i was impatient and skipped this to continue the series back when i read it earlier this year, and now i wish i hadn't!
elias learns about being a parei was impatient and skipped this to continue the series back when i read it earlier this year, and now i wish i hadn't!
elias learns about being a parent through reflection on his childhood with his fearsome and cruel faerie father, and we start to get to know abigail and longshadow before their story in book 3....more
“Hand you the right storybook, and you are capable of anything.”
this was exactly what i hoped for from book 3!
“It’s been a while since I had so much f“Hand you the right storybook, and you are capable of anything.”
this was exactly what i hoped for from book 3!
“It’s been a while since I had so much fun.” “He nearly decapitated you,” I exclaimed. “Yes, but besides that, Em,” he said patiently.
we of course get the same banter and delightful dynamic between the ever practical, pragmatic emily and the flamboyant, waggish wendell as they return to wendell's faerie realm to reclaim his place on the throne.
however, it's not a smooth transition as a curse is setting in on the lands. emily must use all her scholarly knowledge to find the answer in the numerous and effervescent fables and tales of faerie to help wendell find a cure and restore balance to the kingdom.
the idea that stories are what hold the true shape of the fae realm, define it, makes me reflect on how stories are how we define our own humanity as people.
“For all you have read about and studied the Folk, you have never truly lived with them, dear. They are like—like nature. Can you understand the feeling of a winter night, or a spring wind, if you have only read about it?”
as usual, heather fawcett writes from emily's POV that immediately takes me back into her mind. in fact, i'd read the first two books with audio and i couldn't help but read book three with Ell Potter's voice in my head. she so perfectly encapsulates emily for me and does a great irish accent for wendell, so i highly recommend reading (or rereading) with the audiobooks!
while there's cozy light academia vibe to this series, fawcett never shies away from staying loyal to old school fae lore - that is to say, every now and then a faerie does or says something abruptly brutal that reminds me even the friendliest of them are not to be fully trusted. you must always stay on your feet and ten steps ahead with the tricky fae.
“Most of them have fled,” “Or they’ve been killed,” Lord Taran said. “Oops.”
something that i found especially pleasant in this installment was the romance felt a touch dialed up. not too much as we know emily is not the most emotionally driven of characters, but it was quite heartfelt at times and called for considering the circumstances. it was in a subtle fashion, but nonetheless enjoyable.
“Don’t tarry here too long,” he murmured against my lips. “I shall miss you too much, and come to regret this.”
A world that I wanted, even after all I had seen, and amidst such a thicket of danger. I wanted it very much. And I especially wanted to share it with Wendell.
“I have learned there is one thing a person never tires of, no matter how long they live. And that is being in love. All else is ash and ember.”
i thought this was a final book of the series, and while it ends wrapped up, there is definitely room for more - i'm certainly hoping there is!
just in case you wanted to know dog or cat-wise: don't worry, nothing happens to them :)