On the day she was born, Maité received a cradle gift from the faery Nahia—a gift that allows her to travel into other worlds while in a dream state. At seventeen, Maité’s mortal world is torn apart with the tragic loss of her parents. Uprooted from the only home she’s ever known and isolated in a foreign country, the young woman struggles to make sense of her new life. But the conflict in the realm of Faerie is about to bleed over into Maité’s reality. She finds herself in the middle of an ancient struggle between Nahia and the Beautiful One as they furiously clash for control over the realm. Through her Cradle Gift, Maité uncovers the extent of the Faerie Realm’s involvement in her life, and in her quest to come to terms with it, Maité has the help of best friend Emily, and David; a young man whose interest in genetics illuminates possibilities that will change her identity forever.
“The characters popped out of the pages. Engaging scenes that carried many themes like loss, friendship, and courage. Cradle Gift sends readers, like myself, deep into the plot.” –Danielle Urban
“A magical tale written by Patricia Bossano with poetic flair … Women of all ages will love this book, and might very well come away from this make believe world, believing in Fairies.” –Amazon customer
“… Once again the author is a wonderful story teller and you will find yourself lost in the faery world, cheering for your favorite characters ...” –AnnLovesBooks
Fiction | Fantasy | Magical Realism | Fairy Tales | Fae | Faerie Lore | Legends & Mythology | Coming of Age | Saga
Plot and Premise Cradle Gift is an adventurous, fantastic story about a girl who finds herself at the center of a century's old mystery, and uses courage, cunning, and some faery help to overcome the forces threatening to pull apart her life.
The focal point of the novel, Maité is a spunky, independent heroine. Surrounded by people who support her and others who seek to foil her future, Maité is a great main character that you root for throughout her journey — and provides a great foil to the seductive "evil forces" acting against her.
While Cradle Gift is the second book in the series, the events happen so far in the future after Faery Sight, you don't need to have read the first to enjoy the second. However, for those (like myself) who have read Faery Sight, Patricia Bossano has built upon the fantastic world she created in the first book and left plenty of Easter eggs and references to make fans of the series smile along. Because of this, I would most definitely recommend starting with book one. Characters from Faery Sight re-appear; the lore of the Faery Realm grows; and the struggles of the first book continue in a new age and a new cast.
Though set in modern day, all the magic of the classic faery tale is still here. After facing tragedy, Maité is relocated across the world and must solve a mystery as old as her family tree. Swathed in magic (and a little science as well), Maité discovers the secrets of her ancestors, the origins of her mysterious Cradle Gift, and the identity of her secret "faery godmother."
Why I Love It I greatly enjoyed this novel, not only because of the nods to Faery Sight (a book I also throughly enjoyed as well) but also because Cradle Gift is truly a story of characters. From Maité herself — young, adventurous, spunky — to her sullen, bewitched grandfather — to the dark force at the heart of this all; you find yourself entrapped in the stakes at ever turn and eager to see how the next challenge is overcome.
In writing Cradle Gift, Bossano has continued the legacy of faery tales, told from the point — not only of ancient legends read from dusty pages — but how the magic of faeries lives around these characters from the annals of history to modern day. I am excited to see how Maité and Nahia's journey continues in the third installment, Nahia!
The Short of It ★★★★★ If you love faeries and mysteries and strong young women battling against the forces of darkness, Faery Sight and Cradle Gift are truly great books filled with relatable characters, magic, and the warm-hearted feeling that only a proper fairy tale can provide.
This is a fantastic story centered around a female character, Maite, whom, unbeknownst to her, was bestowed with a gift at birth. She was given the powers of a faery. She spends her young life not fully aware of her history and its implications on her life. Cradle Gift, the second novel in the Faery Legacy series, is the follow-up to Faery Sight. These books are suitable for young adults but also enjoyable for the older fantasy fan. Maite is like any typical teen, caught up with her best friend, Emily, and her latest hot crush. However, her simple and easy life is suddenly interrupted with the tragic deaths of her parents. Maite experiences the entire plane crash first hand through her extra sight! Maite is far from a typical teen, after all! This tragedy leaves the 17-year-old Maite to the care of her only living relative, a grandfather in Spain, whom she didn’t even know existed! She travels to Spain to live with her grandfather where she continues to be confronted with confusing and alarming visions. Her dreams are a place of wonder bestowed upon her by faeries, which give her sight into so much more. It is interesting to read along as Maite discovers so many truths about herself. I admired her drive and passion for this quest throughout the story. She goes on an epic journey and takes fans along with her as she discovers the secrets of her faery past and her ancestors. All the while, there is an angry and evil faery coming for Maite and people she loves. Her grandfather is caught under the spell of this “Beautiful One”. But Maite is determined to discover the truth and save her family. Her powers end up serving her well in the end! This story takes some wonderful twists and turns. The way Bossano connects so many elements and characters over time is masterful. I loved the relationship between Emily and Maite and related very much to this type of bond with a teenage best friend. Her burgeoning relationship with David is also adorable and it is fun and exciting to watch it blossom throughout the story. By the end of the book I had so much affection for Maite and her crew. I thought the antagonist character, Eva/Ederne, was also a good addition. She was fun to hate! One last should out to Soledad who was another character I really enjoyed. She was so warm and nurturing but with a wonderful laugh and kind smile. This is a story to be enjoyed by adults as well as young adults. The fantasy element plays along with elements of romance, friendship, family ties, and adventure. I loved the inclusion of Maite’s Spanish ancestral elements and inclusion of dialogue in Spanish. This was all around a very enjoyable read but don’t look for overly extensive or wordy descriptions if that is what you enjoy. I highly recommend!
Cradle Gift is the second book in the Faerie Legacy series by Patricia Bossano. It is a magical realism book, as it takes place in the real world containing magical elements and other dimensions. The book follows the story of Matié, a young girl with little ancestral knowledge, and how she discovers magical realms, herself, and her familial roots. Matié is extracted from her known world and thrust into a world of mystery and possibilities due to a tragic event. She slowly unravels these mysteries with the help of old loved ones and new all wrapped in an exciting tale.
I cannot stress enough how much I loved this book. It was a little slow in the beginning. However, it was also in anticipation of where the book was going and what was going to happen. The slow build up was so worth the excitement of what followed. It was a crescendo, with a steady build-up that exploded in intrigue, making the book hard to put down. One of my favorite types of fantasy books are the kind where magic is hidden in the real world in little elements, and that is exactly what this book provides.
There is action, intrigue, suspense, love, hope, and tragedy wrapped all up in a magnificent read. I love how Bossano’s descriptions of what was going on in the book lept off the page. It was as if I were inside the book seeing all of these visuals. It was a truly magical experience seeing everything Matié felt. It was also interesting how the author was able to switch point of views between characters, but when talking for Matié’s point of view specifically, it felt as if I were Matié.
An entertaining part of the book was Emily, Matié’s best friend. She grew on me steadily throughout the book and made me laugh. I also like the idea of having a girl so invested in science because I do not come across that in books very often. The only complaint I have about the book is the mentioning of curves in “the right places.” I do not care for that kind of descriptor.
Overall, I highly recommend anyone who loves fantasy books to read this. I was engrossed into the book. I felt like I had gained a friend in Emily after reading it and seeing how furiously she loved Matié, putting me in the place of Matié. The familial love is also felt throughout the work. The author did a beautiful job conveying the emotions of the characters, especially Matié, as she was the main focus. Whatever she felt, I could feel it too. Cradle Gift is without a doubt an emotional read. I cried a lot throughout the book’s unfolding. It was the very end when things were wrapped up so nicely, that I got even more emotional. It is a spellbinding book that I will be telling others about and recommending to everyone I know to read this wonderful hidden gem.
Cradle Gift by Patricia Bossano is the second novel in this exciting YA series. This second fantasy book, was magical. The writing was well done. The characters popped out of the pages. Engaging scenes that carried many themes like loss, friendship, and courage. Cradle Gift sends readers like myself deep into the plot. The troubles are only just beginning....a young seventeen-year-old girl has a gift that will spin her entire world out of order. Maite's two worlds are about to clash and it will soon involve a long struggle that will try tearing her apart. The ending was epic...I can't get enough of this talented writer's world of fiction. Her characters will never be forgotten. Overall, I highly recommend the Cradle Gift to all.
I received this copy from the publisher. This, is my honest review.
Wow!!! Cradle Gift is an amazing story. The story follows Maite a young girl through a wonderful adventure in Spain with all the twists and turns that make Cradle Gift a real page turner. Once I started the book I was unable to put it down. Patricia Bossano is a very talented author with wonderful imagination. I really enjoyed Cradle Gift and highly recommend this very entertaining book. I am looking forward to read the next book in Patricia’s series Nahia.
On the day she was born, Maite received a cradle gift from the faery Nahia-a gift that allows her to travel into other worlds while in a dream state.
At seventeen, Maite's mortal world is torn apart with the tragic loss of her parents. Uprooted from the only home she's ever known and isolated in a foreign country, the young woman struggles to make sense of her new life. But...more
This book is intense! I loved every minute of it. And what's more, it's so well written, it can even stand alone, even though it's the second book in a series. There are almost entirely new characters and only few references to the first book. There was definitely an added depth to this book from having read Faery Sight first, but on the whole everything that is necessary is recapped well in Cradle Gift, allowing it to stand on its own and serve as a sequel to the original book.
Faeries can give newborn babes magical gifts - think Sleeping Beauty's fairy godmothers. Maité's Cradle Gift is the ability to transcend reality through dreams.
I simply loved Maité as a character and how she slowly figured out the power of her dreams. I simply loved some of the developments where she realised she could get out of very difficult situations thanks to her cradle gift. The author developed this aspect really well and gave sixteen-year-old Maité a very strong personality. She was absolutely awesome. My favourite scene was when she called out her awful grandfather on some of his hypocrisies. Often scenes like that make me cringe because I find teen characters are too self-centered to get it right, but Maité was convincingly powerful and oh, so very right. She also really grew into her difficult situation beautifully, which made her a very likeable character.
Maité's best friend, Emily, was also so much fun as a character. Her bubbly, talkative, and a little over-the-top character added a lovely dynamic to Maité's more stayed personality. Their friendship was well developed and I liked how strong their relationship is. It's one of those deep friendships you rarely find in literature, and even less so in fantasy, and I really appreciate how the author brought that out.
Then there's the love triangle, with Maité, Amets and David, which was AWESOME! I'm not usually a fan of this trope, but it was done perfectly and comes with the added element of Amets' insanity, which made the whole thing more intriguing. I kept wondering which of the two she'd choose and with all the twists and turns, things turned out exactly as they should, while keeping everything civil and still beautiful. I think that's what's so particularly hard to pull off with love triangles because in more cases than not, one of the love interests is just a third wheel who's in the friend zone and not believably a love interest. Bossano really does a fantastic job of keeping both possibilities open almost until the very end.
Bossano's style has grown quite a lot since the first book and I'm very impressed at how well it lends itself to the urban fantasy of this story. Faery Sight is historical and it didn't quite work for me, while the contemporary setting totally captured my imagination. The unusual choice of the Pyrenean backdrop added so much, and the author definitely brought the scenery alive in this book.
So much to love! I haven't even gotten to the portal fantasy part with the faeries! And there's a whole amazing additional element with genetics that made this story even more amazing!
I suppose, this is the thing: if you enjoy portal fantasy with fae, urban fantasy, Young Adult fantasy with strong characterisation, adore unusual settings, or magic and modern science blending together, then you will in all likelihood LOVE this book as much as I did.
But here is a snippet and overview of what I thought:
Overall, I enjoyed the story. The writing was a lot better and the dialogue was natural and fun to read. The only problem I had was not understanding some of the Spanish. The plot was interesting. Despite being slow at times, it developed quite well, I just had a problem with finding my own personal interest in the story. Whilst I couldn't find any personal interest in the book, it was still quite good. The characters were fun and interesting. Thank you so much to Wildbound PR for sending me a copy of this book!