Spells

Author: Aprilynne Pike
Released: May 4/2010
Publisher: Harper Teen
# Pages: 359
Copy provided by: Library
Summary: Goodreads

Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the faerie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there, honing her skills as a Fall faerie. But her human family and friends are still in mortal danger--and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever. When it comes time to protect those she loves, will she depend on David, her human boyfriend, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable?

Ok, you can call me a dork or whatever else you would like, but I am officially in love with Tamani. Check these out:

"He was leaning against the front gate, a long black cloak hanging from his shoulders, his knee-length breeches tucked into tall, black boots." (p264)
"Tamani stood and offered her his hand. He had relinquished his cloak but still wore the black breeches and boots, paired with a loose white shirt with the string loosened in the front, accentuating his tanned chest. He looked like a hero out of a movie; Wesley from The Princess Bride or Edmond Dantes from The Count of Monte Cristo. Laurel smiled and took his hand."(p297)
" 'I can't just storm in and proclaim my intentions. I can't 'steal' you away. I just have to wait and hope that, someday, you'll ask,' Tamani said. 'And if I don't?' Laurel said, her voice barely above a whisper. 'Then I guess I'll be waiting forever.' "(front blurb)

I don't know about you, but my imagination was working overtime after reading those. (They just happen to be two of my favourite movies, what can I say?) If Twilight can have team Edward and team Jacob, this series can have team David and team Tamani - me, I'm Tamani all the way!

If you haven't already read the first in this four volume series, 'Wings', do yourself a favour and go and read it now. Then try this one. Without giving away too much of the story, Laurell is still trying to come to terms with her fairy side and goes to spend time in Avalon to learn some of her heritage. When she gets back, her Mum is less than friendly, and there are still nasties - read trolls - out in the world to be dealt with. There are some new characters introduced and Klea in particular raised a lot of questions in my mind - I look forward to her development in the next book. David is such a 'guy' in this book. You'll understand what I mean when you get to the bit about the guns. It was quite funny actually and I enjoyed it.

I grew up reading Andrew Lang's fairy books and I know I just aged myself terribly by admitting that, but it gave me a life-long love of all things fairy. Ms Pike has just added to that love. Her version of Avalon is well crafted and her four tiers of fairy society are really wonderful. If I'm honest, the only thing I didn't like about this book was the fact that it ended! I may just have to go out and buy my own copy of this one.