Comin' Up a Cloud

Fairy Tales of a Trailer Park Queen #4

by Kimbra Swain

The warning siren blares across Shady Grove, and Grace Ann's trailer sits in the path of a supernatural storm.

A storm is brewing in Shady Grove, Alabama. Spring has arrived, and Grace Ann Bryant's days are filled with crabby council members, a brooding bard, turbulent townspeople, and a pouting phoenix. At least her daughter is having a great time with the pixie that she caught. So much for that mom to daughter, heart to heart talk about fairies.

Grace is neck deep in the issues of Shady Grove and her family. The last thing she needed was a wind sylph determined to destroy Shady Grove. The crew has to find out what got her panties in a wad while a mysterious man lurks around town. Grace is sure she knows him. Everyone insists that she give him some room, but she's tired of being told what to do. It's time Grace takes things into her own hands.

The winds are picking up in Shady Grove. Will Grace and the town survive the tumult? Watch out, Shady Grove! It's comin' up a cloud.

Comin' Up a Cloud is the fourth book in the Fairy Tales of a Trailer Park Queen. The series is a southern urban fantasy that will make you laugh until the cows come home, and hit you in the feels. Check out all four of this hilarious series.

Book One: Bless Your Heart
Book Two: Tinsel in a Tangle
Book Three: Snake in the Grass
Book Four: Comin' Up a Cloud
Book Five: Gully Washer (Coming in June 2018)

Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Fairies, Fae

227 pages, ebook

First published April 5, 2018

About the author

From early in life Kimbra Swain was indoctrinated in the ways of geekdom. Raised on Star Wars, Tolkien, Superheroes and Voltron, she found herself immersed in a world of imagination. She started writing in high school, and completed her English degree from the University of Alabama in 2003.
​
Her writing is influenced by a gamut of authors including Jane Austen, J.R.R. Tolkien, L.M. Montgomery, Timothy Zahn, Kathy Reichs, Kevin Hearne and Jim Butcher.
​
Born and raised in Alabama, Kimbra still lives there with her husband and 5 year old daughter. When she isn't reading or writing, she plays PC games, makes jewelry and builds cars.

Please visit my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. Also if you sign up for the newsletter at my website to receive a FREE book: www.kimbraswain.com

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grace is having trouble containing the power her father gifted her and balancing her duties as queen. In this installment, she must determine how she wants to deal with servitude, specifically how it relates to her relationship with Levi who may be enthralled by Riley. There is also a vaguely familiar newcomer to town that seems to be stealing artifacts from Oberon's vaults.

These are quick, easy reads. I particularly enjoy reading them in between some of my heavier reads as a break.

I don't know why I was thinking that more action would happen in this installment. I assumed that Grace would do more to oppose her uncle and at the very least learn how to hold her father's power, but I guess that will happen in a future book. This one was focused more on her relationship with Levi and I'm sure it will also serve a purpose in the future.

[Mummy's Naughty Corner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't my favorite. There were funny parts like the Brownies and the Unicorn but I felt the middle dragged slightly. I liked meeting Finley and I think we are going to see quite a bit of him and find out more about the other realm. The main question is will Winnie get a new sibling?

[Larry Tushman · Rating 5 out of 5]

How does a trailer park Fae Queen save her tornado twinkie (trailer) from a supernaturally induced twisters? How does the aforementioned royalty save Shady Grove from the onset of entitlement, bigotry, and superhuman nature? How does this previous loner deal with the trials and tribulations of family, extended and otherwise? I'd say with Grace, but my wife would smack me for the pun. She's figuring out that more roots = more responsibility, especially with the impact of Uncle Brock's shenanigans on the other side. Cloud is a good time inspecting Fae causality and the Tao of Parker.

[Katy Kendrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better and better

I love this series.
Even though I am a bit disgruntled because I’m a die hard Levi/grace fan I love the family dynamic and the plot gets thicker and thicker as it amps up to defeat the main villain.
Grace grows in strength and power, solidifying it all through the love and loyalty of her family.
I’m excited to see where the story leads next and this series has yet to disappoint me.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great author!

It grabs you from the first page. I love the realness and the humor that had in stiches at times!This is one of the best series I've read in awhile. Each one gets better and better. I love how Grace is really finding her inner self. She grows with each more difficult challenge she faces in this book. . A fairy queen who will kick ass for her family and town!

[Charlie H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the set

Love Grace and her strange but brilliant family. This is another great book in the series which builds more on everyone’s stories

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. Grace is having to adapt to a lot of changes in this one, namely her new power, Levi problems, and overall ruling issues. I enjoyed this one, especially meeting Finley, Grace's brother, but thought that Levi was a bit annoying for part of it. I am glad he's moving out. Riley seems like a piece of work. It's interesting that she's Jeremiah's daughter. I'm glad that Grace essentially disowned Jeremiah magically, because he's lied to her a lot and overall seems a bit sketchy. I like that Grace can talk to her dad's ghost. I think it would be interesting to see Grace pregnant. Frankly, a bit scary. I've been expecting that it would happen (and it hasn't yet) soon, seeing as she was engaged within two books.

I thought this book went in a lot of interesting directions. I think the writing is flowing better. I look forward to the next book. 3.75 stars.

[Suzanne Messner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good light read

Had to read thru in 1 sitting...Now, I can’t wait for books 5 & 6.
Now if I could just find the novella that she mentions as being on her web page. Must find out who the new trailer park resident is. Will they rebuild on Dylan’s lot ? What would their offspring be ?

[Blake · Rating 1 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

Previously scored 3.75 star for this series.

Another series bites the dust!

I gave this series 4 books to stop annoying me with certain things, but once again its a series I'd enjoy more without the love interest, Dylan. Although he was not the only thing that annoyed me.

She says Dylan 'treats her like an equal' but I don't see it, but maybe I'm weird and someone telling me to 'sit and stay' is treating her like an equal when he's trying to keep her from her brother.

I see from later books that he dies, but then she ends up with Levi, who I also dislike.

It also got annoying with them all telling her to 'accept the power of the queen' yet she's not allowed to even slap a woman who is insulting her? -- She wasn't going to kill the woman, just teach her that just because she doesn't want servitude from those living in her territory doesn't mean she'll take insults lying down.

IMHO neither Dylan or Levi actually have her back. I mean Dylan is the one who will kill her if she actually uses the powers he wants her to accept wielding.... if she doesn't do what he thinks is 'right'.

Grace also got on my nerves by always caving to Dylan when she's annoyed with him, just because he's sexy. She needs to respect herself more, then maybe she'd not think someone who tells her to 'sit and stay' is treating her like an equal.
IMHO he doesn't actually respect her. This is also shown by the fact that he starts to call her Glory (after hearing her brother call her by her decades old nickname that she doesn't like any more). She tells him multiple times she doesn't like that name any more and not to call her such. But no, both he and her bother are now calling her that, even though Dylan knows she hates him doing so.
MC seems to be the one who keeps compromising her heritage to make him happy, but he's not even not using a now hated nickname to make her happy...
And yet this is the man she still wants to get pregnant by.
Dylan has been getting drunk often of late and after the latest episode we get this 'Things had been tense, and although we hadn’t talked about it, the fact we hadn’t managed to get pregnant was an issue. Dylan was the only Phoenix and the last Thunderbird. He needed an heir. It wasn’t the priority now, but perhaps it should be.' <-- That was what was in the book, not that she adores him and wants to have his children & he feels the same about her.... no he needs an heir....

At least MC said 'no' to sending away her adopted daughter, who has already lost her mother recently (how MC adopted her), to then make her leave everything she's known in her short life and the people who care for her would be evil. Another black mark against Dylan from my POV, since he thinks its safe enough for MC to get pregnant and have his genetic kid, but not safe for the adopted little girl! -- Just like his getting engaged to the MC who he'll 'put down' if she uses her powers in a way he deems wrong. Bet he'd wait until after she's become his baby mama though.

I don't really like a lot of the townsfolk in this book either, including her disloyal grandfather. I also don't like the re-found brother. Loyal servant to her, yeah sure. He knew Dylan for a few hours, but is already joking with him with Grace as the butt of the jokes... Dylan of course finds him hilarious.

MC needs to figure out how to stop Levi and her brother from being able to talk in her head and track her, that she just caves on both is beyond annoying. She's supposed to be all powerful, use a smidgin of that to block people when you don't want them in your mind!

IMHO Grace needs to either be the Queen and act like it with everyone, or take her adopted daughter and find a new place to live away from them all. They expect her to be a queen and protect them, yet hide things from her that she needs to know and asks about and won't let her deal with disrespect, in the human way of a slap fight. Either she's the queen or she's just a trailer park dweller, its annoying trying to play it both ways with those who know who she is and expect her to protect them.

It keeps seeming like stuff is happening in the book for drama sake, like a soap opera, rather than being something needed to make the plot work. -- Like the insulting woman, who has lived in the town two years and turns out she's married to someone MC considers an ally. -- True Grace slapping her would be total soap opera, but the author couldn't even give her that, though she's writing like her MC is in a soap opera!

Levi stopping her was annoying. Insulting woman even said that the person threatening the town won't respect MC for giving her the magic egg of power back, she'll only respect her if she fights... So IW by her own mouth needs putting in her place with a fight, to respect MC, but nope, Levi won't allow that....
Nope the men folk in MC's life only like her to get into fights that they approve of, can't even have a human cat fight, and she's only allowed to use her powers, full or not, with their approval or Dylan will kill her.

MC's not realised that no one actually considers her a queen (their actions prove that), they just want her to embrace her father's power, to accept the inheritance of it, because everyone just thinks of her as a weapon that they control (& a useful in bed / baby maker in Dylan's case) and tell her when to act or not. Her embracing that inherited power, makes her a far better weapon for them to use.

There's a huge difference in killing people to getting into a slap fight with someone who deserves it. MC is too much of a doormat to realise that though.

I guess I'm just like her fiance, her want to be lover Levi, her brother, her grandfather and everyone else in her life, in that I do not respect her and since I'm not able to use her as a weapon and don't need to knock someone up, I'm done with the doormat.

First time read the author's work?: No

Will you be reading more?: No -- I'm also now put off the series that the 1st book I rated 3 star, because the others I've read of hers either started at 1 star or like this series fell to that.

Would you recommend?: No


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[Kimbra Swain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comin' Up a Cloud is LIVE!!!!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BZJHHS9

[Kelly Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome Series! SLEEP ROBBER!

I devoured the series through the 10th book in just a week. Impatiently waiting for the next book due out in Feb '19. If you like all sorts of fairies, were wolves, demi_gods... set in modern day, you'll LOVE this series. Snarky comments included for free. She's a trailer park queen and proud of it. You can make her a queen, but her heart will always be in the trailer park. And what a big heart she has, don't let her tell you differently. Descriptive worlds and fleshed out characters. Love stories and battles. What more could you want. A new twist on the Seelie and Unseelie fairies. Once you start this series you're immediately hooked, but BEWARE, this series will rob you of sleep. Your mantra will be, "One more page, just one more chapter". I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. NEXT BOOK, PLEASE!

[Judy Upton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grace has a bigger than full time life!

Grace is kept running with her political duties, mom duties and her job with Nestor’s bar. She deals with several major issues in each portion of her life. The pixies were interesting. The reunited brother was unexpected. Her bard was hot and steamy as usual!!! Best of all Grace accepted more of her dad’s power to improve life in the future!

[Jennifer Pezzella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow

What a whirlwind of a story, very very good. Lots happened in this book. And we are finally getting to see more of the fairy world. I wish that the author would give us more insight into the fairy world instead of piece mailing it to us. This was a super fast read. Can't wait for the next one.

[Jason or Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

So happy I found this series

From the first book to this one, I have only gained interest in this series instead of waning interest. The author continues to build and add more layers all within a pretty entertaining story. It's never too dark or too simple, but a lovely complex mix. I love when a book has me laughing, and this book had that.

[Steve Isenhower · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series!

A very good addition to a wonderful series! As with the series, this book is fun and exciting. I love the way the characters develop and grow. Grace, Dylan and Levi are great. This is a must read series!

[Adrienne McFarlane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

Book 4 makes excellent progression from the previous books in the series. Each book brings more insight into the characters and the town of Sandy Grove. I highly recommend this series.

[MLC · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the ending anticlimactic. Grace has always had a fight on her hands, but this book focused more on an internal struggle. I do like the new characters introduced, and while this book was just ok ,I want to see where the story goes and how the servitude bonds strengthen

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

I’m still enjoying the storyline and want to continue reading as Glory becomes more of a queen with each book. It’s interesting watching her mature yet still stay true to herself.
Now what I am really disliking and is almost making me uncomfortable is this continuous sexual tension between Glory and Levi. It’s one thing if it could be played off as just fairy attraction but Levi is completely in love and Glory was unable to deny that she felt love for Levi. Either the author needs to drop that particular storyline or she needs to give them a polyamorous relationship and needs to make me believe they are all happy. Otherwise I’m going to be super pissed on behalf of Dylan. He’s proved himself faithful and this tension is hurting him.

[Jeanne Brewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complexities reign, Gloriana begins to come into her own

Dylan, Levi, Winnie and the rest of the Queen's family must deal with the repercussions of what is happening in the fairy realm while continuing to try to protect the Exiles in their community. As the story becomes more convoluted, it becomes more difficult to keep track of loyalties and who should be trusted and who cut loose from protection. Pay close attention as you read and see if you can see the subtle foreshadowing that will help you prepare for what is coming. Recommended. Just be aware the next book isn't due out until summer 2019.

[Ken Finlay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kimbra Swain seems to have the story arc plotted out quite well. That's the good news and also the not so good news. Four books in and it is clear that each ends on a cliffhanger, whether or not Glory realises it - it's a bit of the 'Perils of Pauline' mixed with 'Indiana Jones.' I'm not complaining, it's still a fun read but maybe, just maybe, it would have been better if each book was given the room to breathe on its own.

[M]

And I'm done. Dropped at 29%. Grace is ridiculous in every way and has no boundaries. Levi is a lovesick pain in the ass and Dylan is a doormat. The sex innuendo is also getting incredibly old.

I am actually going to read book 6 because I already bought it and it is from Dylan's point of view. Might keep the first 2 books in the series in case I want to reread them and book 6 of course if I end up liking it but the rest of them are getting deleted because I just cannot take it anymore.

[Trae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kept me up WAY past my bedtime

I couldn't point to any one thing that makes me love this series. I just do. Kimbra Swain has me giggling, and telling myself "just one more page". Before I know it, it's 2 hrs last bedtime and I am finishing the book. If you love Merry Gentry by Laurell K Hamilton, you will love Grace.

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable Read

I like this series and find it a fun and enjoyable experience to read. It’s not the most challenging of books, but that is definitely why I enjoy it. The characters are fun and the plot is interesting. It’s a series that I read when I want to take a break from the world.

[DMA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series!

Grace as usual funds trouble every where she turns.
This action packed story twists and turns all over the place with magic everywhere. I laughed and cried my way through this one. To say Grace leads a complicated life would be an understatement!
Brilliant story telling which will keep you engrossed for hours!
Highly recommended!

[John E · Rating 4 out of 5]

More southern fun

Grace is still learning how to be both the woman, mother, protector and queen she wants to be and her world keeps evolving and throwing trials at her. I enjoy the innuendo and circumstances of this story and once again Kimberly managed to make a run against all spectrums puff emotions.

[Malissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gets better every book

This series is fun and adventurous. It becomes more with everyone that come next. The main character is fun and always self conscious. Her people are amazing. You fall in love with so many of the characters and want to see what happens with the loved that are bad attituded towards her.

[Peg · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a good series!

Unexpectedly good series. Queen of exiles, in the real world, while raising as human child, a phoenix Thunderbird lover, and assorted otherworld creatures to deal with.

[Dennis Heizelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good one

I like these books. Good stories good characters, I like the fantasy characters/creatures in the modern world. These have more than your standard weres and undead.

[Mist Willingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and different

I started reading this series due to a recommendation from Shayne Silver’s Facebook group and fell in love. I have devoured every book thus far and can’t wait for the next installment!

[Pamala LeVan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohmygosh!

Grace is getting much better at the ice queen mojo. There are new residents and challenges. Glory is my spirit animal!!! Levi is going through growing pains and Winnie has her very own Brownies.