Twisted Kingdom

Kailana says...

17 year old Laurel Blackburn has returned to Ireland where her twin sister died the previous year. Guided by entries in her sister's diary that speak of a strange mission for a mysterious people, Laurel travels to Achill Island on the Irish west coast. As she searches for the lost Summer King of Faerie, Laurel is attacked by the Sea People and the raven-like gruagachs.

Will she find the King in time to light the Midsummer fires?

Will she be re-united with her sister?

And what of Ian, the dark-eyed brooding young man who shadows her every move?

Is he friend or foe?

I originally bought the 4-in-1 book for this as a treat last year during a rough week, and I read the first book way back then, but I am just getting through the rest of the books. I regret waiting so long to read the second book, though, because the first book was not as fresh in my head. It came back to me as I was reading, but the series would be better if you read the books close together.

This is a cute young adult series about faeries and the magical connection between our world and the faery world. Laurel is a skeptic about this world, but her sister was a true believer. When she died she was moving up the ranks in faery world, and was about to go on a mission for them because only humans can save the faery worlds in times of troubles. When Laurel visits her grandparents in Ireland a year after the accident that killed her sister, she finds herself entrapped in a world that she is not sure she wants to be in. When the magic folk tell her that helping them might mean a reunion with her sister, though, Laurel finds herself in a world totally new to her.

The story was interesting. With the other books in the series, the main characters are not skeptics, but Laurel is, so she has to figure things out in a totally different way than the others. If she was not helping her sister receive entry into the faery world, she would likely not believe anything that she saw. The story gets interesting, though, when she gets closer and closer to the conclusion of the mission and things get weirder and weirder. Especially with Ian, because she never knows who he is and whether he is a good guy or bad.

Overall, this is obviously a young adult series, but it is still an interesting collection with strong female characters and a magical world that will capture anyones imagination.

4/5



Dance Chica says...

I have grown wary of sequels in general, because often one finds they’re not as magical or original as their predecessor, but this one was a treat to read and I think those who enjoyed The Hunter’s Moon, will enjoy this one, as well. Melling takes the reader on a wild ride through Faerie. I love the land of Faerie as Melling describes it; she makes the mystical elements so mysterious and so enchanting that it leaves you with a sense that there are many secrets to Faerie, and you’ll never know them all no matter how much time you spend there. The story’s twist was a bit weird and somewhat confusing at first, but I liked this volume in the Chronicles of Faerie just as much, if not more, than The Hunter’s Moon. Whereas in The Hunter’s Moon, the heroine embarked on her journey largely alone, in this one, Laurel finds herself with a companion from the start, in the form of Ian--a surly Irish boy she’s known since childhood. He’s the bad boy of the neighborhood and they have sort of a love-hate relationship at first, but they worked well together, and the back and forth bantering between him and Laurel was hilarious. I thought Laurel was a great heroine and I found the romance very compelling. And there were pirates in this one! That about sealed the deal for me as I’m very fond of pirates in fiction. All in all, this was an enjoyable addition, and I can’t wait to read the next one. Melling really is a gifted storyteller.

The Chronicles of Faerie (in order):

The Hunter’s Moon
The Summer King
The Light Bearer’s Daughter
The Book of Dreams