Saurimonde by Scarlett Amaris and Melissa St. Hilaire

With Saurimonde being my first taste of the dark fantasy/horror/paranormal romance genre—I couldn’t resist the taunting dare in the blurb—I cannot compare it to similar works. So this review is not that of an “expert” but of a casual passerby, lured by other common causes with one of the authors, Scarlett Amaris, and an abiding curiosity about books that fall, however loosely, into the wide spectrum of literature that might be classified as “visionary fiction.” The stylized Playboy cover with its promise of titillation, I admit, also helped me, an older male with otherwise less flamboyant reading habits, open the door and walk into the authors’ foreboding den of dreamy fairytale, explicit sexuality, and shudder-inducing evil perpetrated not only by Gilles, an over-the-top caricature of the domineering and lecherous husband, but also by the beautiful and sensual Saurimonde, of whom we’d least expect such.

First observation: it’s a page turner. While I often struggle through the last hour of the day allotted to reading, evenings with Saurimonde always shot right past my bedtime. Perhaps it was a combination of the story’s surface simplicity, the breezy language (the use of modern slang in a medieval setting did take some adjustment), and lavish imagination that propelled me into that magical zone beyond the ticking clock.

But beyond the entertainment and stimulation provided by the strong dose of sex and mayhem, there was a subtle sense of something a lot deeper. However, unlike some books in which the intended message is made annoyingly explicit—You, dear reader, are likely too dumb to get it right, so I’m going to spell it out for you—Saurimonde just left me wondering. My imagination was awakened to fantastic possibilities on several levels, not unlike the effect of the timeless classical fairy tale, the prototype for all visionary fiction. Now that’s pretty high magic for any book to achieve. Highly recommended—if you dare.

  Click to subscribe to this site’s RSS Feed.

Share your thoughts on this post. Put in your comment in the space below. Thank you.