Ivelisse Housman

Unseelie

Danny Werhane

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy. 

3.75/5 stars 

The one quote I wrote down when reading this was ‘I never understood why people just become friends’ and if that’s not the most relatable sentence I’ve ever read, I don’t know what is. 

Seelie is the representation I needed when I was younger and had just been diagnosed with autism. We are in desperate need of more genuine autistic characters, who aren’t seen as burdens. Seelie being autistic wasn’t a plot point to overcome, it just was a fact of her character, as much as the fact that she is a changeling.

The other of this book was the magic! This book is just so magical, it felt like a fairytale. There’s shape-shifting, there’s elemental magic, there’s healing magic. The characters have an enchanted wagon, and there’s even dragons! Though I do feel like the world building itself was in need of more explanation and detail than was given. 

The other issue I had was the general lack of plot. For a solid part in the middle of the book, it felt like very little was happening. It was mostly just the characters arguing with no real movement of the plot. Seelie is also a frustrating character at times. She often gets angry with the other characters for no valid reason, and seemed to not think of anyone but herself. 

The synopsis of this says it a ‘heist’ and that definitely isn’t accurate. The characters more go on road trip than anything else. Enjoyable, but not as exciting as a heist.

Takecia Bright

The author and the MC are autistic and that alone is wonderful

in its own right. We get to see Seelie's perspective on her
world and how the trails she faces affect her as well as how
she triumphs through them.

Just like the other reviewers, I feel as if the relationship
between Seelie and Isolde shine through the pages the most.
It was nice to see how much Seelie loved her sister through
the struggles and how they drifted apart but came back to
each other.

There is romance in the book, a slow burn, but the sisterly
relationship took the front seat.

It was a pleasure to read!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Diversity: Autistic Coded MC with speech impediment and is a twin

Recommended For...: young adult readers, fantasy, high fantasy, fae, autistic characters, twin characters, speech impediment characters

Age Relevance: 12+ (violence, death, child killing, gore, romance, cursing, abelsim)

Explanation of Above: There is some knife violence, some physical violence, and death and child killings are mentioned. Abelism is mentioned vaguely in a few places of the text. There is some slight blood gore. There is some slight romance but nothing more than light kisses. There is very slight cursing, I believe only a handful of instances in the book.

Synopsis: Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove looks just like her twin, Isolde… but as an autistic changeling trying to navigate her unpredictable magic, Seelie finds it more difficult to fit in with the humans around her. When Seelie and Isolde are caught up in a heist gone wrong and make some unexpected allies, they find themselves unraveling a larger mystery that has its roots in the history of humans and fae alike.

 Both sisters soon discover that the secrets of the faeries may be more valuable than any pile of gold and jewels. But can Seelie harness her magic in time to protect her sister, and herself?

Review: I thought this book was pretty well done. The book involves fae and a lot of fun high fantasy elements, but with amazing magic that is very well developed and described. I liked the world building as well and I thought the character development was great. The book had great commentary on abelism with autistic people, especially in how a lot of people imply they would want a dead child with autism than one with. There are some passages about loving children as they come despite what they bring with them or what occurs to them, which I think is something a lot of would-be parents and even current parents need to think upon. The book is also very “chosen one”-like and would be perfect for those seeking that trope, especially ones that ring true to early 00s chosen one stories.

The only issues I had with the book is that in the beginning it had a very Book 2 type of feel to it and it was a little difficult to get into.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

 

Book: Unseelie

 

Author: Ivelisse Housman

 

Book Series: Standalone

 

Rating: 4.5/5

 

Diversity: Autistic Coded MC with speech impediment and is a twin

 

Recommended For...: young adult readers, fantasy, high fantasy, fae, autistic characters, twin characters, speech impediment characters

 

Publication Date: January 3, 2023

 

Genre: YA Fantasy

 

Age Relevance: 12+ (violence, death, child killing, gore, romance, cursing, abelsim)

 

Explanation of Above: There is some knife violence, some physical violence, and death and child killings are mentioned. Abelism is mentioned vaguely in a few places of the text. There is some slight blood gore. There is some slight romance but nothing more than light kisses. There is very slight cursing, I believe only a handful of instances in the book.

 

Publisher: Inkyard Press

 

Pages: 432

 

Synopsis: Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove looks just like her twin, Isolde… but as an autistic changeling trying to navigate her unpredictable magic, Seelie finds it more difficult to fit in with the humans around her. When Seelie and Isolde are caught up in a heist gone wrong and make some unexpected allies, they find themselves unraveling a larger mystery that has its roots in the history of humans and fae alike.

 

 Both sisters soon discover that the secrets of the faeries may be more valuable than any pile of gold and jewels. But can Seelie harness her magic in time to protect her sister, and herself?

 

Review: I thought this book was pretty well done. The book involves fae and a lot of fun high fantasy elements, but with amazing magic that is very well developed and described. I liked the world building as well and I thought the character development was great. The book had great commentary on abelism with autistic people, especially in how a lot of people imply they would want a dead child with autism than one with. There are some passages about loving children as they come despite what they bring with them or what occurs to them, which I think is something a lot of would-be parents and even current parents need to think upon. The book is also very “chosen one”-like and would be perfect for those seeking that trope, especially ones that ring true to early 00s chosen one stories.

 

The only issues I had with the book is that in the beginning it had a very Book 2 type of feel to it and it was a little difficult to get into.

 

Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend.

I am not sure I have the words to describe how much this book means to me but I am going to sure try. 

Unseelie is by far the best female - autistic representation (at least in the way it presents in me) I have ever read and throughout the book I kept stopping at the way seelie was thinking and saying “haha I do that too” or "thats exactly what i would do!" It is a whole new level of surreal to not only see myself in a book, but hear my same thought-process in the narration. Seelie is complex and flawed and pushed to grow by her companions without being told to change who she is. 

Putting the fantastic rep aside the story was a super fun road trip/treasure hunt/ adventure through the magical fantasy world Housman has created while both including and subverting all my favorite tropes. 

If you are a fan of Emily Lloyd-jones or Leslie Vedder like I am this will certainly be another favorite read. 

Now excuse me while I go force everyone I know to read this book!

Minnie Mazuera

I am not sure I have the words to describe how much this book means to me but I am going to sure try. 

Unseelie is by far the best female - autistic representation (at least in the way it presents in me) I have ever read and throughout the book I kept stopping at the way seelie was thinking and saying “haha I do that too” or "thats exactly what i would do!" It is a whole new level of surreal to not only see myself in a book, but hear my same thought-process in the narration. Seelie is complex and flawed and pushed to grow by her companions without being told to change who she is. 

Putting the fantastic rep aside the story was a super fun road trip/treasure hunt/ adventure through the magical fantasy world Housman has created while both including and subverting all my favorite tropes. 

If you are a fan of Emily Lloyd-jones or Leslie Vedder like I am this will certainly be another favorite read. 

Now excuse me while I go force everyone I know to read this book!

Rebecca Raven

Unseelie is a debut YA fantasy novel by Ivelisse Housman. Iselia "Seelie" Graygrove is identical to her twin, Isodle, in every way except one: she's a changeling. Along with that and her unpredictable magic she finds it hard to fit in. Somewhat begrudgingly, the twins find themselves thrown in with new allies after a heist goes wrong. Adventuring towards unknown faerie treasure Seelie might just have to find it within herself - and her magic - if she wants to save herself and her sister. 

I loved, loved this book! First, I have to mention that this book has wonderful autism rep. I'm neurotypical so I can't really say I know the first thing about autism. This book was enlightening to me and allowed me to see past the bias and stereotypical traits that traditional media would leave you to believe about autism. I think this book is so important to share this perspective and I hope it teaches other people about the subject. I also hope for those with autism to see themselves within this novel. 

Unseelie was written in a lyrical way that drew me directly into the story. Woven into the words I felt like I was really in a land of changelings, fae and magic. Houseman's writing also made it so easy to get connected to the main character, Seelie. I felt as if I could really understand her. I laughed when she laughed, cried when she cried and felt anger boiling within me when she was mad. 

The magical world and magic system in this novel was rich and clearly understandable. I don't think I was ever really confused by how something worked (unless the times we were meant to and the plot points were explained later). The author's writing style only fed into the world more making it seem fresh and real in the images in my mind while I read. 

I would definitely recommend Unseelie to anyone who wants to read about an amazing MC, twins, and a magical road trip. Actually, just anyone who likes YA fantasy in general. This one's for you. 


Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for an arc of this novel. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Unseelie

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