Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Fantastic Fairytales - Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog



Published: June 2009
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 248
Copy: From Library
Summary: Goodreads

A captivating and witty dark fantasy that will have girls lusting after it.


Morgan Sparks has always known that she and her boyfriend, Cam, are made for each other. But when Cam’s cousin Pip comes to stay with the family, Cam seems depressed. Finally Cam confesses to Morgan what’s going on: Cam is a fairy. The night he was born, fairies came down and switched him with a healthy human boy. Nobody expected Cam to live, and nobody expected his biological brother, heir to the fairy throne, to die. But both things happened, and now the fairies want Cam back to take his rightful place as Fairy King.
Even as Cam physically changes, becoming more miserable each day, he and Morgan pledge to fool the fairies and stay together forever. But by the time Cam has to decide once and for all what to do, Morgan’s no longer sure what’s best for everyone, or whether her and Cam’s love can weather an uncertain future.

First of all I have to say I'm not loving this cover.  Doesn't really tell me anything about what's going on at all.  But I'm very proud of myself, because I ignored it and started reading - and had lots of fun.  It just proves to me, that you really can't judge a book by its cover, although we (read I) often do.

Here we have Morgan - psychic extraordinaire and long time girlfriend of Cam.  She is witty, clever, thoughtful and all around nice girl.  Then we have Cam - quarterback and star of school team, studly (his own words) funny, thoughtful, long time boyfriend of Morgan.  Enter Pip - Cam's cousin, tall, geeky, goofy all around nice guy, but who is he really and where did he come from? What a wonderful twist on the old tale of changlings. Do we have the ubiquitous triangle going on here, well... kinda sorta maybe, but not quite, if you know what I mean!

What I really loved about this quick read was the fact that although the main character is Morgan, the problems are all Cam's.  What a wonderful idea to make the guy the fairy! His disintegration from stud to dud was so well done and the fact that Morgan is the only one who can actually see the physical changes was a masterstroke.  Lots of guessing going on as you read - will he, won't he, will they, won't they - and I loved the conclusion which both surprised me and didn't. Beautifully written with a twist of humour, this was a great read. Everything neatly wrapped up in one short book. No sequels.

So I was checking out Ms Balog's website and may'be I could get to like the cover a bit more, now that I've seen her other ones.  I know, I'm such a fickle person.  Hope you enjoy(ed) Fairy Tale as much as I did.

3 comments:

  1. I love the cover . it is so shimmery and the wings look like insect wings. ANd the story sounds really interesting. I love "fairy tales." I think b/c what we read as Faerie story is so different from the sanitized Disney Fae. So, do they ever say ewhat happened to the child they took or is that the one who dies?
    I will have to put this one on the TBRP.
    Fangs, Wands and Fairy Dust
    Twitter: @fangswandsfairy

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  2. That's the fun part Steph, you have to read it to find out. I'm sure you'll love it.

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  3. Great review. This book looks good. The cover is gorgeous.

    New follower from the blog hop.
    www.aflashlightreader.blogspot.com

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