Tori's Review: Feast by Merrie DeStefano

Paperback: 320 pages
Price: $7.99
ISBN: 978-0061990823
Released: June 28, 2011
Publisher: Harper Collins
Author's Website: Merrie DeStefano 
Buy it: Amazon
Obtained: NetGalley
Genre: Fantasy / Paranormal Romance 
Series: N/A

Madeline MacFadden ("Mad Mac" to fans of her bestselling magical stories) spent blissful childhood summers in Ticonderoga Falls. And this is where she wants to be now that her adult life is falling apart. The dense surrounding forest holds many memories, some joyous, some tantalizingly only half-remembered. And she's always believed there was something living in these wooded hills.

But Maddie doesn't remember the dark parts -- and knows nothing of the mountain legend that holds the area's terrified residents captive. She has no recollection of Ash, the strange and magnificent creature who once saved her life as a child, even though it is the destiny of his kind to prey upon humanity. And soon it will be the Harvest. . . the time to feast.

Once again Maddie's dreams -- and her soul -- are in grave danger. But magic runs deep during Harvest. Even a spinner of enchanted tales has wondrous powers of her own.

My Rating: 

My Opinion:

The Short Version:
Excellent read well worth both your time and money. There are a few moments where further explanations would have made this an even stronger tale, for certain elements are left (primarily) up to the reader to fill in the blanks in order to draw his or her own conclusions.


The Semi-Long Version:
I always manage to get some sort of reading high when I open one of Merrie's books. Both of her tales have made me feel as if I am living in a sort of Alice in Wonderland fairy tale-ish reality. It's like an out of body experience when reading her books.

FEAST follows multiple POVs (much like its predecessor, AFTERLIFE--which is really like a sister from another mister, because they're two completely different universes). In this particular world, we follow a young mother still reeling from her husband's betrayal, a few other humans, and then, the paranormals. It's been a few weeks now since I finished this book, so I can't remember their official name, but they're pretty much like the fae, except... they're not. They're like cool fae mutations (you'll just have to keep reading to figure out what they are) that I couldn't get enough of.

While I loved what Merrie created, I would have liked a bit more of an explanation at a few points. I suppose that this is more from me being spoiled and having grown accustomed to authors supplying every teensy detail in their books, instead of allowing my imagination to soar freely. Regardless, I felt a bit unclear, even by the end--thus lending to the feel of being like Alice--but it did not negatively affect me or my opinion of the book.

The writing within is extremely poetic, and something I would never want changed, unless, of course, it somehow managed to improve. The characters are strong, though I could have done with a couple of main POVs instead of following almost every character who makes an appearance. I personally did not find the swaps to be distracting, but some may not enjoy how many characters the reader actually follows.

Consensus? A great read. I highly anticipate Merrie's next book release, whenever that may be. Get this book, and AFTERLIFE as soon as possible if you want something refreshingly unique!