#Review - The Doomsday Trial by Claire Luana, J.A. Armitage #YA #Fantasy

Series: The Faerie Race # 3
Format: Kindle, 220 pages
Release Date: August 1, 2019
Publisher: Live Edge Publishing
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy

Welcome to the final round of The Faerie Race—an epic adventure through a realm as compelling as it is deadly…

The final trial of the Faerie Race has arrived: a head-to-head battle through the streets of Elfame city. Jacq and Orin should be ecstatic to have made it this far—but tragedy overshadows them both—leaving the pair wondering if the cost to continue is too high.

Only the unexpected reappearance of her long-lost sister keeps Jacq in the game, but Cass’s presence comes with troubles of its own. The ancient Brotherhood is closer than ever to carrying out a twisted plot that would mean an end to modern human civilization. There’s one slim chance to foil the Brotherhood’s plans, and only Jacq and Orin have the means to do it.

Thrust into a lethal final showdown that’s more game than race, Jacq and Orin quickly realize that the odds are once again rigged against them. And worse, their enemies have thrust those they love into the cross-hairs. The clock is ticking. Jacq and Orin have one slim chance to foil the Brotherhood’s plans and win the race, or they’ll lose more than just the competition. They’ll lose everything and everyone they hold dear.

The Doomsday Trial is the third and final installment in co-authors Claire Luana, and J.A. Armitage's The Faerie Race trilogy. The Doomsday Trial picks up mere hours after the cliffhanger ending of The Elemental Trial. Jacqueline (Jacq) Cunningham and Orin have made it to the finale of the Fantastic Faerie Race which is taking place in Faerworld but not without a shocking loss and a stunning revelation about her sister. While Jacq and Orin have grown closer, things around them are boiling dangerously close to a breaking point. It has become apparent now that Jacq and Orin may be the strongest team in the race. 

But, many obstacles stand in their way of winning. Jacq and Orin have come to the conclusion that the trials are more than just a game and a TV reality show. The Faerie King has something up his sleeve and is using the trials to hide behind. The secrets that the King is hiding could cost many their lives in the Faerie world as well as the human world. As Jacq and Orin slowly uncover faerie conspiracies, the question becomes how involved in the planning of the race where the Brotherhood? What if the race was planned all along by brotherhood as a front for something much more diabolical? 

As the truth comes out, it becomes apparent that Jacq and Orin must not only win the race if they can to save their families, but stop the King and Brotherhood from going through with their plans. The final leg of the race takes place in Elfame. This final trial includes tests of knowledge, magic, logic, strength and endurance. It includes a chess game of life and death where the winners will walk away with a prize of a lifetime. That is if they can survive against their adversaries Tristam and Sophia. 

The story will include a meeting with Orin's mother Ramona, who is all but a slave to the King, as well as a reunion with Jacq's sister Cass who disappeared into Faerworld two years ago with an union Fae who we will meet in this story. Contestants will find themselves as chess pieces, including Jacq's own mother as well as Orin's father. Great ending to the series. It is just as action packed and full of twists as the previous two books, but wraps everything up nicely by the end of the book.

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#Review - The Elemental Trial by Claire Luana, J.A. Armitage

Series: The Faerie Race #2
Format: Kindle, 216 pages
Release Date: The Faerie Race #2
Publisher: July 15, 2019
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy

Welcome to round two of The Faerie Race—an epic adventure through a realm as compelling as it is deadly…

The Faerie Race has proven more grueling and deadly than Jacqueline thought possible. With one trial down and two to go, it seems the reality show’s producers will stop at nothing to get their ratings—even murder.

It will take all of Jacq’s cunning to get through the next trial unscathed, but all she can think about is her discovery that her sister is alive. Too bad her search for answers has only left her with more questions, and more enemies.

Forced to work side-by-side with their beautiful and duplicitous competition, Orin and Jacq are plunged back into a magical world filled with bizarre creatures, far-reaching conspiracies, and not nearly enough to eat. Each challenge brings the two of them closer—but that just means they have more to lose.

Will Jacq be able to reach the final checkpoint with her heart and her life intact, or will The Elemental Trial prove too daunting? 

The Elemental Trial, by co-authors Claire Luana & J.A. Armitage, is the second installment in The Faerie Race. The story picks up right after the first trial ended. After surviving the first stage of the Fantastic Faerie Face which saw several contestants die and several others drop out before being killed, Jack and her teammate Orin have only hours to prepare for the next stage. Both Jacqueline Cunningham and Orin Treebaum desperately need to win in order to be granted a boon by the Faerie King. Jacq needs it to find her sister, Orin needs it to free his parents.


But, before the stage can even begin, Jacq is ambushed and nearly kidnapped before escaping. Jacq is also coming to terms with the fact that she has magic after restraining and and forgetting about it for years. Once upon a time, both human and faerie worlds were connected. Magic was everywhere. Magic and technology, however, do not mix and therefore it would be stupid to open the gates to allow magic to return. Reunifying worlds would also plunge humanity into the dark ages. Unfortunately, one group, the Brotherhood, apparently wants to do just that by undoing divisions between worlds. 

This stage of the race will take contestants to the Court of the Sylphs. Contestants will have to best the sylphs smartest mind in order to advance and stay in the race. The sylphs are notoriously fond of games and riddles. The Court of the Sylphs is where Jacq learns that her sister is still alive and here in Faerwild. But, why? Why hasn't she tried to contact her own sister who has been worried sick for 2 years since she went missing? She also learns that certain members of the FFR are connected to the Brotherhood. 

The second part of the Elemental Trial will force the contestants to journey to the land of the Merfolk. It has become clear as water that someone is doing everything they can to make sure that Tristam and Sophia will win the challenge. Jacq still hasn't been given a new ring after using it to save contestants. Items that are supposed to be used in order to survive underwater don't work or are intentionally sabotaged. The Merfolk hate the Faerie King and decides to make the FFR contestants pay for their transgressions. Chao ensues as Jacq and Orin fight to survive against a stack deck of cards. 

Once again, the authors have created a race that is similar to the Amazing Race with danger, action, romance, and twists galore. I have to say I am glad I choose to read this trilogy. The trials are dangerous. The contestants are dangerous. The producers of the show have apparently lost all control of what they intended the FFR race to be. Too many people find themselves in harms way which is not suppose to happen. What Cass is up to remains a mystery. Jacq and Orin clearly have a target on their backs. It's only a matter of time before all the questions are answered.

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#Review - The Sorcery Trial by Claire Luana, J.A. Armitage #YA #Fantasy

Series: The Faerie Race #1
Format: Kindle, 252 pages
Release Date: July 1, 2019
Publisher: Live Edge Publishing
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy

Fame. Fortune. Your most extravagant wish granted. These are the prizes promised to the team that wins The Faerie Race, the first and only reality television show to venture into the dangerous realm of the fae. 

But that’s not why Jacqueline Cunningham wants in. She’s after any sign of her sister—who vanished without a trace into the faerie world two years ago. Jacq thought getting into the race would be the hard part. But she didn’t count on the other competitors—who will stop at nothing to finish first. Or her distractingly-handsome jerk of a partner, who seems to be hiding secrets of his own.

Plunged into a world where everything wants to kill her, what starts as a hunt for the truth turns into a desperate contest for survival. Now that Jacq’s in the race, it will take all her wits to make it to the finish line alive.

The Sorcery Trial is the first installment in co-authors Claire Luana and J.A. Armitage's The Faerie Race trilogy. What you need to know; the protagonist of this story is Jacqueline (Jacq) Cunningham. 10 years ago, the existence of the fae and the faerie realm was revealed. The ICCF (International Coalition for Cooperation with Faeries) was created. 2 years ago, her older sister Cassandra disappeared without a trace. Jacq to this day believes that she went over the hedge into Faerwild, the home of the fairy. Jacq believes Cass was last seen with a Fae, but has no proof since everything seems to have been covered over.

Soon after losing her sister, Jacq, traveled to Hollyweird where she is an aspiring stuntwoman. Until then, she is a gopher, the lowest monkey in Hollyweird working for a boss obsessed with finding the next great Hollyweird blockbuster. Jacq soon learns that there's going to be a race called "The Fantastic Faerie Race" sponsored by the Faerie King himself, Vale Obanstone. The King offers the winner of the contestant a magical boon. If you are thinking the Amazing Race, you would be correct. Except that this contest takes place in Faerwild. There will be a total of 12 contestants; 6 men, 6 women, 6 humans, 6 fae. 

One of the fae competing is the King's own son Tristam who Jacq literally bumps into. During preparation for the contest, Jacq watches a contestant fall and nearly get eaten by a crocodile. She chooses to intervene on the racers behalf which gets her fired from her job. But, the press she gets from her action in saving the contestant gains her an entry into the competition.  Something Jacq has been hoping for. She's never given up on finding her sister and this might be her one chance to do so. Skipping ahead to the contest, Jacq, weary of magic ever since her sister Cass disappeared, is teamed up with Orin, a fae who has his own hopes in winning the contest. 

The land of Faerie is a dangerous and beautiful place. Jacq & Orin have to work together not only to win, but to make it out alive. They also have a cameraman following their every movement. Jacq, who does well on the physical challenges, must figure out a way to make her dormant work, especially since the other contestants are treating this contest as though they are in the Hunger Games. Sorry, not sorry, but that's the fact of the story. You have to face tough challenges while uncovering various clues while also avoiding being put into dangerous situations. 

So, this story has been compared to Hunger Games, The Amazing Race, as well as American Gladiator. Fair comparisons. I look forward to the second installment and have already downloaded it. I need to figure out some of the background stories like who the Brotherhood is, why contestants end up dead, and what Cass is really up to that she couldn't contact her own sister to tell her that she's alive or not. 

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