Twisted Kingdom

MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands…

This was one of those books where first person narration was a huge disadvantage to the story because the story slowly unfolded through Mac’s eyes, and Mac was, simply put, too stupid to live. There’s just no other way to say it. She’s described as a 22-year-old blonde from Georgia, who grew up pretty sheltered. Thoroughout the story, there were numerous mentions of how she looked like Barbie; how pretty she was and how much she loved the color pink. I swear I got so tired of reading Mac’s ramblings about nail polish, clothes, shoes and whatever else came into her empty head: ("I’m big on drinking lots of water. Hydrating one’s skin from the inside out is even more important than using a good moisturizer on the surface.") But what was so frustrating about her was that she never knew what was going on and, because she didn’t know, the reader didn’t know, either. Mac was always in way over her head without a clue as to the kind of danger she was in, and she kept making the same mistakes over and over again—more concerned about her outfit and make-up than how she was going to stay alive. Not to mention the fact that she couldn’t see things that were right in front of her. Halfway through the book and she was still trying to deny what she was and it was irritating, especially when proof kept starting her right in the face. All she really did was follow around Jericho, blindly doing whatever he told her to do.

As for Jericho, he was supposed to be a shady, mysterious, character that’s always “in the know” with the dark side of things, such as criminals and whatnot. He was written as an Alpha male but he just came off as a jerk to me and a pretty bland one, too.

Besides the TSTL heroine (and bland hero), my main problem with this book is that it’s so blatantly a series setup; the plot never really gets off the ground and by the end, hardly anything has been resolved. The majority of the plot threads are just left hanging for the next book. I don’t mind if a book is a series starter or apart of a series—if you want to carry some subplots over for the next book, fine—but at least give me a solid story with some real resolution to the main plot by the time I finish the book. I felt like this book was just an intro book without any real substance. Anyone who brought this book in hardcover (raises hand) got ripped off.

In truth, I think Moning’s writing just isn’t for me. I tried one of her Highlander books before and found it mediocre at best, but I decided to try this one anyway because I heard she was doing something different with this series—not so much romance as paranormal suspense coupled with Fae. Also, I didn’t think it’d be fair to judge Moning’s entire works based on one book, but again, I was left wanting.

Final Word:

I found Darkfever’s plot boring; the heroine TSTL, the creatures unimaginative and Jericho a dull, jerk.

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

I liked Ender’s Game, and I’m surprised that I liked it. Science fiction has never really been my forte. Even science fiction television shows: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek...none of that has ever interested me. I’ve always been more interested in fantasy. So I wasn’t expecting to really like Ender’s Game, which is based on the premise of a hostile alien race creating the need for child military geniuses. But the audiobook was nearing its due date at the library and I’d already renewed it twice, so I decided it was time to pop the discs in and listen to them. I can’t say I was riveted throughout the entire novel, eagerly turning the pages (or in this case, changing the discs), to get to the next sentence. It’s a little slow to start with—you have to be eased into the world and the lives of the characters—but as the story progressed, I became more and more interested in what would happen to Ender; in what would become of this genius child, thrown harshly into an adult world. I liked Ender because he strived so hard to do the right thing and hated when he couldn’t. The fact that he suffered so much when he had to make hard choices was testament of the good person that he was. I also liked Ender’s strength. When others sought to bring him down, he sought to show them otherwise. It was compelling to follow—it made you want to root for the underdog. And even though the world Card presented is different from the world we know, I could relate to Ender as a character. His emotions and his reactions to his situations were very human to me, even when the world he was in, was not. The secondary characters were well-developed, as well, bringing life to the story just as much as the main characters. One of the things I particularly liked was that Card didn't just tell you that the children were smart, he showed you.

As I mentioned before, I listened to this on audio. I’m quite new to audiobooks and the reading of this book surprised me because it was the first audiobook I listened to where there was more than one actor performing the reading. At first, I thought hearing a bunch of different voices would be distracting to the story, but it wasn’t. It actually made it more interesting and all the actors performed their readings well, putting emotion into each of the characters’ voices.

While I’m still unsure whether or not I would like to invest my time in the rest of this series (Ender’s Game stands-alone well enough), this is a book I would definitely recommend—not necessarily as a page-turner, but as a thought-provoking (and emotion-provoking) piece of fiction. I wish I’d read this book when I was younger, because I think it teaches some important lessons about life.

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

Mailyn says...

The Genre
Fantasy: Necromancers, Magic, Journey, Adventure, Kingdoms, Series

The Plot
From Amazon:

After receiving a cryptic message from her father, Abhorsen, a necromancer trapped in Death, 18-year-old Sabriel sets off into the Old Kingdom. Fraught with peril and deadly trickery, her journey takes her to a world filled with parasitical spirits, Mordicants, and Shadow Hands. Unlike other necromancers, who raise the dead, Abhorsen lays the disturbed dead back to rest. This obliges him--and now Sabriel, who has taken on her father's title and duties--to slip over the border into the icy river of Death, sometimes battling the evil forces that lurk there, waiting for an opportunity to escape into the realm of the living. Desperate to find her father, and grimly determined to help save the Old Kingdom from destruction by the horrible forces of the evil undead, Sabriel endures almost impossible exhaustion, violent confrontations, and terrifying challenges to her supernatural abilities--and her destiny.

The Review
Another book I loved and I can't wait to read the rest of this series, which I do believe, is a trilogy as well.

The only beef I had with this book is that, for the most part at the beginning of her journey, Sabriel is alone. This makes for a lot of descriptive passages and not a lot of dialogue. She may be a necromancer but she's not crazy so she doesn't start talking to herself. It can get just a tad boring even if there was a bit of action but this quickly passed once she reaches her father's house.

I absolutely loved the cynical cat, which of course, isn't a cat at all. I even kept hoping that it would be Sabriel’s love interest in disguise. Perhaps some young wizard being punished for past mischief and whom Sabriel would have to somehow free. I loved his snobbish attitude, which made him damn funny and cool. Sabriel wasn’t very lovable at the beginning as she was a little too naïve for my liking but she did have her reasons. She grew up in a shelter environment and, all of a sudden, she finds herself facing the fact that her beloved father may be dead and that the fate of the world pretty much rests on her shoulders. And she is only a teenager.

The Verdict
As I said, I can't wait to read the rest of this series. It's very addictive and you really want to know what happens to the characters as well as what will become of the Old Kingdom. The last few chapters are even better than the rest of the book and they wet your appetite for what's to come next.

A 4 out of 5.


Kailana says...

I have had this book just sitting here waiting to be read for quite some time. So, I am glad I finally sat down with it. It really is a rather short book, you would be surprised how fast you can get through it, because it keeps you reading the whole time.

Garth Nix delves deep into the mystical underworld of necromancy, magic, and the monstrous undead. This tale is not for the faint of heart; imbedded in the classic good-versus-evil story line are subplots of grisly ghouls hungry for human life to perpetuate their stay in the world of the living, and dark, devastating secrets of betrayal and loss. Just try to put this book down.

For some reason this book has no description on the back or inside about what it is about. I think that is a stupid thing to do, to be honest, because some people are not going to buy it without knowing what it is about.

Anyways, this novel follows 18-year-old Sabriel on her adventures after receiving a very disturbing message from her father. She had lead a sheltered life up until then, and was not really aware of what was going on in the Old Kingdom, the place where she was born. She had lived outside the wall for many years, and her father only occasionally filled her in on what she was missing while being outside. So, when she had to go back there, she found herself on an adventure that she was totally unaware of. Since many Outsiders did not dare to cross the Wall, many people were unaware of what was going on in the Old Kingdom. This meant that Sabriel didn't know her history very well, and had to fill herself in as she went along.

This trilogy received the same sort of attention as Philip Pullman's trilogy, but if I have to be very honest, I liked this one better. I just never was able to get into Pullman's first novel, and as a result have stayed away from the other two books in the trilogy. I will get to them one day, but I would rather read the rest of this trilogy than return to Pullman.

Sabriel is a very human heroine. She gets the job done, but like regular folks she has to deal with fear and indecision. In many hero novels, the main character seems to be super-human, Sabriel is a character that would be easier to relate to. She also has to deal with the fact that if her father was dead, she was now a very powerful person in the Old Kingdom, something that she had never really thought of before and was not prepared to take on. There's even a little romance in the novel, but it is not the most important thing ever. Instead of the damsel in distress, Sabriel saves a young man that has been trapped in Death for about 200 years. I am afraid to say it, but romance just seems to be a given when things like this happen.

You will really enjoy this novel, I can safely say. It is well-written, and Sabriel is not an annoying heroine. She gets the job done, but at the same time has human failings. It makes her the better character to read about, I think. It is also the more interesting fantasy novel I have read with a Necromancer in the fore-front.

4/5



Dance Chica says...

I’m afraid I wasn’t as enamored with this novel as my fellow bloggers were, which is a shame because I was kind of looking forward to this book since I’d heard so many good things about it. Plus, the main character is a necromancer which is so often left unexplored in fiction, but it wasn’t as good as I’d been expecting it to be. I liked the characters well enough, especially Mogget—the talking cat (he was just hilarious with all his sarcasm), and I found Sabriel was a competent heroine; the story itself was interesting, but I think it was the writing that fell short for me. There were parts—especially in the very beginning—where I felt the story lagged, and the romance seemed to come out of nowhere; it just felt very forced to me. I half read this, half listened to it on audio. Tim Curry, the narrator for the audio version, was very good. I really enjoyed his reading because he gave each character distinct voices, putting emotion into the characters. I liked how he acted out Mogget’s voice, which was more like a purr than anything and seemed to capture his character, well. His voice made all of Mogget’s sarcastic remarks even funnier. All in all, it wasn’t a bad story; it was good—very imaginative, in fact—but I probably won’t be reading more in the trilogy or at least, not anytime soon. I just wasn’t intrigued enough. Still, I do plan to read more by Garth Nix.

Kailana's Review


A young adult, soon to be, trilogy that I have wanted to read for a while, this enters the marks as one of the better books I have read this year. Young adult books are much better than they were when I was a young adult, I know that much.

From the back of the book:

Gemma Doyle isn't like other girls. Girls with impeccable manners, who speak when spoken to, who remember their station, and who will lie back and think of England when it's required of them.

No, sixteen-year-old Gemma is an island unto herself, sent to the Spence Academy in London after tragedy strikes her family in India. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma finds a chilly reception. But she's not completely alone... she's followed by a mysterious young man, who warns her to close her mind against her visions.

For it's at Spence that Gemma's power to attract the supernatural unfolds; there she becomes entangled with the school's most powerful girls and discovers her mother's connection to a shadowy group called the Order. It's there that her destiny waits... if only she can believe in it.

A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY is a curl-up-under-the-covers kind of book... a vast canvs of rustling skirts and dancing shadows and things that go bump in the night. It's a vividly drawn portrait of the Victorian age, when girls were groomed for lives as rich men's wives... and the story of a girl who saw another way.

I regret that it took me so long to discover this book. I had heard of it, but it never grabbed my attention enough to buy it until recently. Now, I can't wait to read the next one and I hope it will be equally good. Young adult novels have come a long way, some of them are even better than novels marketed at adults.

This novel was attractive to me because people were saying it had fantasy elements to it. I enjoy fantasy novels, so I decided to see what these fantasy elements were. This book takes place in the later part of the 19th-century. The main character, Gemma Doyle, is dealing with being a sixteen-year-old. Teenage years are never easy, and with the last few months has brought a very difficult daughter for Gemma's mother. They used to get along, but now Gemma has it stuck in her head that she absolutely has to go to London. Her mother doesn't agree, and this causes lots of conflict between mother and daughter.

Then one day, everything changes for good. While in the marketplace, Gemma says a horrible thing to her mother and the next thing she knows, her mother is not around anymore to argue with. Gemma blames herself, and is racked with guilt for quite some time. She is her most annoying at this part of the book, while she deals with the loss of her mother. But then, she discovers she has an amazing gift that results in a whole other world for her. A young man, who you will find an interesting member of the cast of characters, follows Gemma to London where Gemma is attending Spence Academy.

When Gemma first arrives in London, she wonders why she ever really wanted to go there in the first place, but then she starts to make friends and lets her powers work, and a whole new world is open to her, a world of adventure and danger. She is in a school where girls are supposed to be learning how to be good wives, they are more interested in pleasing their men folk than doing anything for themselves. Gemma soon learns this is not the way that she wants to spend her life.

I hope I am not making this novel sound silly, it is anything but. I was glued to my seat while I was reading this, waiting to see what adventures would happen to the quartet next. As Gemma is not alone when she has her adventures, most times she has her three female friends with her. They are an interesting group, but they each have something to bring to the novel as a whole.

I can't wait to read the sequel!

4.5/5



Mailyn's Review

I'm afraid I don't share most everyone else excitement over this book. Sure, I've heard so many things I was expecting something actually, well, exciting. Don't get me wrong, Libba's writing is wonderful. It's the subject matter that I found sorely lacking. The story started off promising enough and I was quickly drawn into it but, as soon as the four main girls started with the "club" I quickly grew bored. And annoyed. Those had to be the four most petulant and annoying girls I've ever read about. They start out nice enough but, by the end of the book, I was all but hoping they'd get spanked, smacked or something. Watching their utter stupidity reveal itself and the way they thought they "knew what's best" reminded me of every smug teenager that has utter those very words, then realize how sadly they were mistaking once they saw they were in over their heads.

It's not a good thing when you are rooting for the bad guys to win simply because the heroines are all some kind of serious idiots.

If ever Mrs Bray writes any other novel I am sure I will be reading it as I did love her writing. I just hope the hero or heroine isn't related to any of the four from this novel.

A solid 4 for her writing and a 3 for the story since it did have a promising beginning.

As a final note, and although I am far from being a prude, I think it's only fair to warn parents of children under the age of 15 of the following encounter [in a dream] between the main character and her love interest. Something similar happens again latter on in the story, although I don't remember it being as detailed as this one. I

Those black eyes flutter open, see me...Every muscle in his arms flexing as he pushes himself up, pulls me under, slides on top...His fingertips are a whisper on my skin. A thumb inches towards my breast, traces circles over and around...Feel my thighs moved apart by a knee...

The warm fingers trail down, hesitate, then brush past a part of me I don't understand yet, a place I haven't let myself explore...

The fingers, strong and sure and not entirely unwanted, are back, the whole of his palm cupped against me...The thumb on my breast rubs my skin into a delicious rawness, as if I've never truly walked in my skin before.

Dance Chica's Review

I agree with Mailyn. I liked the book—really, I did—but Gemma, the main character, annoyed me at times. There were moments when I wanted to slap her and the other girls. However, I do think the book was well-written. Bray is great at suspense. The entire novel is oozing with suspense; the world, the characters, etc., are so mysterious that it makes you want to know more about them, and I feel that Bray did a good job of capturing the Victorian age. There’s also a lot of thought-provoking, social commentary throughout the book. However, I don’t know if I’ll pick up the sequel, Rebel Angels, anytime soon. While I did enjoy the magic and suspense of A Great and Terrible Beauty, in all honesty, I was disappointed. I was expecting it to be much better than it was. So in conclusion, I'd recommend it as something to check out because it was a good story (and most people really loved it), but while I did like it, I just felt it was a little overrated.

3.5 out of 5.

Ironside by Holly Black
published by Margaret K. McElderry in April 2007

In the realm of Faerie, the time has come for Roiben's coronation. Uneasy in the midst of the malevolent Unseelie Court, pixie Kaye is sure of only one thing -- her love for Roiben. But when Kaye, drunk on faerie wine, declares herself to Roiben, he sends her on a seemingly impossible quest. Now Kaye can't see or speak to Roiben unless she can find the one thing she knows doesn't exist: a faerie who can tell a lie.

Miserable and convinced she belongs nowhere, Kaye decides to tell her mother the truth -- that she is a changeling left in place of the human daughter stolen long ago. Her mother's shock and horror sends Kaye back to the world of Faerie to find her human counterpart and return her to Ironside. But once back in the faerie courts, Kaye finds herself a pawn in the games of Silarial, queen of the Seelie Court. Silarial wants Roiben's throne, and she will use Kaye, and any means necessary, to get it. In this game of wits and weapons, can a pixie outplay a queen?

Holly Black spins a seductive tale at once achingly real and chillingly enchanted, set in a dangerous world where pleasure mingles with pain and nothing is exactly as it appears.

I enjoyed this sequel to Tithe a lot. In fact, I found myself more engaged in it than I did Tithe. The reason for that could have something to do with the fact that when I read Tithe, it was my first real foray into modern faerie tales, and so I wasn’t all that familiar with the genre at the time--or faerie folklore in general. Since reading Tithe, I’ve read more faerie stories, in particular teen faerie stories, and have become better acquainted with faerie mythology; therefore, I’m better able to understand the intricacies of a crafted faerie world, as I wasn’t before with Tithe. Perhaps that’s what made this a more interesting read for me. I’d have to actually re-read Tithe to see if this theory holds true, but either way, I thought Ironside was a very enjoyable book. I loved re-revisiting Kaye and Roiben, and I was completely swept away by the descriptions of Faerieland; of its beauty and its darkness, of its mythical inhabitants who are as cruel as they are beautiful. I was constantly turning the pages to see what lay in store for Kaye and her friends; what new treachery the Seelie queen, and her faeries, would come up with next to lay claim to the Unseelie throne. Corny played a big role in this novel too. I hadn’t really thought much of him in Tithe, but I liked the development his character underwent here. Black weaves her stories of magic and myth with the modern world well, making the magical world seem all the more real. My only real qualm is that I thought there could have been more resolution between Kaye and Roiben. There was resolution, but...they didn’t spend a whole lot of time together during the book, and so once the book was finished, I wasn’t left with a real sense of how the two would fare. Also, considering this is supposed to be the last book in this series, it would have been nice to know more about Kaye’s background--such as the identity of her parents, and of the person who originally sent her into the mortal world as a changeling, but none of that was addressed. Those who’ve read Black’s previous books know there’s some strong language in the stories as the characters drop the f-bomb occasionally, as well other profanities. I mention this because I know some may find that disturbing since it’s marketed towards teens, but the profanity isn’t used gratuitously; it suits the world the characters live in, and adds a bit of realism to the characters as a whole. Still, I'd recommend this for older teens. All in all, I thought this was a great follow up to Tithe, and a very enjoyable read.

4.5 out of 5.

Kailana's Review

I had seen the four-in-one book that this was in for quite some time, but had never bought it. The other day, though, after a bad day, I decided I was going to buy myself a book. And, I decided, why not slurge and get 4 books for the price of one. So, I did.

From Amazon:

For some, coming to grips with a challenge means passing another milestone along the road to maturity. For others, it's a matter of life and death. For Findabhair (pronounced "finn-ah-veer") and Gwen, the joint heroines of 0. R. Melling's The Hunter's Moon, however, the challenges come from all directions. Fantasy-loving Findabhair dares to sleep on sacred Irish ground and is stolen by the King of the Fairies. Gwen, her more practical Canadian cousin, sets out to rescue her with the help of a leprechaun in a battered Triumph and a businessman with red hair and freckles. What makes this story sing is the ease with which Melling alternates between fantasy and reality, making her readers, like her characters, "Comfortable with both." Add generous helpings of suspense, romance, humour, and atmosphere you could cut with a knife, and the result is a thoroughly enjoyable yam by an author with impressive command of her material, writing within the tradition of Irish folklore and legend

This is a modern fairy tale. The two girls live in what could very easily be this year, but they have always dreamed of something more. One summer they decide that they are going to trek across Ireland, where Findabhair lives, and track down the portal to the faery world. The two girls set out to find something that they are not sure exists, and along the way find adventures of their own. On a night that they decide to sleep in sacred Irish ground, Findabhair is taken from her cousin, Gwen. Now, for Gwen, it is not about finding the doorway to the faery realm, it is about finding her cousin.

Most of the story is told about Gwen. It is she that sees the things that make up the story. Finn appears from time to time, but it is Gwen that has the most to do in this novel. She makes friends along the way, and the story plays with common ideas that have been represented about the magic folk. Both of the cousins are readable, and not the common damsels in distress that stories normally portray. There is a nice blending of females and males in this book that makes it readable. It could be something that attracts both sexes to it.

When you look at it, it is not a very long piece of work, but a lot happens in a very short time. There is never really a dull moment, as the fairy king is often playing tricks on Gwen, and you never know when it is going to happen next. Once again, I must point out to all the fantasy by-standers, that there is even romance in this book, although I don't think it is necessary, it might attract you to reading this!

I enjoyed this book. Hopefully I will read the next one soon, but I am not so great at reading trilogies and things one right after the other.

4/5





Mailyn's Review

I also enjoyed this book a lot but found that, towards the end, the story tended to stall a bit and stray from the constant fast pace it had up to then. From the very begining I liked the main character of Gwen and her cousin. Like Kailana, I enjoyed that these weren't two TSTL heroines that waited around to be rescued. I especially liked Gwen for this and for her courage to go after her cousin, even when it was clear that she did not want to be rescued.

I can't get into it so as not to give away the ending but I found the last banquet turn a bit into a fantasy movie cliche. Nonetheless the figthing after that was handled pretty well and the ending, although again a bit of a cliche, will leave most people happy.

All in all a nice little read, fast paced and a great heroine make this a 4 out of 5 for me as well.

I can't wait to get into the follow up, The Summer King.





Dance Chica's Review

I originally bought this based on Kailana's recommendation and I'm glad I did. Melling is a great storyteller! I was completely caught up in the world of Faerie. Her descriptions were sweeping and flowing; infused with myth and legend. Sometimes they were a bit much, but overall I enjoyed them. She created a great cast of characters. One of the best parts for me was the heroine. Gwen was a great heroine that grows so much as a character. When we first meet her, she’s the sensible one who follows after her energetic cousin, but as the story progresses, she learns to do things on her own. This leads to her discovering her own strengths and independence. She was resourceful too, and while she did make mistakes, she learned from them. I really liked her fiery personality. There’s romance in this too which I found compelling and the overall story was imaginative. If you like faerie tales with a bit of magic, romance and suspense, you’ll probably like this. Also, if you liked Holly Black’s Tithe, I think you’ll find this enjoyable. Melling’s world is a bit more detailed than Black’s and the language a bit more flowery, but it's still compelling, and I found Melling’s characters more likeable than Black's. There’s a sequel to this out titled, The Summer King. I’m really looking forward to more adventures in Faerie. 4.5 out 5.

Nobody is safe in the secret hour.

Strange things happen at midnight in the town of Bixby, Oklahoma.

Time freezes.

Nobody moves.

For one secret hour each night, the town belongs to the dark creatures that haunt the shadows. Only a small group of people know about the secret hour — only they are free to move about the midnight time.

These people call themselves Midnighters. Each one has a different power that is strongest at midnight: Seer, Mindcaster, Acrobat, Polymath. For years the Midnighters and the dark creatures have shared the secret hour, uneasily avoiding one another. All that changes when the new girl with an unmistakable midnight aura appears at Bixby High School.

Jessica Day is not an outsider like the other Midnighters. She acts perfectly normal in every way. But it soon becomes clear that the dark creatures sense a hidden power in Jessica . . . and they're determined to stop her before she can use it.

Review: This book was a fast-paced, action packed story that fell short of my expectations. The beginning started off pretty decent, but by halfway through, I was bored. First, the world wasn’t fleshed out as well as I would have liked it, nor were the characters, thus they didn’t come alive on the page for me. And a few of the characters felt a bit sterotypical. Another problem I had with this book was that were way too many action sequences between the Midnighters and the darklings/slithers (the cannon fodder predator/snake-like creatures that roam the midnight hour). It got to the point where I would think (with irritation), “Here we go again! Another action scene!” There’s even a small amount of romance that was just developing as the story ends, but I didn’t find it very compelling. I did, however, think the concept of this book was neat—I mean, how many times have you wished for an extra hour in the day? The idea that there’s a 25th hour, that time freezes at midnight and only a select few--those born exactly at midnight—can access it, is interesting; I just think the idea wasn’t executed as well as it could have been, and by the end of the book, I still had questions--like why it is that only teenagers seem to be able to access the midnight hour? If those born at midnight are the only ones able to enter the midnight hour, shouldn’t there be older people who can access it too? Perhaps these questions are answered in the next book, but I doubt I’ll pick up the next in the trilogy to find out. I do, however, plan to give Westerfeld’s acclaimed Uglies trilogy a try. As for this one...

Rating: 3.0