Krista Reviews: Ryan Graudin's - "All That Glows"
Emrys—a fiery, red-headed Fae—always embraced her life in the Highlands, far from the city’s draining technology, until she’s sent to London to rejoin the Faery Guard. But this isn’t any normal assignment—she’s sent to guard Prince Richard: Britain’s notorious, partying bad boy and soon-to-be King. The prince’s careless ways and royal blood make him the irresistible for the dark spirits that feed on mortals. Sweet, disheveled, and alive with adventure—Richard is one charge who will put Emrys’s magic and heart to the test.
When an ancient force begins preying on the monarchy, Emrys must hunt through the London’s magical underworld, facing down Banshees, Black Dogs and Green Women to find the one who threatens Richard’s life. In this chaos of dark magic, palace murders and paparazzi, Emrys finds herself facing an impossible choice. For despite all her powers, Emrys has discovered a force that burns brighter than magic: love.
Paperback, 463 pages Published February 11th 2014 by HarperTeen ISBN 0062187414 (ISBN13: 9780062187413)
Emrys is assigned to guard Prince Richard, but soon finds that her veiling spell has malfunctioned and he can see her. She introduces herself to him as his fairy godmother and explains that nobody else can see her. This causes problems because she is never supposed to reveal herself to any human. Plus, now that Richard can see her..he begins to fall for her. When the birds send the warning that trouble is coming, Emrys must help gather beings of all forms to fight against it.
Set in a modern day England, Richard is next to take the throne. Richard and Emrys begin to fall in love, but right away their differences seem to separate them. The royal blood line has dormant powers of its own and it’s the Frithemag who have sworn to protect them from creatures wishing to shed their blood. The message that danger is coming, sends all of the Faery Guard into a frenzy and soon nobody will know who to trust.
This story is very much a modern day fairy tale with supernatural creatures of all kinds. There is a focus on the environment as the technology and iron of today have an affect on the faery guard and their magic. Emrys battles constantly with her heart and her head. Richard is her soft spot and she struggles to control her actions when he is involved.
It is a very fun, light read that took me back to the fairytale stories like Cinderella. Castles, magic, dancing, beautiful clothing and woodland creatures. I felt that it was very well put together with a lot of twists and beautiful ideas of love and happily ever afters. I recommend this story to lovers of fairytales and elaborate romance escapades. I was very happy to have picked up this book because it is a very sweet read and great for sunny weather reading.
