Review | The Twilight Kingdom by Anthea Sharp

The Twilight Kingdom
Anthea Sharp
Feyland #3
Published December 2012 by Anthea Sharp
YA modern fairy tale
ARC from the author
4 stars

THEIR LAST CHANCE…

Jennet Carter and Tam Linn are almost out of time. Feyland, the most immersive computer game ever designed, is about to be released into the world—along with the Realm of Faerie’s dangerous magic.

WIN THE GAME…

The faeries, desperate to break free from their realm, have set treacherous plans in motion. Despite magical allies of their own, Jennet and Tam have no idea what dire threats await, both in-game and out.

OR DIE TRYING…

Battling for their lives against the united powers of the Dark Queen and Bright King, Jennet and Tam’s quest to stop the fey takes them into the perilous Twilight Kingdom, where illusion reigns—and magic can break all the rules.

Bite-Sized Review

Yet another addictive installment in the Feyland series from Anthea Sharp. I love this series and would recommend it highly to anyone who might be interested.

King-Sized Review

Probably my favorite part of this series is how real it feels. Oddly enough, the books are like the novel version of the Feyland game they feature -- you go in expecting something fun and interesting, and it turns out to be a lot more than you expected. Usually, no matter how exciting or interesting I find a book, I don't get little twinges of nerves or happiness while I'm reading. The Feyland series is a happy exception. I love reading these books because they seem so real while I'm reading them. Anthea Sharp's writing makes me truly share the characters' experiences, and that's the kind of ability you don't often see, which is all the more reason to relish it when you do.

The Twilight Kingdom brings Tam and Jennet closer to the release of the full simulation game Feyland, an event they must stop or face the Realm of Faerie taking over the real world. Fortunately, they've been selected as part of Feyland's beta-testing team, giving them another opportunity to prevent its distribution. The beta-testing also gives us the chance to meet some new characters. I wish we could have seen more of Spark, who seemed like she might have had a very interesting story of her own, but I enjoyed getting to know Zeg better and appreciated Roy's development in this book.

I don't want to talk too much about the plot, because I want you to read the book and that would spoil them, but I will say that I was surprised. I have a huge soft spot for...the Elder Fey...and I liked the way Anthea worked this one out.

Basically, this is a great series that deserves more attention. The books are quick and exciting reads, and if you like stories based on fairy tales, or if you enjoyed both the portrayal of the fae in Mercy Thompson and October Daye and the virtual world of Ready Player One, you will love this series. Now go away and read The Dark Realm. Come back to me when you're done.

Review | The Bright Court by Anthea Sharp

The Bright Court
Anthea Sharp
Feyland #2
Published May 2012
YA modern fairy tale
Review copy from the author
4 stars

Bite-Sized Review
The Bright Court was a great followup to the first book, The Dark Realm. Feyland is a fascinating, enthralling modern fairy tale, and I can't wait to read the next book. Definitely recommended.

King-Sized Review
I have something terrible and shocking to confess. Don't freak out - but I don't really like YA as a whole. It has a tendency to be juvenile (I shouldn't be surprised by this, should I), consumed by relationships (like anyone really knows what they want at 16), and kind of generic (I wish people would stop re-writing Twilight with different supernatural creatures). Luckily, some authors, like Maggie Stiefvater, Holly Black, Rachel Vincent, and a few others, manage to step outside the usual trends and write books that are honestly excellent, not just for YA but in general.

Anthea Sharp is one of the good ones. Feyland is a fascinating world, one that merges magic and technology skillfully and seamlessly. I know. You're looking at the description and thinking, "Fairies and video games? Are you sure this isn't just someone combining World of Warcraft and Tron in a book?" Fear not, curious readers. The Bright Court, like its predecessor, The Dark Realm, is much less about video games than it is about bargains, necessity, and even a little bit of love. In this series, the fae resemble classic stories more than in most other books, something I really appreciate. They're dangerous and cruel, and most importantly, they are most definitely not human. I can't think of anything in the worldbuilding I would want to change or complain about.

Feyland has a fairly limited cast of main characters, with secondary characters more sketches than fully fleshed-out figures. Normally I would frown upon this practice, but here it actually fits perfectly with the mood of the story, making it seem more like a fairy tale. (Hey, at least Feyland's characters get real names.) The main characters, Jenet and Tam, exhibit a refreshing lack of angst and (thus far) impending love triangles (hooray!). Their problems originate in socio-economic differences as well as fairy troubles, which, now that I think about it, adds again to the fairy-tale atmosphere.

Overall, I've found this series to be impressively well-written and captivating. I definitely recommend giving The Dark Realm a try and picking up this one as well.

Review | Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel

Dust Girl
Sarah Zettel
The American Fairy Tale Trilogy #1
Published June 26, 2012 by Random House Children's
YA urban fantasy
Review copy from NetGalley
3 stars

Bite-Sized Review
Dust Girl stood out from the YA crowd by virtue of its unusual setting and interesting characters. Several of the fairies were truly creepy, and there's plenty to keep this story going.

King-Sized Review
I think this might be the first book I've read that was set in the Dust Bowl. I can't really speak to the book's historical accuracy, since what I know about the period is pretty much "lots of dust, no rain, and no money," but it seemed like it could be accurate. I appreciated the very strong influence the setting had on the story as well – sometimes it seems like many books could really take place anywhere and be more or less the same, but that definitely wasn't the case in Callie's story.

The story begins in the tiny and shrinking town of Slow Run, Kansas, where Callie lives with her mother. Callie would love to leave the doomed town and move to somewhere she wouldn't choke on dust and struggle to find food, but her mother insists that they must wait there for Callie's father – who vanished before she was born. When Callie's mother disappears in a dust storm, several mysterious visitors convince Callie to leave the town to find her mother, along with Jack, a boy she met during the storm. Along the way, Callie learns about her heritage and her family.

Dust Girl was a fairly short, quick read, with decent characters and a good pace. Callie is a likable main character, though nothing about her stands out particularly. The story itself was the best part, with some interesting takes on fairies and several well-written, suspenseful scenes.

One aspect of the book that I particularly appreciated was the lack of the angsty romance that's such a YA staple. While the potential for romance clearly exists, it definitely took a backseat in this book. It may actually have been locked in the trunk. It was a nice change from one of the things I frequently dislike about YA books.

Overall, Dust Girl was a good start and definitely made me want to read the next book in the series.

Quality: Good
Enjoyability: Good

Review | Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

Daughter of the Forest
Juliet Marillier
Sevenwaters #1
Published
Mythological fantasy/fairy tale
4 stars

Bite-Sized Review
Daughter of the Forest was an excellent fairy tale retelling that mixed fantasy, mythological, and romance elements. Recommended!

King-Sized Review
Daughter of the Forest is based on the fairy tale The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Andersen. Sorcha, youngest and only girl of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters' seven children, has an idyllic childhood, surrounded by brothers who adore her and given little adult supervision. Her life changes, however, when her father marries and Sorcha's new stepmother – a wicked stepmother, naturally – binds her brothers in an enchantment. Only Sorcha can break the spell, but she must remain silent while she works to do so, without exception. Sorcha must make difficult choices and

If you've ever read any of Hans Christian Andersen's original fairy tales (rather than the Disney versions), you'll know that he is all about the suffering. Don't get me wrong, you should absolutely read this book, but suffering is definitely present, and most of Sorcha's journey and tasks are downright unpleasant. I loved the book, but fair warning before you pick it up.

Despite that, I breezed through this one. I read it around hours 18-23 of the 24 hour read-a-thon, which, as anyone who does the read-a-thon knows, are normally the most difficult hours to get through. Reading this book, I didn't feel tired at all and had no desire to stop for sleep until I finished. Hopefully that gives you an idea of just how enthralling it was. Daughter of the Forest is the sort of book you just can't seem to stop reading and don't want to.

My only real complaint (the bit about the suffering was a warning, not a complaint) was that the characters were a bit flat. Most of the good guys were paragons of virtue, while most of the bad guys were unequivocally selfish bastards. The exceptions almost seemed as if they existed to provide exceptions rather than naturally arising from the characters' natures. However, it's a fairy tale, so I probably should have expected that simplicity.

Overall, Daughter of the Forest was a great start to this series. It was a complete story in itself, so if you wanted to read it as a standalone you certainly could, but the hints of a larger narrative were definitely there. Basically it had an excellent balance between story and series.

Quality: Excellent
Enjoyability: Excellent

In the same aisle
Deerskin by Robin McKinley