Review: Flicker By: Kaye Thornburgh

Title: Flicker

Author: Kay Thornbrugh

Published: February 25th, 2012

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:

When sixteen-year-old Lee Capren is spirited away to Faerie, she is forced to serve capricious faeries as a prized portrait artist… and live as their prisoner.

A chance encounter with the charming Nasser grants Lee a chance for freedom—but what felt like mere days in Faerie spanned years in the human world, and Lee no longer has a home to return to.

Nasser is a Seer—a human with magical powers—and Lee is quickly plunged into his world: a sprawling city teeming with magic and mystery, where supernatural creatures walk hidden among humans. With the help of a rag-tag group of teenage Seers, Lee must master her newfound magical talent and outwit a cunning faerie determined to destroy her.

My Thoughts:

I received this book from the author in exchange for review.

When I read the summary for Flicker, I was really excited to give faeries another try. I The only other series I have read about them, is Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey. Now that is some big shoes to fill and live up to and I was looking forward to seeing if I enjoyed it also. The cover really drew me in and I really wanted to know more about the girl that I saw. I loved Kay Thornbrugh's storytelling and Lee was definitely a character that I could get behind.  

Lee was just your normal teenage girl, she loved to paint and draw, and she was shy, and she didn't mind not being noticed. The last thing she remembers is painting in the forest and then waking up in a strange room with two boys who she has never seen before and doesn't remember. The two boys, Filo and Nassar, then inform her that she was kidnapped by the fey and she was rescued from them by Nassar, himself. Lee was such a strong character throughout the book, I really admired that about her. I couldn't imagine waking up in a strange place with strange people, I would freak out and think they kidnapped me. Then, to add assault to injury, they inform her they faeries and magic exists. She handled each little piece very well, not believing at first and finally coming around and accepting her fate and coming to terms with it in the end. 

There was such a great cast of secondary characters in this book, who really made the story.  After Nassar saved Lee from faerie he takes her to the one place that he knows, Flicker. Nassar and his brother Jason, along with two other teenagers Filo and Alice, grew up there being apprentice's to fey. Nassar, Alice, and Filo are all seers, humans who have the second sight and can see fey. Each one of the characters felt so real to me, none of their personalities seemed farfetched or fake. 

The romance in this book was understated and I really enjoyed that. Nassar and Lee have a growing relationship throughout the book, it didn't seem rushed or contrived and it was completely believable. No drama surrounding it and the story was not focused on it, it just added to the story making it even better.

Overall, Flicker was a great read. Faeries and magic abound it held my attention and I loved each and every moment of the story. I highly recommend this one, Kaye Thornbrugh has created a wonderful plot full of memorable characters and adventure, and the type of romance in YA that feels real and left me smiling by the end. Definitely give it a try!

Happy Reading!

Kristin