{Review/Giveaway} TRIXTER by Alethea Kontis

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Love fairy tales and mythology?
Fans of mermaids, dragons, unicorns, and other mythical creatures?
Enjoy when a beloved classic tale is retold?
A Twist in the Tail Thursdays features all this and more!

&
On Tour with Prism Book Tours:
April 2nd: Launch
April 6th: Becky on Books & Colorimetry
April 8th: Grand Finale

Present...
The launch of...
TRIX AND THE 
FAERIE QUEEN 
by Alethea Kontis!


Trix and the Faerie Queen (Books of Arilland Book #6)


New to the world of Alethea Kontis?


I've previously reviewed ENCHANTED and HERO and DEAREST,
along with my review of her novella BLOOD & WATER,and chatted about Snow Whites role in ENCHANTED.

Alethea Kontis has also stopped by A Backwards Story several times to talk about her books, fairy tales, mermaids, and more because she's awesome like that! *loves her*

a flash fiction piece entitled "Well Behaved Mermaids Rarely Make Fairy Tales,"
a guest post on "Families in Fiction,"
and a guest post entitled "I Dedicate This Post to You!"

She's also shared two of her famous fairy tale rant videos, one about Rapunzel and one about Cinderella and how it inspired her novel ENCHANTED!
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O P E N I N G   L I N E:

    TRIX WOODCUTTER IGNORED THE twinges in his belly and the ache in his heart as he raced across the meadow. It hadn't been the most graceful of escapes. If he'd had more time to plan, he would have arranged to meet a deer-friend or one of the lynx outside the towerhouse so he might have covered more ground before the dark magic brew in his system took effect. A deer might have been the better choice as he was (finally) getting too tall to ride a lynx comfortably. 
(pg. 1, US edition)

I've been a fan of Alethea Kontis and her Tales of Arilland for a long, long time--since ENCHANTED was the only book available! There are now three full novellas, two novellas, and an anthology in the series, with more on the way. TRIXTER and its brand-new sequel, TRIX AND THE FAERIE QUEEN, are side adventures that are meant to be companions to the main series. In fact, they were almost never made! Thank goodness Kontis and her publisher parted ways, or readers would never get to know Trix better because his story was cut from the main line of books. You can absolutely read about Trix without reading ENCHANTED, HERO, and DEAREST, because Trix is on his own quest and having his own adventures.

If, however, you do want to read the Tales of Arilland in order, I would recommend reading ENCHANTED and HERO first. You can read all of Kontis' novels as stand-alones because they are individual stories about various members of the Woodcutter family. In DEAREST, you can see the happily wedded couple from ENCHANTED, but there is little reference to HERO because both books are occurring simultaneously in different areas of the world. DEAREST is dealing with the aftermath of an event that occurs in HERO without it being spoilery. TRIXTER balances between these two events, and Trix begins his journey here. We saw the most of Trix in ENCHANTED, which is when I first began to want more story featuring Sunday's younger brother. I'm so glad TRIXTER got made and that there's a brand-new sequel, TRIX AND THE FAERIE QUEEN, to love.

Trix has always been different from his seven sisters, and not just because he's a boy. Trix is part fey, and on top of that, he's actually the Woodcutter's cousin. His birthmother left him with the Woodcutters as an infant, and he is their adopted son. But Trix wouldn't have it any other way. He loves his family dearly, and would do anything for them. When his birthmother begins talking to him in his dreams to come to her, he must leave the family that loves him and embrace an adventure of his own.

I love the way Kontis is able to slip fairy tales both big and small into all of her books. Fairy tale fans who know their stories, even obscure ones, can find so many little surprises as they read. More casual readers may know that they've seen various tropes before, but not where they come from. This always results in a delightful blend of familiarity and original lore that makes the Tales of Arilland series a great hodgepodge melting pot that's a pleasure to read. I'm really glad there's more than one book about Trix and his journey because the first book, TRIXTER, is novella-length and we don't spend nearly enough time with Trix or his new, gold-dipped friend Lizinia.

I love the way Trix is also at the center of an epic prophecy, as are many of the Woodcutters. All his adventures with animals made me slip back to the time when I'd read books such as Tamora Pierce's The Immortals Quartet and wish that I, too, could talk to animals. Although there are a couple of scenes with spiders that really creeped me out. I could do without those, though I'm glad they were positive scenes and not frightening ones. But still, no. Just no. *shiver* There's also a really cool scene with a lingworm, though, and there is an epic underwater journey that was one of my favorite parts of the adventure!

I'm really excited to continue on with Trix and Lizinia in TRIXTER AND THE FAERIE QUEEN, which just came out, and bring my review to you next week!

Hero (Woodcutter Sisters #2)
Trixter (Books of Arilland #3)Dearest (Woodcutter Sisters, #3)Tales of Arilland (Books of Arilland #5)

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C O N T E N T R A T I N G S

Content Ratings: highlight between ( ) for details

Romance: PG13 ( kissing; innuendo about a character's "intentions"  )
Language: PG+ ( a character mentions a villian's "bitch" when referring to a female character )
Violence: PG13 ( Death and murder )
Other:  --
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C O V E R   D E S I G N:


I love the way this cover fits in with the covers of the main series, while still being its own!

I love the magic and whimsy, and the way we don't quite see Trix.

This series has always had great covers, and now that the author has broken from her publisher and set out on her own, it's wonderful to see the covers continue on with such consistency!
~*~
O F F I C I A L   I N F O:

Title:  TRIXTER
Author: Alethea Kontis
Release Date: May 3, 2015
Publisher: Alethea Kontis
Received: Purchased
SUMMARY:

 Trix Woodcutter is the long prophesied Boy Who Talks to Animals. He’s also a foundling prankster scamp who places his family under a sleeping spell so that he can run away from home. 

Compelled by a vision of his dead birthmother, Trix departs on the eve of a Great Catastrophe, only to find himself caught in the maelstrom. Armed with little more than his wits and the wisdom inherent in all fey-blooded youth, Trix confronts a legendary Animal King, faces off against a ghostly feline, rescues a damsel in distress, and discovers more about himself than he ever wished to know.

And this adventure is only the beginning.

~*~

Alethea Kontis is a princess, author, fairy godmother, and geek. Her bestselling Books of Arilland fairytale series won two Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Awards (Enchanted and Tales of Arilland), and was twice nominated for the Andre Norton Award. Alethea also penned the AlphaOops picture books, The Wonderland Alphabet, Diary of a Mad Scientist Garden Gnome, Beauty & Dynamite, The Dark-Hunter Companion (w/Sherrilyn Kenyon), and a myriad of poems, essays, and short stories. Princess Alethea lives and writes on the Space Coast of Florida with her teddy bear, Charlie. You can find her on her YouTube channel, all the social media, and at www.aletheakontis.com.

~*~
****Giveaway*****

Enter to win...


3 copies of...
 TRIXTER 
and 
TRIX AND THE FAERIE QUEEN!!!!

(signed copies if US, ebooks if INT)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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