Night of the Fae

Author: Lyneal Jenkins 
Genre: Supernatural
Type: Kindle e-book
Source: Directly from author
Series: 1st book in the Ana Martin series
Publisher: Jenton Publishing
First Published: November 2012
First Line: "I turned and sprinted towards the car."

Book Description from GoodReads: “I love you,” he murmured as the wisps of light returned to his body.

What he didn’t say was that his love came with a heavy price and life was never going to be the same again. 

Twenty six year old Ana Martin has a past she is trying to forget. When she meets Gabriel, she believes that she can finally leave her troubles behind her. But Gabriel has a secret…

He may look human and be born of this world, but he is from an ancient race of empathic beings known as the Siis, a race that evolved millennia ago to a state of consciousness yet still take solid form to hide among us. 

When the homeless start dying at an abandoned Tannery, the police chalk it up to suicides. Ana knows different. The Siis have a secret, a past mistake they would rather forget, one that puts Ana in more danger than she can ever comprehend. 

Before long, she becomes a target for the Fae, once innocent children changed by the Siis thousands of years before. They are able to intensify and feed off the negative emotions of their prey, and are filled with malicious intent that has no bounds.

Can Ana survive the world of the Siis? More importantly, can she do it with her mind still intact?

My Review:  A book that has a suspenseful element with a healthy dose of supernatural thrown in is right down my alley.  In this first book in the Ana Martin series readers are given a crash course in Jenkin's rendition of all things Fae and it is quite unique.  They aren't the cute little Tinkerbell-type pixies spreading joy and light.  Faaaar from it!  They are described as rather nasty, volatile and evil little beings who are out for revenge and blood.  They provide a unique evil element with an intensely creepy factor. 

With this new version of Fae the reader may need time and information to fully understand Jenkin's different view of the supernatural.  Unfortunately I didn't find that a clear enough explanation was given so that I could grasp the idea of Fae and Siis.  There were also fairly large gaps in the telling of the story in the first half of the book which gave the book a muddled feel.  This unfortunately left me floundering to get a foot hold in the story.  

Jenkins introduces some fairly unique characters to her readers.  I loved Adam, Maria, Eris and yes, even Suraya (who brought some oomph to the story).  Unfortunately Ana isn't a strong main character. For a twenty-six year old, her reactions and decisions felt very juvenile.  She's the kind of girl in a horror movie would walk right into the creepy house even after someone was just murdered on that very spot.  Putting herself in dangerous situations - ie. following a homeless man she barely knows into an abandoned building - didn't endear her to me.

I'm assuming that Ana was written as a weak, naive character because this is the beginning of a new series so the author is starting Ana off as a weaker character who will come into her own as the series progresses.  I understand how readers like to see growth in their main characters but when a twenty-six year old woman makes such silly decisions that risk her life it's hard to get behind her.

Fans of supernatural romance will enjoy Ana's relationship with Gabriel.  They bring a very strong romantic element to the book which almost overshadows the supernatural aspect.  For me (who apparently lacks the romance gene) their relationship felt very co-dependent and didn't feel like a healthy relationship from the get-go.  I never liked Gabriel because he came off as domineering and felt like their 'love' was more obsession. In fact, if I was given the choice she would have chosen another character to fall for.

I'm sad to say that I struggled with Night of the Fae.  It took me a couple of weeks to get through the first half of the book but I also appreciate that Jenkins is trying to widen the idea of what makes up supernatural beings.  She also ups the creepy factor with these evil, twisted little Fae who will make you shudder.  I think with a clearer explanation at the beginning and less focus on the romantic element I would have been more eager to pick up the following books in this series. 

My rating: 2.5 stars

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to author Lyneal Jenkins for providing me with a complimentary e-book copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.