Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter by R.J. Anderson

Summary:

Forget everything you think you know about faeries. . . .

Creatures full of magic and whimsy?

Not in the Oakenwyld. Not anymore.

Deep inside the great Oak lies a dying faery realm, bursting with secrets instead of magic. Long ago the faeries mysteriously lost their magic. Robbed of their powers, they have become selfish and dull-witted. Now their numbers are dwindling and their very survival is at stake.

Only one young faery—Knife—is determined to find out where her people's magic has gone and try to get it back. Unlike her sisters, Knife is fierce and independent. She's not afraid of anything—not the vicious crows, the strict Faery Queen, or the fascinating humans living nearby. But when Knife disobeys the Faery Queen and befriends a human named Paul, her quest becomes more dangerous than she realizes. Can Knife trust Paul to help, or has she brought the faeries even closer to the brink of destruction?

Talented newcomer R. J. Anderson creates an extraordinary new fantasy world and weaves a gripping tale of lost magic, high adventure, and surprising friendship in which the fate of an entire realm rests on the shoulders of one brave faery rebel.

Review:

Going into Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter I was expecting a lot. Since, it had been getting fantastic reviews and it had to do with one of my favorite topics in young adult fiction: faeries. Faeries are seriously the one thing that will always draw me to a book, no matter what type of hype it gets. Luckily, R.J. Anderson certainly provided an amazing new look into what it means to be a faery in this enchanting new series.

The world created in this was spectacular, causing you to always be turning the pages to find out more about the world Knife lived in. One of my favorite aspects of this was that you learned along with the characters the secrets to Oakenwyld. Like, why did they have so little magic and what had caused there world to be so uncreative?

Knife was a spunky and brave character that I came to love by the end. I loved how she would go to the end of the world to help the people that she loved, even if it meant the risk of death. Plus, I have to give her kudos on her name, which I absolutely adored. The other characters such as Thorn and Wink were charming and entertaining . I look forward to reading more about them in future novels. Last but not least, Paul. Knife and his relationship was another favorite part of mine in Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter. Since, it always had you on your toes with the drama that occurred.

Anderson's writing was compelling and done extremely well. While the beginning took a while to warm up to, the middle and end provided much drama and secrets to come unraveled, which overall upped the pace of this novel. Also, I liked how Faery Rebels could be for any age group. Since it limited sexual content and cursing for the middle grade set, but still providing a well worded drama for the older set.

Overall, I adored Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter greatly. I deeply suggest you go pick this book up from your local bookstore immediately, because I know for a certain you will come to love it as much as I did.

Oh and R.J., I'm definitely looking forward to reading more about Oakenwyld!

Grade: A+

Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter is now out. Be sure to check out R.J.'s awesome website, too, if you have the time.

* Much thanks goes to EM for sending me this fantastic book! :)