The Last Changeling Pages: 360 on November 8, 2014
Series: The Last Changeling #1
Also in this series: The Last Faerie QueenA Kingdom at War . . .Elora, the young princess of the Dark Faeries, plans to overthrow her tyrannical mother, the Dark Queen, and bring equality to faeriekind. All she has to do is convince her mother’s loathed enemy, the Bright Queen, to join her cause. But the Bright Queen demands an offering first: a human boy who is a “young leader of men.”A Dark Princess In Disguise . . .To steal a mortal, Elora must become a mortal—at least, by all appearances. And infiltrating a high school is surprisingly easy. When Elora meets Taylor, the seventeen-year-old who’s plotting to overthrow a ruthless bully, she thinks she’s found her offering . . . until she starts to fall in love.
The Last Changeling is the first book in the young adult series, the Faerie Revolutions. I am a huge fan of faerie books, and what I especially loved about The Last Changeling is not only is it a great representation of Faerie lore, but it is also heavy on the romance. I really loved reading about the strong emotional connection between Elora and Taylor. That boy crushed hard on her and I ate it all up! Fans of faerie books will love this new series. It was so well done, and in addition to the heavy romance and paranormal elements, there was also some social issues mixed into the high school scene in the story. I only had one minor issue with that aspect of the story, but everything else was great.
The book is told in dual perspective between Taylor and Elora, or Lora as Taylor knows her. I loved this narration style for this book. I thought allowed us to get to know both main characters really well. I don’t even know who I liked more. Those are my favorite kinds of books, where I connect with each of the main characters for different reasons. Taylor is dealing with some dark demons of his past. And I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I always kind of felt this mysterious air surrounding him. I thought there might be a connection of him to the faerie world. I can’t wait to see whether there is or not and see how that all unfolds in the next book.
Elora is trapped in the middle of a war, both a prisoner and an active participant. She is an enigma, and I loved watching her grow as a faerie and person, and watching her wage war within herself. Being around Taylor and his friends was a great aid to her personal growth. The Last Changeling is a pleasure to read. I don’t know how else to say it. The pacing of this book is great and the words just seem to flow from the pages. There are many things competing within the story for the main theme of the story, but Chelsea Pitcher somehow makes all of the elements meld together flawlessly. The faerie lore mixes in perfectly with the strong romance. And at the same time there are very prominent secondary characters which bring a slew of teenage social issues into the story. There was bullying and gay/straight tensions, along with drug use. I really admired the way Chelsea Pitcher worked in such serious issues facing teens today, but I had a small issue with there being so many “issues” in play in the story. It almost felt like too much and I thought it took away from the main message about the bullying people for being different. I almost feel like if the drugging and drinking didn’t come into play the bullying and identity message would have been stronger. That being said, I loved everything else about the story. I thought it was really well done a great setup for the series.
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kindlemom1
Okay crazy cover on this! I like it. 🙂
Wonderful review! I have never had wonderful luck with fae books with a few exceptions but I love that you liked this so much!
Heather Poindexter
This sounds so good.
Michelle @ In Libris Veritas
I’m glad you enjoyed this one Michelle! It’s great that it tried to tackle some of the issues teens face, even though it does sound like it might try to take on too much.
Chelsea Hunter
This book sounds absolutely amazing! I can’t wait to read it!
Shane @ Itching for Books
Nice review. Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Lauren Harvey
I want to read this so badly. It sounds magical!