was able to mitigate the spell with the addendum that poor Rosamund sleep only a hundred years and be able to awaken with a kiss and marriage proposal, but the damage was done.  Several years later, that misfired spell comes back to haunt her, when Prince Johann of Outer Kartolia disappears, trying to rescue Rosamund from her enchanted castle.  Calliope is imprisoned in the dungeon of the King’s castle until he returns to judge her, but without the herbs and tonics that Calliope uses to silence the voices in her head, she is slowly going mad, and in desperation casts a spell to free her from the dungeon.

Unlike his father, King Aaron believes that dungeons are barbaric and unnecessary, and he is appalled to learn that, while in Kingdom City, his second-in-command has locked a woman there.  Seeing the squalid conditions the unconscious woman was forced to endure had been bad enough, but one look at her face has Aaron furious.  Her beauty enchants him, and he has the feeling that this woman is the one he has been waiting for. 

The passion between these two is hot and wild, and leaves both of them believing that they have found true love.  But is their passion true, or a result of another of Calliope’s wayward spells?

BEAUTY SLEEP is an entertaining and sexy short story. Calliope’s magic seems to have a mind of its own and rarely does what she wants it to, so she has led the life of a recluse.  Aaron is a strong leader for his kingdom, but he is also a kind, compassionate man.  Though things heat up pretty quickly between the two, they also have a chance to get to know enough about each other that the relationship doesn’t move too quickly to be believable, especially for a fairy tale.  A captivating tale, don’t miss BEAUTY SLEEP.

Jennifer Bishop