I would like to thank Giselle at Xpresso Book Tours for having me on the tour today!
3.5 out of 5 Stars
Synopsis
Young fae girls are disappearing.
Layla has never belonged to the fairy realm – at least, half of her hasn’t. She’s never known anyone with human blood, not even her father. When she was three, the dragon Fauth attacked the fairy festival, murdering her fae mum & stepfather. Frankly, some fairies think she should’ve been eaten too.
As she grew, despite being called names like “fuman” for being a half-blood, she’s discovered that being half-human isn’t terrible. She may lack magic, but she is immune to iron sickness, and she can wield a sword with elven skill.
Magic in the human world is disastrous.
Sixteen years later, when Layla’s half-sister is kidnapped and taken through a portal to the forbidden human realm, Layla rushes to the rescue. She’s older and stronger, and she’s not about to let her last living family member be taken from her without a fight.
Only someone who belongs to both worlds can find the truth.
The portal spits her out in the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, but neither her sister or the kidnapper are anywhere to be found. Stuck in a world she only knows from school books, Layla forges unlikely alliances to find her sister. As she becomes tangled in the dark world of fairy trafficking, magic harvesting, and murder, Layla will have to find the strength within if she is to survive and save her sister.
My Thoughts
“Ceann socai. Smaointeann soilleir. Aon cheum aig aon am. Cool head. Clear thought. One step at a time.”
What a fantastic idea for a book!! A fish out of water story with a fairy thrown into the human world searching for her sister who has been kidnapped and winds up working with some cops to uncover a magical smuggling ring! LOVE IT!!
The story was engaging and there were great explanations on the past of the Fairy World, their thought on humans (those greedy, selfish, horrible creatures!!), and how tough it is to be a “half-blood” in the fairy world! I loved the relationship between Layla and her sister, and the back story to Layla’s lost childhood, and I will defintiely be looking forward to continuing the series!
I loved the descriptions of humans and their lives when Layla gets thrown into the human world,
“She listened to bits of their conversation as they passed, and surveyed their dress. They all carried small boxes. Some they held to their ears, others in front of their faces- communication devices, apparently.”
A couple of LITTLE things (which are picky, since I feel like it’s the curse of the first book in a series), is that the characters still felt a little one dimensional to me.. You get a great backstory for Layla, but she doesn’t seem to have a very strong PRESENT personality. I would have liked a bit more strength of character from her (but, again… she’s just kind of still discovering things about herself and growing into her character… so, I’m probably rushing things.)
My other “niggle” would be the relationship between Layla and Ian. When the story id from her perspective she is CONSTANTLY talking about the tingles from his touch and the sparks from their contact… then, there will be something told from Ian’s perspective and… nada. Her sweeping her unconscious body into his arms aaaand….. NOTHING! Oh, sorry. He does complain that he’s getting tired and then passes her off to someone else. Typical dense male.. Ha ha!
All in all though, it was a unique premise and enjoyable writing! I can’t wait to continue the journey!
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Author Bio
Mary Karlik has always been a dreamer. When she was a teen, she read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and then sat in every wardrobe in her Nanna’s home, trying to open the door to Narnia. She didn’t find it, but she did discover her voice as an author: one filled with her young adult self, and grounded in her roots as a Texan and her Scottish heritage, nourished by obscure Scottish folklore.
You can find her Texas roots in her YA contemporary romance Hickville series , which has been described as “100% solid storytelling,” and begins with Welcome to Hickville High, a “lovely story about growing up.”
She digs deep into her Scottish roots – there is magic there, she just knows it – for the forthcoming YA epic fantasy Fairy Trafficking series, beginning with Magic Harvest.
She makes her home in the beautiful Sangre de Cristo mountains of Northern New Mexico where she is a certified professional ski instructor, but she also loves visiting Scotland where she is currently studying Scottish Gaelic at the University of Highlands and Islands in Skye. Mary also earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, has a B.S. degree from Texas A&M University, and is a Registered Nurse.
Mary currently serves as the President of the Young Adult Chapter of Romance Writers of America and looks forward to raising a glass or two of gin and tonic with her fellow writers every year at RWA’s national convention.
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter
Magic Harvest is Best Served with a Fairy Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1oz Absinthe
- 1oz Dark Rum
- 1oz Blue Curacao
- Top with Ginger ale
Directions
- Mix all alcohol in a shaker full of ice and shake to chill
- Pour into glass and top with ginger ale to taste
- CHEERS!!
Great review 😘
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Thank you!! 💖💖
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Aren’t you full of niggles?? Rather niggling much?
Fab review… You spent the day reading this? Getting my whip ready… Poison or passion, your choice.. 😉😉😂😂😂😂😘😘
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Well, you’re the one who filled me with the niggles!! I never had them before!! Then, after reading your reviews I suddenly contracted a HORRIBLE case of the niggles!! 😂😂 And poison or passion?? Can’t it be both? ☠️🤔😘
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Well I need better leather chaps than what you plan to buy for me… So first get me cotton lined ones which encompasses my fat too. Then we decide…. Punish or reward you?
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Ha ha ha!! I love it! 😍😍
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I had to do a double take when I read “niggle” I was thinking SURELY YOU MUST BE JOKING BOOK WORM DRINKETH ! ! That is not a word!!! So I hesitantly Googled niggle and it’s a word!! But I’d still hard pressed to ever use it in a conversation.
I bet if used that word in Atlanta Georgia I probably wouldn’t make it out alive
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😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Well, I picked the word up from my interweb wife who loves to use it. She’s always rubbing off on me. 😉😂 And I’ll DEFINTITELY have to watch where I use it! Ha ha ha!!!!
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By the way, Feeling better?? Did you kick those plague germ’s asses??
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I felt good enough this morning that I returned to work, I brought with me a thermos with chicken broth , ginger and lemon . 🙌🙌🙌💪💪💪
Have you unpacked everything from your move? unpacking and feeling comfortable in a new home took me at least a month!
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I didn’t move, just switched jobs (although, funny enough.. I am NOT unpacked from when I DID move into my house. 😉😂)
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I use it in all my reviews… If something in a book keeps niggling me, it becomes my niggles, keeps irritating me…
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😂😂😂😂😂
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Are all your books ending up in Scotland?? I’m expecting an ironbru cocktail at the end of a post soon.
That drink looks awful 🤣 and I would die if I had some, absinth has tried to murder me in the past. 🤮
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The funniest thing?? The last THREE books I’ve read have all had a character named Finn in them! 😂😂 Hey, I’m Scottish by heritage! The books call to me across the Heather on the Glen… 😂😂😂
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But Finn’s an Irish name!!! 🤣🤣
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Well, those irishmen snuck into all of my books!! They’re wiley ones! 😂😂
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I want that fairy drink! Yum! Lovely and thoughtful review, Nicole! The niggles crack me up every time!
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Thank Shalini for that one. She gave me the niggles and now I can’t get rid of them!!… There has to be a pill, or a cream for this one… 🤔😂
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Ian sounds lame and oblivious!!!! I’d have thrown the book away hoping that it would somehow land on his face or something LOL the whole magical smuggling ring does sound awesome though! Nice review! 😀
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Ha ha! It was a really interesting concept, with the whole “magical creature meets the real world” and joining forces with cops. I really enjoyed it! 💖
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Yes, I love the concept too. Best wishes to Mary.
I’m curious about the drink. I’ve always wanted to try absinthe. Actually somebody left it as a “thing” (back in 2015) for the steampunk serial I’m rerunning now. It became a character, the Green Fairy of course, but you’ll never guess what form he takes. 😉
TGIF hugs!
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I still need to check out all of your new Steampunk stuff!! SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…. have I mentioned I’m excited? 😉😂😂
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You surely make this sound interesting. I haven’t read a lot in this genre so am intrigued by the faerie world.
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Well, the best part is that it’s magical meets real! So, if it’s not usually your genre, this would be a great novel to ease you into it!! It’s mostly set in our world and doesn’t have a lot of complicated fantasy names and places!! 💖💖
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This does sound intriguing although I think Ian might drive me crazy. And a drink with absinthe! I’ve never tried it but I’ve read load of historical fiction where it’s mentioned.
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If you’re going to try ansinthe, do it the right way (as shown in my etiquette and Espionage steampunk post) it’s way better on its own with a flaming cube of sugar and a little water to open it up. 😊
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I’m not sure I’d ever try it because of the whole migraine thing, but I’ve always been fascinated with the way it’s prepared.
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Fair enough! Your health is definitely more important! 💖💖💖
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Sometimes I feel like I don’t get to have any fun.🙇🏻♀️
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Well, you could always TRY it… Maybe it’ll make the migraines better??? And, as adults, I think we all feel like we have no fun! 😉😂😂
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Hmm…I just said I might have to try a hangover…I’m thinking this cocktail might be the perfect thing to try out for that lol 😂😂
Gotta agree though, the premise for this does sound intriguing. The characters themselves though..I’m guessing they could have been a little bit better. Oh well can’t win them all…or can we? 🤔🤔
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Oh. I will win them all…. I WILL WIN THEM ALL!!! MUAHAHAHA!!! (Far too early in the morning for evil laughter… 😈😉)
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