Reviewed by Cindy

TITLE: The Faery Reel

AUTHOR: Arielle Pierce

PUBLISHER: Self-pub

LENGTH: 64 Pages

BLURB: Faeries don’t exist, right?

That’s what Osian tells himself. So what if the stranger in the pub, the one that glows in the darkened room, has a beauty that is otherworldly. And that the man is watching him with eyes that promise trouble. So what if the music that drifts across the moor sounds like nothing he’s ever heard. So what if it’s the night of the summer solstice, the night when the veil between the human world and the faery world is whisper thin.

Osian is not a believer. Not until he is kidnapped by Conall to the world of the fey. In the Otherworld, Osian is offered something he’s never had: the love of another man. But this love comes at the cruelest price. For in order to stay with Conall, Osian must give up his home, his friends, and his family.

But there is a way out–if he chooses. It involves letting himself go, allowing himself to trust Conall, and finding the true meaning of his name.

Can Osian trust Conall enough to risk it all? It’s a dangerous game he plays, but the prize–love–may be worth the risk of losing it all.

REVIEW:

When we meet Osian at the beginning of this story, he’s kind of a cranky man who is unhappy with his life. His music means everything to him and he tends to look down on those who don’t have the same view as he does.

This story is short but the author does a pretty good job of creating a world for his characters to live in. The Faery lore is interesting and I loved the introduction of Conall. Ireland is on the top of my bucket list so I appreciate the setting and had no troubles hearing the characters in their accents.

Unfortunately, I think the story needed more time to grow. I had a hard time connecting with Osian as most of the time he wasn’t very likable. Conall’s arrogance worked because it meshed with his “otherworldly” character, but Osian just seemed grumpy.

Some of the connections that the writer was trying to create with the music were hard for me to understand, I think mostly because of my lack of knowledge on the subject. I think this story probably made a lot more sense to someone from Ireland in general and someone with a musical background more specifically.

The ending is really good though. I liked how Osian finally came to the understanding about himself and the little bit of role-reversal between him and Conall made me smile. The conversations between them were intriguing and real and were the best part of the story.

So, all in all, it was a good concept, had good writing technically (yes, I do think that’s important) and the writer did a great job of injecting the flavor of Ireland into the story. I think it just needed more time to build anticipation and to let us fall in love with the characters.

Rating:

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