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caligirlrae's review
4.0
I got hooked on this story the moment I read the excerpt and blurb available on the Drollerie Press website. The company caught my eye with their gorgeous design, great array of stories featuring fairy tales and fantasy and I even got a chance to chat with the authors and publisher in a recent gathering. The talk went from vampires to Labyrinth and the Dark Crystal and it was just a blast.
I decided to scoot Unseelie up on my list recently after buying it this month. This book by author Meredith Holmes is a gem. I love the world building of the fairies and the myths used to bring the world to life. I especially liked the switch of the Seelie and Unseelie courts and how they tied into the heroine's fate. There was an interesting twist early on as to how her half brother ties into everything that I was eager to see unravel.
It was a fun read with a handsome faerie prince I couldn't get enough, a strong yet soft hearted Cait Sidhe companion and some colorful characters in both courts. Ms. Holmes has a wonderful imagination for making the world of the fae come to life.
The only downside I felt was the main character herself which kind of brought the story down a few notches for me. I was eager to dive into the world and really get lost in it but the heroine's snide remarks and rebellious antics kind of put me off a bit. I felt a bit sorry for the prince and Cait Sidhe who had to teach her!
Besides that I really loved this world and the mythology behind it. Great battle scenes and beautiful visual descriptions of the world make this a world I wouldn't mind escaping to again!
I decided to scoot Unseelie up on my list recently after buying it this month. This book by author Meredith Holmes is a gem. I love the world building of the fairies and the myths used to bring the world to life. I especially liked the switch of the Seelie and Unseelie courts and how they tied into the heroine's fate. There was an interesting twist early on as to how her half brother ties into everything that I was eager to see unravel.
It was a fun read with a handsome faerie prince I couldn't get enough, a strong yet soft hearted Cait Sidhe companion and some colorful characters in both courts. Ms. Holmes has a wonderful imagination for making the world of the fae come to life.
The only downside I felt was the main character herself which kind of brought the story down a few notches for me. I was eager to dive into the world and really get lost in it but the heroine's snide remarks and rebellious antics kind of put me off a bit. I felt a bit sorry for the prince and Cait Sidhe who had to teach her!
Besides that I really loved this world and the mythology behind it. Great battle scenes and beautiful visual descriptions of the world make this a world I wouldn't mind escaping to again!
prationality's review
4.0
If I had been AlfhildLorelei and I found a naked guy in my bush that happened to be hot, I'm not sure I would have reacted the same way. Weird, yes. But being a child of fantasy I would have immediately jumped to the conclusion that Big Major Adventure now awaits me. Like Alfhild ne` Lorelei I would have probably freaked out. I found it amusing that throughout the book she remarks about how typical heroines do this or that (depending on the genre), but she refuses to fall into that pattern. She does, sometimes, but then she admonishes herself to be more practical.
While I enjoyed Unseelie a lot, I felt at times that it should have been broken up into two or three books. A lot happens in Unseelie, but at the same time you aren't given time to digest what happened before when something new occurs. The e-book runs at 400 pages (roughly) there's plenty of Big Happenings, but the book could have benefited from focusing on one Big Happening and then writing another book about the Next Big Happening and so forth, to flesh out some characters (and motivations) and give the reader time to adjust to the changes.
I loved the interaction between Cadfael and Lorelei. The two of them sparked, giggled, fought and irritated the living daylights out of each other, but their conversations were always fun. Du, a cait-sith (a feline fae as it were, not related to the Sith of Star Wars thank you), is an amusing a quirky character. He was a little abrasive at first, but I grew to like him a lot by the end.
There's some assumption made that the reader will at least recognize some of the inhabitants of the Unseelie and Seelie Courts without too much prompting from the characters within. This was fine for me, since I grew up on these stories, but for those not really attuned to the Celtic lore confusion might abound until someone (usually Du or Cadfael) takes the time to remind Lorelei that she's being thick-headed and should remember things better.
Overall I enjoyed Unseelie a lot. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fantasy read that's both humorous but with dark touches or who found themselves wanting to know a little more about the creatures after reading other Fae related books.
While I enjoyed Unseelie a lot, I felt at times that it should have been broken up into two or three books. A lot happens in Unseelie, but at the same time you aren't given time to digest what happened before when something new occurs. The e-book runs at 400 pages (roughly) there's plenty of Big Happenings, but the book could have benefited from focusing on one Big Happening and then writing another book about the Next Big Happening and so forth, to flesh out some characters (and motivations) and give the reader time to adjust to the changes.
I loved the interaction between Cadfael and Lorelei. The two of them sparked, giggled, fought and irritated the living daylights out of each other, but their conversations were always fun. Du, a cait-sith (a feline fae as it were, not related to the Sith of Star Wars thank you), is an amusing a quirky character. He was a little abrasive at first, but I grew to like him a lot by the end.
There's some assumption made that the reader will at least recognize some of the inhabitants of the Unseelie and Seelie Courts without too much prompting from the characters within. This was fine for me, since I grew up on these stories, but for those not really attuned to the Celtic lore confusion might abound until someone (usually Du or Cadfael) takes the time to remind Lorelei that she's being thick-headed and should remember things better.
Overall I enjoyed Unseelie a lot. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fantasy read that's both humorous but with dark touches or who found themselves wanting to know a little more about the creatures after reading other Fae related books.
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