Trolls In The Hamptons [Mass Market Paperback]

Willow Tate, graphic novelist, lives in her family's old New York apartment, envies her cousin Susan, and tries to cope with her odd family, who all have special gifts (grandma's a herbalist; Mom is kind of a "dog whisperer"). Belatedly, Willow discovers she has her own gift: working on a new idea, she draws a red troll--who promptly appears in real life, wreaking havoc on her neighborhood.

Via a sexy British representative of a hush-hush Department of Unexplained Events, Willow learns she's a Visualizer, someone who can bring a fantasy world alive. And, though desperately reluctant, she becomes involved with a kidnapped child, a boy Agent Grant tells her is being forced to break the barriers between the magic world and the human world. The more Willow tries to ignore the threat, the more it is brought home to her.

This is pleasant fantasy fluff with a strong romance novel element (Chapter 24 has a really steamy sex scene). Willow is a plucky but flawed heroine, Grant lends the proper male romance counterpart, and there are some funny quirky characters, including Willow's crusty mother, the deceptive "super" of the apartment building across the street from Willow's apartment, and even a three-legged Pomeranian. I'll definitely pick up the sequel, but be warned: if you're looking for hard fantasy, this isn't it.

Willow Tate is a moderately successful comic book author and illustrator living in Manhattan - just far enough away from her domineering and eccentric family.
One day she has a great idea for a new story and starts sketching. Imagine her horror when the hero of her story - an enormous red troll - starts smashing cars and fire hydrants outside of her window. Everyone can see the destruction, but no one but Willow can see the troll. That's why she keeps mum when a sexy cop knocks on her door asking for her statement. Soon the red troll starts following Willow around, causing mayhem wherever he pops up. What does he want and how can she get rid of him?

Because of the official synopsis and the cover I expected more humor, more action and less romantic entanglements from this story.
The story is mildly funny, but doesn't invite real laughter.
Willow is portrayed as an ordinary woman in extraordinary circumstances - action scenes are not her forte. She witnesses a few of them (destruction caused by the troll), but doesn't get involved. She is a passive type of character, who tends to react instead of taking matters into her own hands. Unfortunately this character trait results in a lack of tension - near the end things get more interesting, though.
I was surprised by the amount of attention paid to Willow's love life. First there is her boring, but safe (ex)boyfriend, then the sexy cop, who shows her, what her relationship is lacking. Finally sparks fly when she meets the sexy british agent, but she doesn't know whether she should trust him. I'm not a romance reader, though I enjoy romantic subplots. This was too much for me. The yes-no-yes-no-I-can't-trust-you game and the constantly wet panties drove me crazy. If I had known that Celia Jerome is the pseudonym of Barbara Metzger, an elderly (maybe sixty-something) romance author, I would have known what to expect.

There are things I enjoyed in TROLLS IN THE HAMPTONS.
Willow Tate might not be an exciting protagonist, but Jerome portrays her as sympathetic and believable. Her abilities are not well explained in this novel, but there's potential for further development.
I liked Willow's eccentric family. Everyone has small magical gifts, that Willow is used to rationalizing.
The setting - Manhattan and the Hamptons - is very vivid. Things are mentioned that only natives would know - something that I miss in other paranormal series, where the authors know their cities on a superficial level only.

Picking up this book I had certain expectations and they weren't met. Of course I was disappointed, but that doesn't mean that TROLLS IN THE HAMPTONS is a bad book. Should I choose to read the next instalments in the series, I'd be better prepared and I'd probably enjoy them more.

Willow Tate Novels: Trolls in the Hamptons, Night Mares in the Hamptons, Fire Works in the Hamptons, Life Guards in the Hamptons, Sand Witches in the Hamptons, ...

Willow Tate is a graphic designer in NYC whose water-loving troll character comes to life and causes a ruckus from NYC to the Hamptons...

So much could've been done with this fun fantasy scenario, but the author didn't take advantage. The writing wasn't bad, but the story didn't move forward with any action. So much of the time the writer was telling rather than showing the story, especailly with the kidnapping of a boy who posseses magical powers. Because of this there is no emotional investment. The main character passively walks through the scenes, except when the hunky men characters are around, or when she is sidetracked with family matters, but these things do nothing to accelerate the part of the story that should be most important.