A teen outcast must work together with new friends to keep her family and town safe from murderous Fae while also dealing with panic attacks, family issues, and a lesbian love triangle in C.M. McGuires’s kick-butt paranormal YA debut, Ironspark. For the past nine years, ever since a bunch of those evil Tinkerbells abducted her mother, cursed her father, and forced her family into hiding, Bryn … family into hiding, Bryn has devoted herself to learning everything she can about killing the Fae. Now it’s time to put those lessons to use.
Then the Court Fae finally show up, and Bryn realizes she can’t handle this on her own. Thankfully, three friends offer to help: Gwen, a kindhearted water witch; Dom, a new foster kid pulled into her world; and Jasika, a schoolmate with her own grudge against the Fae.
But trust is hard-won, and what little Bryn has gained is put to the test when she uncovers a book of Fae magic that belonged to her mother. With the Fae threat mounting every day, Bryn must choose between faith in her friends and power from a magic that could threaten her very humanity.
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After her mother was taken and her father cursed by Fae, Bryn spends most of her learning about and killing Fae.
But after she realizes that she is way over her head, she will have to rely on her friends, to help her.
I love the Fae in the story, the Welsh folklore is a bit different from what I usually read but so interesting. 🙂 Shadelings were my favorite thing in the whole book, they were there to protect Bryn and her family and did a little bit around the house. And when they found another home, I was so sad. 🙂
It’s an awesome story, full of folklore, many twists and turns, and fae. 🙂 The plotline was a bit confusing at times, but I still liked it. What I didn’t like was Bryn. I don’t know why, there is just something about her character, that I had trouble connecting with and caring for her.
received from author
Bryn is the kind of MC I love. She is fierce and loyal, and I would read a hundred more books with her in it. This is a must read for any fantasy lover out there.
I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I was going to. I’m honestly not too big on fae because I’ve never been able to get into it, but it’s queer and I loved the cover. As soon as I read the first paragraph I was hooked and knew that this wasn’t going to be your normal fae book!
Bryn is rash, wreckless, and fueled to protect her family at all costs. Dom is thrown into the world of magic and fae, but is an act now, questions later type of guy and has one of the biggest hearts. Gwen has to be my favorite character along with a certain shadeling. She’s the well needed voice of reason and truly cares about those she loves. The shadelings truly seemed like CM’s creation and I don’t think think I’ve ever read about anything like them before.
The descriptions of the Fae were vivid and each character was well developed. The folklore and learning about the different types of Fae and magic really intrigued me. I was glad that the romance didn’t consume the book and the story line was filled with twists and secrets- one twist had me squealing with excitement.
This book deals with panic attacks, loss of a parent, and mental illness and how a teenager is dealing with it while going to school, fighting the fae, and raising her brothers. It is also very LGBT+ inclusive. There’s a male ace sex positive character, two lesbians, and a girl who is still trying to figure out if she’s bisexual or pansexual. None of the characters were judged or pressured by one another for their sexuality, but I did find the setting ironic for where they talked about it at.
*I received a free copy from Netgalley and TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review
5 CRANKY STARS
This is a book about all kind of goblins and ghoulies terrorizing the houses just outside the woods. The real bad guys in this case are fairies. In our world, fairies are cute little humanlike creatures with wings. In this story, theyf are evil and look evil. They also like to steal human babies for changelings. Our heroine is Bryn. She has twin twelve-year old brothers. She is in high school. Bryn’s father moved the family to this small town after her Mother’s disappearance. She had grown up in Wales and her Mother had taught her all about the fairies, goblins, et.al. Here in America, no one knew about these things. She worked with Father Gooding of the local church to fight these hobgoblins and keep the city free of evil. Her father did not know what she was doing, or he would not have allowed it. Fast paced action on every page that will not let you put it down. When the truth comes out, it is up to Bryn to save her family. Nothing is as it seems. Truly an interesting read.