For Callie McFay, a half-witch/half-fey professor of folklore and Gothic literature, the fight to save the enchanted town of Fairwick, New York, is far from over. After a hostile takeover by the Grove—a sinister group of witches and their cohorts—many of the local fey have been banished or killed, including Callie’s one true love. And in place of the spirit of tolerance and harmony, the new administration at Fairwick College has fostered an air of danger and distrust.
With her unique magical abilities, Callie is the only one who can rescue her friends from exile and restore order to the school—a task that requires her to find the Angel Stone, a legendary talisman of immense power. Propelled on an extraordinary quest back to seventeenth-century Scotland, Callie risks her life to obtain the stone. Yet when she encounters a sexy incarnation of her lost love, she finds the greater risk is to her heart. As the fate of Fairwick hangs in the balance, Callie must make a wrenching choice: reclaim a chance for eternal passion or save everything she holds dear.
Ballantine Books | September 3, 2013 | 320 pages
My Thoughts
- The Angel Stone is the final book in Juliet Dark's Fairwick Chronicles trilogy, following The Demon Lover and The Water Witch (click on the book title to read my review).
- At the opening of this novel, the running of Fairwick College has been taken over by enemy Nephilim, and heroine Callie McFay, a professor of folklore at the college, must struggle to ensure the needs of her students are met and the spirit of the college is not lost. With most of Callie's friends banished to Fairy, it falls upon Callie to find a way to get them back. Doing so, however, will require that she travel back in time to retrieve a mythical stone - the Angel Stone - that will enable her to bring her friends back to Fairwick and defeat her enemies. But Callie's quest is not an easy one. While in 17th century Scotland she meets the original incarnation of her demon lover. Rescuing her friends means Callie will once again have to give up her lover. But now that she's found him again will she be able to let him go?
- I have mixed feelings about this novel. I really like the characters in this trilogy, especially Callie McFay, but several of the secondary characters who helped make the first two novels in the trilogy so enjoyable are, unfortunately, largely absent from this book. The new characters introduced in this novel couldn't make up for the loss of my favourites.
- The setting of the trilogy, small town Fairwick, New York, is also one of the reasons I've enjoyed the earlier novels in this series. While Fairwick is still featured prominently in The Angel Stone, a significant part of the novel also takes place in 17th century Scotland. While I generally enjoy novels that involve time travel, and 17th century Scotland was an interesting place, I never became engaged in this aspect of the storyline -- I just wanted Callie to hurry up and get back to modern-day Fairwick.
- The conclusion to The Angel Stone is ultimately satisfying, but I did feel it was too rushed and didn't do justice to some of the events that take place in the final pages.
- Although The Angel Stone concludes The Fairwick Chronicles, given I genuinely enjoyed the characters in this series I would like to see Juliet Dark revisit the world she has created in this trilogy.
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
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