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Next: Shadowspell
It’s all she’s ever wanted to be, but it couldn’t be further from her grasp…
Dana Hathaway doesn’t know it yet, but she’s in big trouble. When her alcoholic mom shows up at her voice recital drunk, again, Dana decides she’s had enough and runs away to find her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the captivating, magical world of Faerie intersect. But from the moment Dana sets foot in Avalon, everything goes wrong, for it turns out she isn't just an ordinary teenage girl—she's a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds, and the only person who can bring magic into the human world and technology into Faerie.
Soon, Dana finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat game of Fae politics. Someone's trying to kill her, and everyone seems to want something from her, from her newfound friends and family to Ethan, the hot Fae guy Dana figures she’ll never have a chance with… until she does. Caught between two worlds, Dana isn’t sure where she’ll ever fit in and who can be trusted, not to mention if her world will ever be normal again…
I liked this start to Jenna's ongoing Faeriewalker series. And only liked. Some aspects I enjoyed more than others. Like, the world-building. Which. Was. Amazing. A magic place like Avalon integrated in our world and history is a recipe for awesome. But that's where my engrossment really ended. I was more or less entertained by everything else.
Dana, Dana, Dana. I'm not sure I like you. On the one hand, Dana's a genuine teen, and behaves and reacts as such throughout the book. But, on the other hand, she simultaneously managed to annoy me. It was a very confusing relationship. I'd find myself liking her one minute, then my opinion of her rebounded to my initial dislike. Like an on-off switch being flicked back and forth repeatedly, I contracted a minor case of mental whip-lash. So, my assessment of the heroine is tumultuous as of now - maybe after my second dosage of this series my feelings will solidify. But, WORSE, the other characters were no better. They didn't really DO anything for me. Ethan, hot unvirginal Fae playah-dude with arrogance written all over him, so not my type. His sister: not much better. I get that Kim has an issue with making friends and opening up, and that she's a really sweet girl underneath and all that, but I liked Bitchy Kim as opposed to Teary & Sentimental Kim. Then Dana's dad came off as overbearing and overprotective - and not in that adorable or irritating parental manner; to me it felt like he just needed to be in control at all times, that he was used to having his way. Or maybe I'm not looking deep enough...?
Keane and Finn were probably the only characters I ended up actually liking. I'm a sucker for the guy with a prickly exterior and more-than-probably mushy interior (though readers have yet to be privy to it). I like it when the guy is interested but doesn't want to let the girl know yet, most likely because he's terrified of her and his feelings. (Or maybe I'm reading TOO much into things, now.) And that would be Keane in a nut-shell. The 'love triangle' is essentially complete with Keane. (Have I mention how much I despise love triangles these days? Really, not a big fan.) In my mind, there's really no competition. Finn, Keane's dad, while stone-faced and basically silent for lengthy periods in the book, struck me with his coolness. What's not to like about a kick-ass Knight of Faerie after all? I'm, like, dying to see him in SERIOUS action.
And that was the whole issue with Glimmerglass, for me. It felt like a tease. Barely any action. And at times there seemed to be no direction. I often found myself wondering where this book was taking me? Me, I'm the type to side-step the lettuce and other assorted greens to get to the meat. The substance. What's really going to keep me sated in the long-run. And that didn't happen here. Instead, Dana was being kidnapped left and right via tedious skirmishes of the minimal sort (as in total non-stop nonaction). I'll be reading one scene where Dana's off making out with Ethan and being confused in her feelings for him and in the next Spriggans will be closing in to try and kill... WHO? Who was the real target in any of these seemingly life or death-ish situations? Dana seemed to be the object of everyone's interest, but then so many plot elements were thrust into the story enough times so that I lost my way.
Circling back to the world-building, a redeeming aspect, the inclusion of Avalon and the elusive Faerie was fantastic to read about! I loved observing and dissecting the differences between our world and the Fae locations.The magic seemed pretty neat, too. (Although, I'm a little upset at the fact that Dana barely even scratched that surface. Yup, no real magical surges here - I kept waiting for something big to happen in that regard only to be disappointed.) But, then the villain-reveal knocked Glimmerglass down a couple notches in my book. The villain choice didn't do anything for me. I wanted to be shaking in my boots, a quivering mass of nerves. Instead, I had to work to suppress a hugely noticeable eye-roll. With the ending hardly making any difference at all, I'd say my conclusion was not this titanic, all-consuming love for the book. In fact, far from it. It was okay. I liked it. Maybe Shadowspell will make me fall in love...
If you're interested in Glimmerglass, you might also want to read:
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| Click HERE to go to its Goodreads page. Click HERE to go to my review. |
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