Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
A Blog with Bite YA Feature
Book Synopsis: 17 year-old Kelly Winslow doesn’t believe in Faeries. Not unless they’re the kind that you find in a theatre, spouting Shakespeare—the kind that Kelley so desperately wishes she could be: onstage, under lights, with a pair of sparkly wings strapped to her shoulders. But as the understudy in a two-bit, hopelessly off-off-Broadway production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, wishing is probably the closest she’s going to get to becoming a Faerie Queen. At least, that’s what shethinks... In this fun, urban fantasy, Kelly's off-stage life suddenly becomes as complicated as one of Shakespeare’s plot twists when a nighttime trip to Central Park holds more than meets the mortal eye. (Goodreads)
Wondrous Strange was a love letter to all those who dream of dancing with pixies and meeting shimmering knights on horses. I loved, loved, loved it!!!!
We open our tale with flavor of A Midsummer’s Night Dream and Kelley Winslow, an aspiring actress living in New York City, practicing her lines in central park when she draws the attention of Sonny, a changeling and guard of the faerie realm. He is mysterious and intrigued by Kelley’s spark that drew him to her. That same fateful night she rescues a horse from a pond; the horse follows her home and proceeds to live in her bathtub. (The horse scenes were hilarious!) What she doesn't know is that the horse is a kelpie and Sonny is a part of the Unseelie King's elite guard, the Janus. Things get stranger as Kelley tries to figure out who Sonny is, and how she and the bathtub horse are involved.
Wondrous is told through the voices of Sonny and Kelley. Sonny fits the stereotype of a conflicted magical assassin perfectly; down to his unexplainable love of Kelley. Where things are predictable with them I loved that it wasn’t a pop out of nowhere romance. Kelley is a bit freaked out by Sonny and has normal stay away from me freak feelings. Reading through Kelley’s perspective was humorous as it was fun. I loved reading her come to terms with being a fairy, and at points the plot was a little to clean, to resolved for believability, but the charms of the characters made up for that immensely. The action scenes and magical world Livingston created were doused with detail and rich visuals that portrayed a fantastic view of the Fae world.
I found the writing to flow at a fast past and thought the humor, drama and magic worked together beautifully resulting in a big cloud of cotton candy.
Swearing is minimal and the biggest sex scene is kissing, this is a lovely tale for teens and adults alike. Id recommend this for 14 and up.
5/5 YA Fairy, romance
Blog with Bite 4/4
BWB Discussion Questions
1.Faeries seem to be very big in YA lit lately, how does Wondrous Strange compare to others in its genre such as Lament, Wicked Lovely, etc.? I think the world of the Fae was more believable and more fairyish (is that a word?) than the trendy stuff out right now, it was edgy without being extreme, ie like Tithe which took the darkness, trend and drugs way tooooooo far IMO for YA.
2. How did you view the relationship with Kelley and Sonny, was it a believable romance? I loved the romance....I think it started the right way....kelley was freaked out at first but then slowly fell for him, as slow as you can in a 200 something book.
3.Wondrous Strange was written in the typical fashion of paranormal literature, with the protagonist unaware of her supernatural abilities, meets boy who introduces her to the world... do you find these plot lines tiresome in their likeness, or do you believe there are always similarities within fiction and it is all about the deeper story? Im finding them a bit overdone.....but I did enjoy this story, I thought it was sweet.........
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Great review! I've been wanting to read this forever, but I'm trying not to buy so many books! haha :)
ReplyDeleteNice to see a good review! This is one I have on my wish list but haven't picked up yet. Might need to do that, well, after my tbr stack goes down a little.
ReplyDeleteLike most people I have to read this and already have added it on my tbr list. I mean it's all about faeries, that alone is great.
ReplyDeleteI just finished this book right as you posted it! So good, loved every part of it! Thanks for the great review!
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