I wanted to like this book. I really did. I love books about fairies, and after just finishing Holly Black's Ironside, I was on the lookout for something equally as engrossing, entertaining, and moving. Unfortunately, I was barking up the wrong tree when I took this tripe off the shelf.
Let me start off by saying that the characters in this book are the flattest, most uninteresting lot I have ever encountered. Not a single one had any depth at all, with Anita/Tania being the worst. She wasn't so much a heroine as simply a cardboard cutout, just sort of propped up there and barely taking part in her own story. Although I guess I can't really blame her, as being bland and cliched seems to run in her family. Just look at the boring stock characters her sisters are comprised of...there's the nerdy bespectacled sister who just sits in the library all day and only wears drab dark clothing, there's the silly sister who likes to joke around, etc. Oh, and Lord Drake? He was such a generic, run-of-the-mill badguy, I'm surprised he wasn't twirling the end of his mustache around in typical villain fashion. The poor, downtrodden little assistant being the one who truly loved her? Wow, totally never saw THAT before *rolls eyes*
as for the storyline itself, it was weak, predictable and trite. Seriously, there was not a single surprise or twist to be had in this whole boring mess. And what I found to be especially irksome was how silly some of the scenes were. Like one of the previous reviewers pointed out, the story kicks off with Anita and her boyfriend driving around in a boat. How're these two 16-year-olds even allowed to be operating a boat without any adult supervision? Yeah, I know you're supposed to suspend disbelief and all, but that's just dumb. And when Anita is finally reunited with her fairy sisters after about 500 hundred years, what do they do? They immediately go out and order dresses. Yeah, they really missed her, eh?
There are far better YA fantasy and paranormal romance books out there, such as The Modern Faerie Tales trilogy by Holly Black or Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. Try those instead, you won't be dissapointed.