Book Review: Mischief & Mayhem

I just finished reading Mischief & Mayhem: Part 1 of the Faerlands Chronicles by S.D. Nicholson. It was actually a pretty quick read at just over 200 pages, which was perfect for my recent winter break before I went back to work.

Mischief & Mayhem is a fantasy novel that takes place in another world with faes and faers (I liken them to fairies, but like ones that fight – not just magical, flying beings). They do know about the human world, but they live in another realm.

The novel follows a group of faes and faers who are on a mission to save their realm when a dark presence awakens. The faes and faers all have different arcane powers, some can transform in to animals, some can control lightning, some can heal, etc. The story is told from the perspective of many of the characters, but the story always moves forward, so there’s no retelling.

When the story begins, a young fae named Ophelia is just learning about powers she never realized she had until she was facing death. While learning what these powers are and navigating them, she is placed on a team with some other more experienced scouts to defend their realm from rebels. As their journey unfolds and they fight lots of rebels and other creatures thought only to be legends, they realize there may be more to this mission than they have been told.

I’ll be honest, it did take me a little while to get in to the book. I thought it was just okay for a good portion of it, but about halfway through it started to pick up and I started to get invested in the story. By the time I was 3/4 of the way in, I was hooked. It does start to get really good towards the end and then, of course, it’s over. But this is just Part 1 of a series so I guess the first 3/4 of the book is just background and build up and now that the story is really going you have to wait for Part 2 to see what happens.

If you like fantasy novels and are looking for one a new series that is a quick read, then check out Mischief & Mayhem!