I was just going through the books on a library shelf when I came across this one. My decision to read this was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, because its premise was catchy and I’ve been looking for something interesting. I was even happier to see that it was part of a series, because I’ve been meaning to start on a new fantasy series!
When MacKayla Lane’s sister is murdered in Dublin, MacKayla’s life is shattered. With only a cryptic message on her cell phone, Mac decides to make the journey to Ireland to find her sister’s killer and get justice. But she never expected that her quest would take her into a shadowy realm where hidden creatures live, and good and evil are hard to tell apart. MacKayla soon finds herself struggling to survive as she discovers that she has a unique power – the gift to see beyond our world and into that of the dangerous Fae.
This novel had a lot of elements to it, some that I really liked and others that I absolutely hated. It’s going to take me a while to go through them all, so let me jump right into it!
The plot: This was really interesting, with the introduction of different Fae levels and really cool terms. However, I felt like nothing was properly explained throughout the whole story. There were instances where Mac would say something, but then she wouldn’t explain it in further detail. There were so many gaps in my understanding and it made me so frustrated …. but it also made me want to read more to fill those gaps.
The characters: I hated every single one. I hated Mac and her stereotypical Barbie doll behaviour. If I have to read one more description about her nails, hair, breasts, or clothes, I will kill myself. I understand that this is the way the author wanted to make Mac appear but when the character has literally no redeeming quality, it makes it really hard to read. Barrons is simply terrible in his callous and rude attitude. I didn’t like that he never explained anything and showed almost no feeling about anything except at the very end. Also, their chemistry is very abusive, with him constantly physically hurting her. All other characters were mentioned so briefly that I wasn’t able to even form an opinion about them.
Writing style: It was mostly okay but there were occasions where it felt like I wasn’t reading the first book in the novel but rather a summary/prequel of what’s to come. The story is filled with comments from Mac that go like “I thought that life was simple, but now I know better,” telling us that this story is taking place in the past. At first, it was interesting but I soon grew tired of it.
Overall, this novel wasn’t something that I really liked. I hated all of the characters and the structure and writing style made this novel seem like a prequel rather than the first installment in a series. However, I couldn’t stop myself from reading. I attribute this to my ever-present interest in everything Fae. I’m always looking for a good book on the fae world and magic. I wish the author had given me more details on these elements, but she definitely piqued my interest enough to make me push through this whole story. I don’t know if I will read the second novel or not but there are a lot of people who keep saying that the novel gets better and the characters mature so maybe I will give it a shot!
Happy reading ~