Book Review: Fae Captive

My rating: 5 tangled stars


for the second installment in a series that goes straight to the heart!

The sequel to Fae Hunter, Fae Captive gives us Allie caught in a cage and the Fae she had once tormented her new captor.

Her father had been captured too and his fate is much more gruesome than that of our Allie. He is in agony and the fae make sure she knows it. Locked inside her cage at Scouvrel's mercy, Allie tries her best to hold on to the hope of escape for both herself and her father. But fighting the fear of being shrunken down to the size of a hand and imprisoned in a strange realm that's both amazingly beautiful and terrifyingly horrible... it may just be a little more than our Allie can handle.

Scouvrel vows to be her ally, but his games and bargains are never quite as they seem. He is after all, a fae - 'tangled and gnarled, a twisted thing of emotion and passion, ambition and cruelty with no hope of being anything else.'

So Allie has to learn to bargain and strike the right deal to save all that she holds dear. Thrust in a dangerous game of treachery and deceit, she must overcome her fears and start paying attention. After all, a hunter must always properly learn his prey before dealing the deadly blow.
Bargaining for survival at every step, Allie needs to find out why all the Faewald seems to want her, escape from her cage and what's even worse, thwart the plans of her own sister.

Just as the first in series, this second installment is written in the same easy to follow narrative with a fabulous wordbuilding. It is just as fast-paced and perhaps even more captivating. I loved Allie as a character and rooted for her from the very first page of book 1. And I love her even more now. Here she matures and starts to learn that not everything is quite black or white. And her inner struggles are masterfully portrayed. Her fears, her anger and disappointment, as well as that little touch of gentleness and yes, even love ... they practically leap of the page. Brilliantly done!

I sat in my cage, alone and heartbroken realizing that nothing was what I thought it was. Not my town. Not my family. Not my ally here in the Faewald. Maybe not even me.

I also loved the complexity of Scouvrel. As a character, he is one of my favorites.
'What kind of creature was so utterly gorgeous and horrific, all tangled into one?
...
He was gorgeous and horrifying. Lovely and awful.'
Both inside and out. And I really LOVE him!

Full of twists and turns that you won't see coming, this little tale will grab you from the very first page and keep you at the edge of your seat till the very end.

If you are a fan of all things Faerie, Fae Captive and The Tangled Fae series are a MUST READ!!
They are dark, twisted and yet so very beautiful; violent and deadly but also full of gentleness and enchanting.

Check out this book and more of Sarah K.L. Wilson over at: www.sarahklwilson.com