Sanctuary Reviews

The Dark Fairy by Fayesther

"The Dark Fairy" by fayesther follows a young fairy Alina, who was born from unconventional circumstances. We get to discover the world through her eyes as she learns magic and strives for acceptance amongst the other fairies, especially the Mother of Fairies, Heartha who cruelly rejected her from birth and named her "Carabosse" which means "face inflammation."

The cover image is beautiful. The colour pallet and aesthetic is appealing and set in an elegant yet dark tone. The image of the character could be slightly larger, as it is a bit overpowered by the flowers. The font is clear, legible, and an appropriate size to be visible but not dominating.

The blurb begins with an engaging quote that catches attention and gets the premise of the story across clearly. The second paragraph, "Through cruel words and harboured prejudices from those who were supposed to have her back, the stigma surrounding her unique beginning colours her heart black," is unclear in the phrasing and could benefit from being restructured.

The structure and formatting of the story is well done. I really liked the longer sentences mixed with the use of shorter sentences. Phrases such as, "a small, delicate hand broke through the ash covered earth" and "The mother of fairies, who winced at the sight of her" were used successfully to convey emotion and description in a small space. The use of description over all was well done. There were some points I was unclear on, such as when fairies are born, do they look like children or fully grown? And I was wondering if their wings are all butterfly style and Alina's feathered wings set her apart or if that's usual for fairies?

The magic system was unique and I enjoyed seeing it through Alina's eyes as she learns. I love how fairies grow or shrink themselves based on their perspective of the environment around them and how their wands adapt to the storage space they are kept in. These details made me think of "Alice in Wonderland" and conveyed a whimsical and charming atmosphere. I would have liked to have been more clear on how long Alina had been with her foster mother Theia before she began to use magic. I enjoyed learning as Alina learned, however I was thinking some of the magical elements of the world would be already known to Alina by observing the other fairies rather than when she goes to learn it for herself. However, if it is clear Alina has not been with Theia for very long at this point, it would make sense she is just discovering these things.

I'm a huge fan of themes of duality and I found this story presented it well. Alina is a sweet soul who has been falsely deemed a "dark" fairy due to the nature of her birth. While the other fairies are supposed to be good, they bully and harass her. Another instance of duality is The Mother of fairies, Heartha, who is meant to be the mother figure and acts nicely towards all other fairies except Alina. It is this striving for her mother's acceptance that is so heartbreaking and creates a sort of self-fullfilling prophecy where Alina wants so badly to be loved, but the constant isolation and harassment pushes her fire powers to emerge which only serves to confirm to the other fairies she is "evil."

I fell in love with Alina's sweet and innocent demeanor. She is so accepting of the world around her. I found this was conveyed symbolically through her interest and compassion towards the owls, who her mother made to be nocturnal so she doesn't have to deal with them. This parallel creates such an interesting kinship between Alina and the owls. Alina's kind disposition makes the scenes where she is ill treated pack such a potent punch. My heart broke for her anytime she was rejected or bullied. My favorite line was when she said, "I get to make friends tomorrow?" when she was finally allowed to join the school. I think this line showed us so much of her character; as readers, we know what may be in store for her which makes it so heart wrenching.

Alina also has a close connection with her foster mother Theia. I absolutely love their relationship and kept thinking, 'thank goodness Alina has at least someone looking out for her!' which makes the eventual outcome that much more tragic.

The relationship between the characters is compelling, and the magic system and world building is interesting and unique, though I think the story could benefit from more 'showing' rather than 'telling' us what is going on. There are some scenes between Theia and Heartha that could have been shown to us where we could see more of their dynamic and by proxy, how much Theia cares for Alina and how hateful Heartha is. Similarly, there could be more exploration of scenes between Alina and Heartha that convey more of Alina's longing for acceptance. All of these points are conveyed to us through other sections, though it could be even more intense if we are shown some of these instances rather than be told about them. When we are shown these dynamics within the story, such as during the heartbreaking bullying scene, so much emotion comes across.

Similarly, there were opportunities to show world-building elements rather than tell them to us. It is really fun when we get to see the world through Alina's childlike wonder and joy, and it would have been nice to see more of it.

I enjoyed the first five chapters of "The Dark Fairy" and was immediately attached to Alina as a character. I wanted her to succeed and was so sad for her when she encountered the hardships she had to face. I wish I could have hugged her through my screen! Overall, this story is well written and has a compelling plot with a lot of heart and a loveable main character. 

- Mandie (TheQueenofGremlins)