Fires & Fairies

Enlightened Series

By: Kristin D. Van Risseghem

Narrated by: Rachel Jacobs

Length: 4 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Forbidden love. Agony. Heartbreak.

Sidelle never wanted to be a fairy princess. Sick of living as a royal, Sidelle longs for something more to satisfy her craving for adventure and her desire to see the world. Then a prisoner is thrown into the cells of the Summer Court’s castle.

Finnegan is a Winter Fairy, a sworn enemy of Sidelle’s people. Yet opposites attract, and Sidelle can’t resist the challenge of cracking Finn’s cold exterior. Her attempts to break Finn’s walls ends up getting her into a situation that goes from bad to worse; the more she speaks with Finn, the more Sidelle finds herself falling in love.

A forbidden romance develops between her and Finn, and their friendship turns into a love story between sun and snow that’s as star crossed as it is passionate

Then tragedy strikes, and Finn’s life is at stake. To save him, Sidelle has to make a life-changing sacrifice, one she will eternally regret and that will change her forevermore.

The second novella in the Enlighten series, Fires & Fairies is a young adult urban fantasy short featuring fae royals, a secret romance, and a strong heroine. Readers of all ages will take a journey through this emotional fantasy tale that’s packed with action and adventure by USA Today best-selling author Kristin D. Van Risseghem.

This title used to be called: The Masquerade, an Altar, & a Fairy

©2017 Kristin D. Van Risseghem (P)2017 Kristin D. Van Risseghem

Not what I was expecting

From reading the description, I thought this would be a novella-length love story. This novella was really split into two parts. The first part was a short love story that glosses over details and ends abruptly. I understand romance ends abruptly in real life, but again, not what I was expecting. Since half of the novella was left, I spent the rest of the time expecting her love interest to pop back into her life. The second part skips around about the immortal fairy's adventures in the mortal world. The characters are likable and the individual scenes aren't bad. However, everything just seemed a bit disjointed and it skips over big chunks of time. Maybe if I had read the other books in the series, it may be different. It may be a nice supplemental novella where you learn more about the background of some characters as other reviewers seemed to really love it.

As for the narrator, she does a good job and her voice was pleasant to listen to.

indifferent

when I asked for an ARC I didn't realize this was book 4 at the time so maybe that is why it didn't hold my interest to much. I need to go back and listen and/or read the first three books.

Heart break and a life mission

I enjoyed the start of Sidelle's budding romance with Finn, more so because they came from different places and had the odds stacked against them. It ended, then Sidelle ends up on a mission from the angels on Earth. I had to mentally switch gears for a different story. I liked the first half of the story better.

good story, likable chatacters

I enjoyed the story. The first part of the story that happened in the fairy realm seems like one story while the second part, in the human realm, seems like another.

Awesome

Im really glad I got to listen to this next book in this awesome series. and the new narrator is really enjoyable to listen to

Great starter story.

I was so excited to read this book. I had always wanted to learn the back story of Sidelle and the other characters I met in this series and with this book we learn all that brought her to the human world from the fairy realm. We go along with her through falling in love and having her heart broken. We follow her through the centuries in the human world. Along the way we get to know some of the other characters featured in the series. We meet werewolves and angels and follow along as Sidelle learns to battle demons and protect the 'ordinary' humans.
I really enjoyed listening to the book come alive through the wonderful narrative! Good story.

Loved it!! Must listen.

This is a fun take on faeries!!
Oh how I love Sidelle!! I very much enjoyed the world building that the author did for this book. I learned learning about the Fae in this world. Sidelle is just awesome and I was able to connect with her. She’s no ordinary Fae. I highly recommend this series.

I listened to the audiobook and it was fantastic. I enjoyed getting lost in this world. The narrator does a great job portraying all the characters.

Fires and Fairies

The first half of this book is dedicated to Sidelle a summer fairy and her budding friendship with Finnegan a winter fairy. The two form a strong connection even thought they are from opposite realms and considered enemies. Their bond is strong, and emotions become involved but when it is tested it seems to break. After what she sees as a painful betrayal Sidelle makes a hard choice and leaves the fairy world on a special mission from the Angels. The second half of this books gives listeners a few glimpses into the lives that Sidelle lives and her adventures while on her mission.

This book starts off with some interesting ideas but soon lost its steam for me. The interactions between Sidelle and Finnegan were a good start but need more development and plot. Once the story of these two seems to end it is like we are in another story. The last half of the book jumps years and ideas as it tells Sidelle’s story. It seems as if the first half of the book was a build up to nothing. It shows the journey Sidelle goes on, but the characters felt one dimensional for me and I would have liked seeing them more fleshed out. The author takes many different myths and throws them together in this world from fairies to demons and many more in between. I found myself wanting more from this world and its characters and it was hard to get lost in the story. I found it and the characters lacking any true depth..
Narrator Rachel Jacobs keeps the story flowing at a good pace and speaks clearly to keep the listener engaged with the story.