The Quicksilver Faire

The Quicksilver Faire
by Gillian Summers

The Faire Folk Trilogy continues into The Scions of Shadow Trilogy with this new novel by Gillian Summers.

The Fairy High Court have called for Keelie's help. There is a rift in the earth and magic is spilling out and effecting humans. At least that is what Keelie is told, but when she arrives she realises that there is a lot more at stake than some magic leaking into the world.

Keelie is joined on her journey by her furry, magical companion Knot the cat, her boyfriend Lord Sean o' the Woods and her frenemy Elia, Lord Elinard's daughter. The motley group are planning to stay with the elves at Grey Mantal and travelling on to the Fairy High Court from there. Keelie isn't expecting a warm welcome, the elves dislike her because of her mixed blood, as do the fairies. Keelie is part human, part elf and part fae (fairy), so doesn't quite feel like she belongs anywhere and the attitude of other elves and fairies really doesn't help. Sean isn't expecting a good welcome either as his father is in disgrace. The only one excited about the visit is Elia who is the first pregnant elf in nearly one hundred years. She is expecting a hero's welcome.

In this latest installment Keelie has to contend with prejudice, nasty goblins, a tricky fairy queen and an ancient, but handsome forest god who has the hots for Keelie and some strange crystal-fed trees in Under-the-Hill forest.

This is a bumper ride and one I couldn't put down. I read this one well into the night and finished it the next day. My only disappointment was that I didn't have the next book to dip into.

If you haven't read about Keelie's adventures, here is a quick rundown.

The Faire Folk Trilogy

Book one: The Tree Shepherd's Daughter

Upon the death of her mother, a Los Angeles attorney, sixteen-year-old Keelie is sent to live with her father, a woodworker at Renaissance fairs, and discovers that the odd 'allergy' she has to wood is actually powerful earth magic that she must learn to control.







Book two: Into The Wildewood

Getting to finally know her elf dad has generally been a good thing, although camping out in her dad's homemade gingerbread RV while acting out the 16th century isn't so fab. Keelie prefers hot showers and wearing a watch thank-you-very-much. If only her dad would wake up to the 21st century and buy her an iPhone so she won't lose touch with the real world! But a mysterious unicorn sighting, fairies showing up in the oddest places, and that nasty, vain elf-girl Elia are all working against Keelie's chances to have a good time. And why hasn't Sean, the hot elf who kissed her, called? Right now, life as an elf isn't all that enchanting.



Book three: The Secret of the Dred Forest

Now that she has (sort of) defeated a diabolical elf, Keelie Heartwood reluctantly joins her father in the Dread Forest. Her "real" friends are gone, her dad is preoccupied with his new responsibilities as Lord of the Forest and now it seems that her budding romance with the hunky Sean is dashed. Except for her impossible guardian cat Knot, and Alora, a demanding and bratty little princess tree, Keelie has no one to hang with—unless you count that nasty elf-girl Elia, who suddenly wants to be Keelie's frenemy.

Meanwhile, an age-old rift in Keelie's family and among the elves reaches a dangerous climax as humans and dark magical forces alike encroach on the elves' enchanted realm. The fate of the Dread Forest—and of all who dwell within it—lies in Keelie's hands.

The Scions of Shadow Trilogy

Book four: Shadows of the Redwood

Summer is here, and all sixteen-year-old half-elf Keelie wants to do is visit her friend Laurie in L.A. Instead she, her cat Knot, and her cranky, medieval, elf-lady grandmother are on their way to help the Redwood Forest, whose tree shepherd is missing. With the help of the handsome Sean, and Scott, her father's former apprentice, along with a mysterious coyote, Keelie sets out to find the lost tree shepherd. But can she discover the deadly secret of the Bloodroot tree in time to vanquish the darkness and save the Redwood Forest.



Book five:: The Quicksilver Faire

Review above.

Small Persons with Wings

Small Person with Wings
by Ellen Booraem

When Mellie Turpin was in Kindergarten, her best friend wasn't of the human variety. Her best friend Fidius was a fairy small person with wings (they hate to be called fairies).

Mellie isn't popular at Kindergarten, but once she announces she has a real live fairy living in her bedroom, everyone wants to be her friend. However, as soon as she tells Fidius she has promised to take him in for show-and-tell, he disappears, leaving Mellie with a very red face and more unpopular than ever.

Mellie is now thirteen and is still trying to live down the shame. She has persuaded herself that fairies don't exist and that it was all just her vivid imagination.

Then, when Mellie's grandfather dies, her father inherits his dilapidated inn, so the whole family up-sticks and move to an area where no-one knows about Mellie and her fairy. A fresh start for Mellie or so she thinks until she discovers the basement is overrun with small persons with wings and the nightmare begins again.

Throw out all your ideas and opinions about fairies and read this amusing tale. It will leave you feeling glad that there are no fairies in your basement!

Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex

Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex
by Eoin Colfer


This is the latest in a long line of tales about the devious, teenage, criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl.

Artemis has gathered his group of fairy co-horts in a remote location in Iceland to unveil his latest plan. His greatest plan ever! A plan to save the world. That doesn't sound like Artemis at all. Artemis doesn't help other people unless there is something in it for him, usually money. Something isn't quite right, he is thinking about other people and counting in fives.

Before the others can put their finger on what is wrong with their young friend, they are under attack from what should be a friendly vessel.

Killer space probes, unfriendly robots, zombie wrestling fans and the unlucky number four, well unlucky for Artemis anyway. Will any of them make it out alive this time? It's looking really unlikely.

This is the seventh and penultimate book in the Artemis Fowl series. The books are all centred around the teenage mastermind Artemis Fowl, whose only goal in life is to make money through illegal schemes by taking advantage of the fairy underworld he has discovered.

The books are written with a great deal of humour and often leave you sitting on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next.

I have to say I was a little disappointed with this book. I usually whizz through the stories, laughing up'roariously, especially at the antics of the kleptomaniac, gasey and rather pongey dwarf - Mulch Diggins, but I just didn't find the book as thrilling or as funny as usual. A great disappointment.

If you want to continue the story of Artemis, I would recommend you read this, but just don't expect as many laughs as usual.

Knife

Knife
by R.J. Anderson

Knife is a fairy or faery as they prefer to be known, but not a cute, sweet faery. Knife is a hunter. She lives in an old oak tree with more of her kind. They are not a friendly bunch, but they only have each other, as they battle to survive against humans and the wild animals that roam around their sacred oak. But, Knife is curious about the outside world and soon she goes against the wishes of the faery Queen and ventures further and further away from the oak, drawn by the lure of the humans who live in the house at the bottom of the garden. Knife soon realises that the humans are not the evil beings that the Queen has made them out to be and is intrigued. Knife ventures into their home, where she is captured by the human boy Paul. As their friendship develops, Knife tries to discover why the faeries are losing their magic and why the faeries hate the humans with such a vigour.

This is a fabulously gripping read that would be enjoyed by both boys and girls. It has an alternative title in the US/Canada - Faery Rebel: Spell Hunter and will be followed up by a second book - Rebel in 2010.