Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

Published: December 2008
Pages: 336
Age Group: Young Adult
Publisher: HarperCollins

For seventeen-year-old actress Kelley Winslow, faeries are just something from childhood stories. Then she meets Sonny Flannery, whose steel-gray eyes mask an equally steely determination to protect her.

Sonny guards the Samhain Gate, which connects the mortal realm with the Faerie's enchanted, dangerous Otherworld. Usually kept shut by order of icy King Auberon, the Gate stands open but once a year.

This year, as the time approaches when the Samhain Gate will swing wide and nightmarish Fae will fight their way into an unsuspecting human world, something different is happening . . . something wondrous and strange. And Kelley's eyes are opening not just to the Faerie that surround her but to the heritage that awaits her.

Now Kelley must navigate deadly Faerie treachery—and her growing feelings for Sonny—in this dazzling page-turner filled with luminous romance.

Naturally, the cover of the book is absolutely beautiful so I had to read it. The insides of the book very much lived up to the expectations I had draw because of the beautiful cover.

Though I have always been a vampire book fan, I have never really had much interest in faeries. Although the sypnosis sounded interesting, to be honest, it sounded a little weird too. After about twenty pages I had to put the book down. I really had no former knowledge about faeries and I was completely overwhelmed and confused. However, I continued through in hopes of some explanation about what I was reading and it eventually came.

I usually have a pretty hard time starting a book, it takes a while to grab my attention. The confusion I felt when I started this book grabbed my attention immediately. I'm one of those people who has to understand everything they hear... its something I'm working on. After I finally got a handle on what was happening, the novel was beautiful.

The writing was poetic with its amazing detail, yet it was spunky at the same time because of Kelley's personality. Most authors wouldn't be able to combine the two into one story, but Livingston did with ease.

Another part of the book I loved was the angle faeries were looked at. Instead of only being thin, innocent, glowingly beautiful humans they took many forms. Some were ugly on the outside, and some were beautiful on the outside but absolutely horrid on the inside. The dark image they portrayed was enough to keep my eyes on the page.

Although I am the first to admit to being a sucker for love stories, I felt a bit let down. Although it was obvious there was chemistry between Kelley and Sonny, I felt like there was a gap in the timeline. They went from seeing each other once and being unsure to seeing each other the next time and being completely head over heels for each other. I almost thought I skipped a few pages because of how much their relationship changed completely.

Wondrous Strange is a beautifully written novel, and Livingston definitely did her homework on this one. I suggest this book to anyone who loves romance and the paranormal.

4/5