For those who don’t know about SPFBO (the Self Published Fantasy Blog Off) – this is a competition created and run by Mark Lawrence.  The competition is now in its tenth year and you can find out more about all the other entrants and judges over on Mark Lawrence’s blog.

I have now completed all my reading for the first phase of SPFBO X.  Today I am posting my final review following which the  Critiquing Chemist and I will be announcing our finalist.

Today’s review is for By a Silver Thread by Rachel Aaron.

Silver Thread by Rachel Aaron is the start to a new series set in the DFZ world (books that I haven’t read at this point) but I believe this is an entirely new self contained series and I didn’t feel disadvantaged having not read the previous series although I am intrigued about those other books.

Anyway, this one gets off to a great, and really intriguing start.  We meet Lola as a child, in hospital, where the nurses and doctors are afraid to look after her.  I could barely put this down from the get go because it was such a hook of a beginning.

So, moving on, we meet Lola a good few years later.  She’s working for the man who, ahem, rescued her – I use that word begrudgingly because the man in question is an abomination of a human being with no feelings for anyone but himself.  A self serving, selfish blood mage who goes by the name Vincent – kudos to Aaron for writing such an immediately detestable character. 

Lola is a changeling.  A fae creation used to steal a human child and replace it with a piece of magic to fool the parents that everything is okay.  She should never have lived this long but she stays alive due to a strange link that she has forged with the baby girl that she replaced.  The two are linked by a silver thread and Lola stays trapped in this dreadful life solely to make sure that her sister stays alive.

Vincent is little more than a trafficker and drug dealer.  He sells hope to people and takes great pleasure in leaving them high and dry when they need him the most.  Lola is his favourite tool.  The magic that created her gives her the power to shapeshift into almost any form, she can also create objects, such as cars and actually drive them, or other vehicles, she can even create a car as a decoy that will lead her enemies away.  I loved the way her magic worked, it was so interesting. 

Now, Vincent keeps Lola under his thumb by administering blood tablets that keep her inner monster in check.  Without these tablets everything will pretty quickly go to hell in a handcart and so when Vincent mysteriously disappears, leaving Lola with a depleted supply to these pills, she pulls out all the stops to try and find him.

This was a fast paced and enjoyable read.  I love finding a new urban fantasy series to sink into and anything with the fae also usually gets my immediate attention.  On top of that the writing is good and Aaron sets the scene (or scenes in this case) incredibly well.  There’s a wealth of imagination on display.  

Lola is a good character, easy to like and upbeat considering what she has to put up with.She has a number of people that she trusts and she’s also about to come face to face with a character straight out of urban myth.

This was an entertaining read with plenty to keep me engaged.  Fae Queens and Kings, the Wild Hunt, fairytale lore and much more.

I received a copy courtesy of the author for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.