Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: A Faerie Story
AUTHOR: Barbara Elsborg
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 334 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 1, 2019
BLURB:
Once upon a time,
the fate of three men was decided in a world where it was forever Christmas.
A faerie forced to flee his homeland
Kaegan lives in fear of his vicious twin brother. Tormented and abused, his only option is to escape to the one place he knows he’ll be safe: Inverkillen, a haven of magic, eternal Christmas where he has the chance to live the life he craves. But leaving Faerieland means taking a huge risk.
A man searching for a second chance
Aiden’s world is broken. Life is a dark and wretched place—until a chance encounter with Kaegan gives him hope for a brighter future. But fate has never been Aiden’s friend. No sooner has Kaegan come into his life, than he’s gone. Aiden is resigned to loneliness, but after he makes a startling discovery, he takes a decision that could be the biggest gamble of his life.
An anguished soul ready to end it all
Pascal is afraid to love. He’s determined not to risk his heart when he knows everything can be snatched away in a single moment. A fateful meeting leads to a night of enchantment and passion, leaving Pascal hungry to know more about the mysterious Kaegan. But when morning comes, Kaegan is gone, leaving Pascal to follow the one clue he has to the beautiful stranger’s whereabouts.
Three men in search of a second chance, deep in a snowy wilderness. Will Christmas cast its magic to give them the greatest gift of all: their Happy Ever After?
REVIEW:
Warning: Descriptions of violence, child and domestic abuse and suicidal ideation.
Aiden has had a VERY rough start in life. He’s an unwanted child with a disability who is abused by his mother. Pascal is a young man who experience a traumatic event as a child that has changed him forever. He has a difficult relationship with his family which he has just about irreparably damaged. Kaegan is a very powerful faerie – the 7th son of a 7th son of a 7th son. Unfortunately his twin brother, Herne, is an envious, devious, vindictive, violent, jealous child who would do anything to take down Kaegan.
When Kaegan meets Aiden and then Pascal separately while he’s in London trying to stay out of his brother’s way, things get interesting. And though it take some time, they all end up together in Inverkillen – the eternal Christmas village that Kaegan has created with his magic. Although skeptical at first, Aiden and Pascal realize that something beyond their imagination is taking place and they are indeed caught up in magic.
But there is a dark cloud over them – in the form of Kaegan’s vindictive brother who only wants to cause harm. Kaegan’s only hope is that he can get help from other family and that the kind and queen of the faeries will be so thrilled with his creation that they will give him what he desires. Pascal and Aiden only want Kaegan to be safe and for the three of them to be together, but as New Year’s approached things begin to look bleak.
I love faerie stories and Christmas stories, so this was a no-brainer for me. There is sooooo much going on in this story – which is told in first person POV from the three MCs. There isn’t any confusion about which character’s perspective, so I would encourage those who don’t necessarily love first person POV to reconsider. There are really three stories going on in the book though – and as such there is a LONG build-up to the three characters being together, as in roughly half the book. Inverkillen is amazing and the details of the story and village are fantastic. As the second half of the book moves along, the pacing worked much better for me. I loved and understood and empathized with all three men. They are each driven by trauma in their past and their reactions have been so completely different. But together they truly balance each other out. Aiden is the sweetest and most lovable character and he’s absolutely suffered the worst atrocities but he has a heart of gold and an amazing eternal optimism. Pascal has spent so much time and energy protecting himself he has shut out anyone who might love him. Kaegan just wants to be happy and he never will be at home, so he’s made his own happiness. Together they are perfect. There are a lot of twists and turns and surprises and I was happy with the ending for the MCs as well as for the villains of the piece. If you also find it slow going in the first half, I encourage you to finish the journey. It’s definitely worth it!
RATING: 
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