Fae Not by Leah SpiegelMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is an intriguing novel, but I must add that right away the elitist Fae infuriated me. Like vampires in so many paranormal novels, the Fae here perceive humans as fodder--energy supplements the Fae want and need. At Rykers Farm the “counselors” ostensibly interact with troubled teens, bringing therapeutic insight through manual farm labour. Yeah, right: the adolescents are sent to the Farm because they’ve failed to produce sufficient energy reserves for their local fae. In Claire’s case, she is a human, adopted early by Fae parents, and as soon as her energy input ceases, it’s off to the farm, to be “treated” by Ashton. Claire’s problem seems to be deeper than that, though: she is pathologically shy and reserved; yet when confronted with Nature, her energy is over the top.
I’m afraid that the further I read into this novel, the angrier I became with the Fae attitude. Humans, even though some are sub-human, are not animals-and I resented the belief that “animals” means valueless except for whatever use they might be to the Fae (resenting this on behalf of both human energy-givers and animals, I am).
On the good side, there’s a lot of intrigue, romance, tension, conflict, interspecies relations (Fae and human), and all sorts of elements that readers of paranormal look for in stories of Fae. Readers who enjoy paranormal romance and urban fantasy will delight in "Fae Not."
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