children's fiction; faery fantasy a lil steampunk action/adventure. ( )

I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this book but I was in the mood for something different. This book was good. I am anxious to see what happens in the 2nd book. ( )

I liked this book much more than I thought I would. It was fun, and while it had a few similarities with Harry Potter, it was able to stand alone with an original story. What impressed me the most was the fact that this written by a 16 year old young man, who is also a very talented musician. If you get a chance check out the book's website and listen to the music he has composed to go along with the book. Very beautiful!

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I picked up this book based upon the cover. When I started reading it I was hooked right away! Steampunk, magic, goblins, faeries & suspense! I couldn't wait to get to the end to see what happened. The book was also full of action & good characters. The setting takes place in London during a time when humans & faeries must live together but neither is happy about it. Just a really good story. Can't wait for book 2. ( )

Maybe I wasn't in the mood for steampunk fantasy, but this book was very unsatisfying for me. I found myself skimming quite a bit, and if it were not a mere 265 pages, I would have put this one down. In my opinion, the characters were not properly set up. This seemed to be the second book in a series, making me feel like I had started the book in the middle. I had no sympathy for the protagonist and no disdain for the antagonist.

I would have liked more of a day-to-day life description of the characters before they were thrust into action. While the preface was nice in that it described the faery world coming to England, I didn't get a good feel for the reason, the changes, or the new life with these creatures. What was so wrong with changelings? Was the author trying to make a commentary on a section of humanity in their story?

In the end, I was glad it was over, was completely unsatisfied in the finish, will not read more and cannot recommend. ( )