Mirror

by Elizabeth Klein

Where there’s always darkness; never daylight.
Does magic still linger in the mist-shrouded places of Scotland? Ash Wood’s aunt certainly believed it existed in the village of Eldon Vale. Being a midwife to the Faery realm, she dabbled in the Old Ways that the rest of her pragmatic, disbelieving family scorned.
With his aunt’s untimely death, Ash inherits her cottage and becomes the next custodian of a mirror she always kept secret in the attic, a mirror she claimed once belonged to Snow White’s evil stepmother. Ash always suspected it had a personality of its own, one that felt dark and malevolent.
The truth about his aunt soon becomes far darker and more tangled than anything Ash is prepared for. The hidden world of Faery waxes very real and terrifying when Fae creatures invade the cottage. In an attempt to flee, Ash stumbles back into the mirror and finds himself trapped in its shadowy world. Here, his mundane life shifts up a notch as he struggles to make sense of who to trust and who is friend or foe. One wrong decision could be his last.

Genres: Ebooks, Fantasy

213 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 9, 2021

About the author

Elizabeth Klein, grew up in a small village in New South Wales. She trained as a teacher and taught for almost thirty years, but in 2015, she and her husband left Sydney to travel around Australia in a caravan. She’s written three YA books, two junior fiction and two educational texts, with four more to be released soon. She has also written many short stories, articles, plays and poems.

Reviews

[Jenn Lees · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ashleigh, a young man in his twenties, inherits his Aunt Forest Blossom’s cottage. Deranged Aunt Blossom—according to his mother, her sister—was odd, and believed in the Old Ways. Ash takes hold of his inheritance and enjoys fond memories of his aunt at her cottage. A neighbour greets him and returns Ridiculous, his aunt’s cat, and now his. The neighbour also warns him of recent increased fairy activity.
Fairy activity??
Ash is an unbeliever but… the mirror in the attic.
A letter from his beloved aunt explains he is now the custodian of this magic mirror much coveted by a cruel fairy queen named Rhianna. If she steals it, Ash will be in terrible trouble.
Attacked by a dreaded red cap, Ash falls into the mirror in the attic and finds himself in another world. He meets various creatures, including a boggart, some friendly, some odd… but who to trust??
This colourless world ruled by Lord and Lady Darque is a place where to reveal one’s name is to give others power over you. Ash discovers Mirror’s world connects to ours and belongs to our history too, as part of our folklore.
Abducted from friendly owls, a boggart takes Ashleigh to the Darque ruler’s court.
Ashleigh must regain the Key to Mirror to retain his rightful place as keeper of the Mirror and thus protect our world from Rhianna’s plans, which are not good. Wars and cruelty are on the agenda of this queen of the unseelie court.
Ashleigh’s journey is fraught with grotesque creatures and stunningly beautiful faerie queens.
A childhood trauma, for which Ash feels personally responsible and his perceived guilt has never left him, haunts him as much as the fae creatures and weird monsters that pursue or help him in this monochrome world of Mirror where it is always night.
Written in the vivid way we love from Elizabeth Klien, once again I shivered and jumped at her imaginative beings and, dare I confess to being a whimp, was even scared at times. But as always, it is a great read that I can thoroughly recommend to lovers of YA fantasy fiction.

[Chris Weston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mirror by Elizabeth Klein transported me to the realm of magical creatures that lived around the cottage of Ashleigh Wood's Aunt. His apprehension and struggle to deal with the emotional loss of his Aunt Forest is felt from the first paragraph, only to increase with the unexpected gift she left in his care. When Ash arrived at the cottage, my focus was the mirror. What was it for, why was it there? Why was it covered? At the start Ash seemed well out of his depth and very unprepared for the path that lay before him. I was transported deeper into the world of magic as Ash met various magical creatures. I was always guessing are they friend or foe. The saying never judge a book by its cover come to mind as Ash learnt which creatures he could trust with his life. The sinister atmosphere of the court of Lord and Lady Darque had me on edge as I imagined the dreadfulness that awaited Ash. As I read I was captivated by Ash and how he was driven to keep moving and complete the task before him. Regardless of any self peril, his commitment and determination to Ridiculous, someone he hardly knew, made him more real and drew me closer to him. Each time Ash overcame the hurdles placed before him, I was with him. I felt his distress when something tried to hurt, grab, push or pull him. His terror and anguish were real. I could sense his relief, which never seemed long enough before he turned and ran for his life. The author, Elizabeth Klein, has created a magical world that is believable. I was drawn to Mirror by its cover. A beautiful ornate mirror, eluding to something unseen, something hidden. After being drawn into the world of Mirror I did not want to stop reading I wanted to know the ending, yet did not want the journey to end.

[J.F. Saxby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A visual and sensory read in a magical setting!
Ash inherits his quirky old aunt’s cottage with an intriguing mirror in the attic. He moves in, much to the concern of his family, who regarded his aunt as a dangerous dabbler in magic. Ash is plunged into a dark, enchanted world.
The reader is kept in suspense as Ash is captured by strange creatures such as boggarts and shape-shifters. This book is fast-paced and full of surprises, with occasional faith-based references.
It’s an exciting read for lovers of adventure, magical places, and fascinating beasts and other beings.

[Wendy Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story about Ash who falls through the mirror in his aunt's cottage which he has just inherited and ends up in the country of Mirror. All is dark. There is no sun. The evil queen has a plan. Destroy her sister's court, then enter the human realm through the mirror and destroy the human realm too.

Only Ash can stop this from happening. But can he? Is he strong enough? He is now custodian of the mirror.

I found this story interesting. It was a mixture of several fairy stories. It kept my interest throughout.

[MGB · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story will give you a fast and brutal introduction to the Fae world with seelie and unseelie courts. Ash is totally blindsided by what happens when he inherits his aunt's cottage. He becomes a believer very quickly and experiences a life that is more than he could possibly imagine. Definitely a good read, but be prepared for brutal action that will leave you unsettled.

[Stephanie Flynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well it does move! The start was extra exciting, but I actually tired a bit at the breakneck pace. And while the subject matter is a little dark and the plot moves fast, the writing seems a bit young and repetitive, not trusting the reader to remember important character trauma.

But it was still fun and some surprising little monster quirks that I enjoyed the world built.

[Terry Wabnitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with all of MS Klein's books, Excellent. From page one she involves you in her venture all the way little people last. As the old warning goes out, "Beware of those little people with red cap and white feather".

[Alejandra Guerrero · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 56%.
A lot happened, and I just got tired of trying to follow the events. It was confusing, and the world building wasn't great.

[Ray Woodrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how the MC survived all the attacks on his person, but I found the story a gripping tale.