Fairies in my Fireplace, book three of the Monster Haven series by R.L. Naquin, is sheer supernatural fun. Naquin’s pace is quick, the dialogue witty, and the tone is light. Zoey Donovan is an aegis, a protector of the supernatural, of the Hidden (monsters and mythological creatures hidden from mortal eyes). As the novel opens her home becomes packed with supernatural creatures, running from an unseen evil, and as the book unfolds, the tension builds as a danger looms, in the form of the Collector, trying to snatch up creatures to sell into slavery. All the while Zoey has to balance her work life, her hot reaper boyfriend (he’s human--his job is to reap souls), and the chaos brought by the creatures seeking asylum.
Balancing the characters is one of Naquin’s strongpoint. This book is popping with bizarre monsters, and it would be easy for a reader to get lost in them, but Naquin paces the action so it is easy for a reader to keep track of the goblins, sprites and djinns that come at the reader quickly, each of them adding to the humor and pathos of Zoey’s complicated life. Naquin’s tone reminds me of the Stephanie Plum books, by Janet Evanovich. The heroine is plucky, smart, but bad luck with hair, clothes, cars, and men follow her like a cloud. Poor Zoey can’t seem to catch a break, which is part of the fun. She’s relatable even though she has the powers of an empath. Zoey and her BFF Sara, as well as her circle of witty, well-groomed, and hot friends, chat food and fashion, dish on the gossip of the underworld and tease each other with inside jokes, jabs to the proverbial rib, and the like as the action swirls, looms, and breaks over them like the Pacific.
The action takes place is Sausalito, CA, and sunny California’s laid-back attitude shines through Naquin’s prose. Zoey is always promising to help. Promising that everything and everyone, monsters or no, will be safe. As a protector, her mothering skills are sharp, and her heart is big and large. And what Naquin’s story really boils down to is family. The theme runs like a swamp monster’s spine through the novel. With goblin orphans, lost and lonely creatures, and even her own mother missing, Zoey’s heart is burdened with broken families. And as the novel builds to a climax, the theme of family becomes bigger in the spotlight. It doesn’t matter that Naquin is talking about the wreckage of alcoholism on a brownies household, or Zoey’s pain of not having seen her own aegis mother in decades; strip the supernatural from the novel and Naquin’s got an old fashioned tale of a family of misfits trying to make it against the big bad world.
I have not read the other two in the series, and I had no problem locking into the storyline. Naquin is easy on first time readers, making sure the stones in the path are laid one after another. Part chick-lit, part Supernatural mystery, part satire, Naquin’s Fairies in My Fireplace cooks up a formula for fun.
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