This book was just too strange. I have always wanted to travel to Iceland, so a few months back I researched "books that take place in Iceland," and this was one that came up. It sounded intriguing enough, but after only 2 chapters I couldn't want to just be done reading this book. The one good thing about the book was how short it is, so it didn't take very ling to get through it. The content and story line was pretty bad though. It seemed like the author wanted to incorporate Icelandic mythology into an adventurous kind of novel, but in this case she failed. There was too much fantasy and paranormal to even be considered a good book. Too much focus on the visions and voices Haley hears throughout the book, and what was with her male companion turning into a freaking polar bear? I'm giving this book 2 stars because it was pretty bad...

Release Date: May 28th, 2013 from Random House Books for Young Readers

Series: Conclusion to Bones of Faerie Trilogy

Summary from cover: 

"After a devastating war between humanity and Faerie, Liza's world has forever changed. Plants and trees became aggressive, seeking to root in living flesh and bone, and newborn children were discovered to have magical powers. Liza was one of these children, and with her abilities she brought her mother back from the ruined Faerie realm and restored the seasons to her own. 

Now there are signs of a new sickness in the forest. Piles of ash are found where living creatures once stood. Liza investigates and discovers that the Faerie realm has continued to deteriorate, slowly turning to dust, and that its fate is inexorably lined to that of the human realm. To find a solution, Liza must risk crossing over, putting herself and all she cares about at risk. Will Liza be forced to sacrifice her life and the lives of her friends in order to save both worlds?"

Sigh. I really tried to like this trilogy. Believe me. I did. After the first book, I decided to give the author another chance with Faerie Winter (not on this site for a review), and that disappointed me. Faerie After held the last string of hope I had for this great idea that Simner had going. Sadly, the whole trilogy did not live up to my expectations.

The characters weren't believable to me, and throughout the trilogy little information about the characters was scarcely presented. Each character had his or her own repetitive phrases, especially the main character who came off more annoying than independent and powerful. (Which I believe was Simner's expectation.)

As for the plot, Faerie After followed the same plot in the same format from the other two books. Something happens in the World, and Liza, Matthew, and Allie have to travel through the woods to find whatever will help stop the evil going on. After some time, it gets boring having to read about the same adventures that are just told in a different way. 

I found it hard to imagine Faerie and the World (like the forests, towns, etc) as well. There was some description, but I was left confused about the whole scenery and how everything looked. As for the description of the War itself and how it started, Faerie After did a relatively better job at shedding light on the subject than the other two books did, and I really appreciated that. 

All in all, the Bones of Faerie trilogy had an amazing starting idea with the post-apocalyptic aspect and the War between the two worlds. Unfortunately, the execution and the world building did not do the idea justice. However, I did like the uniqueness and the creativity that Simner brought to the table, but I feel that if she spent a little more time sorting out the information she wanted to include, this trilogy would have received a better rating.

Release Date: January 27th, 2009 from Random House Books for Young Readers

Summary from GoodReads: 

"The war between humanity and Faerie devastated both sides. Or so 15-year-old Liza has been told. Nothing has been seen or heard from Faerie since, and Liza's world bears the scars of its encounter with magic. Trees move with sinister intention, and the town Liza calls home is surrounded by a forest that threatens to harm all those who wander into it. Then Liza discovers she has the Faerie ability to see into the past, into the future, and she has no choice but to flee her town. Liza's quest will take her into Faerie and back again, and what she finds along the way may be the key to healing both worlds."

Whenever I hear that a book contains faeries, or something along the line of faeries, I instantly want to devour the story. Bones of Faerie, sadly, did not fuel my hunger. The overall idea of the book was intriguing to me in the beginning, and I decided to give it a chance to see how it all played out.

A war between Faerie and humans was interesting right off the bat. I have never encountered another author writing about the subject matter of a war between the two worlds before. Despite the uniqueness of the plot description, the overall book did not live up to the expectations I hoped it would.

There was not a lot of information about the war at all during the duration of the plot. The only information given was that the war left the World (the human realm) with plants and animals genetically mutated to search for the taste of human blood, and the war lasted around 20 years. That's it. I was left questioning the whole history aspect of the war throughout the entire book. 

The main character Liza, the overall pace, and the content left me feeling like I was treading through water to finish. Reading felt more like a chore than something I do for pleasure. The actions of the main character was annoying and she repeated herself often enough that I would skip over her lines if I noticed the pattern. As for the content, it seemed that the author was biting off more than she could chew in this case. Different elements would be thrown into the story line and instead of feeling shocked about the development, I felt confused and wondering how those elements tied into the specific scenes they were presented in. 

Overall, I was highly disappointed with this book. The overall idea of the plot and the characters was intriguing, but the way that information was presented led the whole thing to go downhill. I had high hopes for this, but I will still give Simner a chance and read Faerie Winter.