Title and Link: The Elf and Shoemaker
Author: M.L. Rhodes
Publisher URL: http://www.amberquillpress/amberallure
Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy GLBT (M/M)
Length: Novella
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
THE BLURB
Logan Shoemaker’s honest, hardworking, and loves what he does. Though he never expects to get rich, he’s fared well enough to stay comfortable with his quirky metaphysical store, Shoemaker’s Magick Shoppe. But when the economy falls on hard times, his store pays the price. As each month passes, slow sales turn into no sales, and soon Logan’s living off ramen noodles and sleeping in a freezing house during the cold winter nights as he struggles to make ends meet. His personal life isn’t much better—the worse business at the store grows, the more isolated and lonely he becomes. After a string of mishaps that wipe out the last of his small savings, he finally hits rock bottom the day he discovers the disconnection notice from the electric company hanging on his door.
That night, desperate and in despair, he makes a plea to the universe, asking for help. Needless to say, he never anticipates receiving a response so quickly. Not only does he awaken the next morning to find on his kitchen table four little bottles of a special potion labeled “PASSION,” but he keeps remembering the erotically charged dream he’d had during the night. A dream where a tall, gorgeous man with pointed ears comes to his bed and shows him just what kind of magick they can make together.
But was it a dream? All Logan knows is that his customers can’t get enough of the special potion—an aphrodisiac—and he can’t stop thinking about the sweet seduction of the nighttime visitor who made it. As he tries to sort out what’s real and what’s not, he discovers there’s a much bigger world out there than he’d ever believed, and his true heart’s desire might come in a most unexpected form…
THE REVIEW
M.L.Rhodes never stops surprising me with the breadth of her imagination. She starts out with a simple tale about Logan Shoemaker who runs his little metaphysical store on a shoestring. Lately the shoestring is getting tattered and worn as Logan is fast running out of money to pay his bills and keep his business afloat. The last straw is a notice from the electric company informing him that his service would be disconnected in a few days if he didn’t pay his bill. On the brink of financial disaster and in despair Logan makes one last appeal that night as he’s preparing for bed in his ice cold room because he can’t afford to heat it. He asks anyone listening to his plea to help him.
He goes to bed dreading what the morning will bring — more bills and few customers to his struggling business. To his amazement when he awakes he finds 4 bottles of a very powerful aphrodisiac labeled PASSION and, in addition, he has a feeling of euphoria from an erotic dream that seems too real to be a dream. Was it? Did a visitor come to him under cover of the night and make sweet love to him? The dream is so real that he could feel the physical effects in places where he should not be feeling so wonderfully used.
After testing the love potion in the bottles and realizing their magical properties he sells them in his little shop for enormous (to him) sums of money and he is able to start paying his outstanding bills, but all he could think about is the great looking hunk with elf ears who appeared in his dream …. surely he must be real! Adding to his confusion is the mirror in his bedroom which appears to have magical properties, but if I tell you any more about the mirror I would have to kill you. 
An entire week goes by as Logan daydreams about the man with the strange ears and waits impatiently to see if he will reappear. Then one night he does and Logan realizes that his dream man was real … but there are complications. Turns out that Hallandiell Greystone is a 600+ year old elf who is Potion Master to the King and he lives in another world. As they make delightful love again Logan knows that Hallan is the love that he had been waiting for his entire life but there are unsurmountable problems to a relationship between them and there does not appear to be any possible way for them to be together.
The Elf and Shoemaker is another wonderful fantasy from M.L. Rhodes who excels in crafting worlds that the reader finds totally believable and her characterizations are to die for. The emotions between her protagonists in this book appear to be so real as they express their love for each other, and even though everything seems to be going to hell in a hand basket the author gives us hope that all will end up in the plus column. She created two great three dimensional characters in Hallan and Logan and while Logan is poor and on the brink of losing everything he had worked so hard for he never arouses pity; instead there’s a feeling throughout the story that he and Hallan together will overcome the obstacles in their way because surely such a love will not go unrewarded.
If you’re looking for an unusual tale that will lift your spirits, take you into a faraway world that seems real, introduce you to two incredible characters, and make you believe in the power of love and magick, then you don’t have to go far. The Elf and Shoemaker has all the elements of a fairytale with a dash of reality thrown in by Logan’s predicament. The bonus? This author writes some of the best sex and love scenes and she does not disappoint here. Buy this book.
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We luvs us some ML. I even got bored enough to read her het, and it’s not half bad. Just get rid of the gurl cooties *g*.
huggles and smooches and all that. you know you miss me!
wow…the book sounds great, Wave. I’ve been looking at it for a while now and your review has made my mind up for me.
I’ve enjoyed ML’s books before, so I’m sure I’ll love this one.
TA
If you like fantasies you will love the story. I certainly did as you can tell. There is a lot of story and many characters in the book – some of whom are just as three dimensional as the protags .. oh, and there is quite a bit of danger.
I love ML’s writing because not only are her characterizations great but her world building as well. I’m writing patiently for two sequels to be released and she knows which ones I’m talking about. *g*
Emmy
huggles and smooches and all that. you know you miss me!
Were you sending me “smooches”? *g*
*looking around to see if anyone would admit t missing Emmy* oh yes, the gentleman in the corner with the paddle
Great review Wave, I’ve had this on my TBB list since it came out. I will definitely be getting it on my next shopping spree.
Lily
Hi Lily
It’s a lovely book and one I know you will enjoy. Logan and Hallan are a delight.
Stupid thing ate my comment – I think. Starting over.
I bought this a couple of weeks ago, started reading, got to their first encounter and …. I don’t know, I just never got back to it. Its certainly not that I disliked anything about it, it just didn’t really hook me yet. I finished High Line today so I think tonight I’ll focus on this one. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it but I just seem to have gotten sidetracked. Great review.
Tam
Perhaps it was the dream sequence that you didn’t like. I really loved the book and the fact that they had to overcome many difficulties before they could come together. Also, Logan was not someone to be pitied which would have been easy if the author had written his character differently.
Let me know when you finish the book what you think.
ML is GREAT. *Big gs* She never dissappoints.
You didn’t even need to add the “buy this book” line, Wave – Just M.L.’s name is enough
DD and that even if fantasy isn’t my favorite genre. Although I get the feeling that this takes place in our world and the fantasy part starts with the dreams… is that it? I mean, I haven’t seen a lot of fantasy worlds with ramen noodles and electricity companies in them ;-DDD Anyway, what you say of this book, the feel of it, not the plot, reminds me a little of Ally Blue’s Fireflies, which I loved, so I’m looking forward to reading it. I’d love to have dreams filled with gorgeous hunks making love to me too 
Thanks for the review. BTW I love how you said that: “he runs is store on a shoestring but lately te shoestring is getting tattered”
Nice wording.
Thanks for the compliment on the wording Mary.:)
The book is set in 2 worlds, it takes place mostly on earth but there are parts when we’re in Hallan’s POV that are set in his world. It’s not quite as much in the other world as Fireflies but I really think you would enjoy it. I certainly did.
Wave, was unsure if this book would be worth reading “g” But.. M.L. Rhodes… So far, have injoyed all of her books. Anyway, your reveiw convinced me to check it out.. Def great read. You are correct, some of the best sex, love scenes, in this genre. So glad I found your blog.. Thanks
I finished it last night. I quite enjoyed it but I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t have minded more info about what was going on in Hallan’s world, kind of switch to his perspective, when he had to face the music, etc. He told us lots generally about what was going on, but I know the story was mostly from Logan’s perspective which made it lighter I think. Ack, I can’t believe I’m demanding more angst/drama. LOL But I would certainly recommend it.
Hi Dahunt
First, thanks for checking out the blog.
Second, ML is always an auto buy for me and she’s never disappointed. I loved this story because of the characters and Hallan’s world; her world building is always on the money.
Tam
It’s always tricky with novellas because there are never enough words to write a complete story. The authors have to choose the main POV as well as decide where most of the action will take place, if it’s a fantasy set in 2 worlds. I know what you mean — because we get a lot of the action in Hallan’s world second hand.
I’m reading a story right now which, if it were a novella I wouldn’t have given a good rating b/c there’s so much wrong with the first part technically and there’s a lot of repetition. However, the authors seem to be making up for that in the second half of the novel so I’ll have to see. I had already done most of the review writing it off, but then things turned around. I think in this case the 2 authors wrote different sections of the book and it shows.
Thanks, Wave! I’m glad you liked it. So…did you figure out the parts that were tied into the Draegan Lords series?
ML
I’ve been racking my brains but it’s been so long since I read The Draegan Lords. *g* Seriously, I figure that it had to do with Hallan’s world and one of the characters (I even thought his mother might be the connection – that she might be Gaige’s relative, but I can’t remember her name in Elf and I would have to re-read it. Or maybe it’s his brother Finn, but I’m coming up a blank).
You’re going to have to give me a bigger hint, I’m afraid. When you tell me I’ll feel like such a fool because it’s probably staring me in the face.