This is book 3 of monster non-slaying goodness, with ecological and anti-poaching messages this time.
In the last book, Rowan imprisoned the drop bears in a witch's cabin, so this time they're on their way to free them before they starve to death.
Along the way, they encounter the witch, who is none too happy about the state of her cabin. They also discover the monsters are surging toward Rowan and Rhydd's kingdom in deadly droves. The kids have to figure out why. Of course, they're accompanied by adults -- a bodyguard, the adult monster slaying trainer, and more. But early on a wave of monsters separates them and Rhydd is sent back to the Queen for reinforcements, which don't show until the very end.
It's up to Rowan and what's left of the expedition to figure out what's causing the monster exodus out of the forest, which is oddly quiet. They're attacked by harpies and they discover a band of men have taken up in a small "village" of abandoned buildings in the forest, where they're hunkered down.
Rowan figures out what's causing the harpy attacks. The men are poachers and first trick her into separating the baby harpies from their parents, earning their wrath.
But even the poachers, while evil, aren't enough to spark the monster migration out of the forest. She gets ever closer to the truth, and discovers… Ha! Not going to tell you what she discovers, read it and find out for yourself. But it's my favorite fantasy creature of all time. 😉
And the poachers have them in their sights, as well.
So now it's up to Rowan to figure out how to save them from extinction.
The set up for the next book is divine, in that Rowan will have to travel to other lands and kingdoms dealing with the political fall out of this latest discovery for her mother, the Queen.
Looking forward to the sequel!
Enjoy.
This is a classic fairy tale retelling of the “changeling left in the crib by the fairies after they steal your baby” trope.
Mollie lets her guard down once with her beautiful baby brother, saying how handsome he is in the forest and taking off the necklace the healer woman made to protect him from the local mercurial fairies, who are known to be listening at all times and don’t like it when their own beauty is challenged by humans complimenting each other.
When she wakes, her brother is gone and in his place is a screaming, miserable “Guest,” a “changeling” although he doesn’t really change form, but who she nonetheless hates. She doesn’t dare say that aloud, lest the fairies hear her and treat her brother equally poorly.
Guest breastfeeds like a pig and is always crying, but his cries cut into Molly the most, because she knows she’s to blame for the sudden turn of events. Her mother is heartbroken and father leaves, refusing to live under the same roof as the obviously-not-his-son Guest.
Molly takes it upon herself to get her brother back. To do so, she takes Guest – who grows and matures much more quickly than a human baby would – into the forest to find his people. Molly’s forced to feed Guest solid food and soon Guest can walk on his own and speak. Molly’s lured from the forest trail several times, deceived by several maleficent beings who try to warn her off her quest. Guest saves her, time and again, even after she meets a traveler who’s oddly kind to Guest and lends the two his help.
But time moves differently, faster, among the fair folk, and when Molly finally gets to her brother, she finds him a strapping young boy, no longer a babe. And the fairies didn’t choose him because they were jealous – they have a much more sinister objective in mind for their “Prince.”
I won’t spoil how it ends, just know, after all Molly goes through, she finds her heart is big enough to love both Guest and a now-spoiled brother.
Enjoy!
