A review by mjenae
The Tales of Marigold: The Entire Series in One Book! by Jean Ferris

4.5

Things That Especially Worked:


  1. Ed's mixed metaphors and confused turns-of-phrases. What can I say, Jean Ferris found my weak spot. And she came up with some pretty good ones, too (“...there wasn't a dry seat in the castle”).
  2. How Chris and Marigold came to know each other, and their friends-to-strangers-to-lovers dynamic. Sure, it was too good to be true, but it was fun and unconventional. Also, the way Chris acted on all of his impulses. You know those potentially good intrusive thoughts you get, like “I should go hug them”? Yeah, Chris acted on all of those (and it made me very happy).
  3. SWITHBERT. Aka Marigold's father. Aka the King. Gentle, funny, humbly innocent, protective—basically a simp, in a grandfatherly way. I wouldn't mind manifesting him into my life.
  4. All the fairy tale characters, including—Santa Claus? Jean kind of went crazy with the boundaries here (or lack of them) and I liked it.
  5. Phoebe and Sebastian. I thought about putting these two on separate numbers, since I love both of them individually, but I love their relationship, too. Phoebe is a word-obsessed librarian (which means I immediately liked her) and Sebastian a carpenter/blacksmith/inventor (my favorite character, I believe). As the descendants of two of the most terrifying men to ever work under the cruel Queen Olympia, they are struggling to discover their own identities outside of who the public sees them to be. In bonding, they help each other step out of the shadows of their fathers’ reputations and into the light their relationship shines on their true worth. It's a beautiful story, probably the best in the whole series.
  6. The scene in the library. (Well, all of them, but this one especially). The one after the “adventure,” when Sebastian follows Phoebe in. That scene feels heavily of limerence; I was practically Sebastian in that moment. I'm not sure why Jean chose to add that scene (mostly Sebastian's internal monologue) when the rest of the romance in the book was largely explained simply and from the surface, but I'm so glad she did. I can't forget how it made me feel.

Nothing about these stories was realistic. But it was medieval fantasy rom-com, scattered with mystery and suspense—and I could never say no to that. I'm happy this series exists, and I'm glad it was here for me to read now. Thank you, Jean Ferris.