Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #219323 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

Customer Reviews

a really good faerie book
I came across Wondrous Strange when i was just browsing, and after looking into it a little further i added it in my wish list. It took two months for me to get my hands on it, but it was well worth the wait!

Kelley is an actress struggling in New York. One morning she is given the part of Titania in production of A Midsummer Night's Dream when the actress is injured. Jumping into the role, Kelley is a little surprised to find she's nervous and forgetful on the stage, and so goes to Central Park to run lines. There she meets Sonny - a handsome boy with a very dangerous occupation. Pretty much straight after that chance meeting, everything starts to go wrong.

Finding herself being pulled into a magical world after rescuing a horse who follows her home, Kelley discovers a past she would never have dreamt of, and finds out about another totally different world to her own, as well as getting closer to Sonny.

Kelley and Sonny are wonderful characters - some of my all time favourites. As the only human, Kelley reacts to being told about faeries like any sane person would - which is refreshing from a lot of the books of the same genre. She is also very tough and determined, too, making her a perfect heroine.

Sonny is the same. I absolutely loved how sweet and sensitive he was, but also hard-fighting and strong at the same time. In fact, all the characters are superb. Even the secondary ones are intriguing and complex like Maddox, Sonny's right hand man, and Chloe, a beautiful siren. I loved them all.

You wouldn't believe this was Lesley Livingston's first book, and i certainly hope it isn't her last. Wondrous Strange ended on something of a cliffhanger, and it is killing me not knowing what happened to Sonny and how Kelley will cope. Fingers crossed there is a sequel in the works!

"What angel wakes me from my flow'ry bed?"
As another reviewer has pointed out, there are lots of books out there at the moment that take on a very similar plot or feel to Melissa Marr's WICKED LOVELY. However, although there are similarities between Marr and Livingston's creation, WONDROUS STRANGE does manage to stand out against the crowd.

The main female protagonist is Kelley; a teenage girl living in New York who aspires to become an actress. At the beginning of the play she is involved in an amateur theatre production of Shakepeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Going to Central Park one evening to practise her lines, she meets Sonny Flannery, a Janus Guard - sort of a faerie assassin - whose job it is to stop faeries slipping through their world into ours. From the very beginning, Sonny is attracted to Kelley; she seems different to other mortals. As for Kelley, she soon realises that meeting Sonny is the day that her life will change forever. All is not well in the world of faeries and Kelley seems to be right in the middle of it...

Despite the similarities between WONDROUS STRANGE and Wicked Lovely, I personally think there is enough within WONDROUS STRANGE to make it original enough to make it interesting. I loved the use of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as another element to the plot. Central Park is also an important element to the story, and these two together seemed to add an extra bit of magic. And, although there were creatures that I have heard of before, there were also new additions such as The Black Shuck. And the idea of the Wild Hunt was brilliant.
OK, so at times the story was predictable and the bare bones of the plot has been done before, but WONDROUS STRANGE was still a great way to escape ordinary life.
Recommended to those who always wondered where Shakespeare got inspiration for his own fairytale...

Courtesy of Teens Read Too
I loved it, I LOVED it. I love it so much I want to marry it. If you are a fan of faerie books, you'll want to read this one. If you've tried faerie books before, but didn't like them, you'll want to read this. If you aren't a fan of faerie books, you'll still want to read it. It's that good.

Incredible characters, incredible writing, incredible plot. It was really just so fantastic, it's hard to find the words to describe it. I never in a million years would have guessed this was a debut novel. The key to my heart is great characters and storyline, and this book had it all and then some. Even the minor characters stood out to me, and they were fascinating. Like Chloe - she is a siren, has a very minor role, and yet she is very memorable. As well as a few other characters..... but I don't want to give all the goods away.

Completely original plot! I figured a few things out, but other things I was oblivious to until they were revealed. I've read other faerie books about the faerie "royalty" - if you've read Melissa Marr you know what I'm talking about here. Not that I'd even compare this book to Marr's because they are at totally two different ends of the spectrum. And I don't mean that in the quality of writing, because they are both fabulous writers. Did I just write fabulous...don't you just love the plethora of "f" adj.!? Do you think I'm subconsciously doing it because of the whole faerie thing... freaking fantastic fascinating fabulous faeries! I promise I did NOT do that on purpose!

Great writers write what they know.... what movie is that from? Never Been Kissed! I think that statement definitely has some truth to it. Kelley is an actress (a struggling actress to be more specific). The theater scenes within the novel were marvelous (notice no `f' here!) so I wasn't surprised to learn that the lovely Lesley Livingston herself is at home on the stage. I wonder if she knows any faeries personally?

I think the thing I loved most about WONDROUS STRANGE was Kelley. She is an exceptional female protagonist. I was instantly drawn to her character. She's honest, she imperfect, and she doesn't pull the Bella card. When a cute guy tells her that faeries are real, she reacts like a normal person and laughs in his face. LOVED IT.

And I must mention Sonny. Ah... Sonny.. Mom, can I have one? Yeah, that's really all I'm going to say about him, because if I tell you, they you're going to want him, too, and you can't have him because he's mine. No really, I'm not going to tell you how incredibly cute he is, and how he kicks major faerie butt, because he's all about protecting the mortal world from the mean faeries.. And yet, he can still rescue the damsel in distress even if she is mean to him and laughs in his face.

I simply cannot say enough good things about this novel. I highly recommend you grab a copy of this book. It would make an awesome Christmas present! And I'm even more thrilled to mention that this novel is the beginning of a trilogy!

Reviewed by: The Story Siren