The Fairy Wren

Written by Ashley Capes

Narrated by Shane Emmett

From the moment a fairy wren drops his lost wedding ring at his feet, Paul realises there's more magic to the world than he thought...

When Paul Fischer receives a strange phone call asking for help, from a woman who might be his estranged wife Rachel, he's drawn into a mysterious search that threatens not only his struggling bookstore, but long-buried dreams too.

Unfortunately, the only help comes from a shady best friend, an Italian runaway and a strange blue fairy wren that seems to be trying to tell him something - yet the further he follows the clues it leaves the less sense the world seems to make. Is he on the verge of a magical, beautiful discovery or at the point of total disaster?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Close-Up Books
• Release date: Jan 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9780648623731

Ashley Capes

Hi, I'm Ashley, an Australian poet, novelist and teacher.I've been writing since before my teen years (as so many writers have) and started publishing in 2008, mostly in the poetry world. To date I've had six poetry collections published and released seven novels and novellas. When I'm not flat out writing, I tend to teach, usually Music Production, Media Studies and English. Teaching is a tough gig but it's meant to be - learning is a deeply complex process.Before teaching, I did a few other things - I played in a metal band, worked in an art gallery and slaved away at music retail. Aside from reading and writing, I love volleyball and Studio Ghibli – and Magnum PI, easily one of the greatest television shows ever made. I've also been enjoying Cowboy Bebop quite a lot.My first novel was an epic fantasy/adventure title called City of Masks, released by Snapping Turtle Books in 2014. We followed it with the second part of the trilogy, The Lost Mask the year after. The conclusion - Greatmask is forthcoming in 2016.In between I also released shorter novels The Fairy Wren, A Whisper of Leaves, Crossings and the beginning of 'The Book of Never' series, The Amber Isle.

Reviews for The Fairy Wren

[hubblegal-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a delightful tale of a bookstore owner and a magical little fairy wren that comes into his life. While I cringed at times at some of the idiotic decisions this young man makes almost on a daily basis, I had to like the guy and want everything to turn out for the best. He keeps getting into deeper and deeper hot water at every turn. The pages just flew along and I couldn't stop reading.The story is imaginative and original. There's a scene in the book that I can't say too much about without giving away plot but it was such a beautiful and heart wrenching scene. The book is written in a very modern tone but has poetic touches that make it quite special.I'll be looking into other works by this author, especially his ghost story as I believe he'd write a very good one!I won this book in a BookLikes giveaway.

[manka23 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received a copy of this book from the author for an honest review.The Fairy Wren is a book unlike any that I've read before. This was a book that I tried to take my time reading so that I could savor it, but found myself at the end all too quickly. I certainly had NO idea where this book was going, but I was definitely not disappointed. This book is really well written, and I don't understand why it hasn't gotten more attention. It's unlike everything else, and that is probably why. Does originality scare people away?I found myself absolutely captivated with the story line, with all the unexpected twists and criminal behavior. The fairy wren itself also added another whole level of mystery and intrigue. This is one of those books I want to make everyone read. When I got to the end and found out that Ashley Capes is also a poet, I wasn't surprised. The whole book is beautifully written, yet not overly descriptive.