Long Ago and Far Away by Marylyle Rogers is a tale set in Ireland of 1127 and the enchanted Fairy Kingdom where King Comlan and Queen Amethyst rule eternally.

Hildie is part mortal and part fae and is thus protected by King Comlan and guarded from harm by her fae protector Kieron.  Since her childhood she has been able to call to Kieron to rescue her from whatever scrapes she has found herself in by sending her pet fox to fetch the elusive being to her.  Most of her scrapes were engineered by herself for the amusement of calling forth her friend.

But as she has grown older she finds that she cannot bear to call Kieron to her without risking betraying the secret that she has fallen in love with him over the years.

Kieron was given the task of watching over Hildie and protecting her.  Reluctant at first he was soon enchanted by her vitality and courage and as she grew older he too found himself falling in love with his charge.  But he knew that he could never have her as she was destined to marry a mortal and live her life in the mortal world, whilst he was destined to remain with the never aging fae.

Hurt that Hildie no longer calls him forth as frequently as she once did Kieron looks for excuses to go to her and on one such trip they inadvertently set in motion a chain of events that could destroy both their worlds.

For Hildie time is running out and she must choose a husband.  Men are queuing to wed her and even without the complications caused by her feelings for Kieron, the decision is not easy as one of her suitors declares that if she does not choose him he will declare war on her father’s kingdom of Connaught and bloodshed will be the result of her rejection.  Both she and her family know that this is just an excuse to try to seize their lands but there seems little that they can do other than bow to his demands.

But all is not over as another of Hildie’s rejected suitors decides to kidnap her on the morning of her betrothal.  The reasoning behind this is that as he was blamed for the last kidnapping attempt they might as well commit the crime.  However Hildie is then kidnapped from them too.

It is an amusing part of the story that Hildie seems to be kidnapped on a very regular basis keeping Kieron fully occupied in rescuing her.

What shocks both her family and the Fairy Kingdom is that it appears that a member of the Fairy Kingdom is responsible for her kidnapping and with powers they cannot fathom or fight Hildie could be lost forever before she can meet her destiny and fulfil the prophecy that will save both worlds.

Amusing and enchanting Kieron and Hildie’s story is a sequel to at least one other book.  However I did not know this at the time of reading although I did suspect it.  Happily Ever After is one such novel and is the story of Rory (Hildie’s father) and Lissan.  I suspect that Once Upon a Time is a third novel in this series (possibly King Comlan and Amethyst’s story) and I have this one on order at this time.

All in all this appears to be the conclusion to a very good series that is well worth tracking down.  It also stands alone for the most part, although there are some obvious spoilers for the previous novel(s).
 

RATING : 
(if you need an explanation of the hearts ratings see my homepage)

Also by Marylyle Rogers: Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After

Links to  Online Stores