ELIOR, PRINCE OF FAE by Joshuan Rivera Jiménez begins with a great opening hook: a prince from a faerie realm of Lempara wakes up in contemporary New York with no idea of how or why he ended up there. Soon, he finds himself on the run from mysterious pursuers chasing him for some unknown reason. By sheer luck, Elior meets a charismatic changeling con-artist with many names and disguises, as well as a coldly pragmatic modern-day witch who may, or may not, betray them. This trio of lead characters tries untangling the mystery of Elior’s arrival while also learning to rely on each other. There’s fun chemistry between them, making their interactions highly enjoyable to read. While Elior is naïve and vain, the witch, Tenneh, is almost ruthlessly pragmatic. The changeling, Alex (or Brett, or Dana, or Matt or…) is somewhere in between, with an easy-going demeanor belying a dark past.
With only about 260 pages, the novel moves at a brisk clip. There are twists and turns and cliffhangers and reveals. Whenever the story slows down, it’s only a matter of time before the bad guys burst through the door. Admittedly, this is a bit clumsy but undoubtedly effective. The story leads to a satisfying showdown that neatly ties up all the plot threads while leaving enough space for a possible sequel. The book has one significant flaw in the way it tries to explain the rules of its fictional world. This challenge is inherent to the genre, and not all authors are up to it. By giving his protagonist amnesia, Jiménez comes up with an excellent excuse to utilize other characters to explain things that may be obvious to them, but not to his readers. Regrettably, these explanations often feel dry, which is a problem since so much of the story hinges on Elior re-learning how to wield Fae magic. Despite this weakness, ELIOR, PRINCE OF FAE is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Joshuan Rivera Jiménez successfully created appealing characters. His fast-paced narrative is accompanied by humor and spiced up with just a touch of romance. Hopefully, one day we might see a sequel.
ELIOR, PRINCE OF FAE by Joshuan Rivera Jiménez is a breezy, fast-paced fantasy featuring danger, romance, humor and magic.
~Danijel Štriga, for IndieReader