London. Girls are disappearing. They've all got one thing in common; they just don't know it yet... Sixteen-year-old Lily was meant to be next, but she's saved by a stranger: a half-human boy with gold-flecked eyes. Regan is from an unseen world hidden within our own, where legendary creatures hide in plain sight. But now both worlds are under threat, and Lily and Regan must race to find the girls, and save their divided city.
I was really excited by this, it promised to have a great story in a lovely London setting. And it was pretty good but I think a little too simplistic. Written by a historian, I believe this is her first fictional work and you can tell. It was technically well written but things were sometimes a bit too simplistic and brushed over. For example, the whole magic underbelly of London was awesome, with mythical creatures hiding in plain sight and dragons protecting the gates of the City, however Lily seemed to accept everything a little too easily.
The folklore creatures were really cool, however there was a lot of info-dumping and I got confused. Some were done well, happening across them like the dragons, but Regan tried to explain the whole world right after an evil dog attack and it just went right over my head! But apart from that, the blending of the two worlds, while a little overwhelming, was amazing to imagine and very well written. Alongside the great descriptions of London, I fell very easily into the story. But it wasn't just magical creatures, there was also a budding romance. Lily and Regan's romance was pretty sweet, with the things they went through of course they would connect - but sometimes it did seem a little too like insta-love.
In terms of the plot and saving the world, they discover that the reason the girls are missing is to do with their genetics. Specifically, the bad guys want their mythical powers. Oh, don't we all! The details of the whole blood and genetic mutation stuff went over my head, although I got the gist of it to understand some of the bad guys motivations. Good people were doing seemingly bad things, at least in Lily's and Regan's perspective, but things had obviously gotten out of hand. The big dramatic ending mostly made up for the slow beginning. Everything collided together and suddenly every little thing was happening and possibly going wrong. It was a very exciting ending and left me a little breathless, as well as heartbroken for a while, which was scary! It was a very well written and exciting urban fantasy, but maybe for a younger audience; definitely an author to watch with her historical knowledge and great settings.
Published 7th August 2014 by Chicken House. Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
I ended up giving up on this one. Which was a shame because I really liked the idea of it but, like you, I don't think it was executed very well.
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