Tagged: the bright court
Feyland: The Bright Court by Anthea Sharp
(Cover picture courtesy of Kobo Books.)
INSIDE THE GAME…
Jennet Carter escaped the dark faeries of Feyland once. Now, fey magic is seeping out of the prototype game, beguiling the unwary and threatening everyone she cares about.
MAGIC…
Tam Linn may be a hero in-game, but his real life is severely complicated. Still, he’ll do whatever it takes to stop the creatures of Feyland, even if it means pushing Jennet toward the new guy in school–the one with an inside connection to sim-gaming… and the uncanny ability to charm everyone he meets.
ALWAYS WINS…
Despite the danger, Jennet and Tam must return to Feyland to face the magic of the Bright Court–and a powerful new enemy who won’t stop until the human world is at the mercy of the Realm of Faerie.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy of this book from Anthea Sharp in exchange for an honest review.]
Since Feyland: The Dark Realm was almost a futuristic retelling of the ballad of Tam Linn, I really had no idea where Anthea Sharp would go from there. Would book 2 in the Feyland trilogy just drag on and on pointlessly and focus on the romance between Tam and Jennet? Or would she completely change the fairytale underpinnings of the story and go for a pure technological thriller?
Thankfully, Anthea Sharp did neither of those. She manages to get Jennet and Tam back in Feyland without making it seem forced and creates a believable explanation for the Roy Lassiter’s (the new guy in school) charm. What the explanation is I can’t reveal without spoiling some major plot points, but you’ll definitely be surprised at what he did to obtain his seemingly magical charm. Okay, maybe you won’t be that surprised considering we’re dealing with the world of the fae, but there are definitely a few plot twists you won’t see coming because of Roy’s actions.
What I liked about the plot is not that it was unpredictable (which it generally was) but that it was such a departure from the first book yet stayed true to it all the same. It’s hard to explain without spoiling things, but I like how it didn’t follow a fairytale storyline like the Tam Linn story in the first book and yet still retained those fairytale elements. So it ended up being different from the first book, but just as good!
My favourite part is the character development when it comes to Jennet and Tam’s characters. I love how the two have grown closer since their adventure in the last book but how they still have to learn how to trust one another throughout The Bright Court. There’s more than just friendship between the two and I like how Anthea Sharp manages to create that romantic tension without being in your face about it all the time. It’s definitely a skill more authors need to learn.
In short, if you loved Feyland: The Dark Realm you’ll love the sequel, The Bright Court. And if you haven’t started the Feyland trilogy yet, you should. It’s the perfect mix of technology and fantasy.
I give this book 5/5 stars.