Nocturnal Book Reviews

4.5/5
This is a fairy tale the way I like them, dark, disturbing, ancient in its battle between Good and Evil and gripping. This is also not a YA to my relief despite one of the characters being a 16-year old girl. I am tired of Holly Black and Julie Kagawa, give me War for the Oaks and Pan's Labyrinth, pretty please.

If you like the latter, this book is for you.

Both the main protagonists, or shall I say, antagonists? are women forged in tragedy and pain.

Maribel is a model and a talented photographer who followed her diplomat husband around the war conflicts of the world taking beautiful pictures of women and children caught in the conflict. Heavily pregnant she flies to a gallery in New York only to give birth to her daughter and see a weird transparent figure take her daughter away and replace her with a husk which everyone thinks is the dead baby.

Crazed with grief Maribel employs help of a psychic and a phooka to find her baby and bring her back. Only the creature leading her on her quest has other much darker goal in mind, - the Unseelie Court is ready for a new Queen of Air and Darkness.

Maya is a 16-year old illegal immigrant working her butt off for miserly $2 an hour in a Chinese restaurant during the day and crafting fake brand belts in a crowded factory during the night. Fighting her way through sexual harassment and prejudice she is determined to save enough money to find a lawyer and get her parents out of prison, while one evening kiss from a beautiful man with fiery green eyes renders her mute and able to see through fae Glamour on the streets of New York.

Maya is asked by Seelie Court to try and stop the Unseelie Queen ascension and with nothing to lose, led by her courage and determination, Maya can only go forward.

This is a fast read, beautifully structured and written. The language describes the fae world as wise, ancient, dark and very much unhinged.

"Maya, look. I understand your frustration. But you’re asking me questions akin to what is love, or heart break. I can describe them as simply as I can, and still not convey their essence to you. They need to be experienced. No matter what I tell you about Jack, or this land, or myself, you will still not understand. Perhaps you might delude yourself into believing you do, but that would be even more dangerous than ignorance. So please. Pick up your left foot, and step forward. Repeat with your right, and let’s keep going until we reach whatever place is invoked by your heart’s desire.”

Fans of War for The Oaks and Pan's Labyrinth will certainly love this story just as much as I did.