Saturday, December 8, 2012

Review: Dust (Of Dust and Darkness

Title - Dust (Of Dust and Darkness #1)
Author - Devon Ashley
Genre - Young Adult Fantasy Fairies
Publication - September 18th 2012
(Goodreads) & (Amazon)

Synopsis

4. The number of times my delicate wings have been broken and clamped behind my back. 
68. The number inked upon my skin, marking me the sixty-eighth pixie to be stolen.
87. The number of days I’ve been wrongfully imprisoned.
88. The first day the faeries will regret stealing me.

Healthy. Cheery. Vivacious. All traits Rosalie has before becoming enslaved by the faeries to make an endless supply of pixie dust. Now that Rosalie has been traumatized by slave labor, extreme desolate conditions and multiple deaths, this hardened pixie is anything but. When this rebellious teenager attempts an escape, she’s isolated in cramped quarters until she learns her place. Just as she begins to let go of all that hope, she finds an unlikely friend in Jack, the faerie assigned to guard her. Interspecies dating is forbidden in the fae world, so their growing attraction is unacceptable. And even if Jack can find a way to free her, they know the prison is the only place they can truly be together.


Opening Teaser



I smile as my eyes adjust to the morning light, squinting as a beautiful blur of yellow and white squeezes between my eyelids. Sunbeams stream in through the thatched roof made of wood and twisted vine, one directly onto my face. My eyelids twitch as they fight their way open. Specks of dust float aimlessly through the air, twinkling as bright as the stars in the night sky. A thickleburn pushes through one of the cracks in the thatch and flits about my tiny tree house, finally landing on the uneaten blueberry I left on the floor last night. It looks at me thoughtfully with those black, metallic, oval-shaped eyes that are way too big for its head.

Review


I received Dust for review from the author Devon Ashley in return for a honest review. Rosalie grew up in a Hallow where are the Pixie children are raised together by the village. While the other pixies are teens are thinking about courting and finding mates all Rosalie wants to do is enjoy her time in the forest. On a night when a storm is brewing Rosalie is attacked taken from her home only to wake up in a hole in the ground. After several days of being neglected she's moved into the pit with the other pixies, where they are forced to make pixie dust for the fairies. 

All pixies have their wings broken and iron clamped on them to keep them at their backs, they are fed minimal food and forced to work sun up to sun down. When the leader of the little group dies from the abuse Rosalie has enough and takes the chance to make a break for it when she sees that the place they are kept is glamoured.  However she doesn't make it far before she's captured and put back into the dark hole. The warden of the prison visits her in attempt to break her will but Rosalie is stronger then most and won't give up, he even has her wings broken 68 times. When Jack gets in trouble at home for a prank he's in put in charge of breaking Rosalie but he's not like the warden. 

Instead of beating Rosalie he brings her more food, medicine to help her wings. The once severely malnourished pixie starts to get put some weight on looking more like her own self. The more time the pair spends together they find themselves developing feelings for each other. Yet Fairies and Pixies are two different species and aren't meant to be together. When the warden shows up and has Rosalie’s wings broken again because Jack isn't beating her down, he decides it's time to get her out. 

Dust is about Rosalie after she's taken from the hollow her experiences while living as a prisoner of the fairies. I really loved Rosalie as a character she's unique unlike the other pixies in her hollow she's strong willed and fighter. No matter how bad her time is in the hole she's still a fighter and I admire how she doesn't give up. I like the relationship between Jack and Rosalie she needs someone who is like her and willing to protect her even if it risks himself. The story-line is fast paced full of action, emotions, trials and tribulations that kept me drawn in right from the start. I had a really hard time putting Dust down and frankly I didn't till  I finished. Only to find I have to wait till the next one comes out. I wish I had it now or maybe yesterday so I could start it. I want to know what's going to happen in the next chapter of Rosalie's life. I don't want to spoil the book but one of the best books I've read this year for sure. It has everything I could of asked for, plus characters I connected with a really loved.


5 out of 5 Stars 

No comments:

Post a Comment