I have read dark and tortured fairy stories, evil pixie stories, misunderstood fairy stories, and fairies as plants stories. I’ve loved them all. But Cyn Balog’s version, FAIRY TALE, was so beautifully different that I now have a new favorite.
FAIRY TALE was Ms. Balog’s debut, and finaled for the Romance Writer’s Association of America’s RITA Award in 2010. Heck of a way to begin her writing career! The story takes place in an average American neighborhood, with your average, run of the mill teenagers. Oh, except that one of them is a psychic and the other is slowly turning into a fairy.
Morgan Sparks has loved Cam Browne her entire life. They were born on the same day, been best friends since birth, and know everything about each other. That’s why Cam’s sudden change in behavior, live-in cousin, and the fact that he can now fly comes as a bit of a shock. Even her psychic powers didn’t see that one coming.
A week before their mutual birthday blowout, her glued at the hip boyfriend Cam starts pulling away and Morgan demands answers. She breaks Cam’s rule of peeking into his future and becomes convinced he has a tumor and is dying. When she confronts him, she fortunately discovers Cam isn’t sick . . . he’s simply a changeling switched at birth, and the rightful heir to the fairy throne.
Throw in a mean-spirited glowing pink blob hovering around trying to steal her boyfriend, a variety of unfortunate cuts and bruises, and the nerdy-turned-hottie Pip who turns out to be the human the fairies switched with Cam at birth, and Morgan’s head is reeling.
But with the countdown to their sixteenth birthday on–the age when fairies fully inherit their powers and the only day fairies can cross over into the Otherworld–Morgan becomes determined. She formulates a plan with Pip, while fighting confusing feelings of attraction, to keep Cam with her. But as she watches him daily change more and more into the fairy king he truly is, she has to decide if they truly are meant to be together, or if destiny has another plan.
This story has everything I could want. A love triangle, sweet and chivalrous boys, strong heroine, involved and caring parents, angsty high school drama, and lots of giggles. Despite my mound of research I need to be doing for my own writing project, I gobbled this story up and immediately got SLEEPLESS, Ms. Balog’s sophomore supernatural romance.
On her blog this week, Ms. Balog talked about sequels and how everyone wants them for their stories. While she has no plans for a sequel to FAIRY TALE, she listed several humorous ideas. I was just one of many commenters BEGGING her for a sequel for this tale.
I want to know all about Cam in the fairy world. Does he continue to save lives? What types of drama is involved with fairy politics? Since we know he defies fairy logic and can love deeply, does he fall in love with Dawn, his betrothed?
I want to know more about Pip and watch him get the happy ending he truly deserves. I want to see the love story between Pip and Morgan develop and see if there are any more awkward transitions into the human world.
I want to find out more about Morgan’s psychic powers–why does she have them? Is there more to her powers then visions? Will she ever see Cam again?
Please, Ms. Balog, inquiring minds need to know! 🙂
Until then, I will continue to gobble up SLEEPLESS and wait anxiously for STARSTRUCK to hit the shelves in July.
FAIRY TALE just came out in paperback on January 11th. Be sure to pick up your copy at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your favorite indie bookstore.
Happy Reading!
