“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, where we spotlight the forthcoming books we’re excited about. Cover links take you to Goodreads, and all summaries are also from Goodreads.
Tonight, for the first time in over a century, a mortal child will be kidnapped by faeries.
When her daughter Fiona is snatched from her bed, Caitlin’s entire world crumbles. Once certain that faeries were only a fantasy, Caitlin must now accept that these supernatural creatures do exist—and that they have traded in their ancient swords and horses for modern guns and sports cars. Hopelessly outmatched, she accepts help from a trio of unlikely heroes: Eddy, a psychiatrist and novice wizard; Brendan, an outcast Fian warrior; and Dante, a Magister of the fae’s Rogue Court. Moving from the busy streets of Boston’s suburbs to the shadowy land of Tír na nÓg, Caitlin and her allies will risk everything to save Fiona. But can this disparate quartet conquer their own inner demons and outwit the dark faeries before it’s too late? (Goodreads)
It’s refreshing to see a fantasy in which the main character is a mother. As a young mother and now as a middle-aged woman, I see very few characters “like me” in the fantasy books I love, unless they’re secondary characters. #WeNeedDiverseBooks means books that feature all sorts of characters, from people of color to people of diverse religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and ages.
Katherine P
This sounds intriguing! I agree that I’m starting to gravitate more to stories involving women who aren’t 22! It’s nice to come across a book where the characters are in their late 20s, 30s and up. I’m not sure if I could handle the child disappearing in the middle of the night right now so I’ll wait for reviews to see how it’s handled.
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
I probably would have avoided this when my daughter was younger, for the same reason. Now that she’s a young woman in college, I have a little more ability to handle that sort of thing – but only a little, so we’ll see when I actually start reading it. As for age, I still enjoy reading about teens and 20-somethings, but not exclusively. I’m realizing that mid-forties to mid-fifties isn’t nearly as old as I thought it was when I was in my teens and twenties – certainly not too old to have adventures, even if one’s body is a little less flexible and resilient than it used to be. I’d like to see fantasy books feature more main characters, especially female main characters, in their forties, fifties and sixties.
Jenea Whittington
This sounds like a great fae read! Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Great pick.
Jenea @ Books Live Forever’s WoW
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
I’ll be on the lookout for a review, if you read it!
Candace
Oh this one does sound fantastic! Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
Rita_h
You have piqued my interest with the blurb and your thoughts about books featuring mid-aged women and/or mothers. Yay! We certainly do need that in all genres.
The bit of fantasy that I’ve read featured an old wise man, a strong-willed teen-aged girl or an able-bodied, clever man. The females are usually the secondary characters if they are of “a certain age”.
Thanks for a well-thought out review and for showcasing a title I hadn’t heard of before.
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
Yes, I’ve noticed the same trend – women over, say, 30 or 35 in most fantasy get relegated to secondary roles. It’s annoying. I’m really looking forward to this book, although given that the child is young enough to be snatched by faeries, the mother may only be in her twenties. Still, she’s a mother, and there are precious few of those as main characters in fantasy, too.
Berls
Sounds very interesting and I love the adaptation of a really old fairy lore to our modern world. And I agree- we need more female protagonists that are mother’s and middle-aged. (that’s why I really like the Shelby Nichols series)
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
Shelby Nichols? I don’t know those. *heads over to Goodreads* Hmm, interesting!