Cassie has never believed in magic. Whatever her ailing aunt claims, and whatever Cassie wants to believe, fairies aren’t real. The old storybook is just a storybook, and the whispering in the garden is just the wind.
Tae has spent all his life watching children grow up and stop believing in magic. Every companion he’s ever had, lost to the human world. All but one.
When Tae and Cassie’s worlds collide, both are instantly enchanted. Swept away to the magic of the faery world, Cassie thinks she’s living a dream. But with the kingdom on the edge of disaster and the shadow of her aunt’s illness hanging over her family, what begins as a fairytale quickly becomes complicated.
Maybe deadly.
Because someone is taking fae in the dead of night, and Cassie and Tae find themselves wrapped up at the center of it all with no idea which way to turn. Beneath every dazzling faery light of Arcatraissa is a shadow, and everybody, human and fae, has a secret to keep.
Magic is a dangerous thing to dabble in, but old lies are infinitely more so.
4/5
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
You never have to look too far to find a faery book these days, but finding unique, well written ones can be a little more tricky. However, you don’t need to look any further than Arcatraissa if you’re looking for one of the good ones.
This book is a super fun adventure in both our world and the faery one that is almost impossible to put down and more addictive than a book probably should be. It’s so easy to get invested in this story and to fall in love with the characters, and you find yourself rather disappointed that it’s done when you hit the last page, despite the wonderfully satisfying ending.
The Good Points of Arcatraissa:
The world building is so cool throughout this book! The author keeps it fairy simple (it’s not that long of a book, after all), but it works beautifully. It’s just enough detail that you feel like you’ve got a good sense of the world, but it never gets in the way of the story.
The characters are great as well. It’s another area where there’s just enough detail that you feel like you know them well, and they are unique enough to stand apart, but it doesn’t get in the way of telling the story. Though I honestly could have used a bit more of each of them.
I loved how the faeries and the faery world was handled in this story. It could so easily have been an overdone cliché, but Sheridan makes it feel less cheesy and overdone, and more awesome.
The pacing and story telling throughout the story was brilliantly done. It was so hard to put this book down, because you just wanted to know what was going to happen next.
The Downsides of Arcatraissa:
I actually would have liked a little more from this book. I wanted more history and more development and more everything. The story was great, but a little more would have just made it better.
A little more differentiation between the points of view would have been nice. It was pretty easy to figure out who was the focus, but a more definitive break would have helped make the transitions easier.
There were a few things that just popped up when they were convenient and seemed a little out of nowhere. It all worked well, but it did throw me off at a couple of points, when someone was introduced to help save the day but hadn’t been important up until that point.
All in all, this book was so much fun and definitely one worth picking up. It’s a great story for younger YA readers, but also for anyone who enjoys fun, faery stories, great characters, and well done world building.
Find Arcatraissa on Book Depository
Songs Wrote My Story 