Misrule

Valentine #3

by Jodi McAlister

The third thrilling book in Jodi McAlister’s page-turning Valentine series.

Things that happen sometimes when your boyfriend is a magical fairy prince: he gets kidnapped by his older brother and whisked away to fulfil his destiny in their magical fairy kingdom.

But Pearl Linford is not having that. It’s time for a rescue mission. Pearl told Finn she was coming to get him and she's not going to let anyone in her way.

But will Finn want to be saved? And should she have listened to all those people who told her he wasn't worth saving?

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Fae, Fiction, Supernatural, Young Adult Fantasy

Hardcover

First published February 5, 2019

About the author

By day, Jodi McAlister writes romance novels. By other time of day, Dr Jodi McAlister studies them. She's written romantic comedies for adults, romantasy and contemporary romance for young adults, and several academic books.

For adults
If you're a reality TV lover, the Marry Me, Juliet series are the books for you. Even if you're not a reality TV lover, they might be the books for you - several reality TV haters have enjoyed them.

The trilogy all take place at the same time on the same season of a reality dating show called Marry Me, Juliet (which bears a very strong resemblance to The Bachelor). While they all stand alone and can be read in any order, they work best when read in order.

Start with Here For The Right Reasons (he's the series lead, she's the contestant he eliminates on the first night), move on to Can I Steal You For A Second? (she's a contestant, she's... also a contestant), and finish with the book the New York Times called a "full-on villain romance", Not Here To Make Friends (she's the villain, he's the producer who's pining for her).

For young adults
If you're a romantasy reader, you'll like the Valentine series, a young adult paranormal romance/urban fantasy series about smart girls, small towns, and scary fairies. There are three books: Valentine, Ironheart, and Misrule. If Picnic at Hanging Rock meets Holly Black sounds like something you’d be into, these are the books for you.

And if you're a theatre kid, Libby Lawrence Is Good At Pretending is the book for you. It's my love letter to theatre kids as someone who used to be one.

Academic books
No one really cares much about these on Goodreads, do they? More info on my website if you're interested.

About Jodi
Jodi is originally from Kiama, a seaside holiday town on the south coast of New South Wales, and has lived in a bunch of different cities: Canberra (where she did her undergrad degrees), Wollongong (where she lived while she did her PhD in Sydney), and Hobart (where she held her first academic job) among them. Currently, she lives in Melbourne, where she works as a Senior Lecturer in Writing, Literature and Culture at Deakin University.

When she’s not writing about romance, Jodi is an academic studying romance. Her research focuses on representations of love in popular culture and fiction. It means that reading romance novels and watching (and let’s be real, writing huge amounts about) The Bachelor/ette is technically work for her.

**Want to dip your toes into the Valentine universe? Try the free short story Galentine, set a year and a bit before the events of Valentine. http://jodimcalister.com.au/galentine/ **

**Want to read a bonus epilogue to Libby Lawrence Is Good At Pretending? Check it out here: https://jodimcalister.com.au/libby-la... **

Reviews

[Tansy Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action, drama, friendship, teens working together to problem-solve and oh yes, TOTAL FAIRY SPLATTERPUNK GOREFEST.

This series is not for the faint-hearted. If your heart still clings to the idea that fairies might be sweet and adorable creatures, this book will murder your heart dead.

[Maria Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

WRECKED.

[cali · Rating 3 out of 5]

✨ For more book-focused fun, check out my socials: ✨  

[Shayla Morgansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always fly through Jodi McAlister's books. The whole Valentine series is playful and magical, easy reads that I devour in hours or days. Misrule is no different. I missed Finn a bit in this one, but I was excited as I progressed through the story to realise that we were not coming to the end of a trilogy as I had always assumed - there will be more Finn and Pearl!

Like the first two, I love the Australian-ness of this book. I love the real-ness of a teenage girl in an Aussie summer dealing with psychotic fairies - the ever present grossness of sweat while trying to be awesome, the realities of speed cameras when you're rushing to the scene of a magical occurrence, the reminder that while the Indigenous character can be an excellent departure from the stereotype, other characters in this story world will still assume the stereotype. I also discovered the best ever sensory description of the high school experience in chapter twenty-one: "the reek of boys who somehow have not yet mastered the fine art of wearing deodorant, the occasional chemical vapour from where girls have overcompensated for the boys' lack of mastery and gone too hardcore with the spray-on stuff".

Lighter on the romance with Finn out of the picture, this book was a bit darker than I remembered the others being. There are a handful of brutal on-page deaths that I didn't see coming, but I'm here for that too. McAlister totally nails the voice of the high school aged girl and grounds her story in this ultra-real contemporary setting, and I will keep buying them and reading them until she runs out of stories to tell.

[Paige Belfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know what grabbed me about this series from book one? Murder fairies. You know what my favourite aspect of this final book is? Murder fairies.

Ok. I loved all of it. I loved seeing Pearl and Phil rebuild after Pearl made the easiest and hardest decision of her life in book 2 (still have mad respect for that choice!). I loved seeing Pearl recognise her own strength and weakness. I loved seeing Cardy and Holly get their own time in the spotlight. I loved every dynamic. Every twist and turn. Every fairy based murderous rampage.

[Bash · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There's no one who can magic me out of this. I'm completely and utterly on my own."

Pearl Linford is alone. Now that Finn has been taken by the Seelie, she doesn't know who to trust or who is actually after her. For beings that can't lie, it sure is tricky to tell when a fairy is actually telling the truth. But with the help of her human friends, she is determined to find a way to get Finn back. And with a strange fairy holiday called Misrule almost upon them, they need to act fast before the doors to Finn close forever.

That is how you finish a trilogy! Oh my gosh, I devoured this in 24 hours because I was determined to have the whole series in my July wrap up and what a wild 24 hours I've had. Misrule was action-packed and scary and mysterious and I loved it so, so much. Jodi McAlister, welcome to the ranks of my favourite authors!

Everything was so twisty and turny that I'm not really sure I understood how they actually achieved their goals but I loved watching them try to puzzle it out. I loved having Pearl and Phil reunited and seeing how they joined forces with Holly and Tam to fight back. I was fascinated by the whole Misrule thing with the swapping of powers too - such a cool way to bring the humans into the supernatural world without having to make them secretly be fairies or whatever.

Though I do feel like the story could've been wrapped up a little bit better. There were major goals that were left unachieved and the structure of the last chapter was confusing which made it a little unfulfilling. But with where Holly ends up, perhaps there's a spin-off in the works? We'll have to wait and see.

A marvellous end to a wonderful trilogy that I encourage anyone who loves paranormal romance to go pick up!

"I'm not going to panic. I'm not going to falter. I'm not going to kneel."

Warnings: Some violence and gore.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am still not really sure how to feel about this book, especially as it is the final book in the Valentine trilogy. I was super excited going into the book but then life got in the way so I put it down to do other things and read other books. In December I finally decided to solely read 'Misrule' so that I could finish it before the end of the year but I sadly did not love it. Maybe it is because Finn was not in it as much, and he is one of my favourite characters, maybe now just wasn't when I was supposed to read it. Nevertheless, I did not like this one as much as the previous two and felt that there were many untied threads at the conclusion of the book. Perhaps Jodi plans on going back to this story one day (I would most probably read more with these characters) but for year and now, the book did not have a satisfying end. Don't get me wrong, I would have been okay if characters died, or got together, or whatever else, I just want it to conclude.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ummm.... Just, like, WOW!

I feel like we just went from a steady 60 km per hour with Ironheart, and jumped to like a solid 500 km with misrule. I think the faeries where inspired by Oprah's famous giveaways, except instead of everyone getting a car they were all just "gifted" with an unusual fatality. FUN!

What can I say... I LOVED IT!

I loved that it still kept me guessing, I loved that it got really dark in parts but still found a way out of the despair, I loved that we got to see a bit of Finn's perceptive, I loved that we saw even more of Pearl's strength and the growth that she's had, I loved the deepening of Pearl and Phil's relationship, I love that we got a LOT of faerie interaction and I'm currently in a love/hate relationship that the ending has left me wanting more.
The ending's got me like, "WHAT'S NEXT? WHAT'S NEXT? Is it THIS? Is THIS what THAT means?"
I'm supposed to be in bed right now, but no, now I'm fully awake because my brain wants answers. NOTE: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK (before bed) IF YOU NEED TO SLEEP AND WAKE UP EARLY.

I will say I wanted a lot more from the ending. It felt like it went too quickly. It felt a little built up to this point and then hardly any time spent on it. Then followed by a few snippets and we quickly found ourselves at the bottom of page 405. Just to be clear I still do like the choppy format at the end. It honestly adds to the reading experience, I just wanted more. I really, truly, hope that there is more coming.
If you've found that you do in fact live under a rock, please make the effort to crawl out and read these books before finally crawling back under. It will be well worth the effort!

[Sass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comparisons to Holly Black get thrown around a lot, and almost none live up to that hype. Jodi McAlister’s Valentine trilogy lives up to the hype, and Misrule has instantly become one of my favourite YA fairy books.

As well as being a great fantasy series, with vividly drawn characters and a complex romance arc, I love how uniquely Australian it is. Haylesford is a fictional town, but it’s rooted so firmly in a particular part of Australia (and even a particular part of NSW) that if I couldn’t place it exactly on a map, I could for sure tell you which train line you would catch to get there.

And I’ve never had an anxiety attack over the fate of a fictional character, but That Thing That Happens near the end? That came closer than I actually thought was possible.

[☽｡⋆ Naidah ₊˚ෆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I AM BAFFLED!! 🫠

I bought the last book in this series 6 YEARS AGO and TODAY !! I have finally finished reading it…

First things first, 4.5 ⭐️

Absolutely loved the first book when I picked it up at my high school’s library… once I finished that and read the second book I was still in love. The characters, the twists and turns and the gore (these fairies are not your usual peace loving fairies, no no no these guys are murderers!)

And now, completing this series, I have no words, literally. The last few chapters had me on edge cause the book was nearly finished and I was like there’s no way it should be ending, but it did. And it ended perfectly. (Sort of😭).

It was a fantastic read and if I could reread this book again for the first time, I would. It was beautiful. Finn is beautiful and Pearl and Tam, every character in this story I loved.

However, when it did come to an end, it felt like there should’ve been more to the story. Maybe even just a small novella of this extra info the author sprung onto us at the end with the possibility that Pearl could be… ahh I’m crying on the inside.

Anyways, it was a great read for people who want to start on some fairy fantasies. ❤️
PS first and second book got some spice to it 😏😳

[Elvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay... this was going to be 5 stars. Hands down. But...there’s gonna be a fourth book, right? Or a novella? Because of not, that was one of the worst endings with absolutely no explanation of the most important questions of the books I’ve ever read.

Man this really sucks. What’s the point of being left with a cliff hanger if you know there’ll never be more instalments to the series?

JODI. I👏🏻NEED👏🏻ANSWERS👏🏻

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know the front of this book says "This os not a fairytale" but I think I still expected a more fairytale ending. I feel like there are still so many unfinished storylines that I was left rather unfulfilled. I hope some of these storylines are explored further in future books written by this author.

[Elizabeth Fitzgerald]

Review forthcoming.

[Isabella Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved the series, read it in a couple of days although i really didn’t like the ending :/

[Elly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5.

[char forrest · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book def wasn’t AS good as the first two, the main character( who I love) just kept complaining and going clearly for what the Evil people wanted her to do.
BUUUUT that being said, I still loved it and the emotional roller coaster it put me on was amazing! I need a 4th book to be written like… ASAP

[Imogene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so the first two books in the Valentine trilogy were 4.5 for me, only because I knew that this was coming.

I KNEW that there was that one missing thing that is so very, very much here in the final book.
Or is it? There is still so much space for story. I mean, what about *spoiler*? And *spoiler*!!!

And let’s be honest, I would give up a kidney to see what would happen if the native Australian spirits found out what was going on in their backyard. Cardy as an indigenous Australian having had the unseelie in his head?

I am proud to have Jodi representing Australian Literature.

[shari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh yeah I finished misrule and the ending was shocking. The main thing in the story that they kept talking about, (that they had to do) they didn’t even end up doing it. Like they just forgot about it. And then the book finished. And I don’t think there is a fourth book so um yeah. And there is so many things that they didn’t answer in the book and I’m still confused about it.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing! I had forgotten how much I loved this series because it has been so long since I read Ironheart! I couldn’t put Misrule down and I read it in one sitting, as I had done with Valentine and Ironheart! My only question is; there’s going to be another one right?

[Bonnie Batton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have absolutely loved this series from start to finish. The plot continued to intrigue and surprise me, and the characters were so believable and relatable. Plus, I adore the little Aussie references that make it feel like home!

[Sarah Maunder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alright, I have to admit that it was slow to start with, but heck it picked up at full speed right in the middle and didn’t slow down! Really great ending for the series, I’m sad it’s over.

[Belle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been murdered by this book.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another 2.5 stars. Still just an ‘eh’ series that keeps me entertained enough to keep going.

[Rachel (rachels.geeky.stuff) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it but the ending wasn't what I thought it was going to be and I don't know how to handle that.

[Letecia Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely Loved it
Is a must read along with the other two books of the Valentine series.
I am Australian and I loved how they placed Folklore into a small Australian town.

[Fatima · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended up staying up past midnight to finish this book. And that means something. Because I haven’t stayed up to finish a book in aaaaaages.

But I could not put this down. It actually wouldn’t let me. It literally forced me to keep reading. Because it was so fast. Literally had one sentence chapters. How could I not keep reading after a one sentence chapter???

Anyway. It was brilliant. I really really enjoyed it. It was fast, interesting, exciting, downright insane, gruesome, dark, really really sad, hilarious, confusing, wonderful, adorable, scary. Seriously it was somehow all of these things. All at once. Pearl’s voice is again a highlight. It’s erratic and crazy and really really well done. McAlister’s portrayal of anxiety and PTSD and the different way people deal with grief and other traumatic situations is really absolutely top-notch. Some of the best rep I’ve ever read. I really enjoy the way that, even though there are crazy sadistic fairies out there, it’s still really rooted in the real world - like the way Pearl still looks at photos on her phone when she’s upset, or all the friends still have to deal with everyone else in their lives that don’t have a clue about fairies and somehow explain away things that have no sane explanation. The characters are in a whirlwind of pain and horror and sadness and they somehow have to rein it in to deal with family members. It’s brilliant.

There wasn’t enough Finn in this book. That’s my number one complaint. Definitely not enough. Like at all. I’m mad about it. Also there were bits that were a bit confusing. Whenever Tam & Pearl would have a convo about the fairies and what the fairies want and what they’ll do if they get it or don’t get it and who the good guys are - honestly I got lost. I just kept reading in the hopes that it’d make sense. It did, almost always. But in those moments it was kinda confusing. I also feel like the ending was a bit rushed. Like the first 300 pages were building up to this crescendo, and while I was happy with the ending, I feel like it all happened too fast. There were still many many questions left before the final chapter. And I think it was clever the way she answered them in the final chapter - the way she didn’t make it drag because too often endings do drag when characters just sit around answering questions - but it still felt a bit thin.

Other than that though, it was a really great book. I loved Pearl & Phil’s relationship and the way it developed, along with Holly & Cardy & Tam. The Seelie Prince was an absolute douchebag jerk face like woah. He was legit the worst. There were so many OMG moments, my head spun. But in a good way. There were parts that made me really really sad, and I think the fact that it did feel completely rooted in the real world (even with all the very current slang terms the characters used and the Aussie references) was the reason for the sadness. Because it felt real. So often with fantasies, they’re so fantastical and it’s a whole new world so you never feel like any of it could happen in your backyard or to people you know. But with this, maybe especially because it’s set in a (fictional) Aussie town, it felt tangible and possible, and it was all very sad. Oh also the faerie world is petrifying and I’m glad it doesn’t exist. Phew.

I really enjoyed this trilogy. A lot. I feel like rereading the first book because I read it so long ago. I recommend them. They’re really fast and tooootally binge-worthy. The characters are great - even the evil ones - and the relationship dynamics are wonderful and so so realistic. Finn is my fave, but I love it all.

[melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh I wanted to love this as much as the first two books so bad but sadly Misrule did not quite land for me. I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot, it maintained the punches-don't-stop-coming energy of the others and the amazing character voice from Pearl while also taking time to bring darker moments of tragedy back into the forefront to highlight just how serious the situation is. Unfortunately something just fell off the rails at some point and the ending was SO unsatisfying I literally spent 10 minutes frantically googling to see if I was the idiot and there was actually a fourth book in this series (apparently there isn't, and the author's website both calls this a trilogy and a series with 'three books "currently available"' so idk what that means). There are just so many loose threads at the end that I cannot conceive that there wasn't meant to be more books???

I do have to say the cast was SO strong in this book and is one of my favourite parts. Holly and Cardy got a ton more page time and I loved it, and I really appreciated the conclusion to Phil's character arc. The group text messages were such a great addition as well, I really liked how all of the characters had grown closer thanks to the events of the previous two books and were both ride-or-die for each other but also constantly having no clue what to do and bickering. Holly-Anne Sullivan you will always be famous to me <3 Mentally blocking out the fact she ended the book in a magical coma and couldn't be healed, everything is fine :)))) . Tam trying to be a real boy and fucking up so bad he gets arrested for murder and kidnapping was also hilarious.

The death toll in this book was insane though, I genuinely did not think the author would go that hard with killing characters seeing as there weren't significant deaths since early on in Valentine. RIP Ranga Dave who I was almost convinced was going to make it until the Seelie Prince exploded his fucking head.. Also HELENA?????? SHE KILLED OFF HELENA???????? AND NO ONE EVEN GAVE A FUCK?????? Pearl at least was in super traumatised 'just have to compartmentalise and keep going' survival mode but Disey really heard her sister say 'our brother's fiancee was murdered' and was like 'uhhhh okay but like anyways...........' excuse me?????????? Ok, maybe she would have reacted more if her memory hadn't then been wiped but even in that moment she literally gave zero shits, truly unhinged sociopathic behaviour lmao. Matilda not being dead was so bizarre though, just another unexplained plot point I suppose.

[yogi · Rating 3 out of 5]

love me some fantasy YA novels.. very nice series i thoroughly enjoyed all 3 books (read them all in 2 days) super intriguing and attention grabbing storyline with pretty solid characters and i'm just surprised i hadn't heard of this series before last week when it was assigned to me as homework lol

loved everything about fairies and seelies and magic and murders and gore (it's not too bad) and romance (we love u enemies to lovers) some parts of the book really kept me on the edge and i just couldn't wait to turn the page to find out what happened next

also kind of wish we had gotten more insight on the new characters introduced at the end of book 2 and in book 3 cuz i really feel like i still don't know shit about them (not just them but also a few other characters were super useless and pointless) but i guess they weren't super central to the storyline so it didn't really bother me as much.. but yeah wish the conclusion would've been more insightful

btw i know phil was such a bitch to pearl in book 2 but she might just be my fav character in this series (other than disey maybe) don't ask me why

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series pre-dates Holly Black's Folk of the Air, I'm pretty sure, but it has a similar kind of storyline with its fierce main character wresting power from the fae inch by inch by sheer dint of cleverness and determination. I love Holly Black's series, but I think this series almost does that particular plotline better, because the fairies are way way creepier (the body count continues to pile up), and the heroine is more likeable.

I did miss Finn's presence in this book and the hilarious banter between him and the heroine. I also found it a bit slow to get going, with lots of frustrating dead-ends and obstacles. But once we actually got to Fairy, the book A+ delivered on the Beautiful And Terrifying And Will Mess Humans Up Big-Time atmosphere.

I really hope there are more books! This one leaves the series at a sort-of stopping point, but also opens the door for Even More Terrifying Fairy Encounters in future instalments.

[Kristy G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly frustrated having just read this series, expecting so much more out of the final book. All that humming and hawing and strategising and complaining and crying and losing and dying and breathing and talking and thinking and talking about thinking and thinking about talking……….that is a large part of the series. Repetition. The MC has some sass and I LOLed on more than one occasion. There is darkness and a fair bit of violence and gore. But……it was like this constant sensation of holding my breath and then….and then…..

And then nothing. A continuous spiral of madness and uncertainty and a girl googling fairies on Wikipedia, with all these characters being introduced in the last book, with the conviction these people must be saved and you read another entire story of murder and mayhem and people being brainwashed and heads exploding….and then the story just ends. It ends and there are soo many loose ends it’s not funny anymore, and I am deeply disappointed.