*I received a free ARC of this book, with thanks to the author. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Blurb: “Away with us to a faraway land, I will take you by the hand.
And by the hand you will come with me,
To all the terrible things you’ll see.”
The time of the Tiend is nigh and one must be chosen.
Milo’s dream of running off with Faeries has turned into a nightmare. When he followed Asrai to her world, he had hoped adventure and wonder. But he soon learns that there is something sinister behind his adventure. Finding himself between an age old ritual of sacrifice and a desire to save his new friends, Milo must decide what he must do to survive. Will he fight with his captors to destroy the evil that consumes the world of the Faery or will he turn and flee?
Faery: The Tiend is an exciting and promising fantasy adventure for middle grade readers and above, which completely reimagines the precarious relationship between the world of faery and our own.
Milo is a great main character; although he has his doubts and fears, he is infinitely curious, thinks for himself and keeps a cool head in a crisis. All of which stands him in good stead when he finds himself lured into the fae world in order to compete with other children for the dubious honour of being ‘The Tiend’. Tiend being another word for tithe, a compulsory toll to be paid. But paid to who, and what for?
Instead of a fairytale adventure, Milo finds himself caught up in a war and he isn’t completely clear which side he is on. Luckily he seems to have a knack for making unlikely allies… so all he has to do is work out who is genuinely trying to help him and who is actually trying to kill him. And how he can get back home.
There is a lot of action and mythology packed into this story and plenty of worldbuilding with the potential for further stories, so I hope to see Milo return. Or perhaps to get more detail about his uncle’s prior adventures – from the hints contained here, that seems like a whole other, but equally interesting, story!
In an instant, Milo noticed the room grow cold, very cold. Condensation began to spread across the window. ‘Something strange is going on.’ Milo thought to himself. Tess barked nervously, and Milo wrapped a fearful hand around her in comfort. He wasn’t sure if this was more of a comfort to him or the dog. As he stared at the window, letters began to form on the damp pane of glass.
– Igo Rab, Faery: The Tiend
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Faery: The Tiend is available on Amazon right now!
Bookshine And Readbows 