Review: See Me by Wendy Higgins

Title: See Me
Author: Wendy Higgins
Series: n/a
Publisher: indie/self-published
Publication Date: March 17, 2014
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

While most seventeen-year-old American girls would refuse to let their parents marry them off to a stranger, Robyn Mason dreams of the mysterious McKale in Ireland, wondering how he’ll look and imagining his cute Irish accent. Prearranged bindings are common for magical families like her own, however when she travels to the whimsical Emerald Isle she discovers there’s more to her betrothal and McKale’s clan than she was led to believe.

What starts as an obligatory pairing between Robyn and McKale morphs over time into something they both need. But one giant obstacle stands in the way of their budding romance: a seductive and deadly Fae princess accustomed to getting what she wants—and what she wants is McKale as her plaything. Love, desire, and jealousies collide as Robyn’s family and McKale’s clan must work together to outsmart the powerful Faeries and preserve the only hope left for their people.

If you enjoy Higgins' Sweet Trilogy at all, I think you'll have fun with this book, though it is a departure from the author's previous subject matter. This time around, we're dealing with magic; an arranged marriage -- to a Leprechaun, no less; and powerful fae in beautiful Ireland.

I think this story might have been a bit more fun had Robyn's intended actually been a typical Leprechaun, but then the romance might have taken a nosedive, and as it was, McKale wasn't winning me over at the start. Truth be told, he was a tad boring and standoffish and maybe a little bit ostracized because of his unwieldy height, thanks to his people's preconceived notions of what normal was. However, Robyn's acceptance of his larger than normal stature won him and the Leprechauns over.

This story is cute and funny and absolutely fluffy, even when it tries to hit on a deeper subject. (That one story arc was completely over the top and absolutely unnecessary.) But it also makes fun of itself and the situation: "Do me a favor," she said to Rock. "Say 'They're always trying to steal me Lucky Charms.'" Also, I swore there was a Twilight dig in there, whether unintentional or not, and those are always a treat. =)

But if you're a hardcore feminist, you'll probably want to steer clear. That whole "arranged marriage" thing should have been a dead giveaway, but the Little People are living the way that have been for hundreds of years: the men toil away in the shoe house -- where it's considered bad luck for a woman to step -- making fancy shoes for the fae, and the women do all of the cooking and cleaning. The women aren't necessarily subservient to the Chaun men, but they have their place in the village, and it's definitely not out on the field playing ball with the men.

The world-building is a little sparse, and even venturing into Faerie didn't provide much detail. And then there's the Clourichaun, who I've never heard of before. There's a little backstory on them, but I'd have liked to have known more, especially with the importance one of them had to the story. I did, however, like the importance place on family and duty in this story. And I liked the Irish lore that was explored in this novel. The progression of the romance was probably my favorite aspect, though. Robyn was stubborn and McKale was shy. And once they did start to fall for each other, the faerie princess Khalistah proved vengeful.

All in all, See Me was a fun read, one that I'd been looking forward to since I'd first heard that the author was planning to self-publish it. The story wasn't as deep as I had hoped for, but what it lacked in depth, it made up for in heart. This was a great palate-cleanser, and it's made me even more eager to get to Sweet Reckoning.

GIF it to me straight:

There was a lot of hot & cold in the beginning, but it turned into a cute little story.

About the author:

After earning a bachelors in Creative Writing from George Mason University and a masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford, Wendy taught high school English until becoming a mommy. Writing Young Adult (YA) stories gives her the opportunity to delve into the ambiguities of those pivotal, daunting, and exciting years before adulthood.

She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, daughter, and son. Sweet Evil is her debut novel.

Find Wendy:

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Labels: faeries, indies, magic, paranormal, reviews, see me, wendy higgins