Lady of the Veils

By M. L. John

In a suburban town twenty minutes from the border of Faerie lives a young woman named Karen MacGregor. Though she is the daughter of an exiled Faerie princess, Karen leads an unremarkable life full of homework, punk rock and old science fiction movies. When bloody civil war breaks out in her mother’s homeland her life begins to change rapidly. Her brother is presumed dead . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gypsy Shadow Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Dec 10, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452424606

M. L. John

The first novel M. L. John ever read was Frank L. Baum’s The Wizard of Oz, and she has had a love of fantasy ever since. As soon as her handwriting was good enough to write full sentences, she started writing stories about beautiful princesses who spent their time rescuing princes and slaying dragons. Very little has changed about her writing style since that time, with the possible exception of her penmanship. She lives in Colorado with her true love, their three children, an obnoxious baby brother who still won’t let her change the television channel, and a small menagerie of yippy little dogs and cats big enough to saddle. These days, she spends most of her time explaining different mythologies to her kids until their little eyes glaze and roll back in their heads.

Reviews for Lady of the Veils

[grgenius_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

We begin in a most unlikely location, the local YMCA, where a young water Fey has just arrived, or perhaps it’d be better said “has just been delivered” as he is…dead. Shocking certainly…but even more so when you consider this…the Fey are IMMORTAL. How can this be? What darkness could have possibly succeeded in such a monstrous act? A wizard, or more accurately a Dryad, comes bearing the news...the Ogres are in Avalon, in the palace; we are conquered. High King Thael Quintinar and the High Queen, royal defenders of the palace, have been executed along with their descendents; a sad and upsetting day for all Fey-kind.

Meanwhile back in California, the news is spreading like wildfire as the border security between the two worlds is beefed up to reflect the rising conflict. Though to most residents it is simply news taken in passing, Karen MacGregor is not taking the news so lightly. You see she is part Fey owing to the fact that her mother was a Seelie Princess once upon a time (hence the faery part) and her father was a regular run of the mill “Joe” (explaining the human part). One of her best Fey friends is (was?) Beriani (aka Beri) Quintinar, one of the suspected executed. A shocking revelation indeed and one that sends her little world spiraling out of control, with so many unanswered questions and unspoken feelings left now for her and her alone….or are they? One strange call from the border station later and “up” and “down”, “right” and “left” no longer seem so easy to discern. The caller claims the young prince is still alive, which is either an incredible stroke of luck or the vilest joke imaginable. We’ll soon find out one way or another…but the journey that lies ahead in either case is not enviable in the least.

Story wise all the key elements are there. There’s plenty of action, just enough romance, and a plentitude of fantasical places and creatures. The author's ability to write not only scenes of joy but those of utter despair are astounding. There's a paritcular sequence in the story where all seems to be lost and well, not to put too fine a point on it, but you can't help but be pulled into that bleak abyss with the character...left wondering just what would happen next.

The cast of characters we become acquainted with is fantastic and filled with so much diversity. Karen is a strong female lead, who has only just begun discovering what she and the world have to offer. Beri, the Fey prince, has beauty ten fold yet a relationship with his parents that shows beauty may not be everything after all. Then we have Julian, Shannon O'Grady, Cora, Ryhn (<-- one SCARY guy...~shudders~) and Brother (who is not actually her "brother" per se)....and the list goes on and on. Even with all of these key players having their turn in the spotlight, you still get to know them well enough to become connected to their fates.

With all that is good, so comes the not-so-good...sad but true. I'll keep this brief though as they did not hinder my overall enjoyment of the story, just blocked my view of it from time to time ever so shortly. For me, a few of the characters seemed to play against their described natures at times...changing their minds in an instant. Word/phrase repetition also plagues a particular line or two, as does a case of wandering dialogue...but again, these instances are brief and over almost before they start.

When all is said and done, a fantastic adventure that will keep you glued to your screen. There is no stalling point in the storyline as you progress because there is always some new action to take in, new revelation to contemplate, or new future to consider. A strong debut from this emerging author and one that’ll certainly be making waves for some time to come; can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

Recommended reading for Young Adult, Fantasy, and Fiction fans alike of the teen and adult reading age. Happy reading!