Faery Sight

Faerie Legacy #1

by Patricia Bossano

At seventeen, the realm of faerie is the only world Celeste knows, and she aspires to become as close to a faery as a human may. But daunting revelations made by her dying mother knock her plans off course. Orphaned and anxious to establish where she fits in, Celeste's convictions waver.

Is she the human princess her mother raised her to be, or is she the human faery she longs to become? Is she to avenge the wrongs done to her parents by an evil sorceress? Is she to honor a betrothal she's known nothing about? Or should she keep at the side of the true love that recently walked into her life?

Celeste chooses to be the avenger of her parents, even if it means having to acknowledge her rightful place in the human dimension.

Urged by the faery, Nahia, and championed by the faerie court and her true love, Celeste sets out to expose the deceitful sorceress, Arantxa. She trusts that nothing can keep her from returning to the realm of faerie, nothing that is, until the identity of her betrothed becomes known.

Genres: Fantasy

372 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 5, 2017

About the author

Author of award-winning philosophical fictions and supernatural escape artist.

Reviews

[Mo Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The death of a king and the birth of a princess. That's how our story begins - but far from how it ends. Faery Sight is a classic, fantastic fairytale, but with a distinct difference that sets it apart from others. Beneath the rich characters and picturesque setting, lurks an undercurrent of mystery that grips you and carries through the beautiful realm of this story.

All of your favorite fairytale archetypes are here: The one, true princess. The wise faery queen. The dashing, to-your-rescue prince. The evil sorceress. But the true pull of this story isn't in how it plays to the genre, but rather how it expands on it. The characters in Faery Sight are rich and likable, and you quickly find yourself rooting for them -- even befriending them as you read. They have genuine emotion, intelligent thoughts, and quick wits. Both faeries and humans have elements of mischief and wisdom, sadness and joy, and you quickly connect to them.

Further, the world Patricia Bossano has built to house her fairytale is grand, exotic and utterly believable. A world where magic is spoken about, but hardly seen. A kingdom utopic, but thrust into uncertainty after the loss of its ruler. There is the duality of the faery world and the human world, but they are equal in how both are described and built just as realistic as the other. Bossano's writing flair is noticed in the small details of this story: the intricate explanations of faery magic; the coy glances between lovers; the exotic moments shared between humans and faery.

And while the characters and setting are what set the stage, the thing that keeps you reading is the plot. Though fantasy novels aren't always known for being exciting page-turning mysteries, Faery Sight could certainly sit beside thrillers. At the center of the novel, there rests a mystery -- a magical crime to be solved, an evildoer to be overthrown. As the story shifts in both time and progression, the mystery unravels, artfully doled out to both reader and character in short chapter increments. Many nights I found myself saying "Just until the end of the chapter" over and over again -- until I had read much later than I had planned. You will lose yourself in this story; I certainly did.

In writing Faery Sight, Bossano has created a classic fairytale -- but with a twist. Larger-than-the-page, thrilling, and utterly immersive, the world of this novel will take you on a journey to the realm of faery that you won't soon forget. I would definitely recommend it.

As I write this, the second novel in the series (Cradle Gift) is staring at me from my bookshelf, and I cannot help but be excited to break into yet another tale woven from this author. I might even start tonight.

5 Stars: this belongs on your bookshelf.

[Jessie (thetalesofabooklover) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author painted a magical world complete with faeries. I thought that the premise of the book was good and well thought out. Celeste and Etienne were very cute together and I enjoyed their chemistry. I found Nahia and Celeste to be immature, however, and this distracted me from my enjoyment of the book. Their interactions didn't mature over the years like I had anticipated making their little squabbles irksome.

Thank you to Patricia Bossano for a copy of this in exchange for a honest review.

[thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful fairy tale or should I say faery, this is a great read, with wonderful world building by the author you can feel yourself step into another world. The characters you know are all here, faery queens and kings, evil sorceress and dashing princes. The story is exciting and a real page turner. Patricia Bossano knows how to drag you into the tale and not let go. A wonderful read, far more than I was expecting from the over and description. I’m looking forward to future books.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

[Theresa Halvorsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wasn't a genre I normally read, but I thought I'd give it a try. The imagery by Bossano was beautiful and it and the story reminded me of many of Frank Baum and C.S. Lewis' works. I very much enjoyed the wonder this story produced in catching glimpses into a fairy world!

[Molly Blazor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faery Sight by Patricia Bossano has all the components of a classic faery story, fantasy lovers everywhere will enjoy this! It’s been a while since I’ve stumbled across a good fantasy/faery story that wasn’t corny and poorly written and overdone. Faeries, unicorns, magical forests, curses, adventure; this book has it all (without being set on some un-nameable planet with 12 different alien races and dialogue in made up languages). The imagery and writing is also quite good! I often find the descriptions of people and places in modern day fantasy novels to be really over the top, but that isn’t the case with this book. Everything reads and flows really naturally and (a huge plus in my opinion) the character names are actually suitable. One of my biggest pet peeves in fantasy lately is when authors come up with some of those outlandish and literally unpronounceable character names, like Fanshacxitia or Xzarstasia or Gnesixius. None of that nonsense in Faery Sight, the main characters are Celeste and Nahia; beautiful and believable names!
The premise of the story is that Celeste (a human) was born to a mother (Paloma) that had been cursed and could only live life normally in the faery realm, thanks to the magic the faeries sustained her with. In the first few chapters you’re introduced the life that Celeste and her mother lead in their faery home; their cozy home, the beautiful surroundings, the coming of age of Celeste and some of her childhood adventures. Then the story progresses to a more adventuresome tone, Celeste learns more about her mother’s curse and the witch Arantxa, her father’s death, an arranged marriage, and the desire for vengeance that she never knew she needed. Along the way she also encounters love, because no faery story is complete without at least a hint of romance.
I found myself thoroughly enjoying this story with every turn of the page, and honestly, it was so refreshing! Fantasy and faery stories have always been my favorite and I find myself going back to the classics all too often because I can’t find anything new that really draws me in. I can absolutely see myself picking up every book from this series and anything else that Patricia Bossano puts out. In fact, I will be looking for other books from her as soon as I finish writing this review. I definitely recommend Faery Sight to anyone who enjoys stories in this genre. I am also really pleased to have found a series that is appropriate for my pre-teens to be reading; over sexualized faery stories seem to be super rampant these days and I’m really excited to be able to share this one with the young adult readers in my home.

[Moná · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone wants to believe they’re of royalty and should be treated as such, but with that comes great responsibility. In “Faery Sight,” author Patricia Bossano introduces her readers to four ladies Oihana, her daughter Nahia, Paloma and her daughter Celeste. While reading, you will discover that both Nahia and Celeste are the best honorary sisters and best friends. There’s just one thing that differentiates them, Nahia is of the Faery Realm, and Celeste is of human reality. One day, Celeste came up with a scheme to prove once and for all that she and Nahia are both princesses of their own realms. This involved a potion that her mother must drink, making her lighter to carry to leave the Realm of Faery. An unfortunate turn causes her plan to not work properly, forcing her to turn back and head back home.

We then learn the backstory as to how they reached Faery territory in the first place. A witch cast a curse upon Paloma, to turn into a frail and grey shell of the woman she once was, almost as a hideous apparition. As an eleven-year-old girl, Celeste felt responsible for what happened to her mother and wanted more than anything to get back to their home, amongst humans. She’s already lost her loving father Bautista and fears she could be on the verge of losing her mother too. It seems extremely stressful for someone so young, but she’s grateful she has a loving sister and faery who understands her troubles. Being a human in a faery realm has its challenges, but she and her mother are both welcomed as special guests. As Celeste grew older, she came to a realization that living amongst faeries might be the best opportunity that can become of her life. She shifts her focus from trying to go back home to become part of her new world.

Living life as a faery seemed like an amazing journey. It was necessary to be shrunken to 10 inches as “a normal faery height” to enter Handi Park and to participate in solstice celebrations was fascinating. Overall, I found this book granting permissions to take a moment to view the perspectives of a fantasy world, which tends to do similar things of members in our real society. It has been a very positive outlook, displaying that anything is possible if you have the level of enthusiasm and determination as of these two young ladies. I recommend anyone who would enjoy a good fantasy book full of faery tales and adventures to give this book a chance, you might enjoy it as well.

[Kirk Raeber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished Faery Sight and what a great read. I could not put the book down , it is a real page turner. I really enjoyed the long sentences that is somewhat out of favor for most authors. Patricia Bossano was able to describe in very vivid details the beautiful Realm of the Faery. The story was very good and kept my attention. I would most highly recommend this book, it is so well written by a very talented author. Patricia has a wonderful imagination and is able to keep the reader attention,

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

At seventeen, the realm of faery is the only world Celeste knows, and she aspires to become as close to a faery as a human may. But daunting revelations made by her dying mother knock her plans off course.

Orphaned and anxious to establish where she fits in, Celeste’s convictions waver. Is she the human princess her mother raised her to be, or is she the human-faery she

[Claire Heaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

The seventeen year-old Celeste certainly has a lot to deal with. Is she human or is she faery and what direction should she choose her life to take? A true voyage of magical self discovery for a teenage girl, nicely written and I enjoyed every chapter though I would have enjoyed more dialogue.

[Miss Banana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and compelling story that kept me pondering over what would happen next. It was great to see a different part of Europe as the backdrop as well. I enjoyed the relationships between the characters, and the sisterhood between Celeste and Nahia felt especially real. I'm looking forward to the others to see how the world expands and grows!

[Danielle Fanello · Rating 2 out of 5]

The exiled queen and her newborn princess are welcomed by the fairy queen into her forest. Given aid and protection as long as they stay in the borders of the fairy forest. The Princess spends the first 18 years of her life in the forest with the goal of being as fairy like as she can. When her mother is dying she is asked to go back to the land of the humans and reclaim her stolen kingdom.

This had a good base concept but needed help along the way. It was half way through the book before the plot actually got started. In that first half felt choppy. The two princesses were constantly stated to be best friends and like sisters but every interaction is of them fighting or even threatening eachother. It feels like they have just been forced together and makes it hard to like the bond that should be there. Many parts didn't seem logical even in a made up fantasy world but there was one that just seemed creepy. When the childhood crush came to her on her last night in the fairy realm her came across as extremely creepy and inappropriate when I'm pretty sure that was not the intention. He offered to kiss her and when she refused he kissed her in her sleep. That is not ok and not needed. The whole scene was badly done and unnecessary.

I think this author could do better with some work or maybe even an co-author.

[The Book Dragon's Hoard by A.V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some elements of this book I really enjoyed. Faerie Sight is written in an abstract, somewhat dreamy, style that reminds me a lot of Spanish literature. For some reason the prose really lends itself to comparison with Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Isabel Allende. There was too much emphasis on description for my personal taste, which made the first half of the book slow-going for me, but once the plot picked up, it became very compelling and I simply loved the powerful ending Bossano has given this story. Unfortunately, I feel the biggest failing of this story is the structure, which currently reveals some key information way to early on in the novel, making several elements too predictable and taking away from the grand reveal at the end.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the author for sending me a free copy!

Faery Sight felt like a very classic Fae fantasy novel and it was quite enjoyable. The characters felt well developed and I particularly enjoyed the worldbuilding and descriptions of the Faery world that this book was set in. I can see why some say the descriptions were a little much, but personally I enjoy this aspect of fantasy novels and worldbuilding.

The writing style was enjoyable and the plot was fast once it got going. A great start to a series. I feel like I'm really starting to enjoy Fae reads. This has the perfect blend of fantasy, romance and magic

[Nez · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very whimsical and magical tale. The premise of the book was good, and I enjoyed the setting. The language was very descriptive, painting a picture of the magical world and the faeries within. I enjoyed the relationships between Celeste and Etienne. However, I found the characters of Celeste and Nahia a little immature or nieve for my personal taste. Overall, it was an enjoyable read.

Thanks to the author for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Daniel Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every sentence felt meaningful and well-constructed and I ended up reading the second half of the book in about one day as I couldn't put it down. While the fantasy/philosophical fiction genre is not one I have a lot of experience with (or one that I'm usually drawn to) I'm happy I read this book.

[Reece]

ARC from NetGalley

DNF at 9%, half of which I skimmed.

This book is written for tweens. There are so many exclamation marks. Everything is told. It's just obnoxious. It's bad.

[Sandra Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story!

[Marie Sinadjan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faery Sight might be a classic fairytale, but it was told in a way I didn't quite expect. First there was a lot of focus on the faery realm, which I thought was delightful. Not just the setting, but also their culture and traditions. And even if this was technically a fantasy romance, complete with the alternating POV and HEA, a great deal of emphasis was put on the protagonist's relationships with the other characters, most especially her mother and her best friend. I liked that!

I liked most of the characters, too. Celeste and Nahia might come off as annoying and immature for a good chunk of the time, but aside from this being a YA book, I thought Celeste's upbringing had a lot to do with that. (Plus, we're only in the first book of the series.) It was also refreshing for me that she wasn't just another "strong independent woman who was angry with everybody and didn't need anybody." I like that in some books, but I think I've just read way too much of those already.

I loved Etienne. But I might be biased toward cinnamon roll heroes (a friend and I were just talking about that!) and, like the strong independent FMC, just a little tired of the dark-haired morally gray love interest trend. I also liked how Arantxa was evil and not a villain who had to be redeemed in the end, though I wish we had more of her in action and not her deed just simply being narrated by the other characters.

This was an easy read, but, as I mentioned above, there were times when I felt there was too much telling. I understand that we were limited by being in the POVs of Celeste and Etienne when the story began well before their time, but I guess I would've preferred another way than the other characters just recounting the events (with surprising accuracy, too). Celeste's mother telling her the past as bedtime stories was nice. Though to be fair, I can't think of a way for the others either, past giving the adult characters POVs of their own (which then defeats the point of this being a fantasy romance).

Still, this is a delightful read, and works especially well for pre-teens who just might need some inspiration for their own coming of age.

[Kat Caric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly Slight...er I mean Faery Sight review 

2.5 stars for YA, 5 stars as a bedtime story for children pre-teen (younger middle school) or below

This story is very imaginative yet tells far painfully more than shows. It is a rich weaving of the details of faery lands and ways, filled with writing a bit too flowery as if trying to be complex - sentences can be cumbersome at times- but despite the tossing about of word choice, it reads as an updated version of the old color faery books (The Blue Fairy Book, The Pink Fairy Book, and so on). 



The author writes:

“There were benches scatter about where Paloma often sat in late spring afternoons to enjoy the fragrant racemes of wisteria she had lovingly planted or the restful trickling of ponds where the koi fish drifted lazily beneath lily pads.”



Whew! Wait, she had planted wisteria and … ponds? Oh, wait, the ponds were where she often sat…. what a sentence! I really detest having to go back over awkward sentence construction to figure out a visual or clarify where the author was leading the visual.

or:

“The ivy clung shivering to the stone walls of the towers, and to complete the glum picture, the somber black ensigns hanging from the topmost balustrades lapped at the forbidding skies above, as if tempting the wrath of heaven to strike it all down rather than let its inhabitants dwell in the darkness that had enveloped Santillan in bitter depression since the death of Bautista two weeks prior.”



Yikes, Melville step aside! That was one single many-visual sentence! Yet “…and to the complete the glum picture…” jumps out, because an author rips a reader out of the story with that single trite phrase.



When an author isn't thinking of the visual with the sentence construction and leads us from metaphor to metaphor or analogy to analogy, and jumps so many visuals, the head trip result is jarring. There is a lot of this in the info-dumping, and there is oh so much info dumping.

There are also oddly placed italics, italics just for italics sake.

Despite the overly verdant attempts at prose, this story is good for children, not YA and not adults. Yes, it's actually a perfect many-night bedtime story for a young child. It's a gentle but interesting-to-a-child plot almost saccharine sweet in presentation. The imagery is beautiful and lush (when you can get around the many-layered visuals in a single sentence). For that purpose - young children reading - I'd rate highly. For teens and adults, I'd rate a pass, unless someone was devouring any fairy setting book possible for some research reason. It does a good job at all the lore into one book. 

So, good for children’s bedtime stories, good for fairy research, but a pass for YA and anyone older:

It appears this book is categorized as young adult and teen. I'd put it at middle school, and the young end of that, and below. For reference, I have two young teen children. They'd not willingly read this at all. In fact, they’d run from it! (I cannot think of a teen I know that would read this.) But I could have read it to them between 5th and 7th grade, perhaps even younger, and they would have completely loved it then. It’d make a decent children’s movie as well, a scripted for TV type.
 When my children were young, we watched far worse plotlines made into TV movies. This would have been welcome.

Sweet, simple, tries too hard on flowery language choices, tons of information dumping, but richly imaginative imagery and interesting plot devices make for a traditional old fashioned tale of fae and human friendship perfect for pre-teen (before age 13, or 12 and below) children. Faery Sight is Fairly Slight for YA. 2.5 stars stars for the category it's published to be, 5 stars for young middle school or pre-middle school book category.

[Micaela Michalk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to Steady Stream publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. This was a wonderful fantasy with beautifully written language and a compelling plot. The descriptions of the forest are really what drew me in and made me fall in love. I also adored the relationship between Celeste and Nahia. I did think parts of the plot were drawn out and unnecessary and I would like if the author gave the readers a bit more credit in figuring things out but overall it was a really good book.
Though the characters ages for the majority of books are late teens I’d still classify this as a middle grade fantasy, complete with romance and court intrigue but also a lot of coming of age themes of growing up. Recommend to young fantasy readers 🙌🏼

[Danae · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to DNF this book at 25%. It is too flowery for me at the moment and does not read like a YA/Adult fairytale which is why I picked it.
I am normally a girl who loves details, but this was a long winded way of getting the visuals across. It's great if it was middle grade, but if you are aiming for YA/Adult you do not need to go into abundant detail on things. We can figure things out better with less than if the sentence just keeps going on and on with no ending in sight and oh look the person planted bushes and ponds. Oh wait, false alarm.
I had to stop because I found the sentencing was taking away from the story and I could not immerse myself in it. Also, she is not seventeen like the blurb said, but eighteen when she meets the prince, who I am guessing is her true love. I don't know because I gave up trying to figure out visuals and where we were in the book because I could not tell if we were in the past, present or future.
Maybe one day I will finish reading the book, but not right now.
2 out of 5 stars as it stands.
4 out of 5 stars if it was classified as middle grade or younger.
For my full review check out my blog at https://bookgirlreviewsbooks.blogspot...

[marvellousmarmite · Rating 2 out of 5]

I chose to read this book because it was described as an adult fairy tale and I love retellings of fairy tales, but in fact I think it's pitched more at children, maybe even pre-teen children. Which is fine, but not why I picked it up!

The world building is good and the story too, I liked the fae human friendships but I did not get on with the way it's written. I couldn't get into the flow of the writing at all and that spoilt the book for me. I found the language used and turns of phrase sat awkwardly. A shame, because the premise was appealing.

[Linda ( Clary_Starfall ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked reading this book 📖

It has an intriguing storyline.

Thank you for sending the arc

Omg the review needs to be 100 characters long so I will type away some more 🤦🏼‍♀️🥴