Book Review: Fey Girl (Fey World) by Kevin Newman

I was intrigued by this book's description - "Jude Pender has troubles managing his emotions. Case in point: Cecile. He thinks he can bury his thoughts and that the rest of his neurons will naturally grow around them, leaving an obelisk that he can visit as if in a dream. And since he doesn't know when to give up, the result will be an explosive release after a series of betrayals." The cover also suggested something a bit different to me.

Jude first meets Cecile while he is dating Terry, but notices she has an aura that draws people to her. After he splits with Terry he becomes close to Cecile and they start a complicated relationship. He tries to pretend he isn't attracted to her in order to stay friends but gradually becomes less happy with how they function together. The other complication in his life starts with some strange dreams. When he meets a new colleague who has been tasked with finding him, he ends up in the Fey World during the dreaming. It turns out he is an orcling and he has a part to play in saving that world, with Cecile involved in a round about way.

I found the book a bit slow to get started, and got about a third of the way in wondering when things were going to start happening. Up to that point was primarily introducing Jude and his circle of friends. I liked Jude, especially as he became more assertive later in the book, and I felt I could associate with his crowd of mates. I didn't have to wait much longer though and soon found the story picking up pace and moving into Fey World and introducing a range of mythological characters. This was definitely the part that interested me, although the relationship between to two friends became more intense later in the book and the way things were left between them made for a good ending to that part of the story. The point at which the Fey story was left has me hanging and looking forward to more of the mythology in future books.

This is the first book in a series of four (a tetralogy - love that word, you learn something new all the time) with a set of short stories due that provide more of the back story and mythology. In places the pacing felt a bit slow, and some of the philosophical debate between characters was a bit heavy for me but the world of the Fey and the promise of more in future installments will most likely draw me back.

Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 3*