Review: great collection!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 14, 2014
I would actually give this collection 4.5 stars.This is a great collection of books at a great price! It was well worth the purchase even though I already had a few of the books in this collection. There's several different and good takes on the Fae world. If you love fantasy, especially when it includes magic and/or the Fae this collection is for you. I was originally introduced to the Feyland series, A Dark Faerie Tale series, and Otherworld series with other books in their series in the Faery Worlds collection (http://www.amazon.com/Faery-Worlds-Boxed-Set-Bestselling-ebook/dp/B00DI9D5O8/ref=cm_cr-mr-title), another great collection at a great price. I highly recommend this Faery Realms collection as awell as the Faery Worlds collection!THE FAERIE GUARDIAN (CREEPY HOLLOW #1) BY RACHEL MORGANLove! Definitely a great read! Filled with plenty of magic, adventure, romance, betrayal, and twists and turns that keep you reading.Violet is in training to be a guardian. A group of faeries that protect humans from dangerous fae. Everything is going great and she's at the top of her class until her world is turned upside down when she's assigned to Nate a human she's through her glamor and discovers the world of the fae. A very big No No. Now Violet finds herself twisted up in a dangerous plot by evil faeries. She's a strong, intellegent, independent, kick-butt lead.Morgan has done a great job of creating a vivid world and great bunch of characters that really pull you in and make you a part of their world. I really liked that at the end there were the two bonus chapters from the points of view of Ryn and Nate. It was nice to see things from their perspective. I hope the other books in the series have this as well. I can't wait to read the rest of this series and find out what happens next!THE WHITHERING PALACE (A DARK FAERIE TALE #0.1) BY ALEXIA PURDYAlexia Purdy has done it again! Love this series and this just adds to an already great series. In the Dark Faerie Tale series Aveta is the Unseelie queen and definitely the bad guy. But have you ever wondered why the bad guy is the bad guy, what made her the way she is? The Withering Palace takes us back to the beginning when Aveta is just a girl stuck under the eye of her uncaring mother who will do anything to make sure she doesn't survive. Back before her powers were used to rule the Unseelie. We get to see all the hurts and hardships that effected Aveta along her journey to becoming queen.This is a great (short) book in a great series. If you're starting with this one it will get you hooked. If you've already read part or all of the others then this gives good background into who Aveta is (makes me want to re-read the others, it's been awhile). I highly recommend reading this book as well as the rest of Alexia Purdy's Dark Faerie Tale series!DARK PROMISE (BETWEEN WORLDS #1) BY JULIA CRANE & TALIA JAGERDark Promise has been on my to-read list for awhile and I'm glad I finally read it. A good magical faery book. Julia & Talia have created a magical world that makes me want to find out more. We spend the first part of the book getting to know about Rylie and her human family and friends before she finds out she's not really human and her world is turned upside down when her birth (faery) mother shows up and she completes her transformation as a faery upon turning sixteen. She's then thrust into the faery world and the dangers that come with it (which I don't feel she really understood or tried to understand the gravity of). I don't want to say too much more because I hate for reviews to give away spoilers. As for learning about the Fae world the authors have created, it's mainly focused on faeries and doesn't really describe much about the other inhabitants. The the things that are depicted are described beautifully. Also, Rylie wonders several times about the function of her wings and whether that means she can fly but that's never addressed. Maybe we'll find out in the other books of the series.FEYLAND: THE FIRST ADVENTURE BY ANTHEA SHARPThis is a short read but a good one, definitely worth it. I actually read this after reading the Feyland trilogy but really should/could be read before the trilogy but even if you're already read the trilogy I still recommend reading it. I also just re-read it as part of the Faery Realms collection and found just as good the second time around.Feyland is a magical realm that is accessed through a SIM computer game. Jennet, the main character and a top gamer, sneeks on to the new FullD sim system her dad is working on developing and plays the new top secret game (Feyland) that her "uncle" is the lead game designer for. Instead of playing a full emersion game like she expected instead she's transported into the Fey world where losing a battle may have more dire outcomes than she ever imagined.If you've already read the triology I still recommend reading this novella. It gives us more information about the Queen's plot to bring Jennet to her as well as how Jennet became the person we see in the later books in the triology. Overall, it gives a good introduction to the events and adventures that lead up to the start of the trilogy and gives you good background info. If you haven't read the Feyland triology this is a great jumping off story that will definitely get you hooked in the cool world Anthea has created with some great characters and that puts a different spin on the stories about the fey world. I definitely recommend this book as well as the rest of the Feyland trilogy and the spin-off series the Feyguard.BLOOD FAERIE (CALEDONIA FAE #1) BY INDIA DRUMMONDIt took me a bit longer to really get into this book than some of the other faery books I've read but once I got into it I was hooked and had a hard time putting it down. I was pulled into the mystery Eilidh found herself apart of when a dead body is found outside the church where she lives (in Scotland). As a faery who was cast out of the fae kingdom for having powers that are forbidden Eilidh usually spends her days watching humans from a distance but as the strange murders continue and she finds she may have the power to stop them she can't help but get involved.This book has mystery, intrigue, magic, and a bit of romance. I look forward to finding out what comes next for Eilidh and Munro.HOOD & FAE (DAUGHTERS OF RED RIDING HOOD) BY TARA MAYAThis is a fun and interesting (quick) read that puts a different spin on fairytales. It's a prequel to the Daughters of Red Riding Hood series. We'reintroduced to Roxy and Bryn, the disendants of Red Riding Hood who are tasked with hunting werewolves, ghouls, and other such bad things. This was a great lead in to what seems like will be a good/interesting series. I look forward to the first full length novel coming out.THE DARK FAE (THE WORLD OF FAE #1) BY TERRY SPEARAnother good faery read! Not very long but still worth the read. Terry Spear has created a lovely fae world with a great group of characters. I was quickly drawn into the story and stayed up way too late finishing it. The three main characters, Alicia, Deveron, and Ritasia, are fun and witty and all grew to be likable. The story is full of magic, fun adventure, some twists, and some romance.Alicia always knew she was different because she could see the fae that showed up to play with the humans. All she knows of the fae world came from a journal her dad left for her before he left when she was 5 yrs old. When Alicia and her friend Cassie are vacationing on South Padre Island a dark fae shows up and Alicia tries to protect Cassie from heartbreak he's sure to inflict on Cassie. Instead she finds herself thrown into the fae world and fearing for her life, for she's knows from her dad's journal that the fae kill her kind (humans that can see the fae). Will she be able to get back to he world? Will she find out more about herself and why she can see the fae?It would have been nice to know more about the different fae kingdoms. We only get quick glimpses into a few of them. And the romance between Alicia and Deveron seemed rushed. It seems like the author could have made this a longer book (more of a full length novel) to develope these things more especially since this is the start of a series. Maybe we'll learn more about the kingdoms in the other books of the series. Despite these (and my spoiler below) I still enjoyed the story and think it's worth the read. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and seeing what happens next with Deveron, Alicia, and Ritasia.*SPOILER ALERT*One thing that kind of bugged me was how at the end once Alicia's grandfather gave her permission to go back to hang out with Cassie for 3 days she figured out how to transport (which was fine) but then all of a sudden she knew how to use all the other fae magic too such as memory altering and persuation and could transport Cassie with her even though she'd only just done it once by herself. Earlier in the book they had stated that she wouldn't fully come into her fae powers until she turned 18. This just didn't seem to fit with the rest of the story that she could all of a sudden use all this fae magic. I still enjoyed the story though.EHRIAD (THE OTHERWORLD #1.5) BY JENNA ELIZABETH JOHNSONThis is my second time reading Ehriad and I love it just as much this time around! It's a great quick read. I originally read Ehriad when I read the other books in the Otherworld series. So this time around I tried to read it as if I hadn't read the others so I could comment on it for this collection for those of you that haven't read the other Otherworld books.The characters and world that Jenna has created in the Otherworld series is wonderful! I have really enjoyed this series including this novella! The world and characters just pull you in and keep you reading wanting to know more and more about them, their world, and what will happen next. The creatures and places of the Otherworld are described well, I could picture everything as I was reading. This book takes you through three "scenes" from Faelorehn (Otherworld series #1)but from Cade's perspective. I think it's a great addition to the storyline and let you see his side of things, what he's thinking, and some of the things he was doing that didn't involve Meghan. I wish there was more from Cade's perspecitve, even though you're going through some of the same story again I like seeing the different perspective and hope Jenna Elizabeth Johnson writes more from Cade.In all honesty you should really read Faelorehn first before reading Ehriad as it would probably make more sense that way. But if you haven't read Faelorehn don't let that stop you from reading this book as it's still a great read and worth the time and introduces you to the wonderful Otherworld and characters Jenna has created. Or if you're already read all the Otherworld books but missed this one it's still worth the read. The first time I read Ehriad it was after I had read at least the first two Otherworld books, maybe all three and I still enjoyed it then and now. I highly recommend Ehriad and all the Otherworld books!ONCE (GYPSY FAIRY TALE #1) BY DANA MICHELLE BURNETTI probably would have given this 4 stars if it wasn't for the fact that this book could really use another edit. There were many places where the wrong word was used, so not misspellings because the words were real words but not the word that made sense to be there. There were even some places that the wrong name was used, such as Karen instead of Kieran. It really became annoying, enough that I felt it needed to be mentioned in a review but not so bad that it made me stop reading.But onto the actual story. This was a quick but good read. Harmony had plans to get out of Corydon and go to college but then her grandma got sick and she stayed home to take care of her. Then her grandma dies and she's left grieving and trying to run the feed store that's swamped with unpaid bills. When the circus/travellers come to town and she's mesmorized by Kieran. She's envious of their life and freedom as she feels stuck in her boring life running her late grandma's feed store. As she lets herself be drawn to Kieran she finds herself in the middle of an age old battle between the Tuatha de Danann and Mileans.I look forward to seeing what happens with Harmony and Kieran next and hope that the other books in this are longer.FAE HORSE: A FAERY TALE BY ANTHEA SHARPI loved Anthea's other books and this short story, Fae Horse, has the same level of writing and story telling. Eileen was accused of being a witch and flees for her life, leaving her dying true love behind. Just when she thinks she won't escape her pursuers she finds a horse which she mounts and escapes on. She soon discovers it's a NightMare and can she pay the price of being saved? This story seems to ulitmately be about a woman who will risk everything to save the one she loves.