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Lords of Arcadia #1
The Care and Feeding of Griffins
Taryn MacTavish found the egg in a pile of wet leaves on a camping trip when she was only nine years old. A nine-year old believes in a lot of things--killer snipes, flying dragons, magical powers and fantastic worlds--but the woman that Taryn has become is firmly rooted in the real world...until the egg she has safely kept all these years hatches into a baby griffin. Now she must make a choice: Abandon Aisling and lead a normal life, or follow a mysterious singing gypsy out of Earth and into Arcadia, where wizardry is very real and each new day brings unimaginable new dangers.
The first installment of R. Lee Smith's Lords of Arcadia series, THE CARE AND FEEDING OF GRIFFINS tells a fast-paced suspenseful story that takes the reader right to the edge of the darkest thrills.
Look for Lords of Arcadia: Book II
THE WIZARD IN THE WOODS
The first installment of R. Lee Smith's Lords of Arcadia series, THE CARE AND FEEDING OF GRIFFINS tells a fast-paced suspenseful story that takes the reader right to the edge of the darkest thrills.
Look for Lords of Arcadia: Book II
THE WIZARD IN THE WOODS
445 pages, ebook
First published April 4, 2010
169 people are currently reading
1180 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 125 reviews
June 11, 2019
4.5 Stars
I really enjoyed This: yeh it wasn't perfect for me but there was still far more pro's than con's and though not my favourite work of this particular author this still managed to keep me onboard and invested in the overall concept and I will definitely be continuing on to the next instalment here.
I adored the whole premise here and the world-building and creativity throughout was second to none.
In fact, this to me belonged more to the fantasy genre than any romantic one and it was the erotic scenes themselves that for me dropped my rating down a tad.
Maybe because these instances were mostly of a non-consensual nature: not in an actual physical fashion though as each instance was mostly in a spiritual or dream sense which somehow made it a lot easier to actually accept and experience.
There were some physical actions but these were of a more forced intimacy and there was no great detail used: I'm not trying to downplay this just it's hard to explain: yes it was non-consensual but it wasn't really that severe in nature compared to other books of a similar fashion.
This is what spoiled The Care and feeding of Griffins for me: that bloody evil wizard and his nasty pervy schemings towards Taryn: it really brought the tone down.
Hated that wizard so much: without magus and his malicious intentions, I would have liked this so much more.
So despite the above, I devoured the rest of this: the sheer imagination used here made this so fantastical and anything with Griffins, centaurs and minotaurs was always going to be a definite winner for me: but hands-down my total winner here was that minotaur I adored him and his snarky gruff attitude.
“Aye, well, I could forbid that one a thousand things and she would march out on her own merits even so. Willful, arrogant human.” “Then tell her plainly you are her lord.” “I have done.” Tonka drew back, puzzled. “Then she will obey, surely,” he said. “Ha!” Antilles threw back his head and boomed black laughter down at Taryn’s tent. “Nay, if I ordered her as lord to breathe, she would drop blue-faced and defiant at my hooves! Self-willed, stubborn little…arrogant human!”
And as she slowly manages to win her new neighbours to side against what originally seemed insurmountable odds.
“She is… remarkable…isn’t she?” Tonka paused, glancing back over his shoulder. His lord was still staring down into the plains, still brooding. “Aye,” he said softly. “She…She’s made me somewhat fond of her.” Tonka’s tail flicked. “Aye,” he said again. Antilles scowled even harder. “That greatly annoys me,” he said. And stood up and left the overlook.
So don't expect any great romance to enter into this story yet: this is very much slow burn in nature: though near the finish here we do get to see some developing interest as of yet there is no actual warm and fuzzies to be had here: none at all.
What we have got is an imaginative fantasy with some darker elements included,
This is also beautifully written and the narrative used has such a lyrical old world feel to it at times,
I adored this aspect completely and thought the prose here was definitely a great strength.
I am ever so excited to see which direction this is heading: this was also such a unique undertaking and in its own entire league in terms of actual setting.
This one still gets a definite thumbs up from my camp despite my grumbles
You can borrow this with a KU subscription.
All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com
January 25, 2012
Wonderful creativity in first half, but repeated rapes made it depressing. Incomplete ending. You need to read the sequels.
STORY BRIEF:
At the age of 6, Taryn discovers an abandoned egg in a forest in Washington State. Instinctively she knows she must keep it a secret. She hides the egg in her bedroom and keeps it warm in blankets for 15 years. She is now 24, living in an apartment, and the egg cracks open. A baby griffin comes out (a head and wings like an eagle, a rear end like a lion). She consults with a magical woman Romany who tells her to kill the baby because it cannot live a good life in the human world. Taryn has no doubt that she must take the baby to wherever the baby needs. She tells her family she is going to work for the Life Corps in Africa and they can send mail to her through Romany. With a couple of survival books and some camping gear Taryn follows Romany to another plane of existence, Arcadia.
Taryn nearly starves to death and barely survives in this new place, but she doesn’t care. Everything she does is for the protection and health of her baby griffin whom she names Aisling. Taryn meets a group of centaurs (part horse, part human), a minotaur (part bull, part human), and an evil wizard.
Many years ago humans went to Arcadia and enslaved the centaurs, treating them with evil and raping the women. The centaurs eventually reversed things, and enslaved the humans. For revenge the centaurs did the same things to the humans, including rape. Therefore centaurs hate humans. They want Taryn to leave. She won’t.
GENRE:
There is no romance in this book. It is erotic fantasy fiction with horror due to rape.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
I started out charmed with this story. I was pleased. I was surprised. I liked the creativity of things happening. This was different, not just a copy of other fantasy stories. But the last half wasn’t as good. There are many unpleasant rape scenes, either in dreams or in person. One of them is a female human slave being raped by centaurs, an unsettling bestiality feeling. Every sex scene is a rape of sorts except for maybe two. Toward the end I was depressed. Why? Aside from the rapes, the heroine was helpless and not smart enough, which caused her own suffering in the environment as well as other ways.
The wizard outsmarted Taryn and hurt her. She was helpless, wimpy, and unable to fight his will. Most stories need a bad guy, and he was it. I don’t want to criticize just because the heroine does something stupid. We all do stupid things at times. But here it was no fun. The first time she meets him, he insists she eat several bad tasting biscuits. She should have followed her intuition and not eaten them. He wasn’t eating any. But she ate them and they did bad things to her.
Another negative was the unfinished ending. There are at least four books in the series. This book introduces characters and sets things up. It’s possible that the wizard will continue being the bad guy until the final book. I would have preferred something to provide a temporary happy feeling at the end of this book, like the Harry Potter books. Each of those ended with a win over something. Not enough happened here to feel good. It’s necessary to read sequels to find out what will happen to Taryn, her griffin, and others. The griffin is about two months old by the end of this book. He needs three years to become an adult. I’m curious and would like to know what will happen, but I don’t feel like reading three or more books to do it. I need a little more “feel good” to my stories.
One thing about Taryn, she adamantly refuses charity. She’s starving and may not survive. When someone offers tools, food, or help, she refuses unless she can pay for it. Initially I found that admirable. But later I found it foolish.
DATA:
Kindle count story length: 8,635 (651 KB). Swearing language: moderate to strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: mild. Sexual content: violent due to repeated rapes. Number of sex scenes: about 12. Setting: current day Washington state, Oregon, and the fantasy world of Arcadia. Copyright: 2006. Genre: erotic horror fantasy fiction.
STORY BRIEF:
At the age of 6, Taryn discovers an abandoned egg in a forest in Washington State. Instinctively she knows she must keep it a secret. She hides the egg in her bedroom and keeps it warm in blankets for 15 years. She is now 24, living in an apartment, and the egg cracks open. A baby griffin comes out (a head and wings like an eagle, a rear end like a lion). She consults with a magical woman Romany who tells her to kill the baby because it cannot live a good life in the human world. Taryn has no doubt that she must take the baby to wherever the baby needs. She tells her family she is going to work for the Life Corps in Africa and they can send mail to her through Romany. With a couple of survival books and some camping gear Taryn follows Romany to another plane of existence, Arcadia.
Taryn nearly starves to death and barely survives in this new place, but she doesn’t care. Everything she does is for the protection and health of her baby griffin whom she names Aisling. Taryn meets a group of centaurs (part horse, part human), a minotaur (part bull, part human), and an evil wizard.
Many years ago humans went to Arcadia and enslaved the centaurs, treating them with evil and raping the women. The centaurs eventually reversed things, and enslaved the humans. For revenge the centaurs did the same things to the humans, including rape. Therefore centaurs hate humans. They want Taryn to leave. She won’t.
GENRE:
There is no romance in this book. It is erotic fantasy fiction with horror due to rape.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
I started out charmed with this story. I was pleased. I was surprised. I liked the creativity of things happening. This was different, not just a copy of other fantasy stories. But the last half wasn’t as good. There are many unpleasant rape scenes, either in dreams or in person. One of them is a female human slave being raped by centaurs, an unsettling bestiality feeling. Every sex scene is a rape of sorts except for maybe two. Toward the end I was depressed. Why? Aside from the rapes, the heroine was helpless and not smart enough, which caused her own suffering in the environment as well as other ways.
The wizard outsmarted Taryn and hurt her. She was helpless, wimpy, and unable to fight his will. Most stories need a bad guy, and he was it. I don’t want to criticize just because the heroine does something stupid. We all do stupid things at times. But here it was no fun. The first time she meets him, he insists she eat several bad tasting biscuits. She should have followed her intuition and not eaten them. He wasn’t eating any. But she ate them and they did bad things to her.
Another negative was the unfinished ending. There are at least four books in the series. This book introduces characters and sets things up. It’s possible that the wizard will continue being the bad guy until the final book. I would have preferred something to provide a temporary happy feeling at the end of this book, like the Harry Potter books. Each of those ended with a win over something. Not enough happened here to feel good. It’s necessary to read sequels to find out what will happen to Taryn, her griffin, and others. The griffin is about two months old by the end of this book. He needs three years to become an adult. I’m curious and would like to know what will happen, but I don’t feel like reading three or more books to do it. I need a little more “feel good” to my stories.
One thing about Taryn, she adamantly refuses charity. She’s starving and may not survive. When someone offers tools, food, or help, she refuses unless she can pay for it. Initially I found that admirable. But later I found it foolish.
DATA:
Kindle count story length: 8,635 (651 KB). Swearing language: moderate to strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: mild. Sexual content: violent due to repeated rapes. Number of sex scenes: about 12. Setting: current day Washington state, Oregon, and the fantasy world of Arcadia. Copyright: 2006. Genre: erotic horror fantasy fiction.
April 20, 2018
3.5 stars
I've read two other standalone books by this author that I REALLY liked (The Last Hour of Gann and Land of the Beautiful Dead), so I was excited to read this book, the first in a series of five books so far. Unfortunately, this didn't live up to my high expectations. It was good, don't get me wrong. This author has an amazing ability to write fantasy romance that makes non-humans romantically attractive to the reader while making the human characters be revolting - it's a weird gift! But perhaps because the author intended this to be a series, she spent too much time on the character development and world building at the expense of the plot in this first installment. I wasn't bored, but I did finish the book thinking "that's it"? So I'm hoping that the next book in this series will be stronger and more plot centric. We'll see!
I've read two other standalone books by this author that I REALLY liked (The Last Hour of Gann and Land of the Beautiful Dead), so I was excited to read this book, the first in a series of five books so far. Unfortunately, this didn't live up to my high expectations. It was good, don't get me wrong. This author has an amazing ability to write fantasy romance that makes non-humans romantically attractive to the reader while making the human characters be revolting - it's a weird gift! But perhaps because the author intended this to be a series, she spent too much time on the character development and world building at the expense of the plot in this first installment. I wasn't bored, but I did finish the book thinking "that's it"? So I'm hoping that the next book in this series will be stronger and more plot centric. We'll see!
January 27, 2012
This book really blew me away. I love erotica, and it's incredibly rare to find one this well written and with a PLOT! It's also huge. Like all of this author's books, you really get your money's worth.
The basic plot: Taryn MacTavish finds an unusual egg as a child and, doing what most children do, she brings it home and tries to hatch it. Years later, she's in college when it finally happens and out pops a baby griffin. In the course of trying to figure out what to do with this tiny creature, she ends up following a strange lady with tiny little dragon's in her hair to a totally different world. A world of centaurs, minotaurs and wizards. Here, she struggles to survive, to raise her baby griffin as best as any modern day city girl can, and to make friends with the local inhabitants on a world where humans aren't the friendliest folk around.
I LOVED this book. The sex is HOT. The action is believable. The writing is stunningly good and this author has catapulted herself right to the top of my favorite author's list.
The basic plot: Taryn MacTavish finds an unusual egg as a child and, doing what most children do, she brings it home and tries to hatch it. Years later, she's in college when it finally happens and out pops a baby griffin. In the course of trying to figure out what to do with this tiny creature, she ends up following a strange lady with tiny little dragon's in her hair to a totally different world. A world of centaurs, minotaurs and wizards. Here, she struggles to survive, to raise her baby griffin as best as any modern day city girl can, and to make friends with the local inhabitants on a world where humans aren't the friendliest folk around.
I LOVED this book. The sex is HOT. The action is believable. The writing is stunningly good and this author has catapulted herself right to the top of my favorite author's list.
November 28, 2015
This was a real mixed bag for me, as I kind of liked it but also felt uncomfortable reading it.
The overall story, world and premise is interesting and entertaining. The world R. Lee Smith has built is quite fascinating, and the friendship and adventure between the heroine, her baby griffin and the "good" creatures of Arcadia is very fun to read. The balance between fantasy, adventure and romance is quite good, where it has enough romance for romance readers out there (albeit slow building), and enough fantasy and actual plot to not just be a p0rn fest. Her relationship with the griffin is adorable, and to be honest the baby griffin is the highlight of the book for me.
The really uncomfortable thing for me reading this is the repeated graphic sexual assault on the heroine, whether its "mystical mind rape" or actual physical sexual assault. Everyone in mystical Arcadia seems to be out there to bone her against her will, and in some cases she even willingly offers them sexual favours as a "gift" (with not even any "she was in lust with them" to even warm it up). It's constantly hammered home into us that she's a virgin which is no big deal, except the book makes all sorts of fuss about it.
This, combined with the heroine's Mary-Sue perfectness and her strangely inconsistent "I'm saving myself for love but I will pleasure anyone who asks it" approach to the world detracts from the character as a whole. She comes across as quite a nice heroine, but sadly quite 2 dimensional.
Lastly, the author loves describing female arousal as "oils". "The oils of her feminine arousal" is a fairly small and personal quibble with the book, but it does break my immersion in the story as every time it's mentioned I'm just picturing women with WD-40 leaking out their privates.
All in all, I'm conflicted about this series. I would've happily bought the next book in the series even with the slightly shallow female lead and weird descriptions of bodily functions if it just didn't have so much graphic non-consensual sex. As it is, that last factor is pretty much the dealbreaker. Such a shame.
The overall story, world and premise is interesting and entertaining. The world R. Lee Smith has built is quite fascinating, and the friendship and adventure between the heroine, her baby griffin and the "good" creatures of Arcadia is very fun to read. The balance between fantasy, adventure and romance is quite good, where it has enough romance for romance readers out there (albeit slow building), and enough fantasy and actual plot to not just be a p0rn fest. Her relationship with the griffin is adorable, and to be honest the baby griffin is the highlight of the book for me.
The really uncomfortable thing for me reading this is the repeated graphic sexual assault on the heroine, whether its "mystical mind rape" or actual physical sexual assault. Everyone in mystical Arcadia seems to be out there to bone her against her will, and in some cases she even willingly offers them sexual favours as a "gift" (with not even any "she was in lust with them" to even warm it up). It's constantly hammered home into us that she's a virgin which is no big deal, except the book makes all sorts of fuss about it.
This, combined with the heroine's Mary-Sue perfectness and her strangely inconsistent "I'm saving myself for love but I will pleasure anyone who asks it" approach to the world detracts from the character as a whole. She comes across as quite a nice heroine, but sadly quite 2 dimensional.
Lastly, the author loves describing female arousal as "oils". "The oils of her feminine arousal" is a fairly small and personal quibble with the book, but it does break my immersion in the story as every time it's mentioned I'm just picturing women with WD-40 leaking out their privates.
All in all, I'm conflicted about this series. I would've happily bought the next book in the series even with the slightly shallow female lead and weird descriptions of bodily functions if it just didn't have so much graphic non-consensual sex. As it is, that last factor is pretty much the dealbreaker. Such a shame.
April 25, 2022
PUSHED RATING FROM 1 -> 2 Stars because I didn't hate it. Now that I'm reading something I hate I see that more clearly. Care&feeding was very dull, but the rest of the series made up for it (and more) I am a super fan of other characters that show up in the series later.
--------------------------------------------------------
Let's face it, if any other name but "R. Lee Smith" had been on the cover I would have dropped this like a hot potato. Shoo, shoo!
Why this did not work for me, a bullet list:
* mentally young, virgin, naive, hopeful, idealistic heroine /// waiting for the one twue wuv ////
* grabs a griffin egg and uproots her entire life to raise the lil bugger in a parallel fantasy universe, where she starts camping IN A TENT. I kid you not. (YA anyone?)
* HORSES. OMG, you guys. Horses. I HATE horses. my sister used to ride and do you know HOW ABOMINABLY she would STINK after coming home from her lessons?? jeses f christ I do not even want to look at these creatures, much less read about them like they're PEOPLE. Horrid, horrid critters. They are quite possibly my least favorite animals, and that list does include mosquitoes.
* farming. FARMING. Remember I Married A Lizardman and how I loathed the idea of a heroine excited about crops? Now let me tell you there is a place and a time to be excited about crops, and that is while playing Stardew Valley. I do not want to hear or see anything about crops unless I am watching the news and even then, for information only, NOT for entertainment. Leave me alone with your potatoes for god's sake.
* fawning over "Irish" heritage. Girl, you are American, not Irish. You never set foot in Ireland! Idc about your stupid red hair, it's not cute to flaunt a history that doesn't even play a role in the story. Like, the most Irish thing in this entire book are potatoes and even those aren't native to Ireland *rolls eyes*
* everyone just LURVES the heroine. Isn't she absolutely magical, speshul and the perfectest little hooman with her bright eyes and her lil toezy woezies? Oh hell no. Have I landed in "not like other girls" YA-landia? Go away
* did I mention the Centaurs? Oh yeah, HORSES.
* ~ wandering and hiking in a beautiful green landscape ~
* ~ writing and receiving letters from home, repeatedly ~ (is this Jane Austen???)
There were TWO tiny thing that I liked about this book beside the writing by my beloved RLee. One, there was a cat (and all the scenes with the cat were hilarious and also horrifying). And two, I really do believe this book is just set-up for the heroine to actually buckle up and become awesome at some point in this 5 book saga.
BUT!!!
It was a total waste of my time to read this, because I hated everything about it and I am not sure the next books in the series can diffuse the bad taste all the horse sex dreams left behind in my mouth. UGH
While reading:
Blood ist red
Bruises are blue
I don't like horses
I don't want to read horse sex scenes
Thank you
and
and
I really don't like horses. There should be a law about love interests being bipeds. Walking on two legs should be a requirement. Unless tentacles. Tentacles are *fine*.
--------------------------------------------------------
Let's face it, if any other name but "R. Lee Smith" had been on the cover I would have dropped this like a hot potato. Shoo, shoo!
Why this did not work for me, a bullet list:
* mentally young, virgin, naive, hopeful, idealistic heroine /// waiting for the one twue wuv ////
* grabs a griffin egg and uproots her entire life to raise the lil bugger in a parallel fantasy universe, where she starts camping IN A TENT. I kid you not. (YA anyone?)
* HORSES. OMG, you guys. Horses. I HATE horses. my sister used to ride and do you know HOW ABOMINABLY she would STINK after coming home from her lessons?? jeses f christ I do not even want to look at these creatures, much less read about them like they're PEOPLE. Horrid, horrid critters. They are quite possibly my least favorite animals, and that list does include mosquitoes.
* farming. FARMING. Remember I Married A Lizardman and how I loathed the idea of a heroine excited about crops? Now let me tell you there is a place and a time to be excited about crops, and that is while playing Stardew Valley. I do not want to hear or see anything about crops unless I am watching the news and even then, for information only, NOT for entertainment. Leave me alone with your potatoes for god's sake.
* fawning over "Irish" heritage. Girl, you are American, not Irish. You never set foot in Ireland! Idc about your stupid red hair, it's not cute to flaunt a history that doesn't even play a role in the story. Like, the most Irish thing in this entire book are potatoes and even those aren't native to Ireland *rolls eyes*
* everyone just LURVES the heroine. Isn't she absolutely magical, speshul and the perfectest little hooman with her bright eyes and her lil toezy woezies? Oh hell no. Have I landed in "not like other girls" YA-landia? Go away
* did I mention the Centaurs? Oh yeah, HORSES.
* ~ wandering and hiking in a beautiful green landscape ~
* ~ writing and receiving letters from home, repeatedly ~ (is this Jane Austen???)
There were TWO tiny thing that I liked about this book beside the writing by my beloved RLee. One, there was a cat (and all the scenes with the cat were hilarious and also horrifying). And two, I really do believe this book is just set-up for the heroine to actually buckle up and become awesome at some point in this 5 book saga.
BUT!!!
It was a total waste of my time to read this, because I hated everything about it and I am not sure the next books in the series can diffuse the bad taste all the horse sex dreams left behind in my mouth. UGH
While reading:
Blood ist red
Bruises are blue
I don't like horses
I don't want to read horse sex scenes
Thank you
and
and
I really don't like horses. There should be a law about love interests being bipeds. Walking on two legs should be a requirement. Unless tentacles. Tentacles are *fine*.
September 26, 2024
Well, she’s done it again! This is the first book in a long series of thicccc books. It took me almost up until the first 50% to really get into this one until I reached a chapter that made me go, “What the fuck?!” And then, I was committed. That was one of the weirdest, grossest things I’ve ever read. I’m going to bleach my brain now 😂.
This book is dark. Quite dark, and it's got several non-con/rape scenes. Not the kind of non-con by a morally black male lead that you might end up thinking is redeemable as we sometimes see in dark romance novels, but the slithery, "this is horrifying, and I really feel bad for this character" kind of non-con. I’m glad that this wasn’t my first R. Lee Smith novel because I knew the reward (a.k.a. "the I get hooked and can't put the book down moment") would be there if I stuck it out. There is a character in this book that I might actually end up hating more than S’Kot and N’Ki, and if you know those characters, you know that’s saying a hell of a lot. But it’s the truth. This book also was not a romance, but there’s a potential budding romance, and I can’t wait to see if my predictions are right in subsequent books.
This wasn’t my favorite book by R. Lee Smith, but at the same time, I can see the reason why the start was slow in this one, and I’m currently going full steam ahead into book 2, The Wizard in the Woods.
P.S. Taryn’s origins at the Redmond, Washington library made me smile. I grew up there, and it was fun to be able to picture exactly what everything looked like. It made the book just a little bit more special to me. 🥰
This book is dark. Quite dark, and it's got several non-con/rape scenes. Not the kind of non-con by a morally black male lead that you might end up thinking is redeemable as we sometimes see in dark romance novels, but the slithery, "this is horrifying, and I really feel bad for this character" kind of non-con. I’m glad that this wasn’t my first R. Lee Smith novel because I knew the reward (a.k.a. "the I get hooked and can't put the book down moment") would be there if I stuck it out. There is a character in this book that I might actually end up hating more than S’Kot and N’Ki, and if you know those characters, you know that’s saying a hell of a lot. But it’s the truth. This book also was not a romance, but there’s a potential budding romance, and I can’t wait to see if my predictions are right in subsequent books.
This wasn’t my favorite book by R. Lee Smith, but at the same time, I can see the reason why the start was slow in this one, and I’m currently going full steam ahead into book 2, The Wizard in the Woods.
P.S. Taryn’s origins at the Redmond, Washington library made me smile. I grew up there, and it was fun to be able to picture exactly what everything looked like. It made the book just a little bit more special to me. 🥰
August 12, 2015
I wasn't sure what I'd be getting once I started this book. I loved LOVED The Last Hour of Gann (one of my now all-time favorites) and I loved Cottonwood so in reality I had a small inkling. However, this whole "erotica" genre is new to me. In fact, Ms Smith's work is probably the first I've read that is classified this way. Fantasy, now fantasy is a genre I know and am comfortable with, and what screams fantasy more than a book about griffins, or griffawns, or gryphons (as I've always thought of them)? Not much, right?
Yeah, that's kind of what I thought going into the book too. And it IS a fantasy book, truly, but it also has the dark, erotic tones as well. While I didn't enjoy that aspect of the book as well as the others written by her I really did enjoy the fantasy. Almost enough to 5 star the book. Almost.
BUT.....
Taryn was a little too naive, and too humble, and too good. That can't be genuine, can it? And because she was all of these things AND also a *gasp* human too many people wanted to get into her goodies. Basically everyone with a penis and then some. Now, don't get me wrong, I like her...she just doesn't feel like a real person. It feels like she's faking her responses, forcing her goodness because it's how she should be. No one would look at someone who just to tried to force her sexual attentions and say, "It's okay. I'm not mad. Let's be friends." There is no way that is real. And I do get it's a fantasy. I do get it's not meant to be real, and, for the most part, I'm definitely okay with that. But it still needs to FEEL real. Taryn just comes across as too not real, too not genuine, too not, well, human. And as I re-read this I feel like I'm being overly harsh in my criticism of her because I did enjoy the book, but that doesn't make my feelings any less true.
I will say this again. I liked the book. I think she did a great job world building. I think the fantasy was well written (I can't fault her writing...I think she's fantastic!) and even most of her characterizations came across as strong. For a lengthy novel, it FLEW by. I just didn't love Taryn the way EVERYONE else seems to. That's all. I'm definitely starting on the next one ASAP.
Yeah, that's kind of what I thought going into the book too. And it IS a fantasy book, truly, but it also has the dark, erotic tones as well. While I didn't enjoy that aspect of the book as well as the others written by her I really did enjoy the fantasy. Almost enough to 5 star the book. Almost.
BUT.....
Taryn was a little too naive, and too humble, and too good. That can't be genuine, can it? And because she was all of these things AND also a *gasp* human too many people wanted to get into her goodies. Basically everyone with a penis and then some. Now, don't get me wrong, I like her...she just doesn't feel like a real person. It feels like she's faking her responses, forcing her goodness because it's how she should be. No one would look at someone who just to tried to force her sexual attentions and say, "It's okay. I'm not mad. Let's be friends." There is no way that is real. And I do get it's a fantasy. I do get it's not meant to be real, and, for the most part, I'm definitely okay with that. But it still needs to FEEL real. Taryn just comes across as too not real, too not genuine, too not, well, human. And as I re-read this I feel like I'm being overly harsh in my criticism of her because I did enjoy the book, but that doesn't make my feelings any less true.
I will say this again. I liked the book. I think she did a great job world building. I think the fantasy was well written (I can't fault her writing...I think she's fantastic!) and even most of her characterizations came across as strong. For a lengthy novel, it FLEW by. I just didn't love Taryn the way EVERYONE else seems to. That's all. I'm definitely starting on the next one ASAP.
January 19, 2018
Interesting book that was incredibly long. I've heard a lot about R. Lee Smith's other books but have not read them, and I saw this on KU and it peaked my interest.
Taryn is a pretty interesting person who chooses to leave for a mythical world to raise her griffin after he unexpectedly hatches from an egg she has kept for many years.
She puts up with a ton of crap for doing this - from the occupants who hate humans and from a creepy creepy wizard
For the most part I enjoyed the book, it was very long but the characters were interesting. I found the sexual moments mostly disturbing in this book. There seemed to be a romance coming as well, we shall see in the next book.
Taryn is a pretty interesting person who chooses to leave for a mythical world to raise her griffin after he unexpectedly hatches from an egg she has kept for many years.
She puts up with a ton of crap for doing this - from the occupants who hate humans and from a creepy creepy wizard
For the most part I enjoyed the book, it was very long but the characters were interesting. I found the sexual moments mostly disturbing in this book. There seemed to be a romance coming as well, we shall see in the next book.
August 10, 2017
*fangirl moment*
April 21, 2022
I've been meaning to read this book for ages!
I really like this author, although sometimes you need to get used to her writing style and be prepared to forget everything you know, leave all other books and styles behind, and accept that some things just are.
If you're willing to try something completely new, you should give R Lee Smith a try. Maybe this isn't the best book, but it's still very representative.
Worth a read, definitely. Or at least, worth a try.
I really like this author, although sometimes you need to get used to her writing style and be prepared to forget everything you know, leave all other books and styles behind, and accept that some things just are.
If you're willing to try something completely new, you should give R Lee Smith a try. Maybe this isn't the best book, but it's still very representative.
Worth a read, definitely. Or at least, worth a try.
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November 9, 2013
11/04/2013 --
Overall Rating = 2.5 Stars
Book Cover / Book Blurb / Book Title = 4 / 3 / 3 = 3 Stars
Writer’s Voice = 2.5 Stars
Character Development = 3 Stars
Story Appreciation = 2.5 Stars
Worth the Chili = 2 Stars -- [$6.50 on Amazon]
As much as I liked R. Lee Smith's writing in "The Last Hour of Gann", I was just apathetic about her writing in this book. It had some okay moments and a few chuckle out loud moments, but for the most part, it fell short. Very short.
A few comments to explain myself better:
1 -- Maybe I was spoiled with Gann, but the creativity I enjoyed so much was sorely lacking in this one. The attempt was interesting, but it just didn't seem to all come together for me. I enjoyed the Minotaur and the horse people or the Centaurs, but the Mage left me flat. I found myself skimming whenever he showed up like I did with J.R. Ward's Lesser's in her BDB books. The griffin was cute but didn't warm my heart, which I think was the intent of his antics.
2 -- There were bits of humor and I thoroughly enjoyed them. However, these moments didn't happen often enough to hold me to the next one. The book and its' characters just seemed to bop along. Nothing really happened. Nothing at all. No pull . . .
3 -- This book was way over priced. There were pages and pages of stuff that you didn't need. And, the story stopped. Fortunately, I started reading the second book immediately. It will most likely be a DNF for me. It isn't any worse than this one, but it isn't better either.
I loved Gann. I mean really, truly loved it. Maybe I should have stopped there. Sometimes you just may not like everything an author produces. I'm okay with it. But the author shouldn't be. When you have an audience, you want to keep said audience. I hope all Smith's later books are ones I enjoy. Before I buy though, I'll be watching reviews and thinking twice. I hope she isn't a "one hit wonder". This book just didn't pop for me.
Happy Reading!
Oh ... note on erotica. This book was that either. It did have a few scenes and elements. More disturbing than erotic. I get it. It is all about celebrating differences and acceptance. These elements may not be for everyone. Just sayin'.
Overall Rating = 2.5 Stars
Book Cover / Book Blurb / Book Title = 4 / 3 / 3 = 3 Stars
Writer’s Voice = 2.5 Stars
Character Development = 3 Stars
Story Appreciation = 2.5 Stars
Worth the Chili = 2 Stars -- [$6.50 on Amazon]
As much as I liked R. Lee Smith's writing in "The Last Hour of Gann", I was just apathetic about her writing in this book. It had some okay moments and a few chuckle out loud moments, but for the most part, it fell short. Very short.
A few comments to explain myself better:
1 -- Maybe I was spoiled with Gann, but the creativity I enjoyed so much was sorely lacking in this one. The attempt was interesting, but it just didn't seem to all come together for me. I enjoyed the Minotaur and the horse people or the Centaurs, but the Mage left me flat. I found myself skimming whenever he showed up like I did with J.R. Ward's Lesser's in her BDB books. The griffin was cute but didn't warm my heart, which I think was the intent of his antics.
2 -- There were bits of humor and I thoroughly enjoyed them. However, these moments didn't happen often enough to hold me to the next one. The book and its' characters just seemed to bop along. Nothing really happened. Nothing at all. No pull . . .
3 -- This book was way over priced. There were pages and pages of stuff that you didn't need. And, the story stopped. Fortunately, I started reading the second book immediately. It will most likely be a DNF for me. It isn't any worse than this one, but it isn't better either.
I loved Gann. I mean really, truly loved it. Maybe I should have stopped there. Sometimes you just may not like everything an author produces. I'm okay with it. But the author shouldn't be. When you have an audience, you want to keep said audience. I hope all Smith's later books are ones I enjoy. Before I buy though, I'll be watching reviews and thinking twice. I hope she isn't a "one hit wonder". This book just didn't pop for me.
Happy Reading!
Oh ... note on erotica. This book was that either. It did have a few scenes and elements. More disturbing than erotic. I get it. It is all about celebrating differences and acceptance. These elements may not be for everyone. Just sayin'.
June 18, 2019
I can’t get enough of Smith (I also can’t figure out if I should refer to her as Lee Smith, or just Smith, but alas I digress). Although I fear nothing will ever quite resonate with me the way Last Hour of Gann did, The Care and Feeding of Griffins (now and forever known as tCaFoG) is a strong beginning for what I hope will be an exciting quartet. Smith’s works were a hard find for me, as I’m sure they are for others, most likely because of her propensity for using sex as an integral plot device, which pushes her into the ‘underworld’ of ‘erotica’ instead of allowing her to exist on her writing laurels in the ‘well-lit’ fantasy section. If you’re willing to look past her salacious descriptions what you’re left with is an intrepid tale of a young woman who would give up anything and everything for a lone griffin egg that hatched in her care.
I’m not going to lie; tCaFoG starts out a bit slow. Smith is a strong believer in world building, and setting the stage. I was initially put off that the story begins at the ripe age of 6 years and 16 days old. I tend to be impatient when it comes to aging, preferring my heroines to start at an age when simply existing begets reason, as opposed to allowing age to foster an excuse for bad decision making. I actually started the sample on my kindle once and decided I wasn’t patient enough at the time to read it only to return at the end of Land of the Beautiful Dead to try again. What I discovered instead is that Smith presents a very down to earth Taryn, who has a fascination with libraries, and sets the stage for a young woman realistically open to experiencing the impossible with a level head. I was not at all bothered by Taryn’s brief stint through pre-pubescence, and although I was not in love with the amount of time spent before actually travelling to the lands of Avalon, I could see the importance of the scenes Smith chose to include before we set off to raise our little Aisling.
Smith does a wonderful job of really expressing the grit of her story. Taryn’s journey, although it’s only just beginning, is rife with struggles, not just the fantastical ones involving the rearing of a mythological creature, but the ones realistically associated with living a life in an unknown world. No one magically appears to make life easier for Taryn. There are no little elves to light fires and to catch fish; in fact, there decidedly not helpful neighbors in the form of centaurs who rather dislike the idea of a human gracing their homeland. At first I was a tad bored, because Taryn, left to her own devices, has nothing to do (she has a lot to do physically, but it’s not necessarily mentally engaging) and no one to depend on. But even as I wished that she had some form of companionship aside from her baby griffin, which while adorable, has very little ability to communicate, I can see how important it is that Smith set the scene for Taryn to really work at what she wants. It’s very important that fantasy have grounding in real life, and Taryn’s work ethic as well as changing moods and dejection when faced with realistic obstacles, is very genuine.
And when Taryn finally makes a breakthrough with the centaurian Farasai, I feel tCaFoG starts to really find its stride. Taryn has ‘people’ to talk to, and we (and she) get a break from the constant struggles associated with just trying to scrape by. With the inclusion of supporting cast, we get a strong introduction to Smith’s characterizations. I very much enjoy her progression away from standard human norms. tCaFoG instead features at its forefront a bunch of ‘horseman’ which a completely different set of cultural norms, as well as a lonely lordly minotaur (our word, not his). She someone manages to make these creatures not only captivating and compelling, but natural enough to consider them in a romantic relationship. (And to anyone who says there’s no romance in this book thus far, I disagree. I think the time Taryn and Antilles spend together is a lovely initiation into what will hopefully be a strong and enduring romance. I don’t need professions of undying love to see the writing on the wall. A nice little mountain bath followed by sweet hair brushing is more than enough to convince me. ) She fully commits to their creature-like traits and doesn’t fall back on the oft used – he has horns, and/or a tail, and thus is different- schema. Antilles is a Minotaur straight up, with a bull head. Think Theseus’s nemesis, this is what we’re working with. He has bullish characteristics and traits that don’t meld with humanity, but it doesn’t matter, in fact I like him more for it. And it’s not just Tilly that has me enamored, but each and every Farasai has a unique personality and wealth of depth to add to the tale.
Every review I’ve read thus far has some kind of feeling, mostly negative, as it pertains to our antagonistic wizard. Truthfully as far as I’m concerned he fits the bill of creepy secluded wizard if you ask me. I wasn’t particularly bothered by his obsession with Taryn, partially because it comes off as purely circumstantial, his obsession brought on both by her prized orphan griffin as well as the fact that she just so happens to be a pretty human in the wrong place at the wrong time. He has enough motives for me that while he remains sufficiently creepy, he does not feel out of place.
By the time I reached the end I felt tCaFoG was just getting started. As a book alone it doesn’t really have a beginning, middle, and end as a standalone but works more as a precursor to what is bound to be a wide, overarching conflict. I might feel differently if all books weren’t already released, but having the next book right within my reach dispelled any negative feelings I might towards this first book not supporting itself in terms of finishing a complete thought (even with plans to continue on). Lucky for everyone though the next book picks up right where we leave off, and I’m just as excited to continue on as I was when I was in the thick of things in book one. The Care and Feeding of Griffins is a solid, engaging read, and once it gets started it’s hard to put down. I’ll definitely be hopping right over to the next book as soon as I’m finished here. ***4 highly enjoyable stars***
I’m not going to lie; tCaFoG starts out a bit slow. Smith is a strong believer in world building, and setting the stage. I was initially put off that the story begins at the ripe age of 6 years and 16 days old. I tend to be impatient when it comes to aging, preferring my heroines to start at an age when simply existing begets reason, as opposed to allowing age to foster an excuse for bad decision making. I actually started the sample on my kindle once and decided I wasn’t patient enough at the time to read it only to return at the end of Land of the Beautiful Dead to try again. What I discovered instead is that Smith presents a very down to earth Taryn, who has a fascination with libraries, and sets the stage for a young woman realistically open to experiencing the impossible with a level head. I was not at all bothered by Taryn’s brief stint through pre-pubescence, and although I was not in love with the amount of time spent before actually travelling to the lands of Avalon, I could see the importance of the scenes Smith chose to include before we set off to raise our little Aisling.
Smith does a wonderful job of really expressing the grit of her story. Taryn’s journey, although it’s only just beginning, is rife with struggles, not just the fantastical ones involving the rearing of a mythological creature, but the ones realistically associated with living a life in an unknown world. No one magically appears to make life easier for Taryn. There are no little elves to light fires and to catch fish; in fact, there decidedly not helpful neighbors in the form of centaurs who rather dislike the idea of a human gracing their homeland. At first I was a tad bored, because Taryn, left to her own devices, has nothing to do (she has a lot to do physically, but it’s not necessarily mentally engaging) and no one to depend on. But even as I wished that she had some form of companionship aside from her baby griffin, which while adorable, has very little ability to communicate, I can see how important it is that Smith set the scene for Taryn to really work at what she wants. It’s very important that fantasy have grounding in real life, and Taryn’s work ethic as well as changing moods and dejection when faced with realistic obstacles, is very genuine.
And when Taryn finally makes a breakthrough with the centaurian Farasai, I feel tCaFoG starts to really find its stride. Taryn has ‘people’ to talk to, and we (and she) get a break from the constant struggles associated with just trying to scrape by. With the inclusion of supporting cast, we get a strong introduction to Smith’s characterizations. I very much enjoy her progression away from standard human norms. tCaFoG instead features at its forefront a bunch of ‘horseman’ which a completely different set of cultural norms, as well as a lonely lordly minotaur (our word, not his). She someone manages to make these creatures not only captivating and compelling, but natural enough to consider them in a romantic relationship. (And to anyone who says there’s no romance in this book thus far, I disagree. I think the time Taryn and Antilles spend together is a lovely initiation into what will hopefully be a strong and enduring romance. I don’t need professions of undying love to see the writing on the wall. A nice little mountain bath followed by sweet hair brushing is more than enough to convince me. ) She fully commits to their creature-like traits and doesn’t fall back on the oft used – he has horns, and/or a tail, and thus is different- schema. Antilles is a Minotaur straight up, with a bull head. Think Theseus’s nemesis, this is what we’re working with. He has bullish characteristics and traits that don’t meld with humanity, but it doesn’t matter, in fact I like him more for it. And it’s not just Tilly that has me enamored, but each and every Farasai has a unique personality and wealth of depth to add to the tale.
Every review I’ve read thus far has some kind of feeling, mostly negative, as it pertains to our antagonistic wizard. Truthfully as far as I’m concerned he fits the bill of creepy secluded wizard if you ask me. I wasn’t particularly bothered by his obsession with Taryn, partially because it comes off as purely circumstantial, his obsession brought on both by her prized orphan griffin as well as the fact that she just so happens to be a pretty human in the wrong place at the wrong time. He has enough motives for me that while he remains sufficiently creepy, he does not feel out of place.
By the time I reached the end I felt tCaFoG was just getting started. As a book alone it doesn’t really have a beginning, middle, and end as a standalone but works more as a precursor to what is bound to be a wide, overarching conflict. I might feel differently if all books weren’t already released, but having the next book right within my reach dispelled any negative feelings I might towards this first book not supporting itself in terms of finishing a complete thought (even with plans to continue on). Lucky for everyone though the next book picks up right where we leave off, and I’m just as excited to continue on as I was when I was in the thick of things in book one. The Care and Feeding of Griffins is a solid, engaging read, and once it gets started it’s hard to put down. I’ll definitely be hopping right over to the next book as soon as I’m finished here. ***4 highly enjoyable stars***
July 30, 2016
*Actual rating 2.75*
This is the third book I've read by this author, and my least favorite so far. The story concerns a virginal girl from Oregon, Taryn, who finds a griffin's egg and has no idea what to do when it hatches, so a magical old woman offers to escort her to the land of Arcadia while she raises it. Arcadia's a strange place, with odd wildlife, centaurs, a minotaur and an evil wizard who really wants to get into Taryn's pants. It's not a bad book, but after enjoying the emotionally charged--and much more focused--Cottonwood and the gleeful malevolence of The Scholomance, I found it to be a bit of a disappointment.
There were actually many positive qualities to the book, including Smith's smooth writing and crazy imagination. Unfortunately, the interesting moments were interspersed with long, repetitive passages and detailed scenes of nothing much happening, and then I got to the end and it's a complete cliff-hanger. The story just ends with a "to be continued in part two...." That's annoying, especially in this case, since the story could easily have been condensed down quite a lot and combined with the second book to make a complete novel.
After skimming some reviews of the subsequent books, I didn't see anything that particularly caught my interest, so I doubt I'll be continuing the series.
Two further notes: I noticed a few other reviews mention that they were bummed out by the sex scenes in this novel, which consisted of some rather graphic dream sequences of rape and coercion. I wasn't particularly bothered by them--although I sure as hell wouldn't call them "erotic"--but if you are sensitive about that, it's a valid warning.
And two--and this is just an extremely petty quibble--Taryn makes a reference to how, when she was a kid, she used to believe in "killer snipe" although now she knows that "snipe aren't real." I wish I knew where that rumor started, because let me assure you, snipe absolutely exist. They are rather chunky looking birds with extremely long beaks, and they're actually rather common. Sincerely, the Snipe Are Real Committee.
This is the third book I've read by this author, and my least favorite so far. The story concerns a virginal girl from Oregon, Taryn, who finds a griffin's egg and has no idea what to do when it hatches, so a magical old woman offers to escort her to the land of Arcadia while she raises it. Arcadia's a strange place, with odd wildlife, centaurs, a minotaur and an evil wizard who really wants to get into Taryn's pants. It's not a bad book, but after enjoying the emotionally charged--and much more focused--Cottonwood and the gleeful malevolence of The Scholomance, I found it to be a bit of a disappointment.
There were actually many positive qualities to the book, including Smith's smooth writing and crazy imagination. Unfortunately, the interesting moments were interspersed with long, repetitive passages and detailed scenes of nothing much happening, and then I got to the end and it's a complete cliff-hanger. The story just ends with a "to be continued in part two...." That's annoying, especially in this case, since the story could easily have been condensed down quite a lot and combined with the second book to make a complete novel.
After skimming some reviews of the subsequent books, I didn't see anything that particularly caught my interest, so I doubt I'll be continuing the series.
Two further notes: I noticed a few other reviews mention that they were bummed out by the sex scenes in this novel, which consisted of some rather graphic dream sequences of rape and coercion. I wasn't particularly bothered by them--although I sure as hell wouldn't call them "erotic"--but if you are sensitive about that, it's a valid warning.
And two--and this is just an extremely petty quibble--Taryn makes a reference to how, when she was a kid, she used to believe in "killer snipe" although now she knows that "snipe aren't real." I wish I knew where that rumor started, because let me assure you, snipe absolutely exist. They are rather chunky looking birds with extremely long beaks, and they're actually rather common. Sincerely, the Snipe Are Real Committee.
March 25, 2019
This was not what I thought it was going to be. Taryn found an egg. Years later it hatched into a griffin. Despite the griffin being the catalyst for the events of the novel, it did not play a significant role in the book. It was always around, but it wouldn't have mattered if it hadn't been. To raise the griffin she had to flee with it to another world called Arcadia. Half of the book is about Taryn trying to learn how to survive in the wilderness. The rest of the book is about her interacting with the locals. Of course several men were interested in her.
All of the men were interested in Taryn. She was super nice and naive, but I didn't particularly find those to be endearing qualities. I liked Tonka and Antilles. I would have been fine with it if she ended up with one of them. The other man that was interested in Taryn was the wizard. I hated him especially considering the wanted her for nefarious reasons. The book would have been better if he weren't in it. There were a fair amount of erotic scenes. Most of them were dreams, but all of them were rape. None were fun to read.
I was incredibly bored and considered giving up on it. It was way too long for the little amount of story. It didn't build up to a climax by the end. It felt like it ended halfway through the story. I definitely will not be reading the next one. It was painful enough to get through this.
All of the men were interested in Taryn. She was super nice and naive, but I didn't particularly find those to be endearing qualities. I liked Tonka and Antilles. I would have been fine with it if she ended up with one of them. The other man that was interested in Taryn was the wizard. I hated him especially considering the wanted her for nefarious reasons. The book would have been better if he weren't in it. There were a fair amount of erotic scenes. Most of them were dreams, but all of them were rape. None were fun to read.
I was incredibly bored and considered giving up on it. It was way too long for the little amount of story. It didn't build up to a climax by the end. It felt like it ended halfway through the story. I definitely will not be reading the next one. It was painful enough to get through this.
April 29, 2016
The ending was too abrupt otherwise I would have given it 5 stars. I'm really loving this author, all her books are so creative, well written and good! I can't wait to see what happens next.
October 19, 2013
R. Lee Smith:
This is definitely one of my favourite books of all times,I'm already on the next one and i can't wait for the wild ride i'm sure i'm going to get.
This story had me like this:
This is definitely one of my favourite books of all times,I'm already on the next one and i can't wait for the wild ride i'm sure i'm going to get.
This story had me like this:
February 13, 2019
I really thought this would be a 5 stars read... at the beginning. Then the creepy sex scenes began. This novel is a study in contrasts. It holds a fairy tale quality, has some enchanting parts, almost fit for children that oppose violently with highly disturbing sections.
The book's ethics are quite questionable too, and the heroine embodies all the Mary-Sue you ever imagined, sweet virgin, lovely, brave, resilient, strong (but not too much, she's avictim woman after all), and of course coveted by every male (and sometimes female) creature she encounters.
As much as I loved the world building, Aisling the griffin baby, and even the struggle the heroine went trough trying to survive in the wilderness, I absolutely hated the rest.
Conflicted? Me?
Hell yes.
Cherry (pun intended) on the cake, the book ended in a cliffhanger. I'll be reading the second one. For the baby griffin, no joke.
The book's ethics are quite questionable too, and the heroine embodies all the Mary-Sue you ever imagined, sweet virgin, lovely, brave, resilient, strong (but not too much, she's a
As much as I loved the world building, Aisling the griffin baby, and even the struggle the heroine went trough trying to survive in the wilderness, I absolutely hated the rest.
Conflicted? Me?
Hell yes.
Cherry (pun intended) on the cake, the book ended in a cliffhanger. I'll be reading the second one. For the baby griffin, no joke.
March 8, 2015
Despite some not-so-good reviews and low ratings
I still gave this book a chance caz I loved Heat by this author.
I'll say I'm glad I gave it a chance, it was a wonderful read. It was
magical and amazing. The thought of finding a Griffen egg and hatching it
and then having to go to a whole new world to give it a chance to grow and be safe
is so cool to me. For a girl that was obsessed with Unicorns and Pegasus when I was
young (still believe in them) this book was not so hard to dive into.
There are some concerns about the wizard, which I'll just say now...he's so perverted
and gross (his cat? Yuck), but I'm hoping he gets a whooping soon. Hopefully from
Antilles! Can't wait to read more.
I still gave this book a chance caz I loved Heat by this author.
I'll say I'm glad I gave it a chance, it was a wonderful read. It was
magical and amazing. The thought of finding a Griffen egg and hatching it
and then having to go to a whole new world to give it a chance to grow and be safe
is so cool to me. For a girl that was obsessed with Unicorns and Pegasus when I was
young (still believe in them) this book was not so hard to dive into.
There are some concerns about the wizard, which I'll just say now...he's so perverted
and gross (his cat? Yuck), but I'm hoping he gets a whooping soon. Hopefully from
Antilles! Can't wait to read more.
April 18, 2018
It's hard to put a star rating on this book. I actually think it's fantastic. But as long as it is, it's not a complete book. It's the first half of (what appears to be) a fantastic 900 page book (itself merely the first half of a series).
I'm keenly aware that I recently raked a certain other book over the coals for ending with "sequel coming soon!" and I'm not going to do that with Care and Feeding. I might attempt to justify the disparity by saying that as I understand it, Smith's books were originally written all at once and were split up for publishing (like Lord of the Rings?). But ultimately, screw it, I'm just not going to be fair about it. I like this book and I didn't like that book.
Care and Feeding is a great setup and we're clearly only scratching the surface of the world of Arcadia. There are plenty of unique things about this book and I like how R. Lee Smith tells a story. I'm halfway through the sequel (The Wizard in the Woods) and despite some ups and downs, it's going well so far.
In conclusion, it's hard to rate or review this book on its own.
I'm keenly aware that I recently raked a certain other book over the coals for ending with "sequel coming soon!" and I'm not going to do that with Care and Feeding. I might attempt to justify the disparity by saying that as I understand it, Smith's books were originally written all at once and were split up for publishing (like Lord of the Rings?). But ultimately, screw it, I'm just not going to be fair about it. I like this book and I didn't like that book.
Care and Feeding is a great setup and we're clearly only scratching the surface of the world of Arcadia. There are plenty of unique things about this book and I like how R. Lee Smith tells a story. I'm halfway through the sequel (The Wizard in the Woods) and despite some ups and downs, it's going well so far.
In conclusion, it's hard to rate or review this book on its own.
February 16, 2024
I can’t with Taryn, this girl has no common sense and it made me want to rip my hair out.
anyway, centaur sex?! not for me and I’m dreading it but I’m continuing on bc the world building and cast of characters are so freakin strong. wish me luck ugh
anyway, centaur sex?! not for me and I’m dreading it but I’m continuing on bc the world building and cast of characters are so freakin strong. wish me luck ugh
Read
September 9, 2018Tried and I thought it was ok but it is not inspiring me to finish even the sample so giving up. I am in a book slump so definitely don't trust me or my opinions at the moment!!
May 3, 2021
Interesting idea so I'm curious to see where it goes. It ended in a very weird place. It's not really an ending which is strange.
August 19, 2025
R Lee Smith’s take on the genre of isekai, single-mother, farming sim.
This would almost be cozy fantasy if you weren’t able to dip in on all of the dream rape.
Expect mythical characters, cute little animals, unforgivable mental violations, and writing that draws you in and never lets go.
This would almost be cozy fantasy if you weren’t able to dip in on all of the dream rape.
Expect mythical characters, cute little animals, unforgivable mental violations, and writing that draws you in and never lets go.
June 9, 2014
It’s hard to put into words my feelings on this book. I would have given this book 5 stars but after I finished reading it I reflected on what just happened. It was then I realized that nothing just happened. There was no resolution, it just ended. A definite WTH moment for me. I just read almost 500 pages and nothing was resolved! That is why this book got 4 stars.
The story starts out slow (really slow), we meet Taryn when she’s 6 then skip ahead a few years to her at 9 and then her at 24. Taryn goes camping with her dad when she’s 9. While on the camping trip she discovers an egg unearthed by a fallen tree. Little Taryn takes the egg home and decides she wants to hatch it. Fast forward fifteen years and the egg finally hatches. Who keeps a giant egg for fifteen years? But that’s beside the point, when the egg hatches out pops a baby griffin.
Taryn reacts like how I imagine most people would, she has no idea how to care for this baby so she searches the internet for the answer. When that is a bust she goes to Wal-Mart and guesses on what to feed him. I mean, that is probably what I would do too, Wal-Mart has everything. As one would expect, that turns out as a bust as well. Taryn recalls meeting an interesting lady named Romany when she was 6 at a library. She has the brilliant idea to drive to her old hometown in the hopes this lady is still there after 18 years, lo and behold, Romany is waiting for her. Taryn comes to the realization that she cannot raise the Griffin where she is now. Romany provides her with a solution and offers to take her to Arcadia.
Arcadia is best described as an alternate world where magic still exists. It is split into four (I think) different areas. Taryn decides to settle in the Valley of Hoof and Horn (I believe that is the name of it). It seems like the least dangerous place to settle, what could be dangerous about cattle? Taryn soon learns that Hoof and Horn does not mean cattle, more like centaur and minotaur.
The rest of the book is dedicated to Taryn trying to befriend the centaurs and minotaur. All while this is going on she is noticed by the wizard of Arcadia. He is not a nice wizard, let’s put it that way. The wizard wants her because she is raising a griffin and griffins have many magical benefits once fully grown (none of those are for good).
Umm… this is where it kind of gets weird to explain my feelings on the book. There are rape scenes in the book. If you cannot handle that kind of scene then you should probably not read this book. I noticed in some reviews where people were put off the book dues to the scenes. Well, rape is not supposed to have a feel good vibe to it, so I don’t know what they were expecting. This may sound bad, but the rape scenes were not as bad as they could have been. After reading some reviews I was expecting it to be horrendous or something. The rape was spiritual/mental in nature, so when I say it could have been worse I’m talking about it being physically done versus spiritually/mentally and there were no other factors in the scene (torture, imprisonment, etc). I’ve read books where it was emotionally draining for me to read the rape scenes and this is not one of those books. So that is what I’m basing my views on. Don’t take my thoughts wrong, rape is rape. There is no good rape but if you are a reader wanting to get into more mature readings with darker aspects, this is a good starter book.
All that being said, I would recommend this book. Mainly due to some of the characters (Tilly, I’m looking at you). I think I read somewhere in a review where they thought Taryn was a Mary Sue, yes I can see that. Everyone seems to like her too easily, especially when the centaurs and minotaur have valid reasons to distrust and hate humans. I also wish she wasn’t so stupid and took help that was offered to her but what can you do. I did get the second in the series, due to the abrupt ending of the first book. I want to know what happens with Tilly and I’m hoping the second book works out some of the flaws present in the first book.
The story starts out slow (really slow), we meet Taryn when she’s 6 then skip ahead a few years to her at 9 and then her at 24. Taryn goes camping with her dad when she’s 9. While on the camping trip she discovers an egg unearthed by a fallen tree. Little Taryn takes the egg home and decides she wants to hatch it. Fast forward fifteen years and the egg finally hatches. Who keeps a giant egg for fifteen years? But that’s beside the point, when the egg hatches out pops a baby griffin.
Taryn reacts like how I imagine most people would, she has no idea how to care for this baby so she searches the internet for the answer. When that is a bust she goes to Wal-Mart and guesses on what to feed him. I mean, that is probably what I would do too, Wal-Mart has everything. As one would expect, that turns out as a bust as well. Taryn recalls meeting an interesting lady named Romany when she was 6 at a library. She has the brilliant idea to drive to her old hometown in the hopes this lady is still there after 18 years, lo and behold, Romany is waiting for her. Taryn comes to the realization that she cannot raise the Griffin where she is now. Romany provides her with a solution and offers to take her to Arcadia.
Arcadia is best described as an alternate world where magic still exists. It is split into four (I think) different areas. Taryn decides to settle in the Valley of Hoof and Horn (I believe that is the name of it). It seems like the least dangerous place to settle, what could be dangerous about cattle? Taryn soon learns that Hoof and Horn does not mean cattle, more like centaur and minotaur.
The rest of the book is dedicated to Taryn trying to befriend the centaurs and minotaur. All while this is going on she is noticed by the wizard of Arcadia. He is not a nice wizard, let’s put it that way. The wizard wants her because she is raising a griffin and griffins have many magical benefits once fully grown (none of those are for good).
Umm… this is where it kind of gets weird to explain my feelings on the book. There are rape scenes in the book. If you cannot handle that kind of scene then you should probably not read this book. I noticed in some reviews where people were put off the book dues to the scenes. Well, rape is not supposed to have a feel good vibe to it, so I don’t know what they were expecting. This may sound bad, but the rape scenes were not as bad as they could have been. After reading some reviews I was expecting it to be horrendous or something. The rape was spiritual/mental in nature, so when I say it could have been worse I’m talking about it being physically done versus spiritually/mentally and there were no other factors in the scene (torture, imprisonment, etc). I’ve read books where it was emotionally draining for me to read the rape scenes and this is not one of those books. So that is what I’m basing my views on. Don’t take my thoughts wrong, rape is rape. There is no good rape but if you are a reader wanting to get into more mature readings with darker aspects, this is a good starter book.
All that being said, I would recommend this book. Mainly due to some of the characters (Tilly, I’m looking at you). I think I read somewhere in a review where they thought Taryn was a Mary Sue, yes I can see that. Everyone seems to like her too easily, especially when the centaurs and minotaur have valid reasons to distrust and hate humans. I also wish she wasn’t so stupid and took help that was offered to her but what can you do. I did get the second in the series, due to the abrupt ending of the first book. I want to know what happens with Tilly and I’m hoping the second book works out some of the flaws present in the first book.
February 25, 2012
I loved some of the details of this book. The world is quite interesting and engaging. While I had some issues with the heroine making stupid decisions, this book, as with the best of this author's work, took risks that I found quite thought-provoking. The writing and story are so engaging that I was able to overlook a heroine who was at times maddeningly passive.
Sadly, I found the rest of the series to be lacking in the depth and complexity that made this book a major win for me.
Sadly, I found the rest of the series to be lacking in the depth and complexity that made this book a major win for me.
November 28, 2013
To be honest, this might not be the best fantasy series you've ever read, but R. Lee Smith has a such a compelling voice I could not stop devouring these three books. Alternative worlds, lots of magic, strange creatures. The heroine is goody two shoes with a big heart, who saves everyone through sex *smirk*, and at some point there is no escape from the comparison to Meredith Gentry series by LKH... and yet I couldn't stop reading. Recommended.
February 6, 2017
Erotic horror is not quite my cuppa. Too much rape (as in ANY), but she is a talented writer. This was just way too long and i cant stomach the idea it goes on for four more books. Some of the characters, like the hero type person, were cool, and i want to see where the good parts go but i am weighed down by the rape stuff.
January 5, 2016
This heroine rocks!
June 29, 2020
She was alone and she was afraid, but she wasn't sorry.A decent read, as most R. Lee Smith books are. I could really tell that this was some of Smith's earlier work, however, due to a variety of grammatical errors (particularly the confusion of then/than) and the egregious "specialness" of the main character, Taryn.
Whenever you go into an R Lee Smith novel, you can pretty much expect the core construction to remain the same: a tough but empathetic woman is thrown into a traumatic, life-threatening situation and forced to grapple for survival while stubbornly refusing to sacrifice her humanist values AND while falling in love with a monster-man of varying moral grayness.
This convention was at its most basic in The Care and Feeding of Griffins. Taryn's character is probably my least favorite of Smith's heroines, so far, and I think it comes down to the fact that she was an early prototype of so many others who came later. In Taryn, we see the stubborn resourcefulness of Amber Bierce taken to an extreme that pushes it into plain idiocy. We see the empathy and innocence of Sarah Fowler watered down into what ends up feeling like a caricature (who uses terms like "Buster" or "Mister" in conversation as a twenty-first century woman? smh). We see Lan's steadfast devotion to a cause regardless of the potential harm to oneself reflected in Taryn's devotion to Aisling.
(It's worth stating that at the time of reading the first installment in the Lords of Arcadia series, Taryn was second-to-least behind Daria in Heat. She's since fallen to last because of my experience with book 2, The Wizard in the Woods).
Compared to the later work, this novel certainly feels unpolished. Yet compared to many other sci-fi or fantasy romance novels, it remains strong, and it possesses many strengths. The fact of the matter is, Smith's writing is usually solid. This book isn't an exception. It was interesting to read a variation of the classic R. Lee Smith experience in a fantasy setting instead of a sci-fi one, for once. I think Smith did a great job at crafting realistic (kind of disturbingly realistic) portrayals of the classic fantasy creatures such as griffins, centaurs, minotaurs, etc. Her depiction of the unnamed half-fae wizard is really well done, too--I found his scenes highly disturbing and believed wholeheartedly in the threat he poses to those within the narrative, particularly Taryn and Aisling.
Ultimately, though, Smith spent a little too much time focusing on super-mega-awesome hot Taryn and how amazing she is at the expense of the plot and world-building. I knew going in that this was a 4 (or 5) book series, so I'm trying to measure this feeling against of incompleteness against the fact that--unlike her other novels--this isn't a standalone. I'm 3/4 of the way finished with book 2, however, so I know this doesn't improve at all. I'm thinking that the Lords of Arcadia series just won't end up standing as some of my favorite R. Lee Smith work.
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