Review: Shimmerspell
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 27, 2012
This review was originally posted on Big Al's Books and Pals review blog on July 12, 2012Sixteen-year-old high school student Jenson Meadows has no idea who she really is, her whole life she believed her mother had died and she was being raised by her sister Lauren. When events happen that cause Jenson to start seeing past faerie glamour Lauren abandons her saying "... Seek the order of the high wizard if need be and whatever you do, don't take off your ring."Jensen finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient faerie war of Arthurian proportions. She soon learns that faeries aren't made of sparkly goodness, some can be vicious. With the help of Liam Casey and his sister Fiona, she delves into their world to find her missing sister and begins to suspect that her whole life has been nothing more than a faerie tale.This novella has a very original story line that is tied into Arthurian legend in a very unique way. The author does a nice job introducing us to Jensen and a few friends. I loved the dialogue between the teenagers; it was witty and typical for that age. When Jensen breaks into her friend's twin sister's locker, she starts seeing the world differently. She becomes Two-Sighted, which means she can see through faerie glamour and can ignore their compulsion.Then things start happening too fast and furious, the story gets rushed and at times confusing. Some descriptions of the faerie world are colorful and well done, other parts needed a lot more definition or explanation. Many new faerie characters are introduced and not well defined. Perhaps certain aspects are picked up in the rest of the trilogy; but time should have been taken in this story to define Sidhe, Seelie and Unseelie courts as they pertained to her faerie world and not just assume the readers know, because this is a YA story. There is a lot of potential for a great story here that the author just lost by rushing the story along.Format/Typo Issues:A small number of errors.**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **