Book Review: Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman
[ID: A book sitting on a white shelf with two twin teens on the cover. One teen in the background has short brown hair and wears all black. The teen in front has her brown hair in a braid, wears a long red dress, and holds an orb of lightning in her hand. The book is surrounded by white roses, greenery, a grey rock, and a white geode. A prop sword and red flower necklace sits in front of the book.]
Summary: Iselia “Seelie” looks just like her twin, Isolde… but as an autistic changeling trying to navigate her unpredictable magic, Seelie finds it more difficult to fit in with the humans around her. When Seelie and Isolde are caught up in a heist gone wrong and make some unexpected allies, they find themselves unraveling a larger mystery that has its roots in the history of humans and fae alike.
My review: Thank you to @InkYardPress for a review copy! First off, I have to say that I absolutely loved the autism rep in this book! Seeing the world through Seelie’s eyes was my favorite part of the book. I also really loved the sisterly bond between Seelie and Sol. I appreciated how it was the main focus of the novel.
However… something didn’t quite work for me with this one. I liked this book but I didn’t love it. I feel like the plot itself was underdeveloped. The world-building is kind of incoherent. I also wanted to shake the characters more than once for ignoring blatant red flags and making poor decisions.
I recognize and appreciate what the author was trying to do, I just felt like it could’ve been done better. The writing shows a ton of promise though so I will look forward to the sequel in the hopes that the writing will only get stronger from here.