I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley and a final copy via BookishFirst, all opinions are my own. This book was released on January 3, 2023 and is available now.
This follows twin sisters Iselia aka Seelie and Isolde as they try to survive in a world of magic, shapeshifters, and fae. Seelie is a changeling, not human but not fae either. As the author mentions in her author's note, it is believed that changelings were used to describe autistic children in early mythology as a way to explain the unexplainable. While we've come a long way in the world of autism diagnosis and treatment, we still have a long way to go. You can really tell that alot of love and care went into creating Seelie's character and I'm sure alot of the author's own experiences can be seen in her.
Being a changeling with uncontrollable magic, Seelie is both feared and misunderstood. She finds it difficult to interact with humans and sometimes finds it hard to control her emotions. In order to survive, she and Isolde have turned to a life of theft and pickpocketing, so when they target a large mansion on a festival night they run into another team of theives they didn't plan for as well as a treasure that has a mind of it's own that latches onto Seelie. The twins end up on a quest they didn't intend to go on, and Seelie must learn to harness the magic she fears and despises to save herself and her beloved sister.
I really enjoyed going on this quest with Seelie. The world building was well done as was the character development. Not only does Seelie have to learn to harness her magic but she is also on a self-discovery quest as well. By accepting her magic she is accepting that she is not like other people and that is OK. The story had good pacing and kept me engaged the whole time. The story wrapped up nicely but did leave things open to allow for more adventures with Seelie, Isolde, and her new allies. I would happily read more from this author and more about Seelie and her adventures should there be more.
This follows twin sisters Iselia aka Seelie and Isolde as they try to survive in a world of magic, shapeshifters, and fae. Seelie is a changeling, not human but not fae either. As the author mentions in her author's note, it is believed that changelings were used to describe autistic children in early mythology as a way to explain the unexplainable. While we've come a long way in the world of autism diagnosis and treatment, we still have a long way to go. You can really tell that alot of love and care went into creating Seelie's character and I'm sure alot of the author's own experiences can be seen in her.
Being a changeling with uncontrollable magic, Seelie is both feared and misunderstood. She finds it difficult to interact with humans and sometimes finds it hard to control her emotions. In order to survive, she and Isolde have turned to a life of theft and pickpocketing, so when they target a large mansion on a festival night they run into another team of theives they didn't plan for as well as a treasure that has a mind of it's own that latches onto Seelie. The twins end up on a quest they didn't intend to go on, and Seelie must learn to harness the magic she fears and despises to save herself and her beloved sister.
I really enjoyed going on this quest with Seelie. The world building was well done as was the character development. Not only does Seelie have to learn to harness her magic but she is also on a self-discovery quest as well. By accepting her magic she is accepting that she is not like other people and that is OK. The story had good pacing and kept me engaged the whole time. The story wrapped up nicely but did leave things open to allow for more adventures with Seelie, Isolde, and her new allies. I would happily read more from this author and more about Seelie and her adventures should there be more.