Some Kind of Magic by R. Cooper
More complex and dark than you would think, Some Kind of Magic is not your usual fairy tale (pun intended). While the generic theme is about police detective trying to solve a crime, the main theme is about the internal fight werewolf Ray is having to not give up to the mating bond that is driving him towards half-fairy Cal.
It’s fun since, even if this is a gay romance, it’s about prejudices: oh, Ray has no problem at all with the fact that both Cal than him are guys, his problem is with the fact that Cal is a fairy and fairies are flimsy. They are not capable of long-term commitment, always flying from flower to flower (this is a metaphor, Cal is not actually little enough to do that…) and instead werewolves mate for life.
All the story is centered around Ray and Cal, on how Cal is always finding a new way to make Ray going crazy, and how Ray is self-punishing himself denying his wolf the proximity of his mate. I liked the concept of prejudices that are not linked to the gender of the people involved in the relationship, but I think I found another metaphor here: Ray has prejudices towards Cal, he doesn’t think Cal will be able to commit to an exclusive relationship, Cal is a “fairy”… can you see where I’m leading?
Take off the supernatural nature of both men, make Ray a simple cop and Cal a simple man, do not Ray’s prejudices resemble that of a straight guy towards a gay guy? I pretty much of the idea that is what the author was pointing too, but she wanted to make it lighter, less dark, and making the two men a real fairy and a werewolf allowed her more freedom, but also gave to the story a lighter tone.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2305
Amazon Kindle: Some Kind of Magic
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (May 3, 2011)
Reading List: http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle
Cover Art by Paul Richmond