Extraordinary October by Diana Wagman Pages: 264
Published by Ig Publishing on October 18, 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy & Magic
Source: eARC from Publisher
October is an ordinary girl. From her plain looks to her average grades, there seems to be nothing special about her. Then, three days before her eighteenth birthday, she develops a strange itch that won’t go away, and her life is turned upside down. Suddenly, she can hear dogs talk, make crows fly, and two new and very handsome boys at school are vying for her affections.
After she starts “transplanting” herself through solid rock, October learns that she is not ordinary at all, but the daughter of a troll princess and a fairy prince, and a pawn in a deadly war between the trolls and the fairies. Now October will have to use all of her growing powers to save her family, and stop a mysterious evil that threatens to destroy the fairy world.
In the fantastical vein of authors such as Julie Kagawa and Holly Black, Extraordinary October takes us on a magical journey from the streets of Los Angeles to the beautiful and mythical underground fairy kingdom.
Extraordinary October is a young adult fantasy/paranormal romance by author Diana Wagman. I had a lot of fun with this one. It was not without some faults, but overall it was a good read. I don’t get to read too many books featuring trolls, so I liked the combination of trolls and Fairies in Extraordinary October. I also loved that the main character’s name was October. I thought that was very unique, even if she doesn’t like it as much as I did. (plus, I love the month of October.)
October is the daughter of a troll princess and a fairy prince, making her a very important ruler in both worlds. However, she doesn’t know about any of this. The trolls and the fairies don’t get along very well so there is a big fight over October, though maybe not in the way you are imagining. What I liked most about Extraordinary October is that the book did not take any of the paths I thought it would. I expected that both sides would be fighting to get October to choose them and they would all be trying to woo her, but without giving too much away, that could not be further from the truth. Sure, each side sends a guy over to try and sway her but every character in Extraordinary October has their own personal motivations. It made for a very interesting read.
And now for some of the issues I had with the book. While I liked October a lot, and I kind of liked both of the guys are different points, I didn’t really love either of them. They each had their own issues and I felt them both to be a bit shallow and selfish. I did end up liking one more than the other, but I am not going to tell you which one. (unless you have read the book, then I would love to discuss it with you.) But an even bigger issue than the guy dilemma was the pacing of the story. It starts out very mysterious, and I understood why. In fact, I was totally loving this story at the start. I thought it was all setting up to be a super cool read, and I had it on track to be a 5 star book. But then the plot started unfolding and the book went from merely mysterious to overly confusing with large plot holes. It was very hard for me to follow because I felt like some key details were missing. It eventually was all sorted out, and I got the information I needed, but the middle of the book was a bit rough for me. Stick with Extraordinary October though, because the end gets a lot better. And overall, I did enjoy this one.
Bottom line: If you like paranormal creatures and a good mysterious adventure, Extraordinary October might be a great read for you. I had some plot and structural issues in the middle of the story. They worked themselves out for the most part and this book did get better towards the end. Overall, this was a fun story. I enjoyed Extraordinary October.
Check out the trailer:
To enter, fill out the rafflecopter below to win Mason jar firefly lights – comes in a 3-pack (US/CAN) Ends Oct. 20th
Note: Book Briefs Contest Policy applies. All of the prizes, terms and conditions of the giveaway should be contained in the rafflecopter below. No Purchase necessary to enter. Void where prohibited by law.
About Diana Wagman
I have always written and always wanted to be a writer, but didn’t think I could make a living at it. So I became a mime. (You can imagine what my father had to say about that.) I worked on the streets of NYC with two partners, stopping traffic in front of the Met and annoying tourists. When, to my great surprise, that didn’t work out, I returned to school in film–thinking screenwriters made a living. And when I had ten scripts and my agent had stopped returning my calls, I wrote a novel. I did it just because I wanted to love writing again and not think about selling or casting or marketability. That novel was Skin Deep, and it’s a testament to writing from your heart that the first person to read it, bought it. I’ve been trying to write from the heart ever since.
Sounds like a good read, I like the idea of a half troll/half fairy! Thanks for the giveaway!
I love the cover! I’m a Julie Kagawa fan and she was mentioned as a comparable author so maybe I will like this book. Thanks for the honest review and post today!
This book sounds like it be a good read
Sounds like an interesting read and I will still give it a try, but I’m a little wary after your review!
this book sounds good would love to read it.
Absolutely beautiful cover, I could gift it without wrapping, just add a bow! Congrats on your new release and great taste in graphics!!
Very intrigued by the description. Look forward to reading. Grabbing it right away. 🙂
Interesting premise! I would read for that alone.
Humm, half fairy half troll. Love it!
Sounds like an interesting read, half troll & half fairy. Thanks for the honest review.
This looks like an interesting read. Thanks for the honest review. It’s always hard for me to get into a story when I can’t connect to the characters, so I know what you’re saying.