Review – Flicker

Title: Flicker

Author: Kaye Thornbrugh

Publisher: CreateSpace

Publication Date: May 26, 2012

ISBN-13: 978-1477479292

Available at: Amazon – Kindle

From Goodreads:

When sixteen-year-old Lee Capren is spirited away to Faerie, she is forced to serve capricious faeries as a prized portrait artist… and live as their prisoner.

A chance encounter with the charming Nasser grants Lee a chance for freedom—but what felt like mere days in Faerie spanned years in the human world, and Lee no longer has a home to return to.

Nasser is a Seer—a human with magical powers—and Lee is quickly plunged into his world: a sprawling city teeming with magic and mystery, where supernatural creatures walk hidden among humans. With the help of a rag-tag group of teenage Seers, Lee must master her newfound magical talent and outwit a cunning faerie determined to destroy her.

Review:

After reading the premise for this book I had high hopes for this book, I was not to be disappointed. The writing was smooth and breezy. The characters were well developed and the plot was well paced.

Lee in particular reacted just like any other 16-year-old would react when confronted with the sudden knowledge that shape-shifting faeries existed. She reacted badly. One part of me wished she had shown more mettle, another part of me realized that she was only sixteen! She’s just a kid! Naturally she’s going to freak out a little.

The character I liked the best was Filo, which may come as a surprise. He was bristly and moody. Yet he was badly used by the fae so there was just cause for his behavior. He had to harden himself to the abuse he had suffered. He also felt he had been abandoned by everyone he had ever cared about. Bottom line was he was damaged.

Jason was a bit of a wild card. He was unruly and impetuous. He really was spontaneous, but I also wished he would grow up a little. I also wished he’d be more understanding of his brother, Nasser. Of course he acted just like any teenager would though. Once I had that understanding I was able to tolerate him a little better.

Nasser was like a rock. He was steadfast and comforting. I really responded to him. He had a gentle, caring nature. I liked how he’d show Lee how he felt in little ways. I really liked the romance between Lee and Nasser. It was sweet and very romantic. I thought it might have been a bit like insta-love? But the explanation that went into it made it seem acceptable.

All of the teenagers in the book had qualities that were endearing. I took to them well. It was fun reading about them and by the end of the book I had a lot invested in them. The antagonists were equally fleshed out. None of them were shallow, cardboard cut-outs. Byrony in particular was well-rounded and that gave the book a lot of depth.

The empathy with the characters was great. You could really feel the tension the characters felt when they were in danger. That added a lot of excitement. Except there was one point when the characters were bored. I felt the pace slow down considerably at that point. I did think that served a point though. When the action revved back up again, it was even more exciting then it was before.

This was a very strong debut novel. I was sorry to see the book end. I hope there are more adventures with the Seers from Flicker in the future!

* A free copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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