Unseelie is the story of Seelie, and her sister Isolde. Forced to run away from home after unfortunate circumstances surrounding Seelie's fairy changeling magic, the two find themselves on their own in a world where they can only survive by their own wits and capabilities. They end up facing many trials in the quest for treasure, but they make new friends and enemies, and learn a lot about themselves on the way.
The writing was really solid. There were some great one-liners in here that were just excellent writing and so fun to read. The relationships in this book feel real and relatable. I enjoyed learning about the struggles they faced to overcome their differences and see things from each others' points of view.
That being said, I did struggle to get through around the half-way point to three quarter mark of the book. The ending was SOLID, but it was a bit of a slog to get through parts of it. It was a little repetitive too (something bad happens, we escape, something else bad happens, we escape, and lots of walking through forests...). But the biggest issue I had with it (at least early on, but not as much by the end) was this trope of our female protagonist needing to change everything about herself to grow and develop while her companions aren't under the same scrutiny. Eventually, this didn't feel as intense, but I really take issue with this trope in YA writing. "You're so selfish. YOU just need to CHANGE." Are we not focusing on the flaws that literally every other character brings to the table? It isn't the protagonist's job to apologize for everything, and they certainly aren't the only ones that should benefit from character development.
Rant aside, it was mostly a fun time, and I'll definitely be picking up the conclusion to the duology to see what happens to these changeling twin sisters and the many counterparts that now exist in their lives.
The writing was really solid. There were some great one-liners in here that were just excellent writing and so fun to read. The relationships in this book feel real and relatable. I enjoyed learning about the struggles they faced to overcome their differences and see things from each others' points of view.
That being said, I did struggle to get through around the half-way point to three quarter mark of the book. The ending was SOLID, but it was a bit of a slog to get through parts of it. It was a little repetitive too (something bad happens, we escape, something else bad happens, we escape, and lots of walking through forests...). But the biggest issue I had with it (at least early on, but not as much by the end) was this trope of our female protagonist needing to change everything about herself to grow and develop while her companions aren't under the same scrutiny. Eventually, this didn't feel as intense, but I really take issue with this trope in YA writing. "You're so selfish. YOU just need to CHANGE." Are we not focusing on the flaws that literally every other character brings to the table? It isn't the protagonist's job to apologize for everything, and they certainly aren't the only ones that should benefit from character development.
Rant aside, it was mostly a fun time, and I'll definitely be picking up the conclusion to the duology to see what happens to these changeling twin sisters and the many counterparts that now exist in their lives.