Originally posted at The Bookaholic Cat

4 ½ Stars

Ever After is the fourth installment in the Transplanted Tales series by Kate SeRine.

Five hundred years ago Gideon Montrose lost the love of his life. Since that day he has been bound to the Seelie king as his protector. In the last centuries he has also become the king’s right hand man.
After some shipments of Fairy Dust are stolen, the king orders Gideon to investigate the robberies and apprehend the thief.
The investigation leads Gideon to an encounter he dreamt about all his life, but thought impossible. Seeing the woman he saw fall to her dead, the woman he has mourned for five hundred years alive and well is not easy to believe or to understand. Gideon has many questions for her, not only about her sudden appearance in his life, but also about the robberies.
Gideon has never failed his king, but knowing that the thief he is supposed to apprehend and bring to his king is the woman that owns his heart may be enough to go against his sovereign’s orders for the first time.
Arabella Locksley also known as Robin Hood doesn’t remember much of the last couple of centuries. She only remembers an event three hundred years ago when she tried contacting Gideon while he was still living in the Ever After (fairyland) and learned he was in a relationship with Lavender Seelie; not wanting to disturb his life she disappeared again without letting him know she was still alive. Couple of months back Arabella arrived to the Here and Now (our reality). Her arrival wasn’t a normal one and she is experiencing some physical difficulties, difficulties that made her keep her distance from Gideon, or at least, made her try to keep her distance, she has been following him around in secret successfully, until the day she was careless and Gideon caught her.
Having him again in her life is more than what she could have ever hope, but it won’t be easy for them, there are forces at work that don’t want the together.

I fell in love with Gideon in The Better to See You (second book) and my love for him has only increase throughout the series. Now, finally we get his story and what story it is. Kate SeRine has always gone the extra mile in her stories, mingling characters from fairy tales, classic literature and nurse rhymes and Ever After was not an exception. In this installment we get characters from the stories of Robin Hood, Arthur Pendragon, and a few others.

It was really nice to learn about Gideon’s past. Knowing everything he has gone through made me like him and admire him even more. From previous books I knew he was a swoon worthy hero, smart, strong, and loyal, but in this installment, being him with the woman he loves boosted all his qualities tenfold.

The case with Arabella was a bit different, on the beginning I didn’t like her much because she was secretive and wasn’t completely honest with Gideon. After a while I understood why she kept things hidden, but I would have preferred if she had been honest from the very beginning. Another thing she didn’t have in her favor was my love for Gideon. As I said before, I have loved Gideon since previous books and I wanted a perfect heroine for him, Arabella wasn’t perfect… for me… but she was perfect for Gideon.

Their relationship is one of second chances. Destiny separated them and brought them back together, they have loved each other for centuries and time hasn’t been able to change that. Now they have an opportunity to be together again and they will do what ever is necessary to accomplish it.

In this installment we see all the characters we love from previous books, we see where they are in their relationships and with their new families. This made Ever After feel kind of like a conclusion to the series. I really hope I’m mistaken because I love the Transplanted Tales so much I’m not ready to say goodbye. I hope we get more books in this fantastic world Kate SeRine has created.

The story is well paced, with the perfect balance of suspense and humor. Many things are happening at the same time and we don’t know who to trust or who to believe. Secrets, betrayals and unexpected surprises made of Ever After an impossible to put down book.

Ever After works perfectly as a stand-alone. I recommend it to paranormal romance and fairy tales fans. If you like the TV series Once Upon a Time I’m sure you would also like the Transplanted Tales series. ( )