Tagged: feyguard
Feyguard: Royal by Anthea Sharp
(Cover picture courtesy of Barnes & Noble.)
The adventures begun in the Feyland trilogy continue, where a high-tech computer game becomes a gateway to the treacherous Realm of Faerie.Rich-boy gamer Royal Lassiter lives on easy mode—until everything falls apart. Dark faeries are plotting to invade the mortal world, his controlling mom has turned home into enemy territory, and he can’t deny his irresistible attraction to newcomer Brea, despite the danger lurking in her mysterious eyes.
Forced to undertake a perilous mission for the Dark Queen of Faerie, Brea Cairgead finds living among humans and hiding her true nature as one of the fey folk a fearsome challenge—especially when her emotions prove all too vulnerable to a certain human boy. Torn between impossible loyalties, she must serve her queen… though it may cost her heart.
Can love between mortal and fey ever have a happy ending?
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from Anthea Sharp in exchange for an honest review.]
I’ve never really liked Roy as a character in Anthea Sharp’s novels, both Feyland (the original series) and Feyguard (this new spinoff series) so I’ll admit I was a little reluctant to read things from his point of view for a whole book. It’s a testament to Anthea Sharp’s writing talent that once I actually got going, I really didn’t mind him so much.
Roy is the kind of person that hides his true self behind a facade, both at school and at home because people would disapprove. In the case of school there’s the usual peer pressure to stay cool but at home his mum really is more of a ruthless CEO type rather than the type of mum who would approve of Roy’s forays into art. In a situation like that, it’s easy for him to fall back on the rich playboy facade rather than expose his innermost self. Into all this, enter Brea Cairgead, a fey girl sent by the Dark Queen to make more humans susceptible to falling into Feyland so that they may live. She can see beyond his facade even while she creates her own, so when they start falling in love it makes for an interesting relationship dynamic.
At the same time this book isn’t just about Roy as a character. We see Jennet and Tamlin and some of the other Feyguard as well, but it sort of continues the story of how the fey are desperate to bring unsuspecting humans into their world. In a way I feel sorry for them since most of the mortal realm doesn’t believe in them and their very survival is in peril because of that. However, their methods don’t lend much sympathy and in the end the fey are capricious and often quite vicious so I can’t feel too sorry for them.
This is in many ways a character driven novel, but as you can probably guess there’s also a pretty interesting plot as well. There was nothing all that unexpected in the plot until the end, where there’s a huge twist. I don’t want to give too much away, but it solves the problem of Roy and Brea’s fey-human attraction in a brilliant if semi-tragic way. I’m a sucker for some portrayals of star-crossed love and this is definitely one of them.
All in all, Anthea Sharp’s second book in the Feyguard series was even better than I expected. Roy still gave off rich playboy vibes in the beginning of the novel but by the end he’s actually a pretty nice guy. So there you have it: magic, character development and a pretty fast-paced plot. I certainly can’t ask for more than that.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Feyguard: Spark by Anthea Sharp
(Cover picture courtesy of Anthea Sharp’s blog.)
Superstar gamer Spark Jaxley’s life might look easy, but she’s part of an elite few who guard a shocking secret; the Realm of Faerie exists, and its dark magic is desperate for a foothold in the mortal world.
Aran Cole hacks code and sells his gaming cheats on the black market. It’s barely a living, and one he’s not proud of. But when he turns his skills to unlocking the secrets behind Feyland—the most exciting and immersive game on the market—he discovers power and magic beyond his wildest dreams.
Spark’s mission is clear; pull Aran from the clutches of the fey folk and restore the balance between the worlds. But can she risk her life for someone who refuses to be rescued?
[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook from Anthea Sharp in exchange for an honest review.]
In Feyland: The Twilight Kingdom one of my favourite characters was the teenage gaming superstar Spark Jaxley. She was sassy, tough and a talented gamer and I wanted to learn more about her. Imagine my surprise and happiness when I learned that the first book in the spin-off series would actually feature Spark as a main character.
I was far from disappointed, believe me. Spark sure is a sassy, tough and talented gamer but she’s also a teenager who’s lonely in her fame. Her fame makes it hard for anyone to see her as a real human being requiring company that’s on the same level. I liked the whole it’s-lonely-at-the-top angle Anthea Sharp gave her because it’s far more realistic than Spark revelling in her fame 24/7. Of course there are advantages (mainly the gaming itself) but I found it interesting to see Spark not just as a good gamer, but as a lonely teenage girl.
Aran Cole was also a fascinating character. He’s extremely poor and one of the best hackers out there when it comes to finding game cheats. He certainly has the motivation to improve his station in life and he’s not afraid to manipulate people to get what he wants. Aran’s not your typical cold-hearted criminal, though. Although he tries to hide and deny his feelings, he does feel quite a bit of guilt about his hacking. Especially when it lands Spark in danger later on in the novel.
So basically you have two awesome characters. How was the world-building? As with the original Feyland trilogy, the world-building is fantastic. I liked that Anthea Sharp focused more on the real world with this one, especially the gaming culture that Spark is so immersed in. It gives you a better picture of her imagined future where extreme wealth and poverty stand in stark contrast to one another. Of course she also adds some new stuff to Feyland itself, but the new information we learn is mostly about the real world.
The plot was so fast-paced that although I intended to only read a few chapters, I ended up finishing the whole book in one sitting. Spark is one of my favourite main characters and her and Aran’s story was fascinating. They’re both great characters in a fast-paced novel with three dimensional world-building. What more can you ask for?
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Cover Reveal: Spark by Anthea Sharp
Superstar gamer Spark Jaxley’s life might look easy, but she’s part of an elite few who guard a shocking secret; the Realm of Faerie exists, and its dark magic is desperate for a foothold in the mortal world.
Aran Kells hacks code and sells his gaming cheats on the black market. It’s barely a living, and one he’s not proud of. But when he turns his skills to unlocking the secrets behind Feyland—the most exciting and immersive game on the market—he discovers power and magic beyond his wildest dreams.
Spark’s mission is clear; pull Aran from the clutches of the fey folk and restore the balance between the worlds. But can she risk her life for someone who refuses to be rescued?
Yes, I realize I haven’t even published my reviews of Anthea Sharp’s last two books in the Feyland trilogy (although I have read them!), but I couldn’t resist doing a cover reveal for the spin-off trilogy Feyguard. Will we see Tam and Jennet again? Who knows with these new characters?
Feyguard: Spark will release sometime at the end of November of this year, although Anthea Sharp doesn’t have an exact date just quite yet. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out Spark on Goodreads or read my review of the first of Anthea Sharp’s books, Feyland: The Dark Realm.