The Faerie Games: Dark World: The Faerie Games, Book 1

Protagonist & Romance: On the whole, I really like our new protagonist, Selena, she's clever, fairly well adjusted, and pretty easy to root for. However, when it comes to her thinking about her love interest, Julian, she can start to sound like a broken record. See, Selena and Julian don't have a lot of interaction in this installment. They meet, hang out for a bit, he kidnaps her to the Otherworld, and then Selena sees him here and there (with minimal interaction) throughout the book. So, whenever Selena thinks of Julian, which is a lot, she pretty much thinks the same three thoughts, one of which is how she seems magically drawn to him, usually followed by one or more of the myriad reasons that seeking a relationship with Julian would be a bad idea. I want to root for this couple, they had pretty great chemistry when they first meet, but since there's not a lot of interaction after that point and with Selena often thinking the same angsty thoughts about Julian, I just slowly started to care less and less about the couple. I still have hope for future books, especially since it seems Book 2 will have a lot more interaction between the two of them.World-Building: Faeries are kind of my favorite thing right now and when I heard a while ago that Madow's Dark World Saga would have a series that focused on faeries I couldn't wait. I love Madow's twist on a Faerie world, filled with Roman mythology, and complete with The Hunger Games style entertainment. Well, I say Hunger Games, but it's honestly more like high stakes Big Brother, just instead of just getting kicked out of the house, you die. Plus, if you've read the previous seasons of Dark World, there are references here and there, and of course, Selena has a very strong tie to the first season, so there are more references for the Vampire Wish than the Angel Trials. I do wish though that there would have been a scene or two of Selena interacting with her parents, we get a general idea of what their relationship is like, but I would have liked to actually see that relationship, still, there's always future installments... hopefully.Predictability: Looking back at this book, nothing really surprised me. I mean, it's a rather quick read and this is just the start of the series so I'm not necessarily looking to be shocked, but what did kind of bother me here is that something that seems to be a reveal for an upcoming book is heavily implied, though not confirmed, in this installment. It could be a huge misdirection, but it just felt like I was a bit hammered over the head with it.Ending: The final climax of this story is fantastic, it's a great action scene that involves a little bit of character and relationship development as well. Honestly, there were a few details of this final climax that made me squeal like the nerd I am, has me really excited to see how this series will progress. As usual, Madow ends this book off with an "out of nowhere" POV epilogue, with a cliffhanger that has me anxiously awaiting the next installment!Rating:While this book didn't quite meet my expectations, they were honestly probably a bit too high anyway, especially since I usually forget how quickly these books fly by. Still, even though I'm not very enthused for the main romance, I'm still holding out hope that I'll grow to like it.

Pretty good story telling and enjoyed how detailed the book was and how she had to unlock her power and work for it.

I want to rave about this book. I want to recommend it. However, I think the book reads like the first part of a longer novel, an installment rather than a completed work. There is an art in knowing where to end a novel that is part of a series. Each novel has to have a complete story arc of its own. This novel ends abruptly, in the thick of the action, before any real action has begun. That is a strike against it.That said, this novel is a fun read, with compelling characters and, in Selena, a heroine worth rooting for. A second strike against it is that the plot’s central element, the Faerie Games, is awfully reminiscent of the plots of numerous other books, most notably The Hunger Games: a group of teenagers are chosen to fight to the death in an arena that is weighted and engineered to entertain and titillate the citizens watching the spectacle. Unlike The Hunger Games, this book ends before the contest has even really begun. This makes the book feel lightweight and unfinished.I give it four stars because I think the characters the author has peopled her novel with are interesting, complex, and have the potential to deliver in the next book what they have not been allowed to here. Also, there are elements that are unique, i.e., not derivative, in this book. The heroine has grown up on Avalon, a world of supernatural beings separate but near enough to Earth to allow some travel back and forth. Selena is an adopted child whose love for her adoptive parents does not prevent her from being curious about her birth father, a fae prince. There is a romance element as well.Here’s hoping the rest of the series deserves the four-star rating I’ve given this first book, despite my misgivings. There may be two strikes against it, but the author has talent, and this book has loaded the bases with runners. Let’s see if she can get a solid hit with the next book(s)and bring her runners safely home. I have faith.

I quite enjoyed the first story in this series. Though it is obviously meant for young adults as are most of Ms. Madow's series, I believe adults can enjoy them as well. The groundwork for future books in this series has been laid out beautifully in the first book.I have read other series written by this author, and she always manages to achieve an HEA for the main couple, though it doesn't come without a cost. I appreciate that there is a lesson in that nothing great comes without great loss. Though no one has suffered this fate at this point, I am almost positive that something will occur as the story moves forward.This series reminds me of The Hunger Games without the depressing dystopic setting. It does have key differences, such as using Roman Gods and Goddesses who use these young people like their own personal pawns on a chessboard strictly for their own petty and selfish entertainment. Even though YA stories are usually not my cup of tea, I have to say I did enjoy the opening book to this series and will see it through to the end.As long as the main characters aren't killed off just for the sake of shock value, as in some series I have read, but not finished I am okay with it. I am excited to see what happens to this couple and their frenemies in the next two books and the ones that follow if there are any.The only reason I rated this book four stars instead of five comes down to the lack of maturity they have. This may seem like nitpicking on my part, but it is something that is important to me. I also enjoy a certain amount of heat on the romance end, which, of course, usually does not happen at such a tender age. I have no doubt that these characters will grow and mature, and I will be happy to give the following books all five of my stars.

It's obviously very similar to hunger games but with magic. In the first book you are really just getting into the swing of things. But it seems interesting so far.

The story is good, like any of the other Dark World, and definitely meets expectations of the avid reader. But one of the things Madow does really well usually is maintaining a number of storylines from the perspective of different characters, and that excitement was missing from this book. It was too focussed in one viewpoint, and lacked the excitement of the previous Dark World books. Selena is an addictive character though!

I wasn't sure what I expected from this book but it was brilliant. I really enjoyed this read and look forward to the next. It was well written and I love the writing style and stories about the Gods and the Spark of attraction between Selena and Julian looks like it's gonna be so amazing. Nice and easy to read within a day.

Be warned: The Faerie Games is NOT a book, nor is it part of a series. By definition, a book is a COMPLETE story with a beginning, a middle and an end. A series, by definition, is a SEQUENCE of books. Harry Potter is a series. Each of the seven books is its own complete story. The Hunger Games is a series. The Da Vinci Code is part of a series. This "book" is only the beginning PART of a single story. While it's advertised as Book 1 of 5, what it really is, is Part 1 of 5. In other words, it the author or publisher's goal to charge readers FIVE times what the book is worth. That, to me, is a completely unethical capitalist maneuver. The Faerie Games was only ~45,000 words. It's not unheard of or inconvenient to publish a fantasy novel with a 225,000 word count. Cassandra Clare did it quite successfully! So why overcharge and inconvenience readers like this?As for the story itself: I can appreciate that this is a Hunger Games fanfiction. Inspiration has to come from somewhere; however, I would have liked to see the author make it a little less obvious. I would also rather have seen it written in third person. To have the entire "book" narrated by one character with the exception of two or three chapters is ridiculous. It comes across as a band-aid fix for sliding in a scene where the main character isn't there to narrate. Third person avoids this dilemma. Further, the story is riddled with cliches. I read enough to see that the author is capable of replacing cliches with original content.Finally, I requested a refund because I am against authors and publishers presenting a single story as a series and charging readers five times for a single story. Had the story been presented in a single book, I'm sure I would have added the authors other books to my shopping cart.

Although it's harmless enough and quite readable there is nothing original in this story. The Hunger Games style set up completely lacks the emotional depth that made THG so compelling. The overwhelming passivity of the heroine, and unrealistic kick-ass skills that she has at her disposal make this superficial and unsatisfying.

A really great start to the series. A twist to a Hunger games and The Extinction trials style story.Throw some magic into the mix with teenage hormones and Gods egos and you get a story you can't put down.I can't wait for more.I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.