It's been many years since either Emily or Sophie have visited the fairies. Both sisters have been avoiding the fairy realm since the fairies kidnapped Emily fourteen years ago and Sophie had to rescue her. Now, Emily is a Broadway actress, just finished her first successful show, when she goes missing once again. No one knows who to suspect but Sophie, but as she soon realizes, there are even more fairy politics involved now than ever. Maeve, who had been nothing more than a fairy servant the last time Sophie was in the realm, is now attempting to become Fairy Queen and take over the human world as well. But, as Sophie soon realizes, she may not be as helpless as she'd been so many years ago. She has some unexpected backup this time, and some unrealized powers of her own. But the fairies have never been the type to back down from a fight, and as Sophie attempts to save her sister, she realizes she may be in deeper trouble than she's ever been.
I've always loved fairies, but there aren't very many books written about them (when compared to those written about vampires and werewolves, at least). Some of the other fairy books I've read have been great, some only okay; this one falls in the middle. I loved the fairy lore involved in building this story's plot, as it was consistent with many of the traditional legends I've heard. As much as I love reading a book that puts a twist on mythology, sometimes it's even more fun to read a modern-day story that stays consistent with tradition. There were some minor changes, but none that seemed as though Shanna Swendson was just making differences to set her fairies apart; rather, all changes to the fairies were minimal and essential to the plot. The fairies and depictions of their realm were the main reasons I enjoyed this story so much. It was enchanting.
Something I didn't enjoy as much was the pacing of the storyline. Emily was kidnapped right at the very beginning of the book, and then the entire rest of the novel (until perhaps the second-last chapter) was all about Sophie attempting to get her back. It seemed as though every other chapter was Sophie making another trip into the realm, failing and being sent back, then trying to make a different plan (which was never very different). Yes, there were some new pieces of information being introduced, but nothing enough to make a difference in Sophie's approach. I found this somewhat tedious. I enjoyed Emily's perspective more, since she was always in the fairy realm, and I loved the fairies, even if some were evil - that just made them more entertaining. With most novels, I find that the deeper I read, the more my desire to continue increases. With this book, however, my desire stayed around the same level throughout the entire story, only increasing towards the very end. It's not that this book was difficult to read or continue, because it was interesting; it just wasn't particularly exciting.
The ending, although the most captivating section of this story, was also the most irritating to me. Sophie and Emily found a solution to their problem, but it was a faulty solution. Normally I'd be fine with this, because real life is imperfect and I like stories to be realistic. However, I could see another solution to their problem, one that seemed very obvious and easy to pursue, but which wasn't even mentioned or thought of by either sister. This book is the first in a series, so perhaps they'll realize this solution later on down the line, but it bothers me that something so obvious would be completely out of their realm of consideration.
I did enjoy this book, although I doubt I'll read more in this series. I really did appreciate the depictions of the fairies and their realm, but I just found the story too uneventful and slightly obvious for my liking. I would give this novel a rating of three and a half stars, rounded down to three. It seems like a novel for younger readers than me, perhaps, although the characters are older. Maybe if the characters were younger and less experienced I would have enjoyed the story more, since they'd have a better explanation for their actions. Readers who enjoy fairy magic, sister bonds, and kidnapping mysteries would enjoy this book.
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