The Boy With the Hidden Name (Otherworld #2) by Skylar Dorset - Ashley's Pre-Reading

*I received this book as an eARC from Sourcebooks Fire on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: The Boy With the Hidden Name (Otherworld #2)
Author: Skylar Dorset
Publication Date: December 2, 2014

My The Girl Who Never Was Review
My The Girl Who Never Was Pre-Reading

Synopsis: This is not your average trip to Fairyland...

Selkie Stewart has just saved her quasi-boyfriend, Ben, from a fairy prison run by the Seelie Court. If they weren't the two most-wanted individuals in the Otherworld before, they definitely are now. Along with Ben and the rest of their ragtag group of allies-Selkie's ogre aunts; a wizard named Will; Ben's cousin Safford; and Kelsey, Selkie's best friend-Selkie is ready to embrace her destiny and bring the Court down.

Until she hears the rest of her prophecy: Benedict le Fay will betray you, and then he will die

Why?: I absolutely loved The Girl Who Never Was and after that ending, I knew I had to read The Boy With the Hidden Name ASAP! I have so many unanswered questions, especially about Ben (because wtf are you doing, Ben), and I have to know if Selkie and her friends succeed in their mission! Prophecies are tricky things, so you never know what will happen....

Expectations: After loving The Girl Who Never Was, I have pretty high expectations for this book. I expect this book to be fast-paced and full of action and romance, and a little bit of mystery. I except a lot of my questions to be answered, since I'm pretty sure this series isn't a trilogy. I expect to see old, familiar faces and meet some new people along the way. I'm so excited to jump into this book!

Judging a book by its cover: There are just so many things that I love about this cover! I love that it's exactly the same as the cover from The Girl Who Never Was, only upside down. Now it features Ben on top and Selkie upside down. I love the colors. I love the way the title looks. I want this book on my shelf ASAP!


--Ashley

The Girl Who Never Was (Otherworld #1) by Skylar Dorset - Ashley's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Sourcebooks FIRE on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: The Girl Who Never Was (Otherworld #1)
Author: Skylar Dorset
Publication Date: June 1, 2014

Synopsis: "Today is my birthday."

In Selkie's family, you don't celebrate birthdays. You don't talk about birthdays. And you never, ever reveal your birth date.

Until now.

The instant Selkie blurts out the truth to Ben in the middle of Boston Common, her whole world shatters.

Because her life has been nothing but a lie—an elaborate enchantment meant to conceal the truth: Selkie is a half-faerie princess.

And her mother wants her dead.

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Review: I had ridiculously high expectations for this book. Like, way unreasonably high. And honestly, The Girl Who Never Was delivered on all accounts, and then some! I absolutely adored this book, and when I finished it I was so glad that I had an early copy of The Boy With The Hidden Name so that I could pick it up immediately. 

This book does start off a little slow, but it makes sense and definitely picks up the pace pretty quickly. Selkie starts off as a pretty average girl living a pretty average life, so I was ok with the plot not really doing much of anything at first. It's a nice introduction to the characters before we get into the crazy stuff. And then once she tells Ben her birthday... everything changes and kept me on the edge of my seat! 

The world building in The Girl Who Never Was is done very well, and I enjoyed learning more about the faerie world as Selkie did. She's just as clueless as the reader, which was nice. Information dumps are often done in the form of conversation, so it didn't read slowly or anything. I found it interesting how certain parts of our world are more magical than others and how Skylar incorporated places with real faerie stories/hoaxes into the book. I think it made it more relatable to us regular people. 

I also thought that the romance was done very well. Sure, Ben measures time differently than Selkie and has probably been around much longer than she has, but they still work really well together and watching their friendship turn in to something more was fun and exciting. It's an important part of the book, but it isn't always front and center, and takes a backseat when there are other significant things going on. Selkie's feelings do influence her decisions, but they also tend to help get her out of sticky situations.

If you are looking for a really great fantasy book, look no further than The Girl Who Never Was! It has everything I look for in a great fantasy, and is written with excellent prose. Skylar has a way with words that makes them come alive and jump off of the page, and I can't wait to see what she has in store with the rest of this series! A 4/5! 


--Ashley

The Girl Who Never Was (Otherworld #1) by Skylar Dorset - Ashley's Pre-Reading

*I received this book as an eARC from Sourcebooks FIRE on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: The Girl Who Never Was (Otherworld #1)
Author: Skylar Dorset
Publication Date: June 1, 2014

Synopsis: "Today is my birthday."

In Selkie's family, you don't celebrate birthdays. You don't talk about birthdays. And you never, ever reveal your birth date.

Until now.

The instant Selkie blurts out the truth to Ben in the middle of Boston Common, her whole world shatters.

Because her life has been nothing but a lie—an elaborate enchantment meant to conceal the truth: Selkie is a half-faerie princess.

And her mother wants her dead.

Why?: I love a good fantasy book. This one has enchantments, faeries, half-faeries, probably other magical creatures, and it just sounds like something that's right up my alley. Oh, Selkie's mother wants her dead, so throw in some intense scenes and probably Selkie running for his life and trying to figure out WTF is actually going on. Yup. Count me in.

Expectations: This book sounds really epic, so I've got some pretty high expectations for it. I've never read anything by Skylar, so my high expectations are based solely on the synopsis. I also expect a lot of world-building and answers to questions, with even more questions coming up. I can't wait to start this book!

Judging a book by its cover: I actually really love this cover. I love how the boy is reaching through the puddle to hand the girl a rose, and how the title goes around parts of them and over other parts. I really like the colors too. I would definitely pick this book up off a shelf in a bookstore, and it's what initially drew me to the book in the first place.


--Ashley