I once had a gun put to my head in the 7th grade and was forced to read Shakespeare. I walked away from the incident believing that Romeo and Juliet was a great story, but I had a bit of trouble understanding the colloquialisms. Fancies Followers closed the gap for me and made A Midsummer Night’s Dream into wonderful tale I could really sink my teeth into.
Jannet Ridenner’s style is reminiscent of my favorite author, Terry Pratchett. What begins as a long and complex sentence generally ends with unexpected humor and sometimes, downright hilarity.
The story begins with Theron, the King of the Faeries, taking a stroll through the small town of Minerva. When he decides to strip and enjoy the park in the nude, he sends the town into a spiral of chaos, which we mortals are ill-equipped to understand. The mortals caught up in the divine shenanigans are Mia, Elaine, Alex, Emmett, Weaver, and Polly. Each character is created to be someone we've all known at some point in our lives. There are even moments of embarrassment, which made me blush a little bit.
Robin, Mudslide, Theron, and Eugenia round out the divine faeries, although it seems the entire world is caught in the eternity long quarrel between the King and Queen of the Faeries, Theron and Eugenia. Strange weather patterns, talking insects, and unexpected romances carry the story to its conclusion in which everyone (more or less) falls in love with their seemingly predestined partners.
I tend to shy away from novels with even the slightest hint of a love triangle involved, but Fancies Followers combined fantasy that this escapist can truly yearn for with humor which came at the most unexpected moments. Fancies Followers is a great book for anyone who loves fantasy mixed with romance and some offbeat humor.
