by Mary Karlik
published by Ink Monster
expected release date: September 18, 2018
genre: Fantasy,
**Received egalley from netGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Summary (Goodreads): Layla was three when the dragon Fauth attacked the fairy festival, murdering her mum and stepfather. Some fairies think she should’ve been eaten too. They call her fuman because of her mixed blood, but being half human isn’t all bad. Even though she lacks magic, Layla is immune to iron sickness, and she can wield a sword with the skill of an elf.
Sixteen years later, when Layla’s half-sister is kidnapped and taken through a portal to the forbidden human realm, Layla rushes to the rescue. She’s older and stronger, and she’s not about to let her last living family member be taken from her without a fight. But the portal spits her out in Old Town Edinburgh where neither her sister or the kidnapper are anywhere to be found.
Stuck in a world she only knows from school books, Layla joins forces with unlikely allies to find her sister. But as she challenges magical creatures and becomes tangled in the dark world of fairy trafficking, magic harvesting, and murder, Layla will have to find the strength within if she is to survive and save her sister.
My Thoughts: There was a lot I liked and disliked about this book. The main problem I had was with Layla herself. Yes, she's a kickass female who is willing to do anything to protect/save her little sister. Unfortunately, she also doesn't always stop to think before she does something. Everything has to be her way even if her way is wrong. I did like that when Ian's team called her out on rushing into things and causing problems she seemed to take the criticism and grow. I could see liking her character in future books.
The setting mostly takes place in Edinburgh with a bit at the beginning in Fairy. While it would have been nice to see more of Fairy, the author did a good job with the real world as well. My favorite had to be the underground tunnels. I just wish most of the story hadn't taken place in the same three-ish places. It made parts of the story static and repetitive.
The only problem I had with the writing was with some of the bigger fight/action teams. Even after reading it a few times I'm not really sure what happened in the last bit other than the good guys won.
Overall, there was enough of a story and interesting characters that I can see myself reading book 2.
Rating: 4
Interesting cover!
ReplyDelete