Shannon's Review - Winter's Orphans by Elaine Corvidae

Winter's Orphans

Summary: Mina is an indentured industrial worker paying off her debt to society. Strange things seem to happen around her - first a accident at work with a co-worker, then Mina is attacked by something she can't see... Mina finds out she is a half Fae, a Faeling, of unseelie blood. After the accident, her powers that were laying dormant awaken, and with that the Seelie Faeling Court wants to find her dead or alive - but mostly dead.

The Seelie Court is the Faeling Royal Family of sorts, and they are also not so nice, especially when it comes to Unseelie Faelings, whose dark bloodline they've sworn to stamp out. Mina's power is so strong that it's awoken even through an iron collar (Iron usually puts a damper on Faeling magic). Because she has no control over the power, an Older half Faeling, Duncan, and his half Faeling friend, Bryan, find Mina and try to help her hone them. At first she wants nothing to do with the other Unseelies, but soon Mina and Duncan find they have a connection that cannot be easily broken. The Seelie Court begins to attack everything Mina loves, and Mina doesn't plan to take it quietly, which could be a bad thing for everyone.


My Thoughts:
This is not your kids type of faerie book. This book's mythology is based on the old myths of the Fae (like the ones in "Meeting the Other Crowd," which that Thorin reviewed here). They are not nice creatures, but dark, very dark.

I think the dialogue was interesting and smart. I said before that I liked some of the quotes, and one in particular still sticks with me:
"Duncan sighed, 'Our Dreams become smaller and more desperate as we get older. I think. The world strips more from us, until we'd trade anything just to get back what we once had.'"

That quote is something I think most adults can relate too, with opportunities coming and going, doors opening and shutting. Sometimes we wish we could go back in time to when all the opportunities were open to us.

I liked it, and I wish we'd see more books steeped in the older, dark, Irish-style faerie tales.


About the Author: Elaine Corvidae first published novel was this book, Winter's Orphans. She decided to become a writer at age 8. She currently lives near Charlotte, NC. You can visit her and her blog at the Elanie Corvidae Official Web Site.

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