For one wants to possess her, one to protect her and one to love her forever.
Between passion, devotion, and obsession, the crusade to win her heart begins with The Oak.
On the outskirts of small French village lives Keitha Dubois, a beautiful young healer whose small cottage lies under the largest oak of the forest. Her quiet solitary life is filled with caring for the sick, and the everyday work of the age, with the occasional visits of good friends.
But this life is about to change.
The Huntsman. The Constable. The Stranger.
All vying for her love. Yet, who will she choose?
For one wants to possess her, one to protect her and one to love her forever.
Between passion, devotion, and obsession, the crusade to win her heart begins with The Oak.
Excerpt
Justin Bonnay walked steadily through the forest, his eyes focused on the path before him. The darkness of the winter evening was silent, except for the loud crunching of snow under his heavy boots. Careful not to step on an ice patch, he shifted the heavy satchel over his shoulder and trudged forward. The cold sharp December air pinched the inside of his nostrils before he exhaled, his breath like tendrils of smoke surrounding his face.
An orange gleam appearing in the distance barely pierced the pines, elms and oaks that littered the forest. Finally breaking into the glade, Justin stared at the massive oak tree that sat in the center of the clearing, before moving forward. Easily one of the oldest trees in the forest, it towered above the pines and elms. Tangled branches desperately holding on to the last of its leaves, now brown and dry, twisting slightly in the winter breeze, while the thick trunk kept the aged guardian in place.
A small cottage sat tucked against the side at the base of the mighty oak. The wood of the dwelling blended in seamlessly with the bark of the tree, almost as if they were one. Warm light glowed invitingly through the small glass windows, and Justin could smell the wood burning in the fireplace, its gray smoke rising and spinning out of the stack, then disappearing into the winter sky. The scent of benzoin and sage drifted out to him as he approached the front of the dwelling.
Stomping on the porch to knock the snow from his feet, he raised his hand to knock, but the door opened before his fist could connect with the wood.
Professional Reviews
A Charming & Vibrant Adult Fairytale!
A charming and vibrant fairytale worthy of being made into a Disney film awaits readers in S.L. Dearing’s Fantasy/Romance, “The Oak”. But, this is no children’s bedtime tale.
Kethia is a young French-woman who is not only irresistibly beautiful but gifted in the ways of a true healer. A multitude of love-struck men—from aristocrat to pauper, from youthful to elderly, and from tame to wild—vie for her affections, but it is a stranger who suddenly captures Keithia’s attention when she stumbles upon the handsome and mysterious victim of a severe gunshot wound while returning to her cottage on the outskirts of the forest.
Dearing imbues her tale with natural elements and the gift of healing as her heroine practices her ample skills, tending to various villagers and intimately caring for the stranger’s mortal wound. As Kethia and the stranger’s bond grows, the author makes certain that the backstory provided is more than sufficient to create doubt in the reader’s mind as to whether or not her heroine and her true love will enjoy a “happily-ever-after” ending, for even as the war for Keithia’s hand amps up, her leading men are drawn together in a crucial battle that will determine the final champion. Will it be the one Kethia truly loves?
Note: This book does contain sexual situations and is, therefore, recommended for ages 17 and up.
starsMust Read this Adult Fairy Tale of Old
I too saw similarities in The Oak with other older fairy tales such as Beauty and the Beast (they are both French) and even Red Riding Hood (the fantasy/mystery movie). You can easily see how this could be a tale as old as time by the way she makes you feel like it was a legendary story of old. I loved how S.L. Dearing painted the scenery, used some French vocabulary, and showed us a strong female with depth of character. Her villains are truly evil and you wish upon them equal amounts of pain as they inflict. Her heroes and heroins are perfectly depicted and you love to cheer them on. The relationships are believable and I found myself not wanting to put the book down until I was finished. I love her style of writing because she is so visual; I feel like I'm watching a movie unfold in my head. I want to read more of her work now.
A refreshing and invigorating experience
The Oak, by Shannon Dearing, is a fantasy story set in an unspecified area of France, rich with deep unexplored woodlands and abundant, mysterious wildlife. The people live in and around a small village well away from large towns, and national life enters only through a handful of officials appointed by the king. As such, one immediately makes a connection with the tale of Beauty and the Beast. However, this story does not follow the same pattern, but develops superficially similar plot themes in quite different directions. The book is subtitled "A grown up fairy tale", and it is only fair to warn readers that love and sex are treated in an adult rather than Disney manner.
The fairytale elements are introduced slowly, progressively, alongside insights into the village. For a while you wonder if the mystery is real, or simply the mistaken impression of the people who live nearby. The reader is gradually immersed in this world, with its blend of familiar and exotic features. I hugely enjoyed the sensation of being lured into the place and its inhabitants: readers need to set aside cravings for fast thrills and shocks, and simply let themselves be wooed by the magic.
As befits a fairy tale, there are characters who are instantly recognised as unredeemably wicked, and others who are unequivocally good. But most of the people are the kind you could meet anywhere - conflicted, managing the memory of painful episodes in the past, striving to live a fruitful life in the midst of everyday difficulties. The story is without doubt an optimistic one, hopeful about the relationship between humankind and the wider world, even in the face of setbacks.
I very much enjoyed this book, and was sorry to reach its end. As a fantasy book, it refuses to follow many of the common tropes of the genre. Good and evil, life and death, conflict and resolution, are all handled without recourse to epic battles or world-threatening disasters. What we visit instead is the everyday magic of life, played out in the doings of a small community. You come out of the woods both refreshed and invigorated, and the experience comes warmly recommended by me.
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