Reviews with content warning for Blood - Unseelie

This is definitely a YA book, but it's still a good read. It does drag a bit in the middle but overall I enjoyed the story and characters.

As an autistic person, I could heavily relate to the things Seelie would think, say, or do. The fact that this was written by an autistic author really makes it that much better, especially since I too could relate.

Definitely recommend giving it a read if you're interested in magic, faeries (Seelie & Unseelie), friendship/bonds grown during a difficult adventure, and warring minds.

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theespressoedition's review against another edition

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4.0

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hales_1243's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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christineolivia's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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madamenovelist's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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atthelibrarywithmegan's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

First off, I absolutely LOVED that not only is the main character an autistic girl, the author is also autistic. Ivelisse Housman states in her author’s note that you can write autistic characters without explicitly stating that they’re autistic. She did a really great job with the representation here. I do think that it takes a reader’s own knowledge of what autism looks like though for you to really understand how Seelie is feeling and how she holds her relationships with fellow characters. If you are autistic, Seelie’s own meltdowns and frustrations can be a little overwhelming to read, but also made me feel super seen.
At times the flow of the story felt a wee bit off, but I was able to infer what was going on and still enjoyed the story a lot. It does end on a cliffhanger and I’m pretty sure I said “What?!” out loud when I realized the book had ended.
Unseelie is full of adventure, found family vibes, and maybe the start of slow burn enemies to lovers. I wish book two was available, but Unseelie just came out in January. 😂 I will definitely be keeping my eye out for book two!

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starrysteph's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The start to the Unseelie Duology was fresh, magical, and engaging.

We’re following adventurer sisters Iselia (Seelie) and Isolde. They’re twins - sort of. Seelie is an autistic changeling, struggling to control her wild magic, feeling out of place among humans, and wishing for a peaceful family life.

After a disastrous incident in their hometown, the girls are on the run. Isolde is a skilled thief and Seelie supports her sister and helps power their magical wagon. But when a heist goes wrong, they find themselves paired up with unlikely allies as they hunt for a mysterious (and valuable) treasure.

While the plot is entertaining and the slow-burn romance is sweet, it’s the autistic representation (and the switch-up of changeling lore) that makes Unseelie shine. We get to hear Seelie’s story entirely from Seelie’s perspective and with Seelie’s voice. She is centered.

I found all four of our main treasure-hunters engaging and charming. The story and many of the tropes felt familiar, but Seelie’s perspective was so fresh that it kept me interested in the world. I’d love to see more development for the other three in book 2 (and wish we had gotten a bit more in depth characterization here), but I thought they were all likable.

I was hungering for a faster pace & will be looking forward to the second half of the duology to explode right into action. The writing overall was simple yet well done. It’s generic in some ways - but absolutely stellar in others.

I’ll be recommending this to YA readers far and wide. :)

CW: death, violence, blood, fire, drowning, injury, ableism & eugenics, hate crime, vomiting, panic attacks, kidnapping, child abuse (mentioned), confinement

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(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)

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shelvesofivy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'll likely have to come back to this review later simply because I can't possibly compact all of my thoughts about this book right now. But I had so much fun all throughout this story, and can't wait for the next one!
I love that Seelie isn't written with a spotlight on her autism as if to say "look at me, I'm representation!" Rather, it's written as a natural part of her person, like any other character traits would be. They're also consistent, because it's just a part of who she is. I seem to remember seeing someone write that this book is like a love letter that only an autistic author could write, and I fully agree ♡
Beyond the representation, I just fell in love with the main cast. Every one of them was distinct and lovable, even when they were at each other's throats.
And the story itself!! It reminded me of how much fun I had reading fantasy adventures as a child, always itching to pick up the book and see where it took us next. I loved that we had to question everything and not trust what we saw 100% of the time.
I laughed and cried ♡ I'll definitely need to reread whenever the next installment comes out

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