For the length that this was (35 pages on my Sony Reader) I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The Fae, or the Dark part of the Fae at least, decided that they would wipe out humanity one way or another. You don't get a very good sense of this up in Tessa's cabin though. She freely admits that the nearest neighbors would have been miles away, its pretty snowy out and she's not in real want of anything anyhow. Her cabin mates help her provide food and she's good at keeping herself busy otherwise.
What surprised me most was that Fox gives a good impression of Tessa without going overboard on the exposition. There's always some to be expected in short stories, less time to let things be shown organically after all, but the sense of who Tessa was came through even before she became the topic of the moment.
My only problem with the story was that Fox would introduced an interesting concept or character--such as the baby dragon Jasper--but before it can really develop she'll toss in another one (like the Goblin cook/cleaner). This happened repeatedly throughout the story and frustrated me in no small part because it almost felt like she was tossing in every extraneous Fae creature she could to round out the cast.
Part of this I think was to give more credit to the ending, and how help arrives as well as support for Tessa through some difficult revelations and announcements.
In the end I enjoyed the story and enjoyed the premise Fox set up, but I wish there was more. I wish we had been shown the connection between Tessa and Matthew a little more clearly so that when the ending came about it had more impact. I wish we could have lingered a little longer on what the world was like now that the Fae were playing Conquistador all over.
From the author's blog I assume there shall be more set in the Summer Fae world. I certainly hope, I'll look forward to hearing about it!
