Audiobook Review – Glimmerglass (Faeriewalker, Book 1) by Jenna Black (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Length: 9 hours and 45 minutes (304 pages)
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Release Date: July 9, 2010
ASIN: B003VXOZEU
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Faeriewalker series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

“It’s all she’s ever wanted to be, but it couldn’t be further from her grasp…

Dana Hathaway doesn’t know it yet, but she’s in big trouble. When her alcoholic mom shows up at her voice recital drunk, again, Dana decides she’s had enough and runs away to find her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the captivating, magical world of Faerie intersect. But from the moment Dana sets foot in Avalon, everything goes wrong, for it turns out she isn’t just an ordinary teenage girl―she’s a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds, and the only person who can bring magic into the human world and technology into Faerie.

Soon, Dana finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat game of Fae politics. Someone’s trying to kill her, and everyone seems to want something from her, from her newfound friends and family to Ethan, the hot Fae guy Dana figures she’ll never have a chance with… until she does. Caught between two worlds, Dana isn’t sure where she’ll ever fit in and who can be trusted, not to mention if her world will ever be normal again…”

I have had this book on my TBR pile for quite a while to read. It ended up being an okay book, but wasn’t great. It’s the first book in the Faeriewalker trilogy.

I listened to this on audiobook and, although the narrator did a great job creating different character voices, the voice she picked for the main heroine sounded somewhat gnomish…it was raspy, childish and unpleasant to listen to. I wouldn’t recommend listening to this on audiobook.

I had a lot of issues with this book. Dana comes across as very childish and naive, which is completely at odds with the fact that she grew up taking care of her alcoholic mom. You would think she’d be a bit more wise and less silly about thinking that traveling to Avalon will solve all her problems.

This book is very politics heavy; from the moment Dana steps foot into Avalon she is immersed in politics. This book was more about Dana’s issues with her mom and Avalon politics than anything else.

Dana does have a love interest in this book, but I was not impressed with this either. Ethan basically coerces her with magic from the beginning and comes across as more slimy and creepy than swoon-worthy. I don’t plan on reading more of the series, but I sincerely hope that the author does not make Ethan and Dana a couple going forward. I hate the whole misunderstood stalker turned heroic guy thing in YA novels.

Overall there just wasn’t anything I really liked about this book. It was okay but nothing special. The characters were childish and lackluster, the story was boring, and the world-building was only so-so. I personally wouldn’t recommend. There are too many really excellent paranorma YA books out there to waste your time reading something this mediocre.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge
– Audiobook Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge
– Paranormal Reading Challenge
– YA Reading Challenge