#bookreview ~ Fairy Keeper (World of Aluvia #1) #YA @AmyBearce

Fairy Keeper

 (World of Aluvia #1)

By

Amy Bearce

Forget cute fairies in pretty dresses. In the world of Aluvia, most fairies are more like irritable, moody insects. Almost everyone in the world of Aluvia views the fairy keeper mark as a gift, but not fourteen-year-old Sierra. She hates being a fairy keeper, but the birthmark is right there on the back of her neck. It shows everyone she was born with the natural ability to communicate, attract, and even control the tiny fairies whose nectar is amazingly powerful. Fairy nectar can heal people, but it is also a key ingredient in synthesizing Flight, an illegal elixir that produces dreaminess, apathy and hallucinations. She’s forced to care for a whole hive of the bee-like beasties by her Flight-dealing, dark alchemist father.

Then one day, Sierra discovers the fairies of her hatch are mysteriously dead. The fairy queen is missing. Her father’s Flight operation is halted, and he plans to make up for the lost income by trading her little sister to be an elixir runner for another dark alchemist, a dangerous thug. Desperate to protect her sister, Sierra convinces her father she can retrieve the lost queen and get his operation up and running.

The problem? Sierra’s queen wasn’t the only queen to disappear. They’re all gone, every single one, and getting them back will be deadly dangerous.

Sierra journeys with her best friend and her worst enemy -- assigned by her father to dog her every step -- to find the missing queens. Along the way, they learn that more than just her sister’s life is at stake if they fail. There are secrets in the Skyclad Mountains where the last wild fairies were seen. The magic Sierra finds there has the power to transform their world, but only if she can first embrace her calling as a fairy keeper.

What did I think of the Book?

It is only when you lose someone that you realise just how much they meant to you in the first place.

No one asked Sierra if she wanted to be a Fairy Keeper, but nevertheless, that is what she is. She doesn't even like fairies all that much; they are vile things which bite and scratch and in worse cases sting. But they have their uses, for their nectar is powerful indeed, it is used for healing. However, that is not all that the nectar is used for, for there are those who harness the power of the nectar and change it into an illegal elixir that is as addictive as it is cruel. Only the lowest of criminals would profit from the nectar of fairies, unfortunately for Sierra, her father is such a man. But as long as her fairies keep producing the nectar then Sierra and her little sister are safe from her father's cruelty and always ready fist.

Then one-day disaster strikes, all the fairies are dead, apart from the Queen and she is missing. It is now a race against time to find out where Sierra's Queen is and bring her home, if she does not then her sister will be sold to Brentwood, a vile man, to settle her father's debt.

Page one caught my attention; by page two I was captivated. Fairy Keeper is a page-turning adventure of a read. I lost myself in this most amazing world that Bearce has created. It is like escaping to Narnia only so much better. The attention to detail brings Aluvia to life; it is so easy to visualise this fantastical, magical world. Bearce has created a truly stunning backdrop for the most amazing story.

I adored the characterisation of Sierra. She is an incredibly strong heroine who has an awful time of it. She has an abusive father, but she vows to keep her younger sister safe from his fierce temper. She struggles with her moments of failures, but she is willing to learn from them. When she starts this difficult journey to find her Fairy Queen, her thoughts are purely occupied with preventing her sister from being sold, by the end of the trip, she has learnt what being a Fairy Keeper means and atones for the things she has done wrong in the past. I could not help, but like Sierra, she is a real joy to read about.

The plot was so engaging and so fast-paced that time just flew by while I read this book. I am loving this series, and I can't wait to read book 2.

I Highly Recommend.

Links for Purchase

Amazon US

Amazon UK

  

About the author

Amy Bearce writes fantasy stories for tweens and teens. Her debut, FAIRY KEEPER, is an upper-middle grade fantasy and is the first book in the World of Aluvia series. MER-CHARMER (World of Aluvia, Book Two) released May 9, 2016. Book Three, Dragon Redeemer, is scheduled for release May 23, 2017. She is a former reading teacher who now has her Masters in Library Science. As an Army kid, she moved eight times before she was eighteen, so she feels especially fortunate to be married to her high school sweetheart. Together they’re raising two daughters and are currently living in Germany, though they'll be heading home to Texas this summer.