Review: Fairystruck by J.L. Bryan

Fairystruck (Songs of Magic #3) by J.L. Bryan
Format: ebook
Source: provided for review
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: April 27, 2012

Songs of Magic
1. Fairy Metal Thunder
2. Fairy Blues
3. Fairystruck - Paperback | Kindle
4. Fairyland
5. Fairyvision
6. Fairy Luck
7. Fairy Queen

J.L. Bryan
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

With their first single shooting up the Billboard charts, the Zebras hit the road as the opening band for an epic stadium tour across America. The future looks bright for the band, if they can survive the rioting fans, Queen Mab of Faerie, the dullahan, and the evil teddy bears.

Aoide the Lutist and Liadan the banshee wolf cross into man-world on the trail of the stolen fairy instruments. Aoide is shocked at the strangeness of life among the humans, but she also learns about a thrilling new kind of music never heard in Faerie...rock and roll.

My Thoughts: I think this is my favorite of the 3 books thus far. The quips are quippy, the action is action-y and the creep factor is through the roof. The things that the band puts up with on the side of their label left me narrowing my eyes in frustration. One band member is particular had me gritting my teeth and waiting impatiently for the moment they wised up to what they were being asked to do. Aoide's basic cluelessness about the human world and Liadan's fear of big cities left me smiling. And the assassin teddy bears... THE ASSASSIN TEDDY BEARS! Brilliant!

I've liked all the books in this series but this is the book that made everything totally click for me. Katie's ordeal in particular made my skin crawl. Jason's decision to steal the instruments from Faerie has brought a lot of danger into the lives of his family and friends. Between the attempts by Queen Mab's minions to get the instruments back and the Dullahan trying to claim them for herself, this has been one wild ride. Now, though, Jason's little sister has been drawn into this world in a way that I doubted Jason ever imagined. *shudder*

I'm loving the little interactions between Jason and Erin and I can only cross my fingers that she sees that her boyfriend is kinda a jerk. Mad Queen Mab is certifiably kooky and I hope Icarus gets out from under her thumb. Did I mention the teddy bears? Because... Hello! Assassin teddy bears!

Fast paced and fun, I'm loving the darker direction this story has taken. Jason and his crew need to figure out their priorities and work as a team, something that unfortunately still eludes them. I have no idea how things are going to play out for them in the end but I'm crossing my fingers that no one gets pincushioned by rabid teddy bears before the end of the series.