Tuesday, December 9, 2014

*Gizmos Book Reviews* The Boy with the Hidden Name (Otherworld #2) by Skylar Dorset

**I received this book for free from Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

*Book Blurb*

Selkie Stewart has just saved her quasi-boyfriend, Ben, from a fairy prison run by the Seelie Court. If they weren't the two most-wanted individuals in the Otherworld before, they definitely are now. Along with Ben and the rest of their ragtag group of allies-Selkie's ogre aunts; a wizard named Will; Ben's cousin Safford; and Kelsey, Selkie's best friend-Selkie is ready to embrace her destiny and bring the Court down. Until she hears the rest of her prophecy: Benedict le Fay will betray you, and then he will die.

*My Thoughts*

The Boy with the Hidden Name closes out the Otherworld duology which started with The Girl Who Never Was. The story is once again told in the first person narrative by Seventeen-year-old Selkie Stewart a faerie princess and half ogre. Returning to Dorset's world, we find that Selkie isn't a happy camper, and the world she knows is about to fundamentally change once again if she doesn't quickly find the remaining fay in order to stop the Seelie from invading Boston.

After saving her so called boyfriend Benedict Le Fey from the Seelie Court, Selkie finds herself trying to understand Ben's decision to leave her behind and attempt to find his mother in the land of the Unseelie. The same mother who may or may not have knowledge about the whereabouts of the remaining fay of the seasons. The same mother who has been missing and presumed dead for many years. I will say that Ben's mother is a pretty interesting character once we understand all her strange choices.

With Selkie's mothers prophecy that Ben will betray her and the fact that she will supposedly bring about the end of the Seelie world, Selkie once again finds herself herself on a series of quests to save the people she loves. The rag tag group includes her best friend Kelsey who isn't far from her side. Will the ageless Wizard with a few secrets up his sleeves. Ben's cousin Safford who helped Selkie access Seelie, and Ben, who is finally reunited with Selkie after some trials of his own. Along the way, Selkie and gang pick up the Goblin King, and 2 of the remaining season fay who bring their own unusual knacks to the table.

I will not spoil the name of the fay, especially the fourth one, nor will I tell you how the story comes to a grand scale conclusion that could have perhaps been shortened a bit if Selkie had a little faith in her own abilities. We've known from the start, if we were paying attention, that Selkie has a skill of picking up useful things that she'll need later on in the search for the missing fay. Think about that for a moment. She finds a useful tool, and in the end, that tool becomes important. Kind of like people.

Overall, The Boy with the Hidden Name is a story filled with questions, adventures to several different lands, prophecies, surprises, sacrifice, and hi-jinks. I will admit to being a bit pensive about reading this novel considering all the avenues that Dorset had left open. I was one of those who felt as though perhaps 2 novels wouldn't be enough to wrap up what she was trying to get across. Perhaps, it is time to stop being so pensive, and just enjoy the novels I choose to read.


Author - Skylar Dorset
Title - The Boy with the Hidden Name
Series - Otherworld # 2
Published by Sourcebooks Fire
Released: December 2, 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy
Format: E-Book, 320 pages



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