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Fairy Tale #1
A Fairy Tale
Once upon a time, a girl named Sophie Drake danced with the fairies in the woods behind her grandparents’ Louisiana home. But she closed the door to the fairy world and turned her back on the Fae when they tried to steal her little sister Emily. Fourteen years later, Sophie heads to New York City on a desperate mission. Emily, now an up-and-coming Broadway actress, has gone missing. Only Sophie suspects the Fae.
Now Sophie has her work cut out for her. Emily’s abduction is part of a larger plot involving the missing Queen of the fairy realm. An upstart fairy is making a bid to assume control of the entire Realm, unite the fairies, and become master over the human world. To free her sister, Sophie must derail this power scheme and find the true Queen of the Realm.
That’s a lot for a small-town ballet teacher to tackle, but with the unlikely aid of her sometimes flighty sister, a pair of elderly shopkeepers with a secret, a supremely lazy (but surprisingly knowledgeable) bulldog, and a wounded police detective searching for his own missing person, she just might prevail – if she can force herself to confront her own past and face her true nature.
Now Sophie has her work cut out for her. Emily’s abduction is part of a larger plot involving the missing Queen of the fairy realm. An upstart fairy is making a bid to assume control of the entire Realm, unite the fairies, and become master over the human world. To free her sister, Sophie must derail this power scheme and find the true Queen of the Realm.
That’s a lot for a small-town ballet teacher to tackle, but with the unlikely aid of her sometimes flighty sister, a pair of elderly shopkeepers with a secret, a supremely lazy (but surprisingly knowledgeable) bulldog, and a wounded police detective searching for his own missing person, she just might prevail – if she can force herself to confront her own past and face her true nature.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 3, 2014
31 people are currently reading
731 people want to read
About the author
Shanna Swendson
41 books1,136 followersOnce upon a time ...
A little girl learned to amuse herself by making up stories in her head. She turned everyday activities into exciting adventures, and she made up new adventures for characters from her favorite movies, TV shows and books. Then one day she realized that if she wrote down those stories, she'd have a book! But that was crazy, she thought. Real people don't become novelists. That was like deciding you were going to be a movie star. You couldn't just go and do it.
But, it turns out, you can, and she did. She realized her dream of becoming a novelist and seeing her stories in bookstores.
And then she started to wig herself out by writing about herself in the third-person.
This is her story.
The Novelist's Journey
As I said above in that bit of silliness, I've always been a writer at heart. My favorite way to play was to create stories and act them out with my Fisher-Price people, my Barbie dolls or myself and a box of play clothes. If none of those things were available, I could just sit and make up stories in my head. I occasionally got into trouble for being a little too creative, such as the time when I embellished a bit on my kindergarten experiences (where's the dramatic hook in coloring, cutting out and pasting?).
When I was in seventh grade and a bit old for Fisher-Price people, Barbie dolls or the dress-up box, I started writing these stories down in spiral notebooks. Later, I found an old manual typewriter, taught myself to type, then wrote a lot of first chapters of novels on it. I still hadn't figured out how to actually be a working novelist who gets paid for writing (finishing a book instead of writing a lot of first chapters might have been a good start), so when it came time to go to college, I went to journalism school at the University of Texas. While getting my degree in broadcast news, I managed to structure a curriculum that might also help me in my real career plans. I took fencing (which I thought would be useful for writing fantasy novels), an astronomy course on the search for extraterrestrial life (in case I wanted to write science fiction), psychology, interpersonal communication, and parageography (the geography of imaginary lands).
I got serious about pursuing my novel-writing ambitions soon after I got my first job in public relations (TV reporting, it turns out, would have taken away from my writing time) when I started joining local writing organizations and reading books on how to write a novel. Then I took the big step of registering for a writing conference. With the registration fee, you could enter two manuscripts in a contest that went with the conference. I figured if I was paying that much money, I'd get the most out of it, so I wrote two entries. At the conference, I met a real, live editor, who encouraged me to submit, and one of my entries won the science fiction/fantasy category of the contest. I hurried to finish the novel the editor had asked for, then mailed a proposal.
She ended up rejecting the book, but encouraged me to keep trying. I ended up selling that novel elsewhere, then sold two more books to that publisher before I had another idea for that original editor. That book ended up selling, and then one more.
And then I hit the wall. Due to a number of circumstances, some of which weren't my fault and some of which were, I didn't sell anything else for eight years. But then I had the idea that became Enchanted, Inc., I wrote it, sold it, and here I am.
Other Life Stuff
I think I need to get a few more hobbies or something else going on in my life that isn't related to reading or writing because currently my bio in my books is shorter than the "about the typeface" section. Yes, a typeface has a more interesting life than I do.
When I'm not writing, I'm most often reading. Otherwise, I enjoy watching science fiction TV shows and then discussing them on the Internet, working crossw
A little girl learned to amuse herself by making up stories in her head. She turned everyday activities into exciting adventures, and she made up new adventures for characters from her favorite movies, TV shows and books. Then one day she realized that if she wrote down those stories, she'd have a book! But that was crazy, she thought. Real people don't become novelists. That was like deciding you were going to be a movie star. You couldn't just go and do it.
But, it turns out, you can, and she did. She realized her dream of becoming a novelist and seeing her stories in bookstores.
And then she started to wig herself out by writing about herself in the third-person.
This is her story.
The Novelist's Journey
As I said above in that bit of silliness, I've always been a writer at heart. My favorite way to play was to create stories and act them out with my Fisher-Price people, my Barbie dolls or myself and a box of play clothes. If none of those things were available, I could just sit and make up stories in my head. I occasionally got into trouble for being a little too creative, such as the time when I embellished a bit on my kindergarten experiences (where's the dramatic hook in coloring, cutting out and pasting?).
When I was in seventh grade and a bit old for Fisher-Price people, Barbie dolls or the dress-up box, I started writing these stories down in spiral notebooks. Later, I found an old manual typewriter, taught myself to type, then wrote a lot of first chapters of novels on it. I still hadn't figured out how to actually be a working novelist who gets paid for writing (finishing a book instead of writing a lot of first chapters might have been a good start), so when it came time to go to college, I went to journalism school at the University of Texas. While getting my degree in broadcast news, I managed to structure a curriculum that might also help me in my real career plans. I took fencing (which I thought would be useful for writing fantasy novels), an astronomy course on the search for extraterrestrial life (in case I wanted to write science fiction), psychology, interpersonal communication, and parageography (the geography of imaginary lands).
I got serious about pursuing my novel-writing ambitions soon after I got my first job in public relations (TV reporting, it turns out, would have taken away from my writing time) when I started joining local writing organizations and reading books on how to write a novel. Then I took the big step of registering for a writing conference. With the registration fee, you could enter two manuscripts in a contest that went with the conference. I figured if I was paying that much money, I'd get the most out of it, so I wrote two entries. At the conference, I met a real, live editor, who encouraged me to submit, and one of my entries won the science fiction/fantasy category of the contest. I hurried to finish the novel the editor had asked for, then mailed a proposal.
She ended up rejecting the book, but encouraged me to keep trying. I ended up selling that novel elsewhere, then sold two more books to that publisher before I had another idea for that original editor. That book ended up selling, and then one more.
And then I hit the wall. Due to a number of circumstances, some of which weren't my fault and some of which were, I didn't sell anything else for eight years. But then I had the idea that became Enchanted, Inc., I wrote it, sold it, and here I am.
Other Life Stuff
I think I need to get a few more hobbies or something else going on in my life that isn't related to reading or writing because currently my bio in my books is shorter than the "about the typeface" section. Yes, a typeface has a more interesting life than I do.
When I'm not writing, I'm most often reading. Otherwise, I enjoy watching science fiction TV shows and then discussing them on the Internet, working crossw
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
May 16, 2019
I was a bit disappointed at first when I started reading A Fairy Tale. It's no Enchanted Inc (if you haven't read that series, you should). I forged ahead and it didn't take long for me to appreciate the fact that I did. This is yet another example of Fairy Tales set in the reality of our time; something Shanna Swendson is rather skilled with. My only criticism is that the fairy realm is a bit odd. All in all, this is a good read.
January 22, 2015
If I didn't love the author so much I might have given this 2 stars. The story starts out rough & I honestly didn't start getting hooked into the plot until well into the novel. What worked for me was that it was clean, funny, & had really great potential to the story. Sophie, Emily, & Michael were all strong characters who were able to use their wits in some difficult (& silly) situations. What didn't work for me was the lack of editing, the chapters headlines (listing the location & time rather than the name of the person we are switching perspectives to), some juvenile dialogue for people in their late 20's/30's, & the general feeling that it wasn't a completely fleshed out world. The headlines thing is such a small thing but it really bothered me. It started out with headlines like "Murray Residence - 1:40am" and towards the end was chapter after chapter of listing the location/time as "The Great Hall - The Next Moment" to "The Doorway of the Great Hall - A moment Later" to "Outside the Palace - Minutes Later". We can follow the plot line on our own easily enough to understand that virtually no time has passed between the chapters & viewpoints if all they did was make it out of the room & out the door. Now I'm silly in that I think running gags are funny...but I honestly don't think it was meant to be in this case. It was whenever they were in the other world without time & switched back to a standard clock once they were back to NY. I just really missed the spark from her other series which I own in ebook & audio form. The Enchanted series is incredibly funny & each character is fully fleshed out. I found myself at odds while reading this story. I wanted very much for it to have that same kind of magic....and for a story where the central theme revolves around magic it was sorely lacking in that area. I did read the sneak peak to the next book which right away seemed to have the humor I was missing from this one so I still hold out hope!
February 3, 2016
This was just not good. I stuck it out to the end but wish I hadn't. I absolutely LOVED this author's Enchanted, Inc. series. They were funny, clever, had lots of character development and were always entertaining. They were everything this book was not. I never connected to ANY of the characters at all. I think there was potential for them to be interesting, but they just weren't given any depth or enough personality. There were some budding romances that I really couldn't get invested in. I so wanted to like this book because I loved her other series and was looking forward to starting another series with this author. I definitely won't be reading any more of these though. I really wish this had been better. The writing just didn't live up to the Enchanted, Inc. writing at all. For the first half of the book, I kept feeling like I must have been reading the 2nd book in the series instead of the first. It kept referring to things in the past in the way that is normally done in later books in a series. I just felt like there was a lot of back story that she was trying to fill in that wasn't done very well. Anyway... not good.
April 30, 2020
Rated PG.
I actually loved this when I read it--it was so much fun, and I learned a lot about ballet dancers. I am also just a sucker for anything involving faerie stuff in general. In other words, I really liked A Fairy Tale...but, for the life of me, I can't remember much of it, and it has only been a month since I read it. What that tells me is that it was cute and fun but not terribly memorable (or it got taken over by a similar series I read two weeks later).
The best part about the book (aside from the ever-fabulous Faerie) was that Sophie is just so awesome. She is a great character with oodles of personality. She actually reminds me of every other Sophie I've ever read about, most notably the Sophie's from Diana Wynne Jones's Howl's Moving Castle and Jostein Gaardner's Sophie's World. Really, Sophies in general are just fun to read about, and this is no exception. She is basically an unstoppable force with a bit of magic to give her extra power.
I'd probably read it again for fun, and I'll look for more of Swendson's work.
I actually loved this when I read it--it was so much fun, and I learned a lot about ballet dancers. I am also just a sucker for anything involving faerie stuff in general. In other words, I really liked A Fairy Tale...but, for the life of me, I can't remember much of it, and it has only been a month since I read it. What that tells me is that it was cute and fun but not terribly memorable (or it got taken over by a similar series I read two weeks later).
The best part about the book (aside from the ever-fabulous Faerie) was that Sophie is just so awesome. She is a great character with oodles of personality. She actually reminds me of every other Sophie I've ever read about, most notably the Sophie's from Diana Wynne Jones's Howl's Moving Castle and Jostein Gaardner's Sophie's World. Really, Sophies in general are just fun to read about, and this is no exception. She is basically an unstoppable force with a bit of magic to give her extra power.
I'd probably read it again for fun, and I'll look for more of Swendson's work.
August 7, 2017
I spent the first 1/3 to 1/2 of this book trying to figure out what happened to the first part of the series. I think the author probably wrote a lengthy prologue or flashback sequence that her editor convinced her to cut and she wasn't talented or interested enough in the book to incorporate the details properly into the remaining manuscript. There are many references to a childhood incident that impacts this narrative, but not enough details were given for us to really care about or understand its implications. Eventually, a careful reader can figure out what was supposed to have happened, but all the way until the end of the book, I felt like I was reading a sequel to another, unwritten, book.
This is the main issue I had with this, but hardly the last. I really got tired of being told how tough and imposing Sophia is. None of this actually is demonstrated in her actions on the page, we're just told over and over and over again how ferocious and daunting she has been in the past. Yet, there is not one specific incident to demonstrate it. I can tell you all day long that I have a smart and clever dog, but if I don't tell you stories that demonstrate how that manifests in reality, then you won't believe that he really is smarter than average (let alone smartest in the world.) Same thing here, don't tell me someone is tough... SHOW me! In fact, most of the book suffers from the tell not show malady, and my writing teachers were right - it sucks.
The lack of specificity weakened the characters as well as the story. Characters jump in and out of the storyline without any real connection or individuality and were interchangeable. I never cared about anyone in the book and was more than a little put off by the potential love interest considering the circumstances.
This should have been a brilliant book, but it isn't. The ending was telegraphed from the start and the resolution was extremely clumsy. The nonexistent flashback/prologue/prequel was so distracting that it ruined whatever good remained in the actual narrative, and made me wish I had been reading the other story instead.
This is a case of a good idea spoiled by lazy writing.
This is the main issue I had with this, but hardly the last. I really got tired of being told how tough and imposing Sophia is. None of this actually is demonstrated in her actions on the page, we're just told over and over and over again how ferocious and daunting she has been in the past. Yet, there is not one specific incident to demonstrate it. I can tell you all day long that I have a smart and clever dog, but if I don't tell you stories that demonstrate how that manifests in reality, then you won't believe that he really is smarter than average (let alone smartest in the world.) Same thing here, don't tell me someone is tough... SHOW me! In fact, most of the book suffers from the tell not show malady, and my writing teachers were right - it sucks.
The lack of specificity weakened the characters as well as the story. Characters jump in and out of the storyline without any real connection or individuality and were interchangeable. I never cared about anyone in the book and was more than a little put off by the potential love interest considering the circumstances.
This should have been a brilliant book, but it isn't. The ending was telegraphed from the start and the resolution was extremely clumsy. The nonexistent flashback/prologue/prequel was so distracting that it ruined whatever good remained in the actual narrative, and made me wish I had been reading the other story instead.
This is a case of a good idea spoiled by lazy writing.
December 1, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A virtual "fairy tale" for adults, as delightful as an ice cream sundae minus the calories.
I enjoyed the cast of characters even more than Swendson's Enchanted series. Sophie is a strong character and her supporting cast is off-beat and hilarious.
I enjoyed the cast of characters even more than Swendson's Enchanted series. Sophie is a strong character and her supporting cast is off-beat and hilarious.
January 4, 2018
I couldn't get past the first couple of chapters. It felt like I was entering the middle of the series and missing important events from earlier books. The characters didn't appeal and the fae were the usual tropes.
December 8, 2014
Nice to see something new from this author. Similar in tone to her Enchanted Inc series. Looking forward to the next.
November 28, 2021
Sophie Drake used to dance with the faeries in the woods behind her grandparents' house. Then the fae tried to steal her little sister, Emily, and Sophie rescued her sister and turned her back on Faerie forever.
Fourteen years later, Emily has left Louisiana for New York City and an acting career. She's just had a huge break; working as the understudy for the lead, she gets her chance when the lead has to pull out. She's a hit, and after that night's closing curtain, she and a few friends go out to celebrate. Along the way, they meet a guy named Eamon (my best guess at spelling, since I listened to the audio), and somehow it seems perfectly normal when he tags along with them. They wind up in Central Park at some point, and the next day, Emily's friends eventually work out that that's the last time they saw her.
Emily has been lured off to Faerie. Sophie, with an ability she's had since childhood, to know when there's Trouble and she's needed, arrives in New York, having left Louisiana before anyone in New York realized Emily was missing.
Sophie meets Emily's friends, starting with her upstairs neighbor, Michael, who is a cop out on medical leave due to a line-of-duty injury. He was dogsitting for Emily's bulldog, Beau, and has the key to her apartment, so that they can check to confirm Emily isn't there, passed out, ill, or worse. Sophie has good reason to be sure she isn't, but she can't say that, to Michael or to the on-duty det ective who responds, of course.
Meanwhile, Emily is in Faerie, being taken by her kidnapper to the person who ordered her kidnapping--Maeve, the wannabe Queen of Faerie.
The last Queen of Faerie disappeared long ago, and Faerie is slowly dying due to the lack of its Queen. Yet Maeve is everything that's wrong about Faerie--beautiful, but fake, cold, and destructive, the things that make the Fae dangerous to humans. Yet that's not all that Faerie is. Eamon, for instance, is no supporter of Maeve, and starts to have serious doubts about the wisdom of having done her this favor, as he starts to realize what her plan is.
Maeve means to make herself Queen of Faerie, to find the palace and the throne that have been closed off and hidden since the last Queen left. For this, she thinks the crucial information she needs is held by, not Emily, but Sophie. But Sophie knows too much about Faerie's dangers, and couldn't be lured--except by the need to rescue Emily.
There are certainly places in the story where the writing isn't brilliant, and where some odd plotting decisions have been made. This is an interesting intertwining of Faerie, and the mythology of how to interact, or not interact, with the Fae, with our contemporary world. The worldbuilding is good, and there are interesting characters, several of whom grow more interesting as the story progresses.
It's important to note that Beau, the bulldog, is A Very Good Dog, and that that he not only survives the story, but makes valuable contributions along the way. Yes, I am a sucker for a good dog in a story.
Interesting, enjoyable, and I may look for more.
I bought this audiobook.
Fourteen years later, Emily has left Louisiana for New York City and an acting career. She's just had a huge break; working as the understudy for the lead, she gets her chance when the lead has to pull out. She's a hit, and after that night's closing curtain, she and a few friends go out to celebrate. Along the way, they meet a guy named Eamon (my best guess at spelling, since I listened to the audio), and somehow it seems perfectly normal when he tags along with them. They wind up in Central Park at some point, and the next day, Emily's friends eventually work out that that's the last time they saw her.
Emily has been lured off to Faerie. Sophie, with an ability she's had since childhood, to know when there's Trouble and she's needed, arrives in New York, having left Louisiana before anyone in New York realized Emily was missing.
Sophie meets Emily's friends, starting with her upstairs neighbor, Michael, who is a cop out on medical leave due to a line-of-duty injury. He was dogsitting for Emily's bulldog, Beau, and has the key to her apartment, so that they can check to confirm Emily isn't there, passed out, ill, or worse. Sophie has good reason to be sure she isn't, but she can't say that, to Michael or to the on-duty det ective who responds, of course.
Meanwhile, Emily is in Faerie, being taken by her kidnapper to the person who ordered her kidnapping--Maeve, the wannabe Queen of Faerie.
The last Queen of Faerie disappeared long ago, and Faerie is slowly dying due to the lack of its Queen. Yet Maeve is everything that's wrong about Faerie--beautiful, but fake, cold, and destructive, the things that make the Fae dangerous to humans. Yet that's not all that Faerie is. Eamon, for instance, is no supporter of Maeve, and starts to have serious doubts about the wisdom of having done her this favor, as he starts to realize what her plan is.
Maeve means to make herself Queen of Faerie, to find the palace and the throne that have been closed off and hidden since the last Queen left. For this, she thinks the crucial information she needs is held by, not Emily, but Sophie. But Sophie knows too much about Faerie's dangers, and couldn't be lured--except by the need to rescue Emily.
There are certainly places in the story where the writing isn't brilliant, and where some odd plotting decisions have been made. This is an interesting intertwining of Faerie, and the mythology of how to interact, or not interact, with the Fae, with our contemporary world. The worldbuilding is good, and there are interesting characters, several of whom grow more interesting as the story progresses.
It's important to note that Beau, the bulldog, is A Very Good Dog, and that that he not only survives the story, but makes valuable contributions along the way. Yes, I am a sucker for a good dog in a story.
Interesting, enjoyable, and I may look for more.
I bought this audiobook.
October 22, 2020
I enjoyed this enough to read it all in one sitting, which made for a pretty good simulation of the fairyland experience.
What I liked: I loved the description of fairyland, all the different kinds of things so close together. I loved the dances. It had just the right amount of description to make me feel like I was there, but not so much that my eyes started to glaze over. The characters were satisfying, although Sophie was hard to relate to (probably intentional). The conflict felt genuine and the stakes were high.
What I liked less: In retrospect, the pacing was weird. I didn't flag it at the time, because again I read it in one sitting, but there were important characters being introduced really late. The main character didn't turn up for a while, and there were other important characters appearing really quite late into Act 2. The big bad's motivations also seem kind of suspect in retrospect, like, . And the characters turned out a little flat. With one exception, I don't think they changed much over the course of this book. Maybe they will in a future book. I don't know.
What I liked: I loved the description of fairyland, all the different kinds of things so close together. I loved the dances. It had just the right amount of description to make me feel like I was there, but not so much that my eyes started to glaze over. The characters were satisfying, although Sophie was hard to relate to (probably intentional). The conflict felt genuine and the stakes were high.
What I liked less: In retrospect, the pacing was weird. I didn't flag it at the time, because again I read it in one sitting, but there were important characters being introduced really late. The main character didn't turn up for a while, and there were other important characters appearing really quite late into Act 2. The big bad's motivations also seem kind of suspect in retrospect, like, . And the characters turned out a little flat. With one exception, I don't think they changed much over the course of this book. Maybe they will in a future book. I don't know.
February 20, 2024
I started reading the Enchanted Inc. series a few years ago. I enjoyed it enough that I looked for other books by Shanna Swendson. I found this book for the most part to be quite enjoyable. It doesn't have the same level of wit as the Enchanted Inc. series, although I did find myself laughing out loud a couple of times.
The thing I liked about this book better is that it didn't have some of the crass/crude comments. Not that they are frequent in the other books (and most people wouldn't be bothered by them), there's just a little language there that I didn't love. This book had some occasional mild swearing, but it was pretty infrequent.
My least favorite part about the book is the set up for something of a love triangle. I can see (or at least I suspect) how it will be resolved, but I don't love that aspect of it. Other than that, I really enjoyed the book and look forward to finishing the series.
The thing I liked about this book better is that it didn't have some of the crass/crude comments. Not that they are frequent in the other books (and most people wouldn't be bothered by them), there's just a little language there that I didn't love. This book had some occasional mild swearing, but it was pretty infrequent.
My least favorite part about the book is the set up for something of a love triangle. I can see (or at least I suspect) how it will be resolved, but I don't love that aspect of it. Other than that, I really enjoyed the book and look forward to finishing the series.
December 27, 2019
This is the world of Fae, not the Tinkerbell kind of fairies. The Fae have their own ways that aren’t like human ways. In the Realm of the Fae humans should not eat or drink lest they become stuck in the Realm and turned into slaves. Emily Drake is kidnapped by the Fae so her sister Sophie goes to her rescue. Unfortunately she is hampered by a police detective who knows nothing about the Realm. Sophie is a force unto herself and when she grabs an iron skillet you know it’s going to to get interesting. This first book in the series opens up many possibilities and leaves some issues unresolved, which leads us directly to the next book.
August 9, 2017
Fae, Enchantresses, and the Big Apple!
This was an awesome beginning to Shanna Swendson's new series! I love the fairy world she created, and am looking forward to even more! This is
fantasy, with adventure and a touch of romance, all well-executed. There were a few instances of using b****, but I think it isn't very noticeable and works with the context. This is clean, I'd rate it PG.
This was an awesome beginning to Shanna Swendson's new series! I love the fairy world she created, and am looking forward to even more! This is
fantasy, with adventure and a touch of romance, all well-executed. There were a few instances of using b****, but I think it isn't very noticeable and works with the context. This is clean, I'd rate it PG.
September 8, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. It is a very interesting concept for a book, and I thought the Fae (Faery folk) were depicted very well. It is hard to really review this book without adding spoilers, but suffice it to say the back and forth between the Faerie and modern world was well done enough that not only was it not confusing it was fun and exciting. I am really looking forward to reading the other books in this series.
March 25, 2019
I have no idea what to make of this book.
I might had stopped reading after a couple of chapters if I didn't like the author's other book series, "Enchanted, inc.".
The story did get slightly interesting in the last few pages, but I don't think I'll be reading this book again.
Let's see if I'll enjoy the next book in this series. (Fingers crossed!)
Oh bet, I don't like the cover design.... It's making this book look like a book for middle school kids. Ugh.
I might had stopped reading after a couple of chapters if I didn't like the author's other book series, "Enchanted, inc.".
The story did get slightly interesting in the last few pages, but I don't think I'll be reading this book again.
Let's see if I'll enjoy the next book in this series. (Fingers crossed!)
Oh bet, I don't like the cover design.... It's making this book look like a book for middle school kids. Ugh.
November 14, 2019
I really had high hopes for this book, because I enjoy the Enchanted, Inc. series, but I have to admit to being disappointed.
There are too many issues that bothered me to list them all, but my main problem was that the characters never felt real, it was more like watching a badly acted puppet show than a peek into someone's life.
There are too many issues that bothered me to list them all, but my main problem was that the characters never felt real, it was more like watching a badly acted puppet show than a peek into someone's life.
August 10, 2018
I was pleasantly surprised I liked this book....at first I thought it was for young folks...I'm a senior citizen but I've always loved fairy tales...I did enjoy this book....don't know if I'll go for another one...it tended to drag toward the end....maybe I'll try the other series by this author..?
October 5, 2021
Funny and escapist, exactly what I was looking for.
There's a little bit more language than the almost-none that is in the Enchanted, Inc. series, and she's sensitive about still being a "maiden" at 30. (Good for her, even though it wasn't by choice.)
There's a little bit more language than the almost-none that is in the Enchanted, Inc. series, and she's sensitive about still being a "maiden" at 30. (Good for her, even though it wasn't by choice.)
April 11, 2023
This is a good book to read if you want something to pass time without really thinking.
In terms of fantasy directed at a more feminine audience, it has a pretty generic setting, pretty generic plot, and pretty generic characters.
But it's well written, and it flows well.
In terms of fantasy directed at a more feminine audience, it has a pretty generic setting, pretty generic plot, and pretty generic characters.
But it's well written, and it flows well.
December 29, 2017
Sweet fun little fantasy. Swendson is great at this genre. Nothing fancy, just a fun little series.
October 8, 2020
Easy and fun enough but super predictable
Read
December 28, 2020DNF @50%. Well written, but I just didn't care enough to finish the story.
March 31, 2021
Giving up at 13%. I’m just not enjoying this book enough to continue.
November 23, 2022
Easy read
October 23, 2023
Very good. Started the second book now
March 31, 2018
Very light, often silly, but endearing enough to make me consider #2.
November 16, 2018
Not as strong as the Enchanted, Inc. books, but still plenty of fun. It took me a little longer than I would have liked to figure out that Sophie is more the main character than Emily, and that future books will likewise follow Sophie. But I appreciate the unusual world that Swendson throws her characters into (not dissimilar to the Enchanted, Inc. world, really, making a small, traitorous part of me wonder about crossover potential), even when the action feels a bit slow. I'm looking forward to the next book, to seeing where Sophie takes her life now that the things that have been holding her back have been turned on their heads.
January 17, 2017
It's been many years since either Emily or Sophie have visited the fairies. Both sisters have been avoiding the fairy realm since the fairies kidnapped Emily fourteen years ago and Sophie had to rescue her. Now, Emily is a Broadway actress, just finished her first successful show, when she goes missing once again. No one knows who to suspect but Sophie, but as she soon realizes, there are even more fairy politics involved now than ever. Maeve, who had been nothing more than a fairy servant the last time Sophie was in the realm, is now attempting to become Fairy Queen and take over the human world as well. But, as Sophie soon realizes, she may not be as helpless as she'd been so many years ago. She has some unexpected backup this time, and some unrealized powers of her own. But the fairies have never been the type to back down from a fight, and as Sophie attempts to save her sister, she realizes she may be in deeper trouble than she's ever been.
I've always loved fairies, but there aren't very many books written about them (when compared to those written about vampires and werewolves, at least). Some of the other fairy books I've read have been great, some only okay; this one falls in the middle. I loved the fairy lore involved in building this story's plot, as it was consistent with many of the traditional legends I've heard. As much as I love reading a book that puts a twist on mythology, sometimes it's even more fun to read a modern-day story that stays consistent with tradition. There were some minor changes, but none that seemed as though Shanna Swendson was just making differences to set her fairies apart; rather, all changes to the fairies were minimal and essential to the plot. The fairies and depictions of their realm were the main reasons I enjoyed this story so much. It was enchanting.
Something I didn't enjoy as much was the pacing of the storyline. Emily was kidnapped right at the very beginning of the book, and then the entire rest of the novel (until perhaps the second-last chapter) was all about Sophie attempting to get her back. It seemed as though every other chapter was Sophie making another trip into the realm, failing and being sent back, then trying to make a different plan (which was never very different). Yes, there were some new pieces of information being introduced, but nothing enough to make a difference in Sophie's approach. I found this somewhat tedious. I enjoyed Emily's perspective more, since she was always in the fairy realm, and I loved the fairies, even if some were evil - that just made them more entertaining. With most novels, I find that the deeper I read, the more my desire to continue increases. With this book, however, my desire stayed around the same level throughout the entire story, only increasing towards the very end. It's not that this book was difficult to read or continue, because it was interesting; it just wasn't particularly exciting.
The ending, although the most captivating section of this story, was also the most irritating to me. Sophie and Emily found a solution to their problem, but it was a faulty solution. Normally I'd be fine with this, because real life is imperfect and I like stories to be realistic. However, I could see another solution to their problem, one that seemed very obvious and easy to pursue, but which wasn't even mentioned or thought of by either sister. This book is the first in a series, so perhaps they'll realize this solution later on down the line, but it bothers me that something so obvious would be completely out of their realm of consideration.
I did enjoy this book, although I doubt I'll read more in this series. I really did appreciate the depictions of the fairies and their realm, but I just found the story too uneventful and slightly obvious for my liking. I would give this novel a rating of three and a half stars, rounded down to three. It seems like a novel for younger readers than me, perhaps, although the characters are older. Maybe if the characters were younger and less experienced I would have enjoyed the story more, since they'd have a better explanation for their actions. Readers who enjoy fairy magic, sister bonds, and kidnapping mysteries would enjoy this book.
I've always loved fairies, but there aren't very many books written about them (when compared to those written about vampires and werewolves, at least). Some of the other fairy books I've read have been great, some only okay; this one falls in the middle. I loved the fairy lore involved in building this story's plot, as it was consistent with many of the traditional legends I've heard. As much as I love reading a book that puts a twist on mythology, sometimes it's even more fun to read a modern-day story that stays consistent with tradition. There were some minor changes, but none that seemed as though Shanna Swendson was just making differences to set her fairies apart; rather, all changes to the fairies were minimal and essential to the plot. The fairies and depictions of their realm were the main reasons I enjoyed this story so much. It was enchanting.
Something I didn't enjoy as much was the pacing of the storyline. Emily was kidnapped right at the very beginning of the book, and then the entire rest of the novel (until perhaps the second-last chapter) was all about Sophie attempting to get her back. It seemed as though every other chapter was Sophie making another trip into the realm, failing and being sent back, then trying to make a different plan (which was never very different). Yes, there were some new pieces of information being introduced, but nothing enough to make a difference in Sophie's approach. I found this somewhat tedious. I enjoyed Emily's perspective more, since she was always in the fairy realm, and I loved the fairies, even if some were evil - that just made them more entertaining. With most novels, I find that the deeper I read, the more my desire to continue increases. With this book, however, my desire stayed around the same level throughout the entire story, only increasing towards the very end. It's not that this book was difficult to read or continue, because it was interesting; it just wasn't particularly exciting.
The ending, although the most captivating section of this story, was also the most irritating to me. Sophie and Emily found a solution to their problem, but it was a faulty solution. Normally I'd be fine with this, because real life is imperfect and I like stories to be realistic. However, I could see another solution to their problem, one that seemed very obvious and easy to pursue, but which wasn't even mentioned or thought of by either sister. This book is the first in a series, so perhaps they'll realize this solution later on down the line, but it bothers me that something so obvious would be completely out of their realm of consideration.
I did enjoy this book, although I doubt I'll read more in this series. I really did appreciate the depictions of the fairies and their realm, but I just found the story too uneventful and slightly obvious for my liking. I would give this novel a rating of three and a half stars, rounded down to three. It seems like a novel for younger readers than me, perhaps, although the characters are older. Maybe if the characters were younger and less experienced I would have enjoyed the story more, since they'd have a better explanation for their actions. Readers who enjoy fairy magic, sister bonds, and kidnapping mysteries would enjoy this book.
March 12, 2025
So Emily Drake has just gotten her big break in the theater in Manhattan. It's also the same day that she's kidnapped by a very interesting looking man named Eamon. One minute, she's walking along with her friends and Eamon, and the next minute, she's somewhere else. She remembers walking near Central Park, but she doesn't remember much else. What is really odd/strange/unusual, at the very minute she senses danger and calls out to her sister, Sophie, Sophie sits bolt upright even though it's the middle of the night (2 am) and Sophie is hundreds of miles away in Louisiana. This book is full of strange, unusual and interesting characters...2 older,(read: elderly) sisters who have the gift, different people who seem to be "on the other side"...not in the human realm; an injured cop, Michael, who lives upstairs from Emily. Back to the story: It seems that the fairy world has been without a queen for centuries and there's a member of the fae community who wants to take over for herself, take over the world of fae and the human domain, but she needs Emily & her sister, Sophie. Deals are made and broken, there's some mind maneuvering, & oh, it gets interesting. All the while, Sophie knows that there's more to the story than she's being told. So, when Sophie was a little girl, she would go visit her Nana and play in the woods behind Nana's house. It was here that she first encountered the fairies, but she got along with them, for the most part. Also, she has to keep some things from Emily's neighbor, Michael, because, well, he's a cop and has an innate sense when someone is lying to him, so does Michael's partner, Tanaka, aka Tank. Sophie has to be very careful what she says to either Michael or Tank. Another little hitch in the story, Sophie is attracted to Michael, but Michael is still pining away for his wife, Jen, who disappeared 7 years ago. Jen bears a striking resemblance to Emily, as do a few other women who have gone missing from the same vicinity. So, bloody wars erupt, magic is performed, the good guys lose a little, win a little. You'll just have to read the book to figure this all out.
April 24, 2017
I loved Shanna Swendson's Enchanted, Inc. book series, and it quickly became one of my favorite series ever. However, I am obsessed with this one and can't wait for the next one!
Overall, the book is great! It has budding romance, danger, battles, evil (wannabe) queens, fairies, mysteries, kidnappings, other worlds, and a kick-butt heroine that I am dying to be BFFs with! The world and premise she created is compelling and leaves you wanting so much more when the book ends. The characters, especially Sophie, are well developed and leap off the page and into your heart.
The story started off a bit weird and a bit slow, but once Sophie showed up, the story flew into a whirlwind (like her!) and I couldn't put it down! It lays the foundation for a wonderful series.
I listened to the Audible Audiobook, read by Suzy Jackson and read the Kindle eBook. Suzy Jackson really brought the characters alive and did an amazing job with them. I would recommend this book to anyone who loved her Enchanted, Inc. book series, and to anyone who likes "grown-up" fairy tales. While there are adults who are growing to like each other, there aren't any sexual situations, so the under 17 crowd could definitely enjoy this as well!
♥Tessie
Overall, the book is great! It has budding romance, danger, battles, evil (wannabe) queens, fairies, mysteries, kidnappings, other worlds, and a kick-butt heroine that I am dying to be BFFs with! The world and premise she created is compelling and leaves you wanting so much more when the book ends. The characters, especially Sophie, are well developed and leap off the page and into your heart.
The story started off a bit weird and a bit slow, but once Sophie showed up, the story flew into a whirlwind (like her!) and I couldn't put it down! It lays the foundation for a wonderful series.
I listened to the Audible Audiobook, read by Suzy Jackson and read the Kindle eBook. Suzy Jackson really brought the characters alive and did an amazing job with them. I would recommend this book to anyone who loved her Enchanted, Inc. book series, and to anyone who likes "grown-up" fairy tales. While there are adults who are growing to like each other, there aren't any sexual situations, so the under 17 crowd could definitely enjoy this as well!
♥Tessie
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