{Review} TRIX AND THE FAERIE QUEEN by Alethea Kontis

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!

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.

I've also reviewed TRIXTER, the first book in The Trix Adventures.

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*

Here's her interview about ENCHANTED,

a flash fiction piece entitled "Well Behaved Mermaids Rarely Make Fairy Tales,"

a guest post on "Families in Fiction,"

a guest post on "The Real Peter Woodcutter,"

a guest post on "Behind the Scenes with Alethea Kontis as she reveals the missing FINAL chapter from her latest published novel DEAREST,"

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!

~*~

O P E N I N G   L I N E:

    "WATCH THIS!" TRIX leapt off the branch and flew above the forest floor.
The sparrows would not have called it flying. Squirrels, on the other hand, knew exactly what he meant.

(pg. 8, US e-book edition)

Trix Woodcutter is back, but instead of causing mischief, he's growing up and trying to save the world. The brilliant thing about The Trix Adventures is the way readers grow up with Trix. He goes from being the endearing younger brother constantly getting into trouble to a young man with a story of his own. While TRIXTER had more of a "going off on an adventure" vibe, TRIX AND THE FAERIE QUEEN is up to par with the Woodcutter Sisters series in the tone of its adventure. This time around, the Faerie Queen has visited Trix in his dreams to tell him that his horrible Aunt Sorrow managed to bind magic and it's up to him, the prophesied Boy Who Talks to Animals, to become her Emissary and save the realm of Faerie.

If you're a fan of Alethea Kontis, you will absolutely love her brand-new novel TRIX AND THE FAERIE QUEEN. It's classically her and breathes life into the Tales of Arilland in such a way that readers will be anxious to return to the world of Arilland right away, be it through continuing Trix's journey or finally getting their hands on the next Woodcutter Sisters novel, which will finally feature Wednesday!

When I read TRIXTER, it was good and I enjoyed it, but it didn't have as much enchantment as the Woodcutter Sisters books that I loved so much. TRIX AND THE FAERIE QUEEN, however, brought that enchantment back. I was completely enraptured the whole way through and when the story came to an end, I wanted more--and right away. It was also really cool that the book connected so much with the end of HERO and brought Saturday and Peregrine back into readers lives, as well as introducing Wednesday in a way that made readers instantly love her. The best way I can describe Wednesday? Do you remember when you were reading The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer and were introduced to Winter at the end of the third book, CRESS? Winter was all sorts of crazy and such an INTERESTING character that must have been SO HARD to write. Everyone was looking forward to the release of her novel WINTER. When we're re-introduced to Wednesday in T&TFQ, we learn so many new things about her that add nuance to her character. I want to read her story just as badly as I did Winter's, and I know it will be just as complex because she's such an unusual character!

This book also makes me once again want MORE. Once on social media (her blog, maybe?), Kontis joked about a short story featuring Papa and Mama Woodcutter. We all wanted it for real!!! In T&TFQ, we hear a story about Papa and the Stag, which reminded me that....I REALLY WANT A STORY ABOUT PAPA AND MAMA!!!! I want to know how they met and fell in love and adventured. Now that Kontis is her own publisher and no longer tied to a label, I hope it will happen, even it it's just a novella. I want to know how they met, encountered a Stag, etc. How did Mama's special gift get her in trouble and make Papa fall in love with her?

I also have a new theory about Tuesday, the deceased daughter. Kontis hinted that Tuesday would also have a story. But...Tuesday is deceased, right? There's an awesome scene in T&TFQ that reminds me of one of my all-time favorite fairy tales, East o' the Sun, West o' the Moon (along with the best EVER weapon that I won't spoil for you, but it's glorious!). In the scene, Trix and his traveling companion, golden girl  Lizinia, must sit in one of the Spirit Sister's four thrones. One of the thrones is reserved for Death, and another for his wife Fate, who has yet to visit. Later on, there's a throwaway line (or a clue????) that states that Tuesday has been "lost these many years to death" (Page 130, US e-book edition). Everything clicked and how amazing would it be if Kontis has a Persephone and Hades story up her sleeve for Tuesday? I hope it's true, because I'll be first in line to read such a thing!!!

I loved the adventure and journey in this novella. I loved the beauty of new ideas, such as the awesome weapon gifted by the Spirit Sister. I loved an ADORABLE scene with a baby fawn I wanted to cuddle. I loved having my perceptions changed: I totally thought a cat was shady after hearing Trix's thoughts about shady, difficult cats for so long. I loved seeing old friends again. I loved developing new theories about the series. I love how both Trix books have ended with exactly the same line. T&TFQ reminded me of just how much I love these Tales of Arilland novels, and I'm once again desperate to read more from as many of these beloved characters as I can as soon as possible! (Also, I REALLY want to go back and re-read HERO now, and it hasn't even been that long since I re-read it!)

But...can I read The Trix Adventures  
without reading the Woodcutter Sisters novels?

  
You can absolutely read The Trix Adventures 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. Up until The Trix Adventures, we saw the most of Trix in ENCHANTED. TRIX AND THE FAERIE QUEEN comes directly after HERO and features characters from that novel.

~*~

C O N T E N T R A T I N G S

Content Ratings: highlight between ( ) for details

Romance: PG ( kissing  )

Language: --
Violence: PG12 ( There's one disturbing scene at the end with a mutilated animal head, but its not too intense; there's also a Blood Court that felt a little Zombieish to me. )

Other:  --

~*~

C O V E R   D E S I G N:

I like this cover, but not as much as all the covers before it. It still structurally matches all the other covers in the Books of Arilland series, but it's different, too. The colors are darker, and it feels a little messier than other covers, not as clean and crisp--even the title is more muted. I do love the inclusion of a wolf if you look closely at the image, though!

~*~

O F F I C I A L   I N F O:

Title:  TRIX AND THE FAERIE QUEEN
Author: Alethea Kontis

Release Date: March 29, 2015

Publisher: Alethea Kontis
Received: Purchased

SUMMARY:

Join Trix Woodcutter on an epic new animal-filled adventure!

Fey magic and animal magic: that troublemaking imp Trix Woodcutter has both, if not the ability to use them to their full potential. While traveling with his companion—the golden girl Lizinia—to see the King of Eagles, Trix is sent a vision of the Faerie Queen, who is in desperate need of his help. An evil sorceress has stormed Faerie and trapped all the fey magic under the Hill, leaving the Faerie Queen powerless! Trix’s talent for communicating with animals is desperately needed…but before he braves the wild world of Faerie he must arm himself, with nothing less than the bow and arrows of a god.

With the help of his gilded companion, her ghost-cat godfather, a blind brownie and a sister or two, the Boy Who Talks to Animals must befriend a mischievous leprechaun, best a wolf, and journey into the depths of Faerie to restore order and free the fey magic before the imbalance destroys the world.

TRIX AND THE FAERIE QUEEN is second in The Trix Adventures and sixth in the Books of Arilland.

 Fans of the Woodcutter Sisters: Desperate to know what happened to Saturday and Peregrine after they found Trix at the end of HERO? Here’s your chance!