Wednesday, November 28, 2018

A Fairy Tale

I'm not a huge fan of fantasy stories involving the Fae, so I don't often check out books where they play a large role. But when my niece recommended A Fairy Tale by Shanna Swendson I couldn't resist giving it a try. And I'm glad I did. It's very entertaining. The two main characters, Sophie and Emily, are both spunky and smart. It reads fast. And it's fun. I actually ended up liking it a lot. It begins with Emily getting abducted by the Fae; her sister, Sophie, knows she must once again enter their Realm in order to rescue her. But Sophie has another role to play in Faerie...one she doesn't even know about. Yet.

Here are a few snippets to give you a taste of this fairy tale:

"According to Sophie's fairy indoctrination, time did funny things in fairyland. Emily could spend what felt like months here and return to the real world at the moment she left it, or she could spend what felt like minutes, only to return to the real world and find that a century had passed. Needless to say, she preferred the former option. It would be less detrimental to her career."
"If they'd told her they'd make her the greatest dancer ever in exchange for her sister, Sophie would never have agreed to the bargain. But she'd assumed she'd be the one to pay the price. ...She should have known. In all the stories, it was someone else who was taken as payment for a favor--a first-born child, a beloved daughter, a lover, a sister. ...Then again, there was always a loophole, a way to redeem the one who'd been taken or to sidestep the bargain entirely. She just had to find the loophole."

And then there's my favorite Fae, Eamon, who likes books and chocolate chip cookies:
"His silver hair gave him a shimmering halo. Although his face looked young, his eyes were ancient. They were the color of the mercury in old thermometers, a quicksilver color that shifted with light and motion. They were the most bewitching eyes she'd ever seen, and she felt as if she could have stared into them for hours--until she reminded herself that mercury was poisonous."

Happy Reading!

15 comments:

  1. I'm not usually fond of books that dwell on the Fae, either, but there are always exceptions. Loved Holly Black's The Cruel Prince, and I'm looking forward to The Wicked King. A Fairy Tale sounds like fun!

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    1. I'll have to check out the Holly Black books. :D

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  2. I loved this author's Enchanted, Inc. series. Those were some fun books. A Fairy Tale sounds great and I'm definitely gonna add this one to my wishlist.

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  3. Other then Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce, I don't think I have EVER read any book involving fairies. I've heard good stuff about the Seanan Mcguire Wayward Children series.

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    1. I know a lot of people who really like Seanan Mcguire's books. (And I loved Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.)

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  4. The Fae are my least favourite creatures-I avoid them like the plague in YA especially. An exception to the rule is Sonya Bateman's Deathspeaker Codex books which have great Fae characters.

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    1. Yay...another person like me who doesn't love the Fae. :)
      (And I'll have to check out the Bateman books.)

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  5. I have to admit to not caring much about The Fae, but this one does sound good. Thanks :)

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    1. I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't love the Fae. :D

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  6. This looks fun! I enjoy Fae stories, so I might have to get this one.

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  7. Hi Lark, this sounds good. Fantasy is a genre I haven't explored and this might be a good place to start because it combines the contemporary with tne supernatural. Also a very reasonable price on kindle.

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  8. This sounds cute. I love that you got a recommendation from your niece.

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