Title: Of Fire and Ash (Fairy Queens #1.5)
Author: Amber Argyle
Publication Date: January 8th, 2015
My Winter Queen (Fairy Queens #1) Review
Synopsis: One promise can change everything.
The fairies must never know of Nelay’s sight, for the attention of such dark and terrible creatures brings more things dark and terrible.
But when Nelay's father is near death, the fairies are the only ones who can save him. All they require is a simple promise that she'll return the favor one day.
Sometimes promises are deadly.
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Review: I first stumbled across Amber Argyle a few years ago, when her book Witch Song was free on Amazon. I have eagerly devoured every single thing she has written that I could get my hands on since, and I'm always left wanting more! So you can imagine my excitement when I found out Amber was writing a short prequel novelette for the upcoming second book in her Fairy Queens series, Summer Queen.
Of Fire and Ash was pretty short - around 68 pages - but it was still jam-packed with all of the things that I love about Amber's books. There's a significant amount of world building without shoving it down your throat and there's q huge amount of background on Nelay, the main character in Summer Queen. I'm really glad that I got to learn more about how Nelay's journey toward becoming the powerful priestess that she is in Summer Queen began. I loved getting to know Nelay as a child, because I think that will help me (and other readers) understand her as the woman she becomes.
This novelette also sheds quite a bit of light on the fairies and what happens when they learn you can see them. Or what happens when you ask for their help. Everything comes at a price, and sometimes the price might be too steep... although it might be too late. After reading Winter Queen, I had so many questions about the fairies, and Of Fire and Ash definitely answered a couple of the more minor ones.
What Amber does best though, is give just enough of a story that I'm left wanting the next installment ASAP! I have to know what happens to Nelay next, and what will happen when the fairies call in their favor for saving her father. I want to know what she's like after she grows up, and I want to know if she's able to save her people. Of Fire and Ash was enough to get me back into this incredible world, and I cannot wait to read Summer Queen! A 5/5 for sure!
--Ashley
I'm so glad you enjoyed it so much! There's more fairies in Summer Queen, and some of them make me downright shiver. :)
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