Tag Archives: Fae

Trailer Park Fae

Book Review Trailer Park Fae (Gallow and Ragged #1), by Lilith Saintcrow

Trailer Park FaeI borrowed Trailer Park Fae (by Lilith Saintcrow) from my library, mostly just because of the cover is so pretty.

Description from Goodreads:
Jeremy Gallow is just another construction worker, and that’s the way he likes it. He’s left his past behind, but some things cannot be erased. Like the tattoos on his arms that transform into a weapon, or that he was once closer to the Queen of Summer than any half-human should be. Now the half-sidhe all in Summer once feared is dragged back into the world of enchantment, danger, and fickle fae—by a woman who looks uncannily like his dead wife. Her name is Robin, and her secrets are more than enough to get them both killed. A plague has come, the fullborn-fae are dying, and the dark answer to Summer’s Court is breaking loose.

Review:
So, this was not what I expected. I was expecting a light urban fantasy. It was, instead, a fairly dark read, which to be fair is kind of the more traditional Sidhe kind of story.

I’d still have been cool with a dark tale, though. I like gritty things. But this was just so darned slow. I mean, things happened. People died. There was a whole coup even. But it was all narrated in such a plodding, overly verbose, flowery, ho-hum kind of way that it felt dull. Plus, I wasn’t really feeling the lack of pay-off in the end. I liked the characters and it’s an interesting plot, so I can’t say I didn’t like the book. But I’n not sad to be finished with it either.

Tina Connolly

Book Review of Ironskin, by Tina Connolly

IronskinI borrowed Ironskin, by Tina Connolly, from the library.

Description from Goodreads:
Jane Eliot wears an iron mask.

It’s the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin.

When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a “delicate situation”—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn’t expect to fall for the girl’s father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her own scars, and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio…and come out as beautiful as the fey.

Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things is true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of her new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.

Review:

So much potential in this plot, all reduced to, “Wah, wah poor me. I’m not pretty.” And “Oh, woe is me, I’ve been cursed with rage…or, well, at least mild irritation.” (I certainly never sensed any more than that.) With a romance that boiled down to “Mr. Rochart is never here. I wish he was here because it makes his daughter happy when he is. Oh, I love Mr. Rochart.” It came out of nowhere! Not least because Mr. Rochart was completely flat as a character. Jane was a bit better, but not by much.

Sure the book has a creepy atmosphere. And it really is an interesting premise. Unfortunately, I think all that potential was just smothered under all the self-absorbed angst. I’m afraid being a retelling of Jane Eyre was enough to salvage this. I’ll not be bothering with the sequels.

King's Raven

Book Review of King’s Raven (Harper Errant #2), by Maggie Secara

King's RavenQuite a long time ago (cringe), Maggie Secara sent me e-copies of The Dragon Ring and King’s Raven, book 1 & 2 of her Harper Errant series. I read/reviewed The Dragon Ring, but never got around to reading King’s Raven, until now.

Description from Goodreads:
The heart of Faerie is the heart of the world.

While Oberon, immortal king of Faerie, lies under a terrible curse, the artistic spirit in the world is slipping away. The King’s Raven would do anything to lift the spell, if only it hadn’t also stripped him of his magic and flung him into an iron-bound past with a damaged memory.

The only thing that can save them both is sealed inside a riddle wrapped in a puzzle that spans the centuries. Even with the help of an Elizabethan magus, a Victorian spinster, and a mad reporter, can mortal musician Ben Harper find Raven in time to solve the riddle, stop a witch, and restore the creative heart of the world?

Review:
This is one of those books that was well written, probably well researched (I don’t know the subject well enough to know, but it feels right), and well edited but not a real hit with me. I mean I liked it. I still very much enjoyed Raven. I still appreciated Ben and I still thought their dynamic was fun. I still liked the creative side characters and the way things tied together. So, there is no argument that this is a good book.

Stylistically, however, it didn’t click with me. There is a lot of hopping back and forward in time and between characters and this is a technique that crawls under my skin and chafes. I don’t enjoy it. So, unfortunately my basic enjoyment of the story was compromised. It made the book feel overly long, I think.

Other than that one complaint (which is based on my personal preference) I have no reservations about recommending this book to fantasy readers. It’s well worth picking up, though I recommend reading The Dragon’s Ring first.