Review - Sweet Clematis by R. Cooper

Clematis is just what everyone imagines a fairy to be. He is very beautiful, and if you catch his attention, Clematis will let you seduce him and make you feel very good, for a while. The fairy will move on before you get to know him too well. That’s what he fears most. Clematis can’t ever seem to do the right thing. Most of his circle of friends are mad at him for one reason or another. Flor seems to have more reason than most, yet he still seems to look out for Clematis. It’s very confusing for a fairy who is certain that he can never have what he wants most.

Although the Beings in Love series are largely stand-alone stories, this installment is very much a sequel to A Dandelion for Tulip. The events of that story are often referred to and most of the characters from that book play roles in this story, so you should read that volume of the series before this one. “Sweet Clematis” is not your ordinary romance. The plot cleverly sews some doubt as to who Clematis’ “true love” really is. It takes a good portion of the story for it to become clear who he is meant to be with.

Clematis is at the very center of the story and it is told entirely from his point of view. The young fairy has a reputation, which he does little to deny. His truth is far more complicated, and it takes much of the story to unravel the clues of Clematis’ past that formed his personality. It’s not easy to get inside Clematis’ head. We can sympathise with him, but few of us would have been through the kind of childhood that Clematis relates.

We only get to know the other characters, such as Flor and Sasha, through Clematis’ eyes. It’s difficult for us to understand Clematis’ attitude towards Flor, in particular, until we get the full story of how the two met, which comes quite late in the book. Ultimately, you could look at the theme of this story as all about “masks,” the kind we put on either because we think it’s what other people expect, or to hide who we truly are.

“Sweet Clematis” is available from Smashwords or see BookBub for other online sellers.