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Reserved for the Cat (Elemental Masters Book 06) by Mercedes Lackey

Description: In 1910, in an alternate London, a penniless young dancer is visited by a cat who communicates with her mind to mind. Though she is certain she must be going mad, she is desperate enough to follow the cat’s advice and impersonates a famous Russian ballerina. The cat, it turns out, is actually an Elemental Earth Spirit, and leads her to minor stardom. Meanwhile, the real Russian ballerina has fallen victim to an evil troll who takes over her body and kills her patrons, drinking their life essences in order to strengthen his powers. And soon, the troll focuses his dark attentions on the young dancer… Buy From:

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This is the 6th book in the Elemental Masters series by Mercedes Lackey and this was the second time I reread the book. Lackey is one of my favorite authors and I really like this series. It takes the world of early 1900’s and injects a bit of fantasy into it so that magic is real in that world. This book follows the life of Ninette Dupond who is a young dancer without any prospects and is in danger of starving to death when she is rescued by a talking cat who was charged by her father, an elemental mage to protect her.

The cat (Thomas) brings her over to England and helps her get in touch with a group of Elemental mages who have a Music house they are trying to revive with a new sort of performance. The storyline is quite simple and Lackey shows her skill in bringing the world of music dancers and ballet to life. One part I didn’t like was that the book seems to break continuity from the other books in the series. For example, in one of the scenes Jonathon fumes about how there is no way to communicate with other masters where there is an emergency and how it was impossible to get masters to work together on any issue that didn’t have global implications. Which is something that is already established in the other books. It could be possible that this book is set in an earlier time period but the reference to the ‘Old Lion’ puts in the same time frame as the other books. Other than these small issues the book was a fun read and I can’t wait for the next book in the series to be released. Final recommendation: A must read book, not as good as the other books in the series but still fun.

The Tree Shepherd’s Daughter (Faire Folk Trilogy Book 01) by Gillian Summers

Description: When her mother dies, fifteen-year-old Keelie Heartwood is forced to leave her beloved California to live with her nomadic father at a renaissance festival in Colorado. After arriving, Keelie finds men in tights and women in trailer trash-tight bodices roaming half-drunk, calling each other lady and lord even after closing time! Play-acting the Dark Ages is an L.A. girl’s worst nightmare. Keelie has a plan to ditch this medieval geekland ASAP, but while she plots, strange things start happening-eerie, yet familiar. When Keelie starts seeing fairies and communicating with trees, she uncovers a secret that links her to a community of elves. As Keelie tries to come to grips with her elfin roots, disaster strikes, and Keelie’s identity isn’t the only thing that’s threatened. One part human determination and one part elfin magic, Keelie Heartwood is a witty new heroine in a world where fantasy and reality mix with extraordinary results. Buy From:

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The first book in the Faire Folk trilogy is a light hearted book to read. Aimed at the young adult it was fun reading a book that wasn’t all gloom and despair. The characters in the book were mostly well written though some of the supporting cast could have been expanded a bit more. A lot of books have been written about elves and some of them even show the elves as a part of the Renaissance fair but still the book managed to stand out on its own and didn’t sound like a copy of other works. I liked the way the lead character takes time to work through her fears and finally accepts that she has the ability to magic after a lot of thought. In too many books it seems like the hero/heroine is told that they are magical and they accept it immediately which is quite unrealistic.

Final recommendation: A must read. Going to see if I can find the other books in the series, hopefully they will be as good as this one.