Elfland (Aetherial Tales, #1)

Aug 03, 2012 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Cross Elizabeth Hand with Fire and Hemlock, and you might end up with something like Freda Warrington's Elfland. This is the kind of big, sweeping modern faerie tale that you don't see often on the adult shelves anymore. There's been some beautiful work done in YA recently, but in the adult realm, the trend has been away from novels like this. And that's a shame. Elfland is complex, rich, sensual, beautifully written, and sometimes heartbreaking.

I devoured Elfland. I carried it with me everywher...more Cross Elizabeth Hand with Fire and Hemlock, and you might end up with something like Freda Warrington's Elfland. This is the kind of big, sweeping modern faerie tale that you don't see often on the adult shelves anymore. There's been some beautiful work done in YA recently, but in the adult realm, the trend has been away from novels like this. And that's a shame. Elfland is complex, rich, sensual, beautifully written, and sometimes heartbreaking.

I devoured Elfland. I carried it with me everywhere for four days, because I never knew when I might have a spare five minutes to steal a page or two. When I was at work, I looked forward to going home so I could read more. I read late into the night, every night. I was hooked. That, to me, is the surest sign of a five-star book: the complete inability to put it down unless I absolutely have to!

Our heroine, Rosie Fox, is of Aetherial (fae) descent, living with her family just this side of the Great Gates that divide our world from the Otherworld. Rosie's haughty neighbor, Lawrence Wilder, is the Gatekeeper, and as such, is supposed to open the Gates every seven years to allow travel, and a flow of energy, between the realms. As the story opens, however, he has shut the Gates, claiming a great danger lurks on the other side. Elfland follows Rosie, her family and friends, and Lawrence's family over the course of the next fourteen years. Fourteen years: long enough for a girl to grow into a woman, for loves to be lost and found, and for family secrets to explode. Long enough for some Aetherials to decide it's better to deny their fae nature, and for others to resort to desperate measures to reopen the Gates.

At its heart, Elfland is about how denying one's true self is a sure path to disaster. It's also a love story. I usually don't go for romances in which the hero and heroine bicker, but Warrington makes the trope sing. Rosie and her eventual love interest get off on the wrong foot as kids, and the way their relationship develops seems painfully realistic to me, with the characters slipping back into snarky retorts because they're familiar, and because the retorts serve as an outlet for emotions more disturbing than anger. Both characters have a lot of growing to do before they're a good match for each other. Elfland is, in part, the story of that growth, and of the sometimes wrenching mistakes made along the way.

When the plot moves into the Otherworld, Warrington handles the journey perfectly. It would have been easy to let the story get bogged down in travelogue here, to slow the pace down by showing the reader every single strange thing that populates the Aetherial realms. Warrington doesn't fall into this trap. She gives us a glimpse of how beautiful and how terrifying Elfland can be, but leaves some things to the imagination, and keeps the focus firmly on the characters' quest. This has a dual effect: it keeps the plot moving, and it allows the Otherworld to retain some of its mystery.

If I have any quibble at all, it's that I don't think the slang needed to be "Americanized" for the US audience. It's not necessary, and it's not done consistently. Characters sometimes obtain higher education at "uni," but sometimes they go to "college" instead, and one character calls another "gay as a nine-dollar note." I wouldn't have minded British slang. The book does take place in Britain, after all.

That's a tiny gripe, though, and overall I loved Elfland. It's a sumptuous feast of a novel, filled with vivid characters, magical locales both earthly and Aetherial, and a complicated plot in which nearly every detail turns out to be significant in the end. I'll definitely be looking up Freda Warrington's backlist.

See this review in context at FantasyLiterature.net! (less)

like 10 likes · see review

Feb 15, 2011 Crowinator rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-reads, booklist-review, fantasy, faeries-elves-goblins, favorites, arcs, real-world-fantasy, adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Foxes and the Wilders are prestigious Aetherial (faerie) families living as humans in England. Lawrence Wilder is the Gatekeeper, who opens the Gates to Otherworld every seven years for necessary magical renewal, and Auberon Fox is the Aetherial leader. The community is thrown when Lawrence refuses to open the Gates, citing unspeakable danger in Otherworld that no one else believes in. As long as the Gates are closed, the Aetherials slowly lose the magic that make up a huge part of their sec...more The Foxes and the Wilders are prestigious Aetherial (faerie) families living as humans in England. Lawrence Wilder is the Gatekeeper, who opens the Gates to Otherworld every seven years for necessary magical renewal, and Auberon Fox is the Aetherial leader. The community is thrown when Lawrence refuses to open the Gates, citing unspeakable danger in Otherworld that no one else believes in. As long as the Gates are closed, the Aetherials slowly lose the magic that make up a huge part of their secret lives, becoming more human. Desperate with the waning of their magic, the community plots to overthrow Lawrence. As the years pass, the Fox and Wilder children become irrevocably entwined, and their relationships eventually lead them to the Gates, where they discover the danger Lawrence claims will destroy them all.

The best part of this book is the dysfunctional, intricate relationships between the two families, especially the children (who grow up from middle grade kids to early/mid twenties through the course of the book). Sam Wilder, violent and mocking, but with a hidden good heart, falls for outspoken, earthy Rosie Fox, who has loathed him since he stole her necklace as a child and beat up her older brother. For years, Rosie wants only to capture the heart of Sam's younger brother, Jon, who inspires messiah-like devotion in everyone he meets. Underneath, however, he is a self-involved drug addict who has led Lucas, Rosie's beloved younger brother, down a dark path. Matthew Fox, the eldest, hates his Aetherial side and pressures his siblings to embrace being human and non-magical, but he is forced to confront his own true nature when his supposedly human wife turns out to have a secret life, too.

But really, Rosie and Sam's relationship is what I truly enjoyed -- their love/hate relationship grows believably (and slowly) into just love, and their bitter, mocking, flirty interactions start out hot and get even hotter (with some sensual sex scenes of the not-too-explicit kind). The only character who doesn’t develop much, and who I pretty much hated the entire book, is Jon – he’s a whiny, self-absorbed, manipulative user, and he doesn’t have his epiphany until the very end. By then it’s difficult to feel sympathy for him or care at all. The relationships among the adult characters are also messy and loving and hurtful, as well, providing a nice counterpoint to their kids, and are as integral to the story.

The Otherworld, behind the Gates, is appropriately dangerous, fanciful, and mysterious, and works well as a place for all of the young adults to gather and search for their identities, for what’s important to them as individuals and as part of the Aetherial community. The way magic intersects with the real world, available and seen only by Aetherials, is something standard for these kind of “secret fantasy world” stories but feels different here, maybe because of the more close-knit, rural setting (there’s no vampires and werewolves running amok in city streets, for example), but maybe also because of the tone of the book.

It’s a beautiful, romantic book, not a gritty one, with a huge, sweeping story about people you come to care about. It's a book you want to linger with but devour as fast as you can, too. I think this is the first of a series, which is both wonderful and disappointing -- it works great as a standalone story and I have no idea what will follow, but I would love to see the characters again.(less)

like 7 likes · see review

Jul 19, 2012 Carla *Jen7waters* rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, read-a-thon, did-nothing-for-my-lady-parts, didnt-care, awful, annoying-female-lead

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I’m SO SO disappointed with this one! It’s not right that a book with such a gorgeous cover tells such a dull, frustrating, soap operish story. Ugh.

Things actually started out okay, I liked the beginning when the protagonists are younger, just little kids really, and they can't stand the sight of each other -- in fact the whole story is about these two families that don't get along. They are not human, but some kind of fairy species, and they hate each other because one family is responsible fo...more I’m SO SO disappointed with this one! It’s not right that a book with such a gorgeous cover tells such a dull, frustrating, soap operish story. Ugh.

Things actually started out okay, I liked the beginning when the protagonists are younger, just little kids really, and they can't stand the sight of each other -- in fact the whole story is about these two families that don't get along. They are not human, but some kind of fairy species, and they hate each other because one family is responsible for opening the 'Gates', which is the entrance to this otherworld, but they refuse to do it, while the other family wants to get in there.

This story is also contemporary, meaning, this was supposed to be some kind of epic contemporary fantasy, and I was so excited for it, but turns out it's more like a lame romantic drama where people sometimes speak of these things called 'Gates' and the 'Dusklands' (the otherworld).

Like I said, the beginning is quite interesting, but at some point the whole thing becomes this really bad soap opera episode, you know, when the girl likes the wrong guy, and for some stupid reason gets married with this other dude, just so a few days later she can cheat on him with yet another guy, but that's okay because her husband only married her for the family money, and OMG WHAT'S HAPPENING??? Seriously!? I kept looking at the cover just to make sure I was reading this same book I bought a long time ago because it had such a pretty Kinuko Y. Craft cover -- I WAS TRICKED! This is not at all what I was expecting!

And I kid you not, all I said before does happen in Elfland -- the female lead, Rose, falls for one of the boys from the other family when she's a little kid, and turns out he's gay, but she refuses to deal with it so she spends years of her life trying to make him to notice her, all the while sleeping with guys that remind her of him -- when she does get tired of chasing a gay guy, she decides to marry this other dude who she does not love whatsoever, but she says she wants a normal, quiet life, which I could understand if her life wasn't normal already. Okay, yes, her family is different and they aren't human, but THAT IS normal for her, so I don't get it. Anyway, she marries this douche and HAS SEX WITH THE BROTHER OF THE GAY GUY DURING HER WEDDING RECEPTION, WHILE WEARING HER WEDDING DRESS, AGAINST A TREE, and keeps having sex encounters with him when her husband is away, until the day he finds them on the bed and ends up crashing a car against a tree, leaving her a widow. And I didn't even mention her mother, who got pregnant from her husband's nemesis. Should I go on? Yeah, I don't think so.

I... I don't even know how I finished this book. And it's not that there's something wrong with the writing, no, but the concept of the story is just... so not what I was expecting. This soap opera, Fantasy? Please...

*PT* Cuidado com o Dálmata -- Elfland
(less)

like 4 likes · see review

May 25, 2010 Patrice rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Any words would be inadequate to describe how much I enjoyed this gorgeous, amazing book. This author keeps reminding me of why I got into British fantasy and sci-fi at an early age.

I don't know if that unique tradition that evolved from Spenser's Faerie Queen volumes is here or not. But for darn sure, the magic, the mysticism, the beauty, and the innovation is there. All the characters are amazing.

This is a book about the elves living in OUR world and what they become by adapting to human rea...more

like 3 likes · see review

Aug 07, 2011 Miranda added it

Elfland by Freda Warrington examines the lives of Aetherials (that would be fairies to us humans) living on Earth. As keeper of the gates, Lawrence Wilder is responsible for opening them up every seven years so that the earthly faeries can return home. Instead, he has closed them off due to a great and terrible threat from within. Cut off from the magic of their home the Aetherials begin to slowly go mad while Auberon Fox tries to keep the piece. and his family together. Tensions build among the...more Elfland by Freda Warrington examines the lives of Aetherials (that would be fairies to us humans) living on Earth. As keeper of the gates, Lawrence Wilder is responsible for opening them up every seven years so that the earthly faeries can return home. Instead, he has closed them off due to a great and terrible threat from within. Cut off from the magic of their home the Aetherials begin to slowly go mad while Auberon Fox tries to keep the piece. and his family together. Tensions build among the Aetherial community over the gates and eventually everything must come to a head regardless of the outcome.

It’s taken me a while to actually write this blog post even though I finished the book some time ago because I really wasn’t sure how I felt about the book. And frankly, I’m still not sure whether or not I liked it or if I would recommend it to others.

First we’ll look at the positives. Freda Warrington has an amazing talent for imagery. From the first page I was in her world and could see it clearly. You don’t have to wonder how things look or how the characters are feeling because you’re right there along with them. There aren’t any passages that are so beautiful they stopped my breath, but the scenes are vivid and rich. Her characters are also distinct and real. If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time you know I love great characterization, and this book is full of it. There are no issues of characters blending together, or being archetypes for any one ideal. It’s lovely seeing them interact together.

Now the negatives. Everything drags on for far too long. The plot, at its heart, is an interesting one, but it gets mired down in the soap opera that is the lives of the Wilder and Fox clans. Some of this was instrumental in developing the world for what would ultimately happen. I get that. But it just drug on and on. Instead of making me love the main character, Rosie, it made me want to smack her. Once the plot actually started rolling I couldn’t put the book down, but for the first two thirds of the book I kept wondering when things would start to happen rather than tuning into the next episode of “As the Fairies Fight”. This may be a little too critical. It wasn’t a waste of time exactly; I just wish it would have moved faster.

I won’t be rereading Elfland again, and I’m still not sure if I would recommend it. If a supernatural melodrama is up your alley than by all means, but if not you might want to pass. Creativity: 4 out of 5, readability 3 out of 5, originality 2 out of 5 for a total score of 9 out of 15.(less)

like · see review

Oct 09, 2011 Lisa rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

(originally reviewed on starmetal oak book blog)

The novel starts off interestingly enough: we're introduced to Rosie Fox as a young girl whose family is from the fairy realm, accessed through the Gates. These Gates are closed to them by Lawrence, another Aetherial, due to his belief of evil lurking on the other side, ready to escape.

Through the next 200 pages or so, we grow up with Rosie and her family and all the drama that goes with it. It reminded me of a soap opera, where all the character...more

like 4 likes · see review

Aug 01, 2011 Theresa rated it 4 of 5 stars

From Greek mythology to Grimm's fairy tales, people have been fascinated by the idea of worlds that exists beside our own. In Freda Warrington's "Elfland" the world of the fae lives alongside, and overlapping, the human world and Aetherials can tap into their realm anywhere; though they can only fully enter the Spiral through the Great Gateways. The Gateways have always been guarded by a single guardian appointed by the Spiral Council. Lawrence Wilder, the current guardian, has sealed the gatewa...more From Greek mythology to Grimm's fairy tales, people have been fascinated by the idea of worlds that exists beside our own. In Freda Warrington's "Elfland" the world of the fae lives alongside, and overlapping, the human world and Aetherials can tap into their realm anywhere; though they can only fully enter the Spiral through the Great Gateways. The Gateways have always been guarded by a single guardian appointed by the Spiral Council. Lawrence Wilder, the current guardian, has sealed the gateway from the Vaethyr, the fae who choose to live outside the Spiral, claiming a demon seeks to come through the portal and destroy both worlds. The earthbound fae are left wondering if Lawrence really senses danger or is the victim of paranoia and grow increasingly restless as they are cut off from their true home.

Rosie Fox has grown up always knowing she's different though she has never entered the Gateway to the Aetherial world. Growing up as a neighbor to the dark Wilder family, Rosie has always had a love/hate relationship with Lawrence Wilder's sons. Jon, the dreamy one, has always been the perfect childhood crush; while Sam, the known troublemaker, has revealed surprising feelings for Rosie.

"Elfland" is so many things that it is hard to describe in a short review. It would be easy to say that it's a book about relationships, but that would sell the complexity of the story short. There are many relationships that weave their way through the book, primarily between the Fox and Wilder families. But the magic of the Aetherial realm also threads its way throughout, giving the book a strong sense of the uncanny-- in a good way.

Rosie Fox is the center of the story and we follow her life through her early loves and later tragedies. Because she straddles two worlds, one she cannot enter, Rosie tries to reconcile her dual nature by approaching everything from a logical point of view. Casting aside what she feels are childish dreams, Rosie tries to settle into a human life, but finds that existence lacks the passion of her true nature.

"Elfland" is the first book by prolific British author Warrington to be released int the U.S. and I have no doubt she will find a huge following. Her writing is so engrossing that I immediately felt connected to the characters. She's wonderfully subtle when incorporating the magical elements. There are moments that ever-so-lightly remind the reader of everything from Hansel and Gretel to Orpheus, but the intelligence of the reader is never insulted and we're allowed to connect the dots on our own-- and I love that.

Perhaps the happy endings are a little too pat, but the overall theme of redemption makes "Elfland" a very satisfying and altogether lovely book.(less)

like · see review

Mar 22, 2011 Dana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, urban-fantasy

Still working on catching up on the “Women of…” challenges! This (last) month’s “Women of Fantasy” book was Elfland by Freda Warrington. Take a moment to consider the cover of the book, if you will. More dedicated readers of fantasy will recognize this as the artwork of Kinyuko Y. Craft, whose work is perhaps most easily recognized on the covers of many of the novels of Patricia McKillip, and now the Wildwood books of Juliet Marillier as well.

The reason I feel the need to explain this to you, de...more Still working on catching up on the “Women of…” challenges! This (last) month’s “Women of Fantasy” book was Elfland by Freda Warrington. Take a moment to consider the cover of the book, if you will. More dedicated readers of fantasy will recognize this as the artwork of Kinyuko Y. Craft, whose work is perhaps most easily recognized on the covers of many of the novels of Patricia McKillip, and now the Wildwood books of Juliet Marillier as well.

The reason I feel the need to explain this to you, dear reader, (beyond using it as an excuse to point out awesome artwork and mention two other authors I love,) is because it goes to explain why I came into this book with such particular expectations. I am, I admit, a very visual person, and I love a book with a pretty cover, but usually the pretty cover just gets me to pick the book up and then I proceed to read the book for the book it is. In this case, though, I started reading Elfland with all the expectations I normally have when I pick up a McKillip book, ie otherworldly, lyrical, high fantasy faerie tale prose.

Which is why I was a bit disconcerted to get 100 pages in and suddenly realize that I was reading something more along the lines of “Days of Our Faerie Lives.” I’m pretty sure I had read a description of the book before, back when I was trying to decide how many challenge books I wanted to try to read, and I did actually know, somewhere in the back of my mind, that this book actually took place at least partly in the modern world. And that’s fine! I like urban fantasy too! It’s actually what I’ve been reading the most of lately. But I was so trained to respond to that cover art in a certain way that I kept expecting the story to switch over the the fae realm any minute now… and it kept not doing that.

So here’s what the story is actually about. There is this race of beings, the Aetherials, who decided they actually liked living on Earth most of the time, so they crossed over out of Faerie (or Elfland, or any of a number of other things they call it) and blended in with humans. Mostly, they stayed on Earth in human society, but there was still a small door left open that they could cross back through if they wanted once in a while. Plus, every seven years, they have a big ceremony where they all cross back over through the big gates en masse and there’s a big party with all their Aetherial cousins who stay in Faerie all the time. Fun!

But then, just as all the people were gathering for the big crossover one year, the Gatekeeper suddenly closes all the gates, large and small, completely. He says there is a big danger on the other side, and in order to keep everyone safe on both sides of the gates, he can’t open them. Possibly ever. This is unheard of! But the Gatekeeper is a very important person, and surely he wouldn’t do such a thing if it wasn’t warranted. So everyone goes home and waits another seven years to see if it will be safe enough then. But it’s not.

By the time the main part of the story starts, the gates have been closed for something close to 14 years. The story focuses on the children of two neighboring families: the Gatekeeper’s sons, Sam and Jon Wilder; and their next-door neighbors, Matt, Rosie, and Lucas Wilder. They, like all the Aetherial children who came of age (16) during the time the gates have been closed, have never journeyed to the other side and in many ways have no real understanding of their own natures. They know they’re different, and have a few extra abilities, but for the most part, their concerns are very much like the concerns of strictly human teenagers and young adults, (by which I mean in people in their early 20s, not the target demographic of YA lit.)

My overwhelming impression of the story as a whole was that I was reading a soap opera (though nicely minus the soft-focus lens and ridiculous melodramatic acting) that had some aside references to faerie. We get wild-child sons from a broken home acting out; an evil stepmother; unrequited love; explorations of drugs (from the faerie realm, though, so they’re totally not illegal, he swears); marriages between inappropriate partners; torrid affairs; and elite group political machinations! And, as flip as that description may sound, none of these are bad things to have in this book. It all works. The reader cares about all the characters, even the ones who end up being sort of evil. They’re all very fully formed, and it’s really hard to look away from their lives, even when it’s clear everything is about to collapse. You have to know what happens next. I stayed up way too late one night just because I could tell I was close to the end and I couldn’t stop reading.

So. Take this review for what you will. I did enjoy the book. It just wasn’t at all what I was expecting.(less)

like 1 like · see review

Dec 04, 2009 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romantic-fantasy, fairies, fantasy, british-influence, favorites

I liked Elfland a lot! It is a complex, emotional story full of beautiful descriptions and memorable characters. This fantasy is set in the modern day in the romantically ancient Charnwood Forest region of England, but although it is contemporary, its tone is very different from a lot of urban fantasy.

The primary characters in the book are Aetherials, beings of an ancient race that live among humans on Earth. They are normally able to travel into another world, the Spiral, and reconnect with th...more I liked Elfland a lot! It is a complex, emotional story full of beautiful descriptions and memorable characters. This fantasy is set in the modern day in the romantically ancient Charnwood Forest region of England, but although it is contemporary, its tone is very different from a lot of urban fantasy.

The primary characters in the book are Aetherials, beings of an ancient race that live among humans on Earth. They are normally able to travel into another world, the Spiral, and reconnect with their spiritual Otherworld essence. The characters really came to life because they are mystical and wonderous, as Otherworld beings should be, but also quite realistic and humanlike in their feelings, actions, and follies.

However, in the beginning of the book, the Gates between Earth and the Spiral are closed by Gatekeeper Lawrence Wilder. Deprived of the opportunity for Initiation into the Spiral, their birthright, Lawrence's children and the children of the neighboring Fox family are left to make their way through the everyday world. Although the viewpoint shifts among various characters, the main character is Rosie Fox. As Rosie grows up, attends college, gets a job, and so forth, she and her brother keep getting drawn into attempts to gain access to the Spiral.

As the teens/young adults try to figure out why the Gates must remain closed and what that would mean for their lives, they develop complicated, sometimes strange relationships with each other. Family plays an important role in everyone's life, and characters have to choose what to hold onto and what to reject. Eventually, events come to a head and Rosie has to delve deep into the mysteries of the Aetherials. I don't want to give anything away, but Jon and Sam Wilder, Rosie and Lucas Fox, and the other characters are all thoroughly compelling and will make the reader care what happens to them. They are put to the test and although they make some big mistakes, the story has a truly romantic heart and the ending was good.

People who like Juliet Marillier might like this book. It is set in the modern age but is otherwise rather similar. A great book by all counts!(less)

like 4 likes · see review

May 19, 2013 K. Bird rated it 4 of 5 stars

Elfland is not at all what I expected. Don't be fooled by the cover. This isn't a magical adventure tale of some youngster discovering faery for the first time. This is a much richer, more adult tale more along the lines of how faery can twist people or change families along the lines of Graham Joyce's Some Kind of Fairy Tale or a darker Charles de Lint.

Elfland follows the fortunes of mainly two families in a small, English town. They follow the old ways, and are part of an ancient magic that th...more

like · see review

Jan 23, 2012 Isamlq rated it 3 of 5 stars

I’m split yet again. On one hand, I found myself enthralled. How could I not given the simple way everything was presented (even when talk of the intricacies of their world came in?) On the other, I was utterly appalled at how the lot of them re/acted.

Elfland is a world along side (beneath? parallel to?) our own and it’s filled with rules about what to do and how to do things, with everyone with a place, a role then everyone following the same. There’s a Gatekeeper, a gate kept, and the world o...more I’m split yet again. On one hand, I found myself enthralled. How could I not given the simple way everything was presented (even when talk of the intricacies of their world came in?) On the other, I was utterly appalled at how the lot of them re/acted.

Elfland is a world along side (beneath? parallel to?) our own and it’s filled with rules about what to do and how to do things, with everyone with a place, a role then everyone following the same. There’s a Gatekeeper, a gate kept, and the world on the other side. And all of it was surprisingly easy to imagine despite all the details attached. Now, knowing how incredibly fantastic things could get it, the contrast to their problems was jarring. You see, non-human or not, Rosie and her people had to deal things that went from the mundane (pining for a boy) to the uncomfortable and shocking (as in (view spoiler))So non-human or not, there was something basic to their story too.

So yes, I’m split. I did enjoy seeing both the young set and the old set work out their issues. And Rosie, Lucas, Mathew, Sam, Lawrence, and heck, even Sapphire all progressed from point A to point B, but the choices made in the meantime had me squinting to see if I’d read things right. Dysfunctional is the most apt thing to name them. And it's this dysfunction that shaped how they all interacted. Rosie for instance went from this rather unsure girl to a more confident woman; seeing her pine, then get her heart broken, then seeing her settle, then get her heart broken again, only later still to have her doing the most foolish (and selfish) of things… well, I’ll be frank, sometimes I wanted to smack some sense into her. Or take Jon… whose carelessness, led to the most screwed up places. Or Sapphire for that matter… Geez!

I’ll put it this way: none of them were all good or all bad. And if they were leaning heavily toward one of those sides, something always came up a little while later to shed some light on why they were the way they were. And then I’d be stuck neither hating nor liking them that much again.

While I didn’t like a lot of what they were doing, I went along… because as I’d learned, there was always something that followed.

3.5/5

(less)

like · see review

Aug 05, 2011 Carole-Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

I've always liked Freda Warrington's fantasy books from way back when, and this new one (written 2009) is a welcome addition.

The story is about Aetherials, fae-like creatures, who live as humans on Earth, but celebrate pagan-style festivals year round. Lawrence Wilder is the Gatekeeper who has closed the Gates to the Otherworld because of a danger lurking in the world beyond, and he wants to protect his people living on Earth.

The plot-line revolves around Matthew, Rosie and Lucas Fox, and Sam an...more

like · see review

Jun 26, 2012 Theresa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Another good beach read. This book was different for me because it was less fantasy and more real life. The faerie characters are "stuck" on earth and must discover who they are on Earth before embracing their Otherworld-ness. I thought that this book could have stood alone without the fantasy element, I liked the story. I am a huge fantasy fan, so for me, I wish there would have been more of this book dedicated to the Otherworld. I also like generational books that follow a family through gener...more

like · see review

Apr 15, 2013 Branwen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Atherials (elves/faeries/gods, what have you) have been living among us as humans for a long long time. They are beautiful and mysterious creatures. Rosie Fox, along with her two brothers and parents are one such family. On a special night every seven years the Night of thr Summer Stars takes place, and Aetherials can pass through the Gates and travel to the Other world. But the Gatekeeper, Laurence Wilder, has been keeping the Gate sealed shut, determined that there is an evil being in the Othe...more

like 1 like · see review

Aug 03, 2011 Kris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, urban-fantasy

I freely admit that I picked this up because the cover looked liked Kinuko Y. Craft's art which in turn made me think of Patricia A. McKillip's beautiful prose.

McKillip this is not quite but it was a decent read - if you like soap operas that take place in and out of faeryland. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, just not what I expected. Ms. Warrington's writing style was fine but I just had a hard time connecting to the characters throughout the entirety of this book. When bad things happened...more

like · see review

May 12, 2011 Carol rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: PNR readers

Shelves: paranormal-romance, urban-fantasy

Someone characterized this as more of a 'family drama,' and I'd have to agree. What made it the most interesting is that it's about elves (in colloquial), and I can't say I've read a book before that was from a high faerie perspective in urban fantasy. That in itself kept me going, along with the love story and the mystery of the Gates, and why they can't be opened.

I struggled at times, especially in the beginning, when we are hopping around the timeline, from the Rosie-now to scenes from her c...more

like · see review

Jan 13, 2010 Supernatural Fairy Tales rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fairy

Frieda Warrington's Elfland draws the reader into an English landscape full of ancient mysticism, hidden magic, the Aetherials, who appear human but whose blood comes from Elfland. Rosie Fox, who is just beginning to respond to her Aetherial heritage in the beginning of the book, draws the reader into the corners to peer in wonder at the creatures revealed. It is this heavy and slantwise view of the Elfland of the Aetherials that first catches the attention. As Rosie shifts in age and perception...more Frieda Warrington's Elfland draws the reader into an English landscape full of ancient mysticism, hidden magic, the Aetherials, who appear human but whose blood comes from Elfland. Rosie Fox, who is just beginning to respond to her Aetherial heritage in the beginning of the book, draws the reader into the corners to peer in wonder at the creatures revealed. It is this heavy and slantwise view of the Elfland of the Aetherials that first catches the attention. As Rosie shifts in age and perception, however, the secrets become less marvelous as they are revealed.

It's the beginning of the second introductory piece in which I found the heart of the narrative. Rosie Fox is rejecting fantasy--in this case the fantasy of unconditional love--but within this rejection is also that of the fairyland that has proved a cheat for the characters who have lost it or never knew it. While Rosie and her younger brother Lucas grow into their heritage without understanding it, the author takes some of the wonder that would normally have been given to the Aetherial world and gives it generously back to the human one.

In fact, it is Rosie's fascination with love that sets the tone for the tale. Is love the final revelation of who you are? The reward for bravely accepting yourself, despite your heritage, your fears, or your desire to fit in? Is it, in fact, sanity in the abode of madness? As I was trying to puzzle out what I could take from a story that was well-told but left me empty--one that took my expectations and shook them out, one that seemed to be laughing behind its hand at my looking for a fairy story in this day and age, it seemed that love and its betrayals were the only path through the narrative.

Although the prose is a delight, the multiple beginnings didn't serve to ground me in the narrative so much as to make me look for were they belonged within the larger story. Readers should be prepared for a story limned from Gothic tales by way of Peyton Place. There is wonder to be found here, but it is found in sharing a good cappuccino and gossiping about familial escapades rather than in the shimmering forests and arching bridges of Elfland. Between the chained angels, family secrets, and dark otherworlds overwriting the human one, Elfland itself embodied the idea of multiple worlds (or in this case narratives) existing and intertwining. As the story came to a sudden stop, I found myself in the sympathy with the characters: dazed and bereft.(less)

like 1 like · see review

Jan 17, 2012 Deleva rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a really enjoyable book. It crossed a lot of lines, and did things that I've complained about in other books, but managed to handle it in a way that did not incline me to complain about this one. For instance... some of the characters do some really unlikable things, and strangely, the author doesn't always try to make it excusable. They do bad things, and she makes them live with it. It makes them more human, which is weird, because most of them aren't human at all. Which leads me to s...more

like · see review

Mar 11, 2011 Nancy O'Toole rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club, fantasy, library

very seven years, the Aetherials say goodbye to their human lives, and cross over into the Other World for a night. That is until the Gatekeeper, Lawrence Wilder, refuses to open the doors again. He claims that this must be done for safety's sake but refuses to fully explain why, leaving many feeling frustrated and angry. Years past, and Lawrence leaves the gates closed shut. This decision impacts everyone, including young Rosie Fox, who struggles to find a balance between a human and Aetherial...more very seven years, the Aetherials say goodbye to their human lives, and cross over into the Other World for a night. That is until the Gatekeeper, Lawrence Wilder, refuses to open the doors again. He claims that this must be done for safety's sake but refuses to fully explain why, leaving many feeling frustrated and angry. Years past, and Lawrence leaves the gates closed shut. This decision impacts everyone, including young Rosie Fox, who struggles to find a balance between a human and Aetherial existence.

Elfland is the February selection for the Women of Fantasy Book club hosted by jawasreadtoo. It's a unique fantasy read that will thrill some readers, completely dissatisfy others, and leave the rest in between. Although Elfland is a fantasy title, the first two-thirds of the book push the magical elements to the background, and focus on the every day lives, romantic and family struggles of the main cast.. The last section of the book dives more deeply into the fantasy aspects.

My experience with Elfland was mostly positive. Because the story takes place over a lengthy period of time (well over ten years), we get to witness a lot of long-term character development, which I really liked. As someone that tends to shy away from books with a heavy romantic emphasis, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the main love story. I think what made this romance work well for me is that I've become frustrated with “love at first sight” type stories. It was nice to see Rosie slowly develop feelings for the romantic interest as she got to know him for the person he was, instead of basing the relationship so much on initial physical attraction. I also enjoyed the concepts of faeries cut off from their mystical homeland. It resulted in a lot of interesting questions from the characters. Do they continue to be Aetherial if they cannot visit the Other World? It is worth it to completely embrace a “normal human” life? What are the consequences of acting human?

I did have some issues with the novel that are worth mentioning. Although I enjoyed Warrington's writing style, her misuse of commas distracted me. As someone that's far from a grammar freak, that's probably not a good sign. For the most part, I was satisfied with the pacing of Elfland, although I noticed it dragged a bit in the beginning and end. The only real issue I had with the story itself was the ending. I don't want to give too much away (and you can stop reading here if you are sensitive to vague spoilers), but the “big moment” that triggered all the chaos in the end felt forced, as if it happened not because it was the decision that character would have made, but because it had to happen to progress the story towards it's end. I was also disappointed at how a novel that had so far been so good at acknowledging that all actions had permanent consequences, chose to resolve a few storylines.

Despite my issues with the ending, I enjoyed the vast majority of Elfland, and am glad that I picked it up. I suspect the sequel, Midsummer Night, will be worth checking out too.(less)

like 1 like · see review

Apr 12, 2013 Jacey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, urban-fantasy

Freda Warrington: Elfland – Aetherials #1
Oh, wow. I only picked this because I was attending Eastercon this year and Freda Warrington was one of the guests of honour, but I'm so pleased that I did. It was a thoroughly engrossing read and it certainly won't be the last Freda Warrington book I read.

Semi-immortal Aetherials are what humans may once have called elves. They live amongst us, indistinguishable from you or me. The Foxes and the Wilders are two neighbouring Aetherial families with more t...more

like · see review

Aug 29, 2011 Alice rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, library, urban-fantasy, fantasy

Ultimately, I enjoyed reading Elfland enough that I want to pick up follow-up books. But the book was not without its flaws.

The main romance tale, of Sam and Rosie, was told well. I believed that they were attracted to one another, I felt the tension between them, and I rooted for them to the end.

Other aspects of the story, though, were not told as well. A lot of the bizarre and unfamiliar names for otherworldly things sounded similar, so I often had to stop to figure out which one the author wa...more

like · see review

Dec 23, 2012 Wai'ala rated it 4 of 5 stars

Read a review at a library that said fantasy fiction for adults or in other words... adult fairy tales. I agreed with that review and must say I liked the book very much. It was captivating, there was only one part of the story that I found a bit drawn out but it was still enjoyable while it was happening...more like a simmering pot of water waiting for the grand finale. All components of the story were tied up and completed by books end and nothing was left unresolved or forgotten. I also appre...more

like · see review

Feb 28, 2011 Heather Perkins rated it 3 of 5 stars

I don't know how to describe exactly how I feel about this book. I enjoyed it, I know that. It was an interesting story line that I felt compelled to read to find out what happened. But once I was done it just faded and didn't really stick with me. It's not a book I would go back to and read again if I found I had the urge to read something and wanted a book I had already read to fall back on. I would recommend it to other fantasy fans of slightly dark and gritty fantasy that wanted something to...more

like 1 like · see review

Feb 24, 2012 Sue CCCP rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: review-written

Mt full review: http://coffeecookiesandchilipeppers.b...

I have read quite a lot of fantasy, and would count myself as a fan of the genre, so I was looking forward to this unusual version of the fairy / elf world. The Aetherials’ Spiral, their history and culture are fascinating, as are the parallel versions of Earth that they can access. However, I felt that we spent far too little time exploring that aspect of the story. Instead, most of the book is given over to the family dramas that surround...more Mt full review: http://coffeecookiesandchilipeppers.b...

I have read quite a lot of fantasy, and would count myself as a fan of the genre, so I was looking forward to this unusual version of the fairy / elf world. The Aetherials’ Spiral, their history and culture are fascinating, as are the parallel versions of Earth that they can access. However, I felt that we spent far too little time exploring that aspect of the story. Instead, most of the book is given over to the family dramas that surround the main characters, which I found a little disappointing. The first half to two-thirds of the book was slow and got bogged down in exploring the family relationships and dynamics, with the fantasy elements really pushed to the background. However, once the transition to the Otherworld occurred, and the fantasy aspects came to the fore, the pace increased and the book became much more successful. Unfortunately, even here the world building could have been far more detailed, and I hope that the second book in the series spends much more time exploring this fascinating world.

The main characters are very three dimensional, though not necessarily very likeable. Many of the characters have secrets and do not behave honestly with their friends and family, which leads to a great deal of drama and tension, but makes it difficult to sympathize with them. This becomes a major problem when they are placed in danger and we need to care about them and their survival. Not that the human characters are any less dysfunctional. In fact, the two most destructive characters in the book are humans, bringing abusive incest and homicidal psychopathy to the party, so in some regards the Aetherials are far more sympathetic. However, infidelity is a recurring motif, as is self-deception, so it seems the author has a fascination with the lies we tell one-another and ourselves. Although there are a lot of clichéd Romantic Fiction aspects here, the more melodramatic romantic plot points did not have me rolling my eyes and reaching for my sick bucket. The characters are so well drawn that their actions are totally believable, in a “Oh no! Don’t do that!” kind of way.

One aspect of this book that I really loved was the way in which the various houses and buildings have their own life force and presence. The Foxes’ home is warm and inviting, which seems to reflect the family’s connection to the earth magic of their particular Otherworld realm. The fact that the house can change and shift to provide what the characters need is almost more fantastical than the whole ‘alien elves living amongst us’ idea. We see this to much greater effect in the Wilder house. Being of the air realm, these characters are much colder and cerebral, with Lawrence, in particular, having a kind of obsessional self-containment that borders on madness. His house has a cold menace that is truly chilling and makes the unpleasant secrets that are revealed there even more unbearable. The disturbing images that surround the characters in prison reminded me of Hieronymus Bosch’s depictions of Hell, making me wonder how any Aetherial could survive an extended time in such an environment without losing their mind.

I really wanted to love this book, and I did appreciate the wonderful writing and characterization, but I wanted more fantasy and less family angst in this ‘Fantasy’ title.
(less)

like 1 like · see review

Feb 05, 2011 Jenn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, romance, urban-fantasy, library

I was swaying a little more towards a 3 star rating because I made the huge mistake of checking the back page to see if it was actually the end of the book or the end of an excerpt from an upcoming book, trying to determine how much I had left to read. In doing so I read something that kind of killed the ending for me. Arrrrrgggghhhhhhhh! So therefore I'm going with the 4 it would have gotten had I not been a dumbass. I liked this book a lot!

This was a family drama based on the lives of two neig...more

like 1 like · see review

Dec 04, 2010 Telyn rated it 1 of 5 stars

This author appears to have. Never, learned how. To write a sentence. And it gets. Really, really, tiresome. After a while. Just like, this. ( although in a couple of places it creates unintentional laughs).

Banal, uninspired prose punctuated with improbable sex scenes and awkward dialogue didn't help encourage me to finish reading. I confess to having abandoned "Elfland" midway. I enjoy the concept of the faerie realm intruding into the "real" world, and authors like Emma Bull and Patricia McKi...more

like 1 like · see review

Jul 09, 2010 Jess rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010, library, favorites, fantasy, faeries

I enjoyed this book...so much so that it was heartbreaking for me when it ended. I had dedicated so much time and attention to Elfland, taking in each sentence, visualizing their world, and letting the beautiful and complex story unfold in my mind. The characters came to life so effortlessly through their thoughts, struggles and passions. In over a decade of Earth time, the characters and their relationships evolved as they uncovered their true nature and love interests. Each character's romanti...more

like · see review

May 13, 2010 The Library Lady rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-fiction, fantasy

Nothing can top John Crowley's Little, Big
for its story of a family living between the human and fairy worlds. Warrington's book has fewer secrets--the air of enchantment that permeates Little, Big is not present here, but this book has pleasures of its own. I read it, put it down for a bit, picked it back up again and found myself racing to the end, wanting to see what happened and yet reluctant to finish and have it over. Warrington is apparently setting this up as part of a series and I'll lo...more

like · see review

Feb 18, 2011 Kerry rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, 7, fantasy

I liked this book, but it just didn't work for me as a whole.

I found the pace to be near glacial, which slowed my reading terribly. It wasn't that nothing was happening, but that the things that were happening didn't appear to heading in any particular direction. In the end, it got there, but boy did it take a long time.

Calico Reaction suggested that it read like a family saga, and I think there's a lot to that. You can have a great book about family without it turning into a 'family saga' but t...more I liked this book, but it just didn't work for me as a whole.

I found the pace to be near glacial, which slowed my reading terribly. It wasn't that nothing was happening, but that the things that were happening didn't appear to heading in any particular direction. In the end, it got there, but boy did it take a long time.

Calico Reaction suggested that it read like a family saga, and I think there's a lot to that. You can have a great book about family without it turning into a 'family saga' but this one did the latter. But at the same time it was trying to be a grand fantasy and sadly it kind of missed the mark on blending the two together. It did pieces of each beautifully, but putting them together didn't quite gel.

But I can see all the things I should have loved but only appreciated. So I wonder if the problem lies with me rather than the book, and other people may simply love it. I certainly hope so as there's some very nice stuff in there.

I liked the use of the piece of story at the beginning that turns out to belong further into the book. However, that first part was just a bit too obscure about where it fitted so that when we got to that point later, I was having to flip back to the front to be sure I'd got it right. I feel it should have been clearer than that. If we had been let in on the fact it was (view spoiler) it would have all made much more sense and let me feel I'm now slipped into the story proper.

And that's part of the overall problem. The narrative wandered so much that we never could really be sure if we in the main plot of the book or not. Or when the action that back cover blurb had promised us would finally show up. Personally, that drives me crazy. I like my book to be going somewhere. I don't mind if it twists and turns and turns my senses upside down along the way (all the better really) but I like it to have some kind of narrative drive, and it just felt like this book didn't.

As for the characters, I really did like them. I liked Rose and I liked Sam and Lucas. Matt and Jon Made me struggle a bit harder, but even they grew on me. And I would have loved to see more interaction directly between Auberon and Jessica. But they too failed to blend quite properly into the family saga/fantasy novel. It was like they weren't quite sure which set of lines they were supposed to be following.

And yet, the most annoying thing is that the pieces were all there for me. Pieces I like. This book should have worked for me and I'm terribly disappointed that it didn't.

Since I got sick, I judge things on a cost/benefit ratio. While I got some good stuff out of this book, I had to work way too hard and way to long for it to be fully worth it for me. If I get the benefit, that kind of cost is worth paying, but I just didn't get enough back this time.

But I still feel like I should have done. It should have worked. I can imagine myself remembering bits of pieces of this book in the future and thinking it was the book I wanted it to be rather than the book it actually was; I can see myself wanting to reread it to recapture those glorious pieces and being disappointed all over again that what I find is how they didn't produce the right fantastic reality for me.

Don't let all this put you off though. This is me. This is the pieces not mixing for me (and I'm sorry I've gone on this long and still been so vague about my problems with the book). I know lots of people loved it. I hope you'll be one of them.(less)

like · see review

Jan 04, 2010 Grace rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: epicness, modern-fantasy, general-sexiness

This book was wonderful. I'm really excited to see more from Warrington, I'm a little disappointed in her publisher for not introducing her to the US a little bit sooner, since she has apparently been published in the UK for quite a while (or her agent, or whomever it is that manages foreign sales for authors).

This book takes the whole elf/faery thing to a while different place. It's very original. Plus the family drama intertwined with the fantasy is very good. I can honestly say that my attitu...more

like · see review

title link	preview: Elfland
avg rating	preview: Elfland Goodreads rating: 3.72 (524 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6276214-elfland?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312032095l/6276214.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6276214-elfland?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Elfland by Freda Warrington[/url]

Elfland (Aetherial Tales #1)

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (4)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Freda Warrington

Books by Freda Warrington

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Elfland

Quotes from Elfland