Alice in Wonderland x Lord of the Rings x Coraline

If you like all of those three books/movies in a middle grade/YA novel then this book is just for you!
I think my favorite part about this book was the changeling concept. I always love the doppelgänger concept in SFF novels, it’s eerie, and pretty scary in the sense that there was one character who didn’t know. The middle part was a bit slow for me but the beginning and ending had a lot of stuff going on! Great stakes concept too. It goes over classism and racism in an age-appropriate way for kids, but the author themselves said that they’re also marketing it as YA, which I can see because of the changeling/doppelgänger/energy-sucking character.

Overall, I liked it and I’m looking forward in reading the next one to see how much the characters (or new characters) has another layer to their character.

Thank you Inkshares and Netgalley for providing me an eARC of Fae Child in exchange for an honest review.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Firstly, I had assumed from the cover of the book that it would be a graphic novel, so imagine my surprise when I found prose inside instead! Still, in whichever format, its premise is interesting – a girl, Abby, is pulled into Faerie the Otherworld, and she tries to find a way back, while a changeling has taken her place in her family. The difference in this story, from other similar fae-themed ones is the dual PoV has Abby and her father both telling the stories from their respective sides. Abby was pulled by a Summer Elf through a portal and is looking to find a way to either of the Gates (which are heavily monitored by the respective Summer and Winter Queens BTW) so that she can return home. Along the way, she meets another human like her, Charles, and a wolf, Nadeine, who help her through her journey, while they are all chased by the wolves of the Summer Queen and other dangers like the harsh winter. Meanwhile, her father, Dan, who knows that the changeling is not his daughter, is seeking a way to get into the Otherworld to rescue her.

The adventure portion of the book is quite exciting, and the way the Otherworld is described, and how it incorporates various fairy legends and also Peter Pan makes for an interesting read. Abby is in a strange land, and being only 8, she is partly awed by the magic but mostly scared because of all the dangers. Add to that, there are the rules of this world, like binding Bargains, or tricky Wee Folk that she has to steer clear of, as well as who is trustworthy, especially when they say they know her father – all these are the challenges she face, while also awakening something in her. Dan, meanwhile, has to resort to some old allies and acquaintances to forge a way, and one path has him having to decide between saving his daughter or putting his wife in harm’s way. The dual perspective works well to fill in the blanks, though I feel this book doesn’t make it clear on what exactly led to the Bargain that shut out the human world from the Otherworld, and why there was a need for a sacrifice on part of the exiles. Also, the timeline can be a bit iffy. The ending brings more questions with it, and though it gives a satisfying conclusion to Abby’s story I am intrigued in what exactly happened over in Winter.

Sadly, I was disappointed in this one. I had high hopes because I loved the idea that the first book shows Abbie as an 8 year-old, the second book she'll be in her teens, and the third book she'll be a young adult. I was excited for a timeline like that so I was really hoping I'd like it. Unfortunately, it just didn't happen.

The writing felt a bit choppy to me. I didn't get enough detail on the politics of the fae world so I had trouble understanding why there was a rift between Summer and Winter. Also, I didn't really get why the Hunt was disbanded so I missed the dramatics with that showdown too. More time was spent on the travel from Point A to Point B and not about the world itself so it just wasn't as interesting as it could have been. I also didn't see enough of Abbie to actually care about the protagonist of the story.

I did like the stuff between the changeling and Fiona and I thought the life force stuff was interesting. However, that part seemed to dwindle down too.

Sigh. I really wanted to like this one. There just wasn't enough detail there for me to like.

I had mainly requested this because of how beautiful the cover was, i had been trying to reread all of Holly Black's Fae Novels and when i saw this as a suggestion. i knew i had to request it. I loved Abbie and really rooted for her throughout the story. the story itself reminded me of how whimsical the spiderwick chronicles is with the magic and the fae. I can't reccomend this enough.

3,5 stars

 I was drawn to the Fae Child on Netgalley by its stunning cover and that it is middle grade. Interesting to have a middle grade book deal with the Fae as the Fae are often portrayed as quite vicious. 

Fae Child is an adventure of wonder where Abbie learns more about herself and her father as the travels through the Otherworld. There is also the question as to who you can trust as a young girl in a new world. Not all adults are trustworthy as it turns out. Very true. 

The story is just a great one for the young readers to wade into the magical world of the Fae. I do think there could have been more explanation of the two queens and what exactly the hunt does. I know so I could fill that in for myself,  but I'd imagine that young readers can not. The world is also 'safe'. There is a constant threat but I never felt like there was every any threat to Abbie's life except on one occasion with the goblins. It feels like a sanitized version of the Otherworld which is fine for this specific story but I wonder how that will carry over into the next book after the ending of this one. 

Next to Abbie we also get the point of view of her father as we learn how he is attached to the Otherworld. While I was fine with his story line being added in I felt that we did get too many chapters on him in comparison to what happened to him. There could have been a little less of that. 

While I liked the story in itself I feel that the ending was rushed and down played. It wrapped up Abbie's immediate story but didn't give enough on the underlying story lines that were beginning to come together. It just felt very abrupt. 

Having said that, I would want to read the sequel and see how things play out.

When I started this book I expected to read a middle grade book about a girl trapped in the world of the Fae while she is being replaced by a changeling in her own world. What I didn't expect was a dual perspective, told from her pov and her father's.

I enjoyed both povs but sometimes I got a little bored by Abbie's. The Fae world lacked a bit of world building for me. I didn't fully understand how this world and it's magic worked other than it has two seasons; summer and winter. Names were dropped and it felt like I was supposed to know these people, when i wished they would be further explained.

This book is only about 200 pages long and most of the time it felt too rushed. I wish the author would have taken more time to introduce these characters and make them and their enviroments more flashed out.

The idea and overall story is good and interesting I just wish it would have been implemented a bit better.

Fae Child was a cute, magical middle grade portal fantasy. it follows an eight year old girl named Abbie, who gets pulled through a portal in a pond into the Faerie World, where she must journey from Summer to Winter to get home again. Along the way, she makes friends with all sorts of magical creatures like elves, werewolves, dryads, and other lost humans.
I liked this story and thought it had great potential. However, the pacing was strange. It felt extremely rushed at parts, especially at the beginning and the end. I wished that we got to know Abbie and her personality and life before she went through the portal at the beginning - I feel that it would have given her more of a personality. Throughout most of the book, she felt like a very generic eight-year-old, although she was supposed to be a nature-loving wild child, this part of her personality was only told to us, and not shown. Some of the relationships and characterizations did not feel fully realized, although I hope that will be helped by the next book in the series.
All in all, I thought this book was very promising, I just wish the plot and characters were fleshed out more.

So! This book was... interesting, to say the least.

Our main protagonist is Abbie, an 8 year old girl that accidentally stumbles into the world of fae when a young elf-in-training opens a portal between the worlds. Unfortunately, human children are quickly enslaved to the fae queens upon discovery. As a result, she must get back to her own world as soon as possible, which proves to be difficult considering the portal is unable to be created once more. Consequently, this means a long journey through dangers to get to the only other portal: a portal deep in the heart of Winter.

But her disappearance has not gone by unnoticed. When Abbie is sucked into the fae world, a changeling remains to take her place in the human world. The changeling's odd attitude quickly makes Dan, Abbie's father, realize what really happened, and he will stop at nothing to get his daughter back.

It was a nice book, truly! It actually reminded me a lot of the Chronicles of Narnia series by CS Lewis with the exception of the adult perspective. Upon reading the book, I could see why it was necessary to have Dan's perspective as well, though I felt that it rather diminished the quaint charm the book had. I preferred Abbie's perspective and don't think that Dan's perspective might continue too much in the future. Still, even if it does, it wouldn't stop me from picking up the next book in the series! Thank you to Netgalley for providing the ARC! I look forward to the next book!

3/5 stars

** I was provided an E-ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review""

A very middle of the road book. I am putting this on the lower end of three stars. I wanted to love this but it just didn't do it for me. I wasn't a major fan of the writing, and there were times where things felt very abrupt that I felt i had missed something. That being said I still thought it was a very interesting magical world and would recommend at least giving it a try because I definitely see potential.

I'd like to give thanks to the publishers of this book for providing me with an eArc of this book.

Unfortunately I had to dnf it at just over 30%. It was much more of an early reader book than Teen/YA as it was advertised as.

The characters seemed cute but the writing style was too simplistic for my liking and the story couldn't keep me focused for long.


I usually love reading books for middle grade and such but I think the fact that I was expecting it to be teen/YA I was thrown off by how drastically off it was in terms of age range.

**Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free e-book in exchange for an honest review**
DNF at 30%
This book is marketed wrong. It's a great story with fun characters and kids would love it, but it is in no way YA. I understand why they pitch it like that, but I thought it would at least be written in a more mature manner.
The story was great, just not for me. If you have a child of middle-grade age who likes fairy stories, they'll love this book.

DNF at 35%. This book just did not work for me. It is described as YA but read like an early reader book. It was written in an incredibly simplistic style that lacked both flourish and pertinent descriptive detail. I was not able to immerse myself at all. It is an interesting concept, but I think this needs to go through a few more rounds of drafts to flesh it out.

I enjoyed this book. It is a very nice Fantasy Book with a cute child protagonist. I read somewhere that this should be the first book out of a Trilogy which sure works there are several questions still open in the end. And the characters and world still have much to tell and show. But I have to admit that I do like that it could also be a very nice stand alone.

What I liked:
I like child actual child protagonists because it changes how a story is told. I like the innocence that comes with it. I was happy that there wasn't any odd child romance. I really liked to have some chapters from the side of her Father. It nicely showed what was going on in his world while Abby was gone. Also how in the end those story lines again intertwine.

What I didn't like / Would have wished for:
I am not a huge fan of the writing style I just prefer narration from one person only or if it's clear cut form whom perspective the story is told. However I have to say even though I prefer clear cut narration I never had a problem to understand who was thinking what. I didn't like that there was no character I could fully relate to. I understood all characters and did like them, however I just couldn't connect with any of them. I not really sure how to help this, maybe it would already help with getting a bit more into how the characters are feeling and what they are thinking.

My rating system:
5 Stars: If I couldn't put a book down and highly enjoyed it. In addition, if it made me think and reflect it's a huge plus.
4 Stars: I very much liked it it gave me feels, and I would definitely reread. However enjoyed it a
little less then a 5 Star book.
3 Stars: It was a nice read I liked it but it doesn't make me feel as invested/ involved as a 4 star book.
2 Stars: It was alright but maybe not my cup of tea.
1 Star: I must have hated it.

Fae, magic, and mystery.

Rating: 4/5

I sat down to read this book, aiming to get a couple of chapters in after work, and ended up finishing the entire thing in one night. Fae Child was a delight to read from start to finish - and included a cast of characters that I couldn't get enough of. Reading the book brought me back to my own childhood, and to the stories of fae and other magical creatures that shaped it. Nostalgia aside, Meissner's take on fae lore was refreshing and fun. From her elves to her dragons, Meissner adds fresh mythical elements to beloved fantasy and provides a well rounded story.

My biggest complaint is that I enjoyed Wodan's chapters MUCH more than Abbie's. I think the biggest reason for that is that, at times, Abbie didn't come off as an eight-year-old girl; rather, she comes off as an adult trying to act about eight (which, admittedly, can be very hard to avoid when writing younger characters). I found Wodan to be complete, interesting, and definitely worthy of his own saga. My hope is that, as Abbie grows through the triology, she can find the same completeness as her father.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

4 Stars

I was really questioning how this could be a YA with such a young main character, but the world building is pretty dense for a kids book, so I can see how this would be categorized as a young adult simply for that reason. That being said, I absolutely loved this book!
Abbie is an eight year old girl who grew up with two loving parents. One day she finds herself by a mysterious lake, staring at the reflection of a boy she has never seen before. She reaches out to him, and is pulled into the Otherworld, where the Seasons of Summer and Winter live divided. Abbie is in awe of this new world but is eager to go home, and enlists Foster- the elf boy who pulled her through the Gate- to help her get home. Abbie makes the acquaintance of several other magical beings in the Otherworld and together they venture to the Winter Season, where there just might be a gate for Abbie to get home. Of course, things are complicated along the way. Abbie is not really supposed to be in the Otherworld, and if one of the Queens were to discover her, she might never get home.
When Abbie is pulled through the gate, she leaves a changeling in her place. It looks, sounds, and acts like Abbie- but it is not Abbie. Wodan, Abbie's father and former leader of the Wild Hunt, knows this and begins a frantic search for his daughter, all while trying to keep his human wife from discovering the truth about him and the Otherworld, and Abbie.
Fae Child is adventurous, fun, and whimsical. If you are a child at heart like I am, you will definitely love this! The characters are easily lovable, my personal favorites being Foster, Wodan, and Gwyn. I'm excited to see where this series goes! I'm wondering if we will see Abbie grow into her powers more in the next book?

This adorable fantasy centers around Abbie, a charming eight-year-old little girl who one day is yanked into the Otherworld by way of a forest pool and an innocently guilty young elf -- who might have, maybe, accidentally performed the magic that transported Abbie into the land of faeries. Abbie, with the help of the summer elf, Foster, and a few other magical friends that pop up along the way, must find her way to a portal that will take her back to her own world -- and back to her family.

Back in the land of humans, Abbie’s father, Dan, knows the little girl who comes home from a walk in the forest isn’t his daughter; it’s a faery changeling, one that will either grow stronger feeding off the energy of humans, or fade away before it can open a gate to the Otherworld where the real Abbie lies. Dan has to keep the stranger wearing his daughter’s face appeased until he can get his little girl back home.

This book was so cute! A younger take on fantasy that offers a dual perspective of child and parent and is appropriate for middle grade/YA audiences. Original and engaging, if a bit fast paced and easily wrapped up. A very quick read that I wouldn’t have minded spending more time with for more depth and worldbuilding. But I am very curious to see what happens next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book took me a while to pick up and read, not because it was long or because it sounded boring or anything, but because when I read the first chapter of this book, I felt as if the hook just wasn't there. Other than my issue with the hook, I thought that overall the book was well written, and is a good idea, and had a good plot. But, sadly, the missing hook took away from the beginning of the story a bit. Overall, this was a well done, beautiful book, and I would recommend it to people who enjoy fantasy books and people who love reading portal centered fiction.

This book was the perfect mix of many of the things that I really enjoy in books: portal fantasies, fae, elemental magic, seasonal fae, and many other fantastical elements. It reminded me of other books similar in nature, especially the Wings series by Aprilynne Pike.

I enjoyed the overall story a lot and liked following both Abbie and her father Dan as we found out more about the Fae world. Especially, the differences between the courts of Summer and Winter. I would be interested in getting even more from the world. Dan's chapters were great in the normal world and I kept wanting to know even more about his backstory than what we were getting.

I will say that I would not classify this as a young adult novel. It was more of a middle-grade novel, but I guess that the author plans on following Abbie as she grows up throughout the series. I definitely would be interested in picking up the rest of the series because I want to know what happens next.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and am intrigued to see more of this world.

*Thank you to Netgalley, Jane- Holly Meissner, and Inkshares for my ARC of the book. All opinions are my own.*

Fae Child tells the story of a young 8 year old girl, Abbie, who is brought into the Otherworld by a summer elf, Foster, a guardian of the forest (in training). So it’s no wonder that Foster frets for the fact that he 1. was able to open the gate all by himself and 2. doesn’t know how to open it back up again and nor does he want to, because the gates are heavily watched by the queen. Which means they have get going if they don’t want to be eaten by her wolves. Meanwhile, a changeling has appeared in Abbie’s World to take her place. They are creatures of almost pure magic and needs nourishment in order to thrive. Dan, Abbie’s father, recognizes what it is right away and reaches out to connections he thought he’d never need. While Dan worries for his child, Abbie seems to have formed and unlikely friendship with unlikely people as they travel through the forests of Summer and Winter in a desperate attempt to get her home.

A truly magical read of fairies, werewolves, elves, and dragons. The story has two POV’s and jumps back and forth from Abbie and Dan. The characters are whole and form a warm liking to Abbie, even though they’ve never met before. I feel the author jumped right into the story which was a little too quick for me. As soon as we started the first chapter, Abbie was in the otherworld. Another thing I didn’t like was the ending at first but which I’m okay with for now, because there is a book after this. For anyone confused as to why this book is a YA novel and not middle grade, this is the first book in the Fae Trilogy, so therefore, we will see Abbie over the years. I look forward to the next two books in the series ❤️❤️.

Publishing Date: Dec. 15, 2020

Thank you @netgalley and @inkshares for a copy of this arc.

This was such a cute, magical book! I‘d definitely say that it gives me more Middle-Grade vibes than YA, but I‘m always excited to see sweet, exciting MG books coming out.

I‘m honestly just a little too old for this one - it didn’t feel very exciting, albeit being incredibly magical. I don’t think I’ll be picking up the sequel, but it’s definitely not a bad book - just not necessarily for me.