My Sparkling Misfortune by Laura Lond

Release Date: January 18, 2011
Publisher: Dream Books LLC
Pages: 164
Series: The Lakeland Knight #1
Review Source: eBook from author for review

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Lord Arkus of Blackriver Castle readily admits that he is a villain and sees no reason why it should stop him from being the protagonist of this book. After all, Prince Kellemar, an aspiring hero, has defeated him in a rather questionable way. Bent on revenge, Arkus attempts to capture a powerful evil spirit who would make him nearly invincible, but a last-minute mistake leaves him with a sparkling instead a goody-goody spirit that helps heroes, watches over little children, and messes up villains plans. Bound to Lord Arkus for five years of service and sworn to act in his best interests, the sparkling is not easy to get rid of, and of course his understanding of best interests is quite different from what Lord Arkus has in mind.

My Thoughts:
‘My Sparkling Misfortune’ is a super cute story that takes place in a fairy-tale like kingdom. It involves a fairy realm, the place where Sparklings (good fairies) and Gormacks (bad fairies) come from. Arkus is our main character and he thinks himself a villain, yet his actions and words prove that he’s quite heroic. Arkus basically spends his life running from a beast who has been tasked with killing him, and he ends up with a new identity in a kingdom where people think he is their hero.

Arkus provides a very humourous narration. He’s sort of self-deprecating and is almost teasing the reader as he keeps proclaiming what a villain he is. The relationship between the two main characters (Arkus and Tulip -- or Jarvi as Arkus re-names him) is very funny and filled with quips back and forth. As I said, this is a very cute and fun story, and my only real complaint is that it leaves off without real resolution. Some things are wrapped up, but it does leave you hanging for Book 2, as Arkus just decides to end the story at a certain point. Overall a very charming book; a quick read that I think most people would appreciate.

The Cover:
I don't think it really does the story justice; love the old-timey writing, though.

Rating:
[3.5/5]

Find My Sparkling Misfortune by Laura Lond on Goodreads, Smashwords, & Amazon (currently free for Kindle).