Josie's Reviews > Perfectly Charmed Pixie: Parsnip's Story

3.5⭐️
I feel like I should have loved this one more than I did, vacillating between which level of 3.5 I should give it. I really enjoyed individual elements e.g.: the MCs are interesting; Parsnip and his trauma are complex and depicted well; Vander’s relationship with his ward Byx is great; I loved spending time with Phil and Peaches and am invested in Parsnip’s twin brother Parsley from just a few conversations. Somehow though these individual elements aren’t equally enjoyable as a whole.

Parsnip and Vander’s romance is kinda flat. Parsnip’s need for Vander’s unconditional support and protection and Vander’s willingness to give his life in various ways is lovely, but I just wasn’t emotionally invested in them as a couple. Vander’s relationship with Byx and Parsnip’s relationships with Parsley, have more genuine heart and emotional heft than their romantic pairing. Hell, even Parsnip’s brief on-page interaction with the pixie who rescues trafficked pixies has more connection and resonance.

This illustrates the double-edge sword of fated mate bonds. Their shortcut to romance can be undercut by actually earned relationships since the characters only draw to one another is magical fate. It also doesn’t help that Phil and Peaches’ bonds and relationships grew on-page and felt organic. MJ May seems to have been unable to balance the darker elements and Parsnip’s deep trauma with the romance, and the shortcut didn’t land for me.

I also pretty much hate the third act. I hate when a character has to be ridiculously stupid to move them into position and to get the payoff for the things the author sets up. May does provide some reasonable cover for some choices, but I couldn’t ignore easily filled loop holes. I could have more easily rolled with it if the antagonist hadn’t gone from 0 to infinity in 10s flat. (view spoiler)[She goes from pesky stalker talking shit on a blog and posting long distance shots of Parsnip in the background to all-powerful nightmare. (hide spoiler)] I get that the story is illustrating how restraining orders are practically useless bc they hinge on the perpetrator physically harming someone and how it’s not always apparent how dangerous and unhinged a person can be, but(view spoiler)[ the combined extremity of her actions and powers (hide spoiler)]led to unprecedented levels of wtf for me. The pace is solid for everything the story is doing, it just may have required a bit more room for development/introduction. This is one of those reads where I really wish I could rate it higher bc there is so much good, but I end up being more disappointed when all that good doesn’t resonate.