Environmentalist Bryce MacLeod has built the community of his dreams, with environmentally friendly homes and beautiful natural wetlands. The only thing ruining it all for him is his surly neighbor who doesn’t seem to care at all about following the community rules.

Former Queen’s Enforcer Mal Kendrick has been cursed and forced out of Faerie. After attacking the Queen’s consort, his punishment is to live in the Outer World with a hand that doesn’t work until he can make reparations for his actions. The fact that he was thwarting an evil plan against the Queen at the time, not to mention saving lives, doesn’t seem to matter. Mal has no time to worry about Bryce’s rules; he has bigger problems with managing the curse, not to mention the Unseelie who are out to get him.

The guys start out at odds, but when Mal realizes that Bryce is a druid and he doesn’t even know it, it is time to call for help. Mal’s brother-in-law David was raised by druids and David’s aunt comes to help with Bryce’s education into his newly realized abilities. Unfortunately, her idea of helping means supernaturally tethering the men together so Mal can teach Bryce about the magical world. The two men can barely stand each other, but now they are forced to remain within feet of each other.

When an unknown supernatural offers Mal a chance to get back the use of his hand and perhaps even return to Faerie, he is eager to jump at the chance. Of course, he probably should have asked a LOT more questions about just what he would have to do, not to mention who this stranger is. Keeping the secret from Bryce when they can’t be separated isn’t easy either. It is even worse as the men realize that as they are growing to care for one another, a bond is forming between them, one they may not be able to control. Now Mal and Bryce must face life or death tasks and an enemy seeking vengeance, not to mention a questionable bond, but it is all made a bit easier together.

The Druid Next Door is the second book in E.J. Russell’s Fae Out of Water series. I loved the first book, Cutie and the Beast, so I was really excited to continue the series. I am happy to say I found this book just as enjoyable, and Russell continues her creative world building and great characters with some fun banter and quirky humor. This story features new MCs, however, I think it is still best read after the first book. We meet Mal and witness the key event leading to his curse in that first story, so while it is recapped here, I think it is nice to see it first hand. Also, there is a lot more world building set up in the first story, so coming into this book with more background on not only the world, but many of the side characters, is really helpful.

I love a good opposites attract, enemies to lovers story and found this one a lot of fun. Bryce is kind of uptight and geeky, a scientist with laser focus on his community and using it as a model for further environmental projects. He has no patience for Mal, who seems to not even bother to follow any of the rules. Of course, Mal has many secrets that are affecting his behavior, he just can’t tell Bryce about them. These guys are all hating on each other at the same time that they are totally hot for each other. And the forced tethering together, while maybe a bit hokey, works well here. Not only does it force the men to learn to work together as they deal with their problems, but the sexual chemistry and constant awareness of each other makes the story sizzle.

Once things move away from hate and into attraction and fondness, the guys run into the stumbling block of the supernatural connection between fae and druid. Apparently as higher begins, druid traditionally have a dominant role over their fae partners and a mate bonding can also occur. Russell explores this in some interesting ways as Mal struggles with his desire to be more submissive to Bryce sexually, something he has never been into. Not to mention Bryce is fearful that Mal’s attraction to him is based less on real feelings than coercion from the bond, and Bryce definitely doesn’t want Mal forced into anything beyond his control. This conflict plays out well with some real issues for the men to deal with, but at the same time, not bogging the story down as they handle many external conflicts as well. At times things walked a bit too close to the line of submission = weak for me, as Mal is really upset about his desire to bottom and be the more submissive partner. But overall I think this is an interesting dynamic that plays out well.

Plotwise this book further develops some things that were started in the first story, namely dealing with the fallout from Mal injuring the former consort, who is none to happy with him. Mal also gets himself drawn into this quest from an unknown supe and he doesn’t quite know whether this guy is good or bad. I enjoyed following along with the challenges these guys face and learning more about this world, especially the Unseelie side that is touched on more here in this book.

The end of the story sets things up for Gareth’s book and I am really excited for this one. We have known about Gareth’s lost love for two books now, so I can’t wait to see how things play out. I really an enjoying this fun series, and like how the books are building on one another. So I can’t wait to finish up this trilogy and see how it all comes together. If you like fun fantasy with a bit of humor and snark, and some nice world building, definitely check this series out.

I didn't like the first book or couldn't get into it... sorry wasn't my cup of tea I shall say! But I tried!

A lovely M/M romance set in a fantasy world. I read and enjoyed the first book in this series immensely, and this book didn't disappoint!

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆
I really loved the first story in this series, but I really had to fight my way through this one. There is more fantasy in this book and I couldn’t always keep up with the complicated plot strands. And while I loved David and Alun in the first story, I didn’t engage terribly well with either Mal or Bryce.

Firstly, Mal isn’t a completely likeable character. The Queen’s curse has turned the ‘fun’ brother from the first story into a surly git. He reads more like a sulky teenager than a Fae Lord and I found him irritating.

In contrast, Bryce starts out as a nice guy – if a bit meek and geeky. But his character seems to change dramatically part way into the story. I was ambivalent about the geek but I really didn’t like Bryce as a dominant.

I didn’t love either Mal or Bryce from the start but I really went off their relationship when curses and spells pushed them into dubious consent territory. When one partner knew that the other couldn’t give consent freely and initiated sex with them anyways? It left a bad taste in my mouth.

I’m hoping I engage more with Gareth’s story in book three because I did really enjoy the first book in this series.

Professor Bryce MacLeod has devoted his entire life to environmentalism. But how effective can he be in saving the planet when he can’t even get his surly neighbor to separate his recycling?
Former Queen’s Enforcer Mal Kendrick doesn’t think his life could get any worse: he’s been exiled from Faerie with a cursed and useless right hand. When he’s not dodging random fae assassins in the Outer World, he’s going toe-to-toe with his tree-hugging neighbor. And when he discovers that the tree hugger is really a druid, he’s certain the gods have it in for him—after all, there’s always a catch with druids. Then he’s magically shackled to the man and expected to instruct him in Supernatural 101.
All right, now things couldn’t possibly get worse.
Until a mysterious stranger offers a drunken Mal the chance to gain back all he’s lost—for a price. After Mal accepts, he discovers the real catch: an ancient secret that will change his and Bryce’s life forever.
Ah, what the hells. Odds are they won’t survive the week anyway.
Source: An electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Bad:
I don't love Mal and Bryce as much as I loved David and Alun from Book 1, Cutie and the Beast. I mean, I like Mal and Bryce, but I LOVE David and Alun. Especially David.

The Good:
David, Alun, and Gareth all make appearances in Druid. This makes me so very happy!


I'm a big paranormal fan, so I love the supernatural elements to this series. A world where the fae, shifters, druids, etc. all exist and are just as messed up as the rest of us.

Someone recently asked me for recommendations on a sweet read and this and Cutie were among the first books to come to mind. This entire series should come with a sweetness warning. And while the stories are sweet, there are also elements of prejudice and racism faced by the couples. In Druid, Bryce has no idea he's a powerful Druid until Mal tells him and sics David and his grandmother on him. But fae hate druids. And many fae won't take kindly to a fae dating a druid. More importantly there's an old legend that a druid can make a fae a slave through mind control.

Mal as a middle child, Mal has always felt invisible and just picking up the scraps from his older brother, who is the Queen's enforcer (a job Mal took over when Alun was banished), and his younger brother, who is the last true bard. Mal likes how Bryce makes him feel special and let's him relinquish control. Bryce is horrified that he sometimes feels tempted to control Mal, but knows he never actually would, especially as his feelings grow deeper.

So Mal and Bryce are trying to figure out who they are separately, and together, all while Mal ropes Bryce into helping him complete quests in order to end his curse. What they get in to is much bigger than Mal's curse and could be deadly to, not just them, but all of the fae.

Bottom Line: Read this series. Start with Cutie and the Beast. Next is The Druid Next Door. And then Bad Boy's Bard. You won't be sorry. It's sweet romance, paranormal fun, and throw in some mystery to complete the recipe for a thorougly enjoyable read!

Second book in a great series. While continuing the story line from Cutie and the Beast, we delve into the lives of Mal Kendrick and his druid neighbor. Will they or won't they? Will Mal find a way to reverse the curse?

The relationship between Mal and Bryce most definitely did not begin with love at first sight. Mal’s lack of trust, respect, etc., of druid’s didn’t improve when he became magically attached to Bryce. The feeling was pretty much mutual since Bryce had absolutely no knowledge of the supernatural world he was suddenly thrust in head first with an uncooperative tutor. Then the real fun began. 😉

I have to admit, I didn’t like The Druid Next Door near as much as I liked the first book in the Fae Out of Water series, Cutie and the Beast. However, I did end up liking Mal more in The Druid Next Door than when readers were first introduced to him as Alun’s playboy brother, eventually.

When the book opened, Mal was pretty much a shell of the characters that readers first met. When he wasn’t feeling sorry for himself, he was trying desperately to figure out how to reverse the curse that had been placed on him. He thought he knew exactly what he had to do until a mysterious stranger gave him another option. It’s true that nothing is quite what it seems and I honestly didn’t see any of what that drunken alliance led to. In the mean time, Bryce and Mal started seeing things in each other that they didn’t expect either.

I ended up really liking The Druid Next Door. It wasn’t quite as light and ‘cute’ as Cutie and the Beast, but there was nothing light or cute about Mal or Bryce. There were a couple of fun moments though and David did make quite a few appearances, which was fun.

At the time I wrote this review, I’d already read the next book in the series, Bad Boy’s Bard. You’ll have to wait a little while to see if Gareth won me over. Honestly, after the first two books I thought that E.J. Russell probably had her work cut out for her. Stay tuned. 😉

I had read book 1 in this series, and I loved it. I very quickly grabbed this book because I just couldn't wait to get back into the world that Russell created.

To be honest, I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to get into this story as much because of how much I enjoyed the first book. However I was quickly pulled into the story and I couldn't put it down because I just had to find out what was going to happen next.

Bryce and Mal were both great characters. I felt so horrible for Bryce because of everything that he was going through, his whole life had been flipped upside down and even Mal was pulling his stupid crazy acts.

But with Mal, even though he was acting like a brat, he did have his reasons. And they did end up becoming good reasons.

I was blown away with this story and the world and I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!

This was fun. I didn't enjoy it as much as book one but I do think this is shaping up to be a good series. This book focuses on the second of the fae brothers, Mal, who has been banished from the fae lands because of his assault on the Queen's consort. Never mind that the consort was about to kill David, Mal's brother in law, but there is always a price to pay for breaking fae law and now Mal has lost the use of his left hand and is in exile.

He isn't suffering too much. His brother Alun and his brother in law David keep him well fed and cared for. He has his own house in an eco friendly housing development, but it isn't where he wants to be and he wants the use of his hand back. Meanwhile he eats, drinks and walks around the wetlands near his eco friendly house and he also watches his hot but very weird environmental scientist neighbour Bryce.

And it is while watching Bryce go about his work in the wetlands that Mal notices that creatures from the fae lands are meddling in the wetlands. He doesn't know what they are doing but he won't have them here poisoning the environment and so he chases them.

Bryce is rather surprised to find his handsome but laid back neighbour lobbing missiles at coyotes in the wetlands. He is rather annoyed to then discover that the missile is a beer bottle, but Bryce is about to get the shock of his life because Bryce is actually a Druid, but he doesn't know it yet. His meeting his neighbour leads to an encounter with a local Druid and he begins to see the whole world in a new light. He is excited and delighted to be able to experience the wetlands in this new way and he hopes it will enable him to stop the blight that seems to be happening, even if it does mean he is tethered to his new hot neighbour by an invisible link. A link that joins them together.

When Mal suggests that the two of them visit the unseelie kingdom to do a little snooping Bryce is excited. This is an opportunity to experience the world beyond science, the world of magic. What Bryce doesn't realise is that Mal is on a kind of quest, going into the unseelie to steal something requested by the mysterious Steven who claims that if Mal,does this he will recover full use of his hand.

This was enjoyable and a good book two in the trilogy. Mal is the bad boy of the three brothers and with the loss of his hand his life is now on go slow, but there are still adventures to be had and it means he will get his hand back even if he has to drag his neighbour along with him. But Mal is surprised to find out that Bryce is more than meets the eye. Bryce is a Druid after all but he is also other things, adventurous, compassionate, fun, knowledgeable and really good looking.

It isn't long before Mal and Bryce are closer than the invisible link that binds them and as they explore who is poisoning the wetlands it is clear that the two of them have no intention of letting go.

This is an enjoyable story with a lot of humour. Both men have a snarky sense of humour and this leads to witty and fast dialogues between them. Both men have a sense of adventure and as they rush into tricky situations the reader gets to experience their adrenaline as they hunt down talismans and avoid being hunted themselves

There is a smooth continuity with book one which makes reading this a thoroughly enjoyable experience and a great series to follow. I think the stories should be read in order because there is an overarching story thread about the three brothers that seems to be emerging.

The author has written an imaginative and entertaining series with characters that are just so real, each one with a distinctive voice which comes to life as you read. Anyone who enjoys urban fantasy or paranormal mm fiction will enjoy this series and having read the first two books I am really looking forward to book three.

Copy provided by Riptide Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

You know a book is good when you start slowing down your reading speed and putting the book down because you’re not ready to leave the world of the story. You’re not ready to leave behind the characters you’ve grown to care for, even if this could be their happily ever after. THE DRUID NEXT DOOR is that kind of story and I’m so glad that it lives up to the first book in the series, CUTIE AND THE BEAST.

Mal and Bryce are both so endearing, if a bit infuriating (in a fun way). They’ve noticed each other, but Mal is trying to recover from a crippling injury from the last book and isn’t in the right headspace to be nice to anyone, no matter how attractive they may be. This injury causes him to do some pretty desperate things; without his sword hand he feels useless and doesn’t see what he has to offer both a potential partner and the world of the Fae. This desperation pushes him to do pretty stupid things, and Bryce gets dragged into (a little druid curse makes sure of that!)

I enjoyed how the events of the first book directly influenced the second without either drowning in recaps or losing focus. The Fae Out of Water series is serious enough to have a world that stands up to change, and silly enough that it can subtly make fun of the genre.

With strong themes of accepting change and being able to forgive yourself, this series manages to humanize characters who aren’t even human to begin with. The bad guys are not always bad, the serious moments are sprinkled with wit and the sex is super hot. I cannot wait for BAD BOY’S BARD next month.

I didn't love this one quite as much as the first one, but to be fair, "Cutie and the Beast" was a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and I have a weakness. Still though, I found the relationship in this one to be less compelling. They sort of just fell together, they each perpetually tried to control the other one, and then they decided it was love. There's some shady stuff happening here in the way of consent and the whole point of the romance seemed to be "let's break the faerie down until he realizes he's weak for you." It's not quite as bad as all that, but I had a bit of trouble getting over it and it lessened the book for me.
I didn't hate the novel however. I did still have fun reading it, aside from a few troubling elements listed above, and I would still recommend it to fans of the first book.

This was cute in much the same way as book one of the series, but this one I had a hard time liking. In fact, I didn’t. There is a real dominance and submission theme in it that I never got comfortable with. I considered it coerced. Period. Russell tried to dress it up as something else, but I couldn’t get comfortable with the power dynamic. I considered it essentially slavery and was basically disgusted with it. I totally see that Russell was going for something else, but I never got there. Plus, it required about a 180 degree shift in one character’s personality that I didn’t at all feel believable and the second character I didn’t feel I got to know well enough to judge, but it didn’t feel right for him either. So, fail for me.

Outside of that issue, there is no romance (just coerced lust, IMO). The quest/mystery was amusing and I enjoyed that aspect of the book. But it was the smaller portion, to be sure. The writing and editing were fine, as far as I was concerned. I’m sure others will like it. I just couldn’t.

This is the second book in her MM paranormal romance series. Like the first it was wonderful. I am new to this author and the second book was just as enjoyable as the first I read. The book is well paced and the characters are well developed. They have faults and even though the are supernatural you can empathize with their situations. EJ Russell is able to create an world that you are able to visualize. This is a great book and I can’t wait to read more for this author.

Reviews posted on Amazon, Goodreads, B & N and V's Reads: http://wp.me/p3AKEA-2i7

4.5 Stars for this second book in the Fae Out of Water series.

Mal Kendrick was cursed while saving his brother's life. He lopped off the hand of the Fae Seelie Queen's consort--rotten though he was--and won't gain the use of his own hand until he's restored the Queen's consort in full--not that she wants him back. So, he's cut off from Faerie in the human realm, and feeling rather sorry for himself. Plus, he's having the devil of a time fending off the lesser Unseelie Fae who seem to delight in tormenting him, the former Enforcer of the Queen, now that he's got a bum right hand.

Bryce MacLeod has devoted hsi life to caring for the earth and building sustainable living spaces that allow development to accentuate nature, not obliterate it. Thus, he's right torqued off when he sees his attractive but surly neighbor, Mal, tossing a bottle at the coyote taking refuge in the wetland that borders the gardens at the rear of the properties. What he doesn't know is that the "coyote" was a glamour-sporting Unseelie polluting their land, and Mal's about to open Bryce's eyes in more ways than one. Turns out Bryce is an undiscovered druid, unknowingly raised in the arts by his grandmother, who passed several years before. When Mal's brother-in-law David, from CUTIE AND THE BEAST, gets word of Bryce's latent powers he enlists his dear friend, a Druid priestess, to help train Bryce.

And these life lessons are necessary because it seems the Unseelie and the Queen's consort are now after the both of them. To hasten Bryce's learning in all things supernatural, he and Mal are magically tethered to stay in close proximity. This makes things both awkward and sexy. For example, they gots to share a bed, because the distance from the sofa to the bed exceeds their tether length. When they do that, well, it hurts, bad. Awkward because Mal's been recruited to aid another Fae in gaining his freedom from a different curse--and this dude, let's call him Steve, claims to have he'll have the power to undo Mal's curse once his own curse is lifted. But, Mal's sworn to secrecy over this opportunity, and he needs to connive and convince Bryce to walk into Faerie with him to complete Steve's tasks.

So, it's complicated, as is the attraction between Bryce and Mal. Mal's usually a dominant lover, but Bryce has Druid Voice which can compel most any person to do his bidding. Is their kinky-times the result of true desire, or compulsion? That was a real dilemma and one that both Mal and Bryce faced together and alone. They seem to burn the sheets up, but neither man wants to continue if it's not a real connection. Though, Mal's super charmed by Bryce's Mr. Fix-it nature, and how he helps Mal gain the ability to defend himself, and protect them both, from the Unseelie invaders. Their adventures to gain Steve's tokens are dangerous and revelatory; Bryce gains a lot of power and insight when he steps into Faerie. His mission to stave off the pollution in his world and the rot growing in Faerie seem to be linked through the Queen, and he's afraid Mal's chicanery on behalf of Steve will lead to destruction of both realms. Yet, he can't not trust Mal. He's developed a real rapport over the course of their adventures, and he wants to see Mal returned to his uncursed state, even if it means Mal walks away.

For me, this second book really brought a lot more of the supernatural and lore into the world-building. The first book was fun and quirky, but Faerie was a realm to avoid. This time we're in Faerie at least half of the book, so we get to understand the politics of the space, and the inter-relatedness of the human and Faerie realms. I did see the path the ending would take rather early, and was gratified that it came together in the manner I was anticipating. Mal and Bryce have some real discussions that lead to a strong bond, and a mutually beneficial relationship in the end. This book has more sexytimes than the first, and they were pretty randy. O.O I'm a fan, and I needed a fan. Speaking of fans, the third book features the third Kendrick brother, a revered bard of Faerie who sings in a band in the Human realm. Looking forward to seeing that stalwart soul find a new mate. I read a review copy provided by NetGalley.

When the worlds of a disgruntled Fae warrior and a nerdy scientist collide, the pages heat up with magic, adventure, and a little romance. A wonderful addition to Russell's Fae Out of Water series.

2.5 stars.

The absolute joy of the first book in this series (Cutie and the Beast) for me was David. He was such a great character – fun, quirky and endearing – that it was impossible not to love the book. I liked Alun too, and the plot was interesting, but it was really David that won me over. Alas, although this book does feature David in small doses, sadly, neither Bryce nor Mal come anywhere close to having his personality.

Bryce is okay. He’s an eco-warrior of the strongest kind, he’s caring about nature and firm in his opinions, but I never really warmed to him. Possibly because he doesn’t know who he really is, so spends much of the book off-balance. He thinks he’s meek and mild mannered, but when his inner druid is unleashed, he is anything but. He’s strong and commanding and… I don’t know, it didn’t quite work for me.

Mal is a major jerk. Yes, he’s railing at fate at the beginning, but he’s spent most of his life skating by on charm and so isn’t willing to work for anything, even now, when a little bit of effort might win him some of his life back. He’d rather lie and mostly cheat his way home. There were times I wanted to feel sympathetic towards him, but it was a struggle. Yeah, he has middle child syndrome and has lost a lot of his life, but he’s also an ass.

There was also a big old dollop of D/s thrown in to serve as a sexy romance, and to be honest I found it uncomfortable. Mostly because it went against everything we’d ever known about Mal, colouring everything with a hefty dose of dubious consent and general unpleasantness. Bryce’s own reaction when he found out what was going on helped a lot, but if there’d been maybe even the smallest hint of a weariness of always being in control from Mal before this point, I might have been able to accept it better. As such, since his issues only come up after the druid stuff appears, it just felt forced and never quite right.

Which is a shame, because the rest of the plot was actually pretty good. In fact, I found “Steve” far more interesting and his quest more compelling than Mal and Bryce. It was great to find out a little more about Faerie, the queen and the Unseelie court. I also liked seeing more of David and his forceful Aunt Cassie too. However, Gareth managed to be even more of a dick than Mal, which is saying something, and has left me kind of hesitant about the last book in this series. I’m not sure I want to read about Gareth getting a HEA, because I’m not sure he deserves it. Then again, it’ll be interesting to be proved wrong.

So in all, this was a little disappointing, not nearly as cute, fun or enjoyable as the first and with a romance I’m still a little unhappy about. I do like the wider world, though I wish we’d learnt a bit more about Bryce’s druid training, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for more from this author in the future.

4.5 Stars!!!

This book is number 2 in the Fae Out of Water series and needs to be read in order. If you haven't read book 1, proceed with care because this review may contain spoilers.

I went from really liking Mal to loving him. He was funny, even when he was having trouble after having lost the use of his right hand (his sword hand!) when he saved David from the Faerie Queen's evil consort, Rodric, and being exiled from Faerie. Considering he'd been the Queen's enforcer the last two hundred years, it's not that difficult to see why he would find it difficult to assimilate not being able to do much now. Or even reconciling how he'd always been with other men with the desires that Bryce aroused in him. It took me a little bit more to warm up to Bryce, who was such a stickler for the rules and very stuffy, but he relaxed a bit once his relationship with Mal evolved from hate to love and it was endearing to see how he had Mal's best interests at heart, which was something not even his brothers ever did for him. *cuddles Mal*

The chemistry between Bryce and Mal was amazing and it was awesome to see them go from butting heads to having very hot sex, to becoming tentative friends to having hotter sex and then to bonded lovers. I especially loved that it wasn't quite a slow burn, but it wasn't instalove either. They took their time getting over their animosity, getting over Mal's issues with submitting to Bryce when he'd never wanted to submit to anyone else and Bryce's own issues over the power he had over Mal for the simple fact of him being a druid.

I really liked the ongoing storyline with Rodric, who I absolutely detested and I was very satisfied with how the author dealt with him. I'm intrigued over Steve's (Eamon) brother and how it will all play out in Garreth's story, but at the same time, I'm wary because I didn't like Garreth all that much. Anyway, I loved catching up with David and Alun, even if they each appeared separately in this book. :(

I wasn't sure The Druid Next Door could top Cutie and the Beast and surprise, surprise, it so did. Which shouldn't have been so surprising considering how much I liked Mal in the first book. The ending was a tad abrupt and I would've liked that the whole Druid thing hadn't been left so open-ended, but I'm sure we'll see more of both couples (preferably together) in Bad Boys' Bard.

Overall, this was a fantastic addition to the series! I absolutely adored Mal and Bryce and their love story, it was fun and sweet, with enough action, angst and hotness to keep me thoroughly entertained. So looking forward to more!

Highly recommendable!

*** Copy provided to the reviewer via NetGalley by Riptide Publishing for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

4.5/5 Stars

Oh! The Druid Next Door! Let me count the ways that I loved thee!

I loved the first book with David and Alun but I absolutely adored Mal and Bryce's story. I read it all in one sitting and I was so sad when I ran out of pages. I love the mystery, the characters, and the romance! Thanks to all the worldbuilding in the first book, the plot in this one was able to be much more complex while still being a fun read. I loved learning more about the history of the Fae and how society is made up in both the Seelie and Unseelie worlds. I will say that I only figured out part of the mystery which was nice. I hate when romance books have overly predictable villains.

I wanted Mal's book from the moment he showed up in Cutie and the Beast and it didn't disappoint! He's a confident playboy who has had to adjust to the new circumstances he found himself in after being cursed at the end of the last book. And he's struggling with it. His whole sense of self was tied into being the Queen's Enforcer and he is struggling to learn how to live outside of Faerie. Mal gets himself involved in a questionable quest in an attempt to reverse his curse without meeting the conditions to do so. He learns that there's more to himself than even he thought there was and I loved being along for the ride.

While I loved Mal, I absolutely adored his love interest! Bryce is my kind of guy. He's a nerdy, introverted professor on sabbatical from teaching at the local university. He's the one who designed and helps maintain the environmentally sustainable wetlands habitat that's adjacent to the green neighborhood where him and Mal live. I love that he is SO dang proud of his home that has such a small carbon footprint. Finding out he's an actual druid was outrageous and hard for him but it made sense all at the same time. Like many introverts, he is a little bit insecure and doesn’t really have a lot of romantic experience. It was adorable and painful to watch him trying to navigate through what was developing between him and Mal.

Watching Mal and Bryce grow and change, both individually and as a couple, was awesome and one of the things I loved the most about this book. The bonds between these two are strong both metaphorically and literally. I loved seeing Mal accept the parts of himself that needed to be explored. Watching him accept that Bryce was his everything and seeing Bryce grow from slightly awkward professor into a take charge druid was just beautiful. I also loved that this book was much, much steamier than book one.

Overall, I adored this book! I'd highly recommend this series if you're looking for a fun paranormal m/m romance. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book about Gareth!

3.5 rounded up. The first book in this series was enjoyable, but this one hit more of my buttons. It's an enjoyable "faerie" tale, with power exchange, hot sex scenes, deep bonds between lovers, a newborn druid who believes in fairness despite having the power to take what he wants, a wounded faerie lord who didn't know he was looking for a prince of his own, actual shades of grey in villainous figures (despite having villains that belong in trite cartoons), and some fairly interesting magical twists.

Mal and Bryce are grouchy asses in their own separate ways (and for some pretty good reasons), but they're both brave and loyal. They work really well together. Bryce's inner strength is wonderful to see -- too often people who have the environment's best interests at heart are portrayed as naive fluffy bunnies who crumble at life's first obstacle. That description would never fit the man called the Environator. :) And Mal, well, he doesn't know when enough is enough. With Bryce, for the first time, he's found someone with whom he feels safe enough to give over control. Mal is kind of like a willing horse. He'll shoulder whatever he has to as long as he has to, even if the effort is tearing him apart. Bryce gives him the freedom to be weak when he needs to.

The characters from Book 1 are back. David and Cassie were welcome returns; Alun had his place; but I hope E.J. Russell can somehow miraculously make Gareth a decent person in Book 3 because as far as I'm concerned he's a pompous, selfish, self-righteous ass that needs a good beating. I liked the buchan (spelling?) far better!

Definitely a book I'm glad to keep on my reader to read again!

I cannot even begin to describe how fabulous this book was. I spent all day reading and was so absolutely depressed that it ended. Not that it didn’t feel complete but because I hated having to give up these characters!

The Druid Next Door by E.J. Russell is Book Two of the Fae Out of Water series and yes, you really do need to read book one before you read this one If you love great fantasy romance books, start this series with Cutie and the Beast and then read The Druid Next Door. You will NOT be sorry!