New Release- REVIEW: Ice and Alligators- Angel Martinez

Title: Ice and Alligators
Author: Angel Martinez
Genre: Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy, Lesbian Romance
Publisher: Mischief Corner Books, LLC
Release Date: May 21, 2024
Format: Kindle
Pages: 103
Source: Amazon

Offend the Frost King? Get kicked from the Court. Land in the jaws of a living dinosaur?

Ink, the black ice fairy, isn't shocked that his frostiness banished her, but she's shocked to find herself sent to a swamp. It's hot, sticky and mucky—an ice fae's worst nightmare. Banishment means she's stuck with the heat and the stupid, hungry alligators. She's gone from knowing all the rules of her world to knowing absolutely nothing about existing in her soggy new home. At least the draiad guardian's kinda nice, though what the hell is a draiad?

A thunderous boom and an ice fae being dropped into her swamp interrupted Pickerel's quiet, contemplative day of preserving flowers. The fae is abrasive, just shy of rude, and apparently unable to leave. The last thing Pickerel needs this close to the winter solstice celebration is another responsibility. But she can't ignore her host obligations, nor can she deny the fae is rather attractive.

When dangerously reckless human poachers invade the swamp, all other concerns evaporate. Ink and Pickerel must learn to work together, combining their knowledge and their wildly different talents to combat the threat to the wildlife and the peace of the swamp. And--oh no—they might even have to admit they like each other.

Ice + Alligators is a novella that contains talkative squirrels, a mischievous and overly opinionated alligator, and a shy but grumpy fae who might've found a caring nature spirit who is everything she needed.

Reviewed by Linda Tonis

Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team

Ink is a black ice fairy who made the mistake of telling the King of the Frost Court “No”. As soon as the word no came out of her mouth she was banished and dumped in a swamp, no place for an ice fairy. Her first encounter was with what she believed was a huge dinosaur and she immediately jumped up into a tree.

The so-called dinosaur was a large alligator, and she was saved by Pickerel a draiad and one of the guardians of the swamp. Ink was so out of her element surrounded by otters, spiders, fae frogs that fly and every kind of animal that resides in a swamp. Pickerel welcomes her but Ink is not used to being around people, even in the Frost Court so she tends to make a lot of mistakes when dealing with Pickerel who tries her best to be a good host.

Ink spends her nights up in a tree still leery of the huge alligator despite Pickerel warning it not to eat her. It takes time for Ink to finally fit in and accept Pickerel’s friendship but when poachers appear setting traps to catch alligators Ink is ready, willing and able to come up with a plan to stop them. Benji is caught and Ink finds him with a large hook in his mouth, so she warns Pickerel and together they work at healing him. It was the start of a friendship between an ice fairy and an alligator.

This was an entertaining novella filled with humorous animals, an ice fairy and a draiad. Love blooms in the swamp between two lonely souls who are as different as night is from day, but it works.

The battle with the poachers brought a smile to my face and this is a book that I highly recommend, it’s different, fast moving and a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.