My Fair Traitor

My Fair Traitor is a great read. It’s short. It’s enjoyable. The story line is full. It keeps you hooked. I (personally) read this book in one sitting. I just could not put it down.
Anaya has a way with words. She has a way of making her story come out of the pages. She has a way of putting life events in her plot, events that occurs to people every day and everywhere in the world, and making us (the reader) have an awareness of those events, without destroying the story, or making the story weird (as I have found other authors can easily do).
This book, opens your mind and your imagination. It makes you think of so many other possible way of making the story longer, or to create all new side stories, while being in the same world.
I look forward to the next book in this series.
Overall, this book was a great read.

I picked up this series after having read (and loved) C. J. Anaya's earlier series, The Healer.

I am very honoured to be asked to review My Fair Traitor in exchange for an ARC of the book. It is telling how much I enjoyed this book by the fact that I managed to smuggle in time to read this book in the 2 weeks before my wedding and on my way to my honeymoon! If you've been married before, you will know how hectic it was! I was time poor, but I made the time to finish the book because it was a real page-turner.

My Fair Traitor further explores Crysta's fae heritage by taking her back to her homeland. We learn a bit more about Crysta's parents and the various species that make up the Unseelie Court. We see Crysta make new friends (my favourite is Chantara - because, MERMAID with a Shakepearesque history!). This book also ponders a very YA question: Should one party make a decision to break off a loving relationship to protect the other party even if the other party is at complete odds with that decision? Is that selfish and who is being selfish?

I'll start with the good things I liked about this book. I liked the plot and the characters in the book. The story was fast paced and had enough surprises and cliff-hangers to keep me in suspense throughout the book. The twist at the end was completely unexpected, so kudos from me! I had my suspicions which turned out to be completely wrong, and I like that I was wrong! The characters in the book were very likeable and aside from the few comments on character development below, I like them.

Now on to the areas where there is room for improvement (in my opinion!).

As mentioned above, I would have liked more character development (I know it's hard because this book only covers a short period of time) but I would have liked to see Lily and Graul's character develop more (and maybe even a relationship!). I can see a slight change of Lily's demeanour (from being shy and subservient to having enough of a spark to rebel against Jareth's orders) over the course of the book which I applaud. I would like to see more development in the next book too.

Some characters I felt lacked depth - Rhoswen for starters. Why is Rhoswen acting the way she is towards Jareth? Does she really love Jareth? Was she after royalty or being queen one day? If so, why not go for Kheelan when Jareth is no longer next in line to the throne of the Seelie Court? I just thought she was written as a stereotypical "mean girl" in high school when there could have been a lot more depth behind why she was that way. It would actually be pretty cool if Rhoswen and Crysta became "friends" or at least begrudging allies. Just my thoughts.

Another character I would like to explore further is King Roderick. We don't actually know very much of him beyond his genealogy. He has such a "nice guy" personality - why doesn't he have a wife? What does he like to do? What did he do for the last 17 years when he had to rule the kingdom all alone? How did he cope?

Another area that could be improved (although this is rather subjective) is the writing/speaking style. Oftentimes, some of the words or phrases used in the book make it seem like it is trying just a little it too hard, and it loses the reader. For example, Crysta keeps changing popular sayings/slang into her own. It honestly bugs me a little. Perhaps Crysta could use the slang and then explain it for the benefit of her Faecompanions?

Some of the words used to describe (adjective and adverbs) tend to be very high-school juvenile. I would like to see less use of the words "sick" (used in a slang way), "evil" (for example, where it is used to describe a smile. I would like to draw my own inferences from the context of the smile rather than being told it's evil. Besides, I am not sure there is such a thing as an evil smile. How about a smirk?).

Something else that throws me is the sudden switches from storyline into self-reflection monologue throughout the entire book. It takes me just a moment to adjust and think, "oh wait, it's what she's thinking". There is no warning in terms of font or italics that the perspective is changing. It can be rather jarring on the reader at times. I also think that these monologues (where she's talking to herself) can be completely cut out from the book. I don't think it adds to the story but detracts from what is happening. I don't necessarily want to be told what she's thinking every time something happens. I want to be able to infer what she's thinking from what she says or does in reaction to events.

I am looking forward to book 3 - I am conscious of not spoiling the book for others, so I won't say too much more about the book's ending than "what a cliffhanger!!"

Thanks C.J. Anaya for yet another fascinating read!