Into FaerLand

Blood of the Fae #1

by A.J. Ponder

“We never steal children. We only swap them. An eye for an eye, a child for a child."

Aiden is sent into demon territory to bring the Sword Master into New Avalon. The mission doesn't go entirely to plan, and Aiden falls dangerously in love with the Swordsmaster, Keera. She's pretty as a fae, and a strong, graceful fighter. With every movement she makes, he falls harder. Keera and Aiden both ignore the warnings, marry, and have two beautiful daughters.

Meanwhile, Keera’s swords, forged with cold iron, and adorned with silver and gold, have angered the fae—and most especially King Hades and Persephone who rule FaerLand.

Determined to pay the humans back, Queen Persephone orders two fae underlings, Lettie and Zadie to switch their changelings for Keera and Aiden’s children. Lettie’s heart breaks as Zadie tears her beloved changeling from her hands and replaces her with a snotty human child. Now, the one person she loved in all the world is gone, she will do anything to bring Nada back...

...including killing Keera and Aiden to end the fairy bargain.

Genres: Fantasy, Ebooks

290 pages, Paperback

Published October 11, 2022

About the author

USA Today bestselling author, and winner of the Wright-Murray Residency 2021, A.J. Ponder (BSc, Dip Teach) is the author of numerous novels and short stories including the award winning Frankie and the Netball Clone, Dying for the Record, The Sylvalla Chronicles, Wizard's Guide to Wellington and more.

A.J. lives in a hundred year old house overlooking Wellington harbour with three cats and a family all obsessed with games, books and dungeons and dragons. A.J. has a head full of monsters, and recklessly spills them onto the written page. Beware dragons, dreadbeasts, taniwha, and small children—all are equally dangerous, and capable of treading on your heart—or tearing it, still beating, from your chest.

You can find A.J. at ponderbooks.com, Amazon and Facebook,

Reviews

[Kitty G Books]

Review and rating to come

[Craig Harder · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We never steal children. We only swap them. An eye for an eye, a child for a child.” I enjoyed the characters out of stories I read many years ago and the way they are used to tell this tale.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story! Lots of drama going on in this book but it has a lighthearted flair to it. I smiled through most of the characters antics. There’s a terrific variety to the creatures in Into Faerland which adds even more interest to the book. I look forward to the next one.

[Billie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great drama and romance with wonderful world building.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

[Lana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keera the swordmaster, whom Aiden had brought back with him from New Avalon, had forged swords with iron and this angered King Hades and Queen Persephone who ruled the faerland. Consequently Persephone ordered two or her minders to swap their changelings with the human children who belonged to Keera and Aiden. However though Zadie was willing to do this, Lettie loved her little Faer and was loathe to let her go. Zadie swapped Lettie's bundle of twigs for Ruby, Keera's daughter and Lettie vowed she would get her beloved faer back no matter what, even if this meant she'd have to kill Aiden and Keera. Meanwhile Ruby was taken to the palace of the evil queen and kept in a bone cage, crying for her parents. They would come to rescue her, but the journey into the faerlands was dangerous and fraught with peril all the way. I quite enjoyed this very exciting tale of the switching of human children with a changeling, I loved that Aiden and Keera were so relentless in their rescue attempt for Ruby their beloved child, but did not like the ending to this book at all!

[TaniaRina · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘An eye for an eye, a child for a child’
Welcome to a world in which humans are annoying, gold is called ‘tears of the sun’, and ‘Fae, at least the ones humans could see, were as big as humans, as dangerous as demons, and fickle as the wind’. Readers meet up with boggarts, Cerberus, demons, fairy godmothers, lawyers, a minotaur, a Pegasus, the (in)famous red dancing shoes, etc.

Some sage advice from the author:
Beware of mixing anything fae with human taint.
Don’t drink your ‘nectar from the wrong side of the flower’.

Fave quote:
‘Run, little humans, and don’t come back.’


We can follow more about Ruby in ‘Into Brocéliande’. More adventures await us in ‘Into the Underworld’ (expected end of December) and then ‘Into Treachery’.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairyland not what I thought it would be

So I expected the odd stories I read 50 years ago about fairies when I began this book. Immediately I was confused by sword masters, different realms, non fairy rulers and do much more. It felt like I had missed a book...or three...that would have filled in the blanks.
Go in without expectations. Read on until the end of the books. Perhaps that approach will help you understand.

[Christina Hibbard · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never DNF’d a book before, but man this book almost made me do it. Honestly not sure where all these 5 star reviews came from because this book was painful to get through.
It was hard to follow, inconsistent, and had random characters pulled in from all over that were pushed together and I can’t figure out why.
I don’t even care that the story was left on a cliffhanger…I do not care enough to read the next one.

[Lee Brothers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very vividly written; I could imagine everything in my mind's eye. Lots of action and some things I would never want to face. My favorite character is Kerra, she's intelligent and smart, gifted and brave and she can fight!! This book had some surprises in it but I love the imagination of the author.

[Lorie Kuzma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

A.J. Ponder does a wonderful job bringing the Fae into a whole new light. Intermingling the Fairy with Mythology. Strong characters, A story that weaves and twists. Very well written!

[Abbie Riddle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, semi-lighthearted read. I loved the writing style and the characters. The story has lots of drama and lots of interesting characters making for a seriously fun read with lots of antics to balance the drama.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review

[Raeleane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful start to a new series. There are many twists, turns, and surprises. A baby swap at the beginning. Some humor. The characters are strong and believeable an AJ Ponders world building skills are amazing.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy light reading that will have you entranced with everything. The characters are well thought out to make this a story that you’ll want to reread.

[Tenna Chatman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edge of your seat action

Swapped children set off a landslide of events. Non stop battles, traitors, and many surprises. All of this for the love of children.

[Taylor]

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