Emma is called home after her Aunt Chloe’s death.  The Bed and Breakfast she has inherited and the nearby forest harbors magical beings.  Emma has never believed in fairy tales and the Fae.  It’s harder for her to dismiss the stirrings of her heart.  For her, Kian tests the boundaries of reality and fancy.  Emma is about to be awakened to love and the Faery World.  

Kian Sean Puca defies Fae law to protect humans.  He is exiled from Tara to the mortal realm for his caring.  Hundreds of years pass, and his longing for true love grows deeper.  The wildness inside his heart is replaced by a deeper hunger for Emma. 

I floated inside a pink cloud of quixotic whimsy while reading Puca.  It’s gorgeous.  The setting, the characters, and the language are lustrous, subtly flavored with enough Irish folklore you’re never left wanting.   The characters are classic, enhanced by Penny Ash’s devotion to their creation. Emma is an artist, sensitive without being a wuss or a damsel-in-distress archetype. Kian is all Alpha, yet openly expresses his feelings.  Emma is a good girl with a naughty side to challenge his bad boy façade housing his inner romantic.

Puca is a story I’ve recognized a thousand times, in countless places on different shelves, revived and retold with radiance and pleasure.  The unfolding, the revelation of the narrative makes this tale as rare and exquisite as a colored diamond.  Heartwarming, humorous, and sensuous, the brighter landscapes are visually and literally explored while a few twists and turns venture into the more sinister avenues of jealousy, lust, greed and revenge. Relationships are examined from all angles, explored in terms of friendship, marriage, and family.  The perimeters are stretched by magic, hot nights, and sacrifices made, weaving an amazing celebratory pattern, layer upon layer.  Ms. Ash expresses her love, skill, and knowledge in a work that encompasses all the qualities I appreciate about paranormal romance.