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Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Aleks Mickelsen and the Twice-Lost Fairy Well (Zaria Fierce #4) by Keira Gillett

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Author: Keira Gillett 
Format: eBook 
Publisher: Keira Gillett 
Number of Pages: 260 
Date Published:  July 7th, 2017

Source:  In exchange for an honest review, an ebook was provided by the author for free. 


I really enjoyed reading the first three books in Gillett's Zaria Fierce series and was excited to see that the adventures weren't over for Zaria and her friends Geirr, Filip, Aleks, and Christoffer.  Although this fourth book features Aleks in the title, The Twice Lost Fairy Well still includes all of the children I've come to know and love adventuring across the Norwegian countryside once again. There's just something so comforting about returning to Zaria and the gang, while also learning more about Aleks story. 

Aleks Mickelsen is a changeling who would rather be an average teenage human boy then have anything to do with his fey heritage.   After the gang's last adventures, he'd be happy if he never saw a troll or dragon again.  If Aleks gets his wish, he will completely become a human on his sixteenth birthday and leave his fey abilities behind forever, including his pointy ears and the ability of never getting lost.   Yet, when mysterious accidents begin to occur to Aleks and his friends, they become suspicious that someone or something may be targeting them. Then Aleks sister Nori shows up, after having escaped from Niflheim, and tells them how there is a third dragon, Fritjof on the loose and he's the one who's been behind all of their troubles.  At first, the gang doesn't believe her, but slowly recognize signs that Fritjof is trying to escape from the Under Realm and he's one mean dragon bent on wreaking chaos.   

Gillett's books always include plenty of action and I love the adventures that the gang has across Norway as they try to prevent Fritjof's escape.  Fritjof appears to be an excellent foe for the gang, having the power to make people doubt his very existence, even interfering with Aleks abilities.  There's plenty of instances of their getting lost and separated, as well as tough situations like being captured and jailed by trolls.  Throughout, these friends have come to depend on one another, with each bringing their own set of skills to the mix.  I've really come to enjoy the bond that they share and the more of Gillett's books that I read, the more I feel like I'm beginning to understand the uniqueness of each of the magical kingdoms they travel through, as well as the Norwegian folklore these stories are based on.   Aside from the adventuring,  I really love the illustrations by Eoghan Kerrigan which are beautifully detailed bringing the characters and story to life.  He draws some of the best dragons and trolls that I've seen,  but this time around I particularly liked his banshees and bears, o.k. so basically all of the illustrations from the series. While not everything is resolved by the end of The Twice Lost Fairy Well,  I'm very curious about what the future has in store for Aleks.  He's kinda on a time clock to get his wish for becoming a human, but as he loses his magical ability of never getting lost, he begins to realize that also means that he might not be able to help them on this quest.  And maybe being a fey isn't as terrible as he once thought.  Interesting things to contemplate as I await the next book of the series.  

2 comments:

  1. Glad the series continues to be so good. Sounds like one that I will really enjoy whenever I get to it. I like mythology and am curious about the worlds and characters in this series (thanks to your reviews). Thanks for sharing. :)
    ~Jess

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