The Summer King by O.R Melling

*Note When I first got the Summer King (I'll admit it, I only got it because the cover was shiny and gorgeous!) I didn't realize that it was part of a series. It is the second book in The Chronicles of Faerie. However, this is a book that you can read without the rest of the series.Trust me, you won't miss out on anything if you read this before you read the first book! I have not read any of the other books in the series, so I can't tell you how good it is as a whole.

The Summer King is great if you are looking for a riveting fantasy adventure! It's a book filled with interesting and fantastic creatures that will keep you enthralled until the very end. But, along with the fantasy aspect, it also has a lot of realistic qualities that will keep you feeling intouch with the book.

When twin sisters Laurel and Honor visit their family in Ireland, a tragic accident occurs that takes Honor's life and leaves Laurel distraught. A year later, Laurel is back, and she begins to think that it wasn't an accident that Honor died, and that she may even still be alive. Not only that, but Ian, her melancholy, on off love interest whom she blames for her twin's death, has come back and it is making her head reel. She then begins to learn of the tales about Faerie, a mystical but extremely dangerous world parallel to their own. Together, her and Ian take a journey to find out what exactly happened to Honor. Along the way, they stumble across dangerous creatures similar to ravens, faeries, and a pirate queen named Grace O'Malley(who is based off of a real Irish pirate queen named Gráinne Ní Mháille!).

I've read this book twice, and each time I loved it. It's the kind of book you start and can't put it down until you're down. And once you're done, you'll want even more! Not only does it have tons of action and fantasy, but the romance between is Ian and Laurel is passionate and will leave many female readers swooning.

Another interesting thing about this book that I really enjoyed was the heavy Irish influence. O.R Melling is from Ireland, and it shows in the book. Not only does it take place there, but a lot of Gaelic terms and phrases are used(No stress, though! There is a translation guide in the back that shows every term used!) and a lot of Irish legends are incorporated into the plot. For example, Grace O'Malley, who helps Laurel and Ian in their journey, was a character that I personally fell in love with. Her attitude and personality was very rough, but you couldn't help but be fascinated by her. So it was really cool when I found out that she was based off of a real pirate queen from 16th century Ireland!

All in all, I think most people would really enjoy this book, and I give it a 9/10. If you want to check out any of the other books in the Chronicles of Faerie series, they are titled The Hunter's Moon, The Light Bearer's Daughter, and The Book Of Dreams.