Her Unwelcome Inheritance

Fayborn #1

by J. Aleksandr Wootton

Petra Godfellow is ready – a little nervous, but ready – to grow up and leave home. She doesn't know the family secret... about the man who loved her mother, who couldn't accept that it was over... who's crazy enough to believe that he's the rightful king of Faerie. Her mother wants to keep it that way, but just after Petra's high school graduation, James Oberon finds her family again.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 31, 2012

About the author

J. Aleksandr Wootton is a poet, author, and book-worm ("hoards books in shelves and spare rooms; likes to sleep surrounded by them." Derivation, Old Tolkienic).

In his spare time, he chairs the folklore department at Lightfoot College.

Reviews

[Disincentive/Feta · Rating 5 out of 5]

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I simply love urban fantasy, thanks to books like this one.

Petra doesn’t believe in magic and faeries, but they seem to believe in her. She is a faerie. It’s pretty complicated when she just wanted to go to the college and be normal. Did I mention that we also have a stalker, roommate obsessed with faeries and a world depending on Petra’s decisions?

The book is pure magic. It’s like modern version of Alice in Wonderland with a touch of Narnia.

I was a little overwhelmed because of vocabulary used and some descriptions. I often fell off the track but eventually I was sucked into the story again. I read half of the book as an ARC and the other half as finished kindle copy, so it made me a little confused too.

Her Unwelcome Inheritance is an extraordinary story I can recommend to every fantasy lover, or just someone who wants to believe in magic… Again.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Book Browsers,

If you are looking for a delightfully engrossing new fantasy tale in which to immerse your imagination, look no further! I love fantasy and have often lamented the fact that the genre is not what it once was. Since George MacDonald, J.R.R. Tolkein, and C.S. Lewis, there have been none quite so brilliant, well-studied, or original. "Her Unwelcome Inheritance" restores my faith in the genre and gives me hope that more refreshing tales are to come from J. Aleksandr Wootton.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the story brings the realm of Faerie close to everyday life and presents a believable landscape for fantastical and mysterious events. If you've ever longed for other worlds or found yourself looking for hidden passageways, secret nooks, or locked rooms, you'll find yourself reveling in how Wootton slowly opens these doors and passageways and lets you through into a world of wonder. His cast of characters is wide and varied, combining the familiar and new. They are dangerous, mysterious, unique, and loveable. My only disappointment was that the story ended too soon and left me hanging for the sequel. Cheers to Wootton and here's hoping he continues Petra's journey soon!

~Your Avid Fantasy Devourer

[Lanternwaste · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool book.

For those who long for a more robust fantasy that also explores complex issues like belief, responsibility to others, etc., this is such a fantasy. My measure for good fantasy is whether the story and characters in it could make it as enjoyable and moving in our own world, and THEN I think to layer the new worlds, creatures, powers, etc into that story. The characters in this story are well crafted and balance well between believable and interesting. The story and themes touch on things that people in this world would also likely have to face, while their impact is amplified by the fantasy element.

Make no mistake, though. The fantasy element is EXTREMELY well crafted in its own right! Mr. Wootton seamlessly blends several classic "worlds" that I wouldn't expect to mesh. He retains the best of those worlds and stays true to them while adding enough of his own ideas to make the story unique and the well known lore fresh--the perfect blend of original and classic!

In short, this was a really enjoyable book and I can't wait for the story to move forward in what I hope will be the next in a series!

[Masha Toit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story pulled me right in.
It's getting tough to find good fantasy books, books that are original but still have that delicious thrill,that remind you of why you started reading fantasy in the first place. This is one of them. It is original and surprising, but it also draws on so many of my favourites - The Narnia books, Dracula, Wizard of Earthsea, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Alice in Wonderland, The Wind in the Willows, The Hobbit, the Greek myths and many more. The writer's love and respect for those stories breathes life into his own work.

We immediately find out that the heroine - Petra - has been born into an unusual situation. Her mother has a dark secret that she is so desperate to hide that she is willing to burn her own house down to fake her death. There are vampires on her trail, it seems. A war in Faery could be the root of it all, but Petra is reluctant to acknowledge that it has anything to do with her.

Petra is a great character, warm and convincing, with a stubborn streak and a loving heart. J. Aleksandr Wootton has a light touch, creating real living people with the minimum of fuss. I particularly liked Petra's aunt, the no nonsense mechanic :).

Now my only problem is that I cant wait for the sequel!

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her Unwelcome Inheritance was a very satisfying read. The scenery isn't cut-and-pasted from Tolkien or the innumerable copycats, but it's an inventive fresh take on fairyland-with-us.

Petra, a clever, likeable girl, is a strong protagonist, but it's in the odd and eccentric minor characters that the real beauty of the book may be found. Each of them is intricate and rather beautifully portrayed and as much pleasure is to be found in Petra's discoveries of them as in the world they live in.

Even people you think you might recognise, like Oberon or the Fairy Queen, or even Jadis (from Narnia!), are given clever and vivid re-workings that make them as fun to read about as entirely new characters.

Her Unwelcome Inheritance is a book I can recommend wholeheartedly to anyone interested in imagining fairyland closer than you might think!

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have preferred novel to have some sort of ending instead of "to be continued." For a book in a series, a minor victory/defeat/problem solved would have worked. Spent too much time discussing if faeries were real and not enough time having the plot move forward, especially for the main character. The main "action" scenes in the novel were directed at other characters (burning down the house, being attacked in the sewer, etc) and Petra only gets to participate in the final scene (well, sort of, since the novel ends right before she gets to do anything). Writing was good, and interesting characters. Some minor grammar & spelling mistakes that may need to be fixed for future prints.

[Dhknight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this modern day fairytale thoroughly enjoyable. Delightfully set in small towns and a college, it provided a more tangible, closer-to-home Fairytale feel to it and even, I'll admit, left me looking around me for glimpses of Faery! The characters are great and I enjoyed the pace at which the plot unfolds. Neat retakes on some familiar characters too. I loved seeing the white witch from Narnia in a different light - very creative.

This short book reads fast and leaves you hungry for more from Mr. Wootton. Can we say sequel??

Definitely worth the read.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I REALLY enjoyed this book. It was well written (though I did roll my eyes at some of the descriptions, a little overwrought vocabulary), intellectual and engaging. It was a story that could easily have become too complex, but the reader is never overwhelmed by the different threads of the story. I was so frustrated when it ended because I wanted to know what happens! i eagerly await the rest of petra's story.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author has taken the fantasy tradition of Tolkien and Lewis and brought it into the post-modern world. The author does a good job of weaving the history of the faery world and their wars into the story that is filled with wonderful characters that I both loved and loved to hate. I just wish there had not been such a dramatic cliffhanger at the end. But of course I'm looking forward to the next one now...

[Jola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review also on www.jolasbookshelf.wordpress.com

'Her Unwelcome Inheritance' is a great introduction to a fantasy series. I never liked faeries very much, but I think it might change now. J. Aleksandr Wootton did a great job blending other known works with his imagination and created unique story. Petra is an amazing character and I'll be looking forward to read more about her adventures.

Thanks to J. Aleksandr Wootton for sending me his book in exchange for an honest review.

[Erin With the Classics · Rating 5 out of 5]

The summer before she leaves for college, Petra Goodfellow learns that her mom Christina's paranoia has a valid basis: James Oberon, an old flame of Christina's and descendant of the King of Faerie, is searching for Christina. Petra and her mom are descendants of Robin Goodfellow, and James wants one of them to help him restore Faerie (and gain a whole lot of power) buy swearing to be his servant. . . forever. Given James' character, this is not the greatest bargain.

Petra, who just wants the freedom and new adventure of college, is willing to admit her mom has a stalker, but is quite skeptical about all this crazy Faerie business. As she meets more and more of the fay, and gets more and more entangled in the edges of that world, she begins to realize she needs to make a choice: about what she is going to believe, and what she is going to do.

I'm going to be honest and admit that I expected Her Unwelcome Inheritance to be. . . fine. I'm glad I can follow that sentence up with this one: I was only in chapter one or two before I realized that this book was going to be great. In fact, although I only bought the Kindle version, I will be buying a paper copy as soon as I can, which is a transition that very few books make with me.

Wootton's prose is excellent, his images vivid (not surprising as he also writes poetry). The story is well-crafted and delightful, the characters interesting and vibrant, and the conflict well-managed.
The story does have a slow build as the reader is introduced to its world, but this is something I enjoy, and I never thought the story lagged as a result. In fact, I had to police myself to be sure I didn't read it all in one sitting!

I also love stories that offer a Unified Theory of Everything, and this one - that the myths and legends of the world are poorly remembered or magically distorted remembrances of beings from Faerie - is lovely. It allows Wootton to pull in characters and references from a whole host of stories; the list of books given at the end is truly impressive, featuring everything from Norse myths to Eliot. Be sure you get book 2 at the same time, because that cliffhanger is a doozy.
10/10 highly recommend.

[Rabid Readers Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Her Unwelcome Inheritance" is a cheeky wink at literature lovers. The inside joke of the piece is that there are several literature based references. The most overt of them played out in the home of James Oberon as he returns from his journey to find Christine Goodfellow he finds that his manservant has labeled varied things on a tray “eat me” and “drink me” as though James has returned from his own trip down the rabbit hole. The references are smart and subtle opening this novel to children who have entered high school and are now reading the very works that Wootton references in his wholly unique tale.

Petra Goodfellow, when we meet her, is a perfectly normal girl. Her mother has banned her from social media out of the fear that Oberon will find them and she, of course, has a secret account. She underestimates the threat thinking that the stupid adults are over-reacting as stupid adults do. She even has a perfectly in character fit of pique. How dare they not have told her about this stalker before! Of course, despite little glimpses of memory she was too young to remember their life before they escaped. Because of this initial naivety, Wootton is able to build the bond between young reader and character and teenagers will become invested in the fate of this character.

Wootton’s narrative covers a lot of ground in quite a short number of worlds and manages to convey the information needed while keeping the reader engaged and entertained. As previously stated, Wootton is obviously quite well read and seems to have studied the overall construction of those novels. He gives the reader credit for intelligence and writes up to his audience instead of modulating his voice for a middle grade understanding.

"Her Unwelcome Inheritance" is a fabulous novel for children of all ages.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on the cover, you do not expect this to be a fantasy novel. I was pleasantly surprised at the content of this story, seeing a glimpse of so many other tales of faery intermingling and connecting together. This novel is one that sort of...connects the dots, if you will.

From the very beginning, you get the feeling that Petra will play a much bigger role in the grand scheme of things than even she could ever imagine.
She has been sheltered most of her life from the realities of her family, but that is all about to come to an abrupt end, for sure.

Through many intriguing plot twists and turns, you are taken on a journey that will arouse your sense of curiosity and keep you turning the pages to find out what will be coming next.

I was somewhat amused to find that the author had written himself into the story, as a character carrying the same name, and he is a very integral part of the story whom you will want to watch closely.

There were a few editing hiccups that were slightly distracting, but I was able to fill in the blanks (there was a missing word here or there, and an extra one once or twice), and keep reading, of course, only to be frustrated to find that the story ends on a cliffhanger and I must now terribly impatiently await the next installment in the series.

Overall, well written and enjoyable. Took a few pages to get into a rhythm with the story for me, but once I got to the meat of it, I could not put it down and read the bulk of it in a single day.

[Delia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say this review may have been much different if I hadn't been given the updated version. The original ARC was a little confusing at first but the finished product been sold on Amazon is well edited making it far easier to get through.

The story itself is very interesting. I personally don't know too much about Fairy legends, just what I've learned from reading Patricia Briggs novels, so for me there was a lot of information to take in. The characters were well done but there were a fair number of them for you to follow.

About halfway through the novel seems to really pick up pace. This may be because I was able to understand the minor characters better by this point, I can't be fully sure. Overall I enjoyed the read and probably learned a few things along the way. For someone who usually sticks to werewolves and serial killers, the Fae is a bit out of my usual realm. I have a feeling if your really into fairies and there legends you will find the reading easier than I did.

I will warn you that the ending is a cliffhanger. Which I did ask the author about in my interview with him, as well as a few other interesting questions. So if you want to know more about what built this story be sure to check out my blog. While your there add a post and you will be automatically entered to win a free ebook copy of the novel.

http://www.wolfmajick.blogspot.com

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

To say of a book, "I couldn't put it down," is to damn it with faint praise. The best books are those I want to put down, to pause and savor descriptions, moments, or exposition. I wanted to--and did--lower this book several times, and enjoyed it all the more for that. The setting is comfortable, yet unique, with elements that feel familiar, yet defy articulation. Treatment of certain characters came across more subtly than in Gaiman's American Gods--without taking away anything from that excellent work--though this could have been due to my relative unfamiliarity with the Fae. (Wootton undoubtedly derives influence from Gaiman from without being derivative; fans of Diana Wynne Jones will also feel at home here.)

I eagerly anticipate resolution of this debut cliffhanger and hope for many brilliant works to come.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book several months ago, so it's not as ready in my mind as I would normally like for writing a review. I recall appreciating the conversations between the protagonists and desiring to continue some of those conversations myself with my friends.

I also remember that I enjoyed the way that the author builds and maintains suspense without bluntly resorting to displays of power. It will be interesting to see how this suspense is resolved in later works.

[Zak Schmoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent work of fantasy in and of itself, but I think my favorite part of this book was discovering literary references. I loved how I was able to pick up an allusion to J.R.R. Tolkien, CS Lewis, GK Chesterton, George MacDonald, Lewis Carroll, and so many others intertwined within a fast-paced and fun fantasy tale. The characters are believable, our world feels like our world, and the elements of Faerie are as fascinating as you could want. Petra is a great protagonist, and I am interested to watch her grow and develop as the plot continues. As this is the first book of three, I am definitely going to be purchasing the sequel very soon.

[Lydia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Her Unwelcome Inheritance" by J. Aleksandr Wootton.

Most young adults have to stress over college - new friends, new places, new subjects to focus on. Petra Godfellow has that and much more weighing her down. Only a little while before she moves out of her home to her godfather's house for college, Petra accidentally listens to a phone message directed to her mother, Christina. Telling her mother and her aunt, Penny, has both older women acting strange. Christina insists on Petra leaving earlier than scheduled, so that she, too, can move as far as away as possible. Penny has possibly gone mad and tells her about a man named Oberon, and how Petra and Christina are descendants of Robin Goodfellow, the Leader of the Hobgoblins. But that can't be true, can it? Soon she comes to question her own sanity as well, as more and more people - and creatures - insist on Penny's story. With the Faerie King's lackeys and their magic after her, and with those opposing Oberon wishing for her to sacrifice her freedom, can Petra lead a somewhat normal college life? And how can she tell what is real and what is fictional anymore, when she starts leaning towards believing in what she once thought to be stuff for fairy tales?

Wootton's Her Unwelcome Inheritance is a book that teenagers who are fans of the Fantasy classics, like Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, or the famous A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare, will come to enjoy. The story has several references to those and many more, showing the writer's hard work and research. Nothing speaks better to a fantasy reader, than a story that has strong back-up concerning the legends and fairy tales it uses to build its world upon. Famous characters that most of us have read about and may have come to love from our younger years come to life in this short book, with a plot that serves to either get our opinion on them even more solid, or completely crumble it and start anew based on the way we view them, now through Petra's eyes.

However, this was the only thing that mostly worked in Mr. Wootton's favor - the rest of it, I'm afraid, was not what I would consider equal in quality of such great background, use of the legends, and world-building. The story started in a fantastic way, with a short synopsis of the Faerie war, giving the reader a slight taste of the writer's voice. It was magneficent, and brilliant, and honestly had me raving over what a great book I chose to read - until I reached about half of the page count. Because, as good as the action was, as detailed as the world-building was with vivid images of Steameria and Niata's cottage and Tod's Hollow I could just picture them in my head, as shiver-worthy as the Faerie royal members were, there were many parts that left me not only confused, but also irritated. For one, there were many unnecessary details on the trivial, daily activities. Then, there was also the "hot and cold" pace issue - one moment we're rushing in a nail-biting scene, the next we're drenched with a bucketload of cold water to "normality" (or, well, what Petra considered normality to be). It was disorienting and frustrating most of the time. Even the ending - which I admit had me smiling because I love endings like this - didn't manage to make this a tad better.

But I feel like I wouldn't have minded all that if there was not another, very important issue to be solved. And that is Petra Godfellow herself. The main character was not one I cared for through the entire book. She came off as shallow at times, judgemental (a major pet peeve of mine), and too whiny. If she was a bit more likeable, I may have been able to enjoy the book a little bit, but honestly, when the chapter was focused on her I groaned from the effort it took to keep on reading. When you end up feeling elated because you're reading about someone else OTHER than the story's protagonist, then you know the writer has not done a very good job on portraying them. I'm not saying that main characters are what makes a book good, but they definitely help a reader feel better if the book is lacking in some departments.

All in all, the book, while having an amazing beginning and an equally wonderful ending, didn't manage to rate high in my mind thanks to what waited for me from point A to point B. Still, that is not to say that others may not enjoy it. Teenagers and young readers are more likely to appreciate Her Unwelcome Inheritance than an adult who may be a more seasoned reader. What someone like me might find lacking, others might view as fascinating and intriguing, a mystery or a puzzle that is to be solved piece by piece, book by book. So I'm giving it 2 out of 5 stars, to encourage middle and high schoolers to give it a try. It has a solid plot and world for younger people to explore, which an adult might not come to enjoy without that little something that makes a story stay with them longer than an hour after they've closed the book...


***I was given a review copy from the writer via Online Book Club in exchange for an honest review. The opinion stated in this review is solely mine, and no compensation was given or taken to alter it.***

[Evie Woolmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

YA fantasy is such a rapidly expanding genre, that it can be difficult to create a story that stands out amid the usual themes of growing up, emotions, relationships and new responsibilities, even though fantasy gives an author enormous potential to create a really original context for exploring these ideas. For Her Unwelcome Inheritance, the first volume in the Fayborn series, Wootton has borrowed some very old, well-known foundations for his fantasy world in the characters many of us know from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and re-imagined them for us, immortal and brought bang up to date.
Petra Goodfellow is a descendant of a former advisor to Oberon, the Fairy King, but she is now at the heart of a power struggle as Oberon seeks to restore power to his kingdom. Petra's mother has done her best to protect her daughter from the impact of her bloodline, but the past is catching up with Petra now, as James Oberon seeks to track her down by any means possible. But Petra wants to get on with her life, she doesn't want to take on the responsibilities of her past and her ancestors. She just wants to enjoy her first year at college and make new friends, and no matter often she sees glimpses of the fairy world, she is determined that they just don't exist. As a YA character, she is going to be unruly and refuse to make the journey the genre demands of her.

Wootton has spared no expense imaginatively in constructing and peopling his fairy world, and both the environment and the characters are richly and engagingly drawn. Petra herself is a strong and sparky character, a typical teenager with an un-self-conscious voice which Wootton writes well. Sometimes a third person narrator can seem too knowing for a YA character, but Petra's internal thoughts are believable and unforced. That narrator is kept busy too, leaping about between the different factions of the fairies in exile: Oberon and his loyal supporters and family, including the utterly devious Wormsworth, the fast fading Fairy Queen and her devoted Cat, Petra, her godfather Tod, and also an unusual character, a Professor Jack Wootton, an expert in all matters fairy. Like the fourth wall in cinema, it takes a certain amount of authorial nerve to blur the boundaries the writer establishes between fact and fiction, narrator and characters, reader and writer, and - without giving anything away - Professor Wootton's part in the story is not a Hitchockian cliché or a moment of vanity.
For this reviewer, the book's authentic and beautifully researched world is perhaps the source of its weakness: there are so many characters, so much fairy lore, that it can be hard for the casual reader or one who reads in short bursts to keep up with what is going on. A glossary and a family tree would not go amiss in the appendix, just to help the easily confused, though for those who like a complex genealogy and lore, the book will be a comfortable and enjoyable place to lose a few hours. It also suffers slightly from 'first in the series' syndrome: there is a huge amount of exposition, and there are lots of storylines and narrative threads to be set in motion, and so in action terms the book is pretty slow to get going and results in quite a cliffhanger, which some readers may find frustrating. Fortunately for them, Wootton is just about to release the second in the series, The Eighth Square.

[Y. Correa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Petra is a young girl that does not believe in fairies, or anything fay for that matter. Having been raised by her mother and her “aunt” Petra has never had a stable home or life, like a normal girl her age and that is all she really wants–to stop running and just be normal. The biggest problem is that Petra doesn’t know why her mother and aunt are constantly up and leaving from one town to another. She surmises that there has to be a reason for the constant uprooting. The problem is that Christina has a secret. A secret that will eventually lead Petra to an adventure which will change her opinion of the fay altogether.

Suddenly, two worlds come crashing together.

My thoughts on the story are very simple…

At first it very difficult to connect to the story as I found it very confusing. I didn’t have a clear idea as to what exactly was going on. I was tossed into a world that I knew little about, into the inner working of a set a characters that I didn’t know anything about. As the matter of fact I was tossed directly into that action.

I don’t really mind being tossed directly into the middle of the action, so long as there is some fundamental introduction, if you will.

Luckily, By chapter 3 I had a very clear picture of what was happening. I realized that the author was weaving two worlds together and had opted to start with the fay and then take us to our dimension. Thankfully, when then image became clear, I was then able to wind down and enjoy the story.

We had lots of interesting characters tied into the mix–my personal favorite was Lilith. The author had a very interesting take on her. One that was a bit different than what modern day mythology relates–I’ve always has an appreciation for when an author takes an already established creature from mythology and goes a new and interesting route–this is something we find in surplus in Her Unwelcome Inheritance.

If I were to have one major complaint about the work, it would be that the story definitely needs some editing. There is quite a bit of grammatical faux pas–mostly in punctuation. There seems to be an excessive use of the “EM Dash” also known as the “Long Dash” which for the most part it seemed to be used to supplement that “ellipse” or to create an interruption in dialogue, and at times it was a bit put offish.

For a person like myself, the matter of closely knit text was a bit frustrating. I’ll explain. The text was very small, with minimal spacing, and it sometimes caused the text to blur together in my eyes. I would suggest some additional spacing to be added to the formatting of the final product.

I think that with some more editing and proper formatting, and lastly, with a bit more “lead in” at the beginning of the story, this could be a story that many will enjoy.

[K.L. Bernard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Petra has lived with her mother Christina and Aunt Penny, her mother’s best friend, since the day she was born. She was raised not believe in fairy tales. She had little to no interaction with television or internet and she is convinced something happened to her mother to make her so paranoid about it all. On her last day of high school she came home to find a message on the answering machine meant for her mother that will quickly change her life. Aunt Penny explains her mother’s past with a stalker claiming to be a Faerie King and some of the secrets they have been hiding from her. She even confirms a memory Petra has of a fire when she was very young. This confirmed Petra’s assumptions of her mother but not what she would have thought. When Christina learns what Penny has done and learns of the message from the stalker she has been hiding from, she decides to send Petra to her godfather, Uncle Tod, in Virginia where she will attend Lightfoot College and be safe. The night before the trip, Aunt Penny tells Petra a memory of a visit they had with her grandmother and the gift Petra’s grandmother gave to Penny. Later during the trip to Virginia Penny shows Petra more of how her gift works, forcing her to rethink her beliefs and how she perceives the world. While with Uncle Tod Petra again is challenged on what she knows to be real and fantasy as she is introduced to his dear friends and the people who work for him. Living with her godfather was supposed to keep her safe but she quickly finds out that her mother’s problems are becoming her own. Can Petra set aside her own beliefs in order to understand her heritage? Will she be able to avoid the King of Faeries long enough to decide her fate and the fate of the Faerie world?

Author J. Aleksandr Wootton is a fan of faeries. He has created a coming of age story that young readers will enjoy. Vivid scenery and likeable characters makes for an interesting and fun read. Wootton is a Virginian and a bookworm, in the Tolkienish meaning of 'worm' as 'dragon'. He hoards books in shelves and spare rooms, and likes to sleep surrounded by them. In his spare time, he chairs the folklore department at Lightfoot College, where his research focus is on post-war Faerie.

[Harmony Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed on behalf of The Review Board

This is both a Traditional and Urban Fantasy novel. It has all the traditional, classic fantasy elements with faeries and goblins and magic. It has a faery land. It is also mostly set in our normal, everyday dimension. The author weaves the two worlds together seamlessly.
The book opens with a brief, but entertaining history of the fae and “puck”. The first chapter then introduces us to two women who are in the process of burning their house down. Chapter two then jumps sixteen years, and we get more acquainted with Petra, whose earliest memory is that of watching her mother and aunt burn down their house from her pushchair.
She is unaware of the family secret, until Faerie begins to intrude upon her life, and then she is forced to face her doubts and questions. The Faerie are tired of hiding, and the man who has been stalking her mother all these years believes he is the rightful king of Faerie. Both sides of this on-going strife believe that Petra is the key to it all.
The plot, pacing, world building, and character development are all done well. I found a few too many Point of View changes at the beginning, which was a little difficult to keep track of, especially as there were so many characters to remember. However, once I got a little way into the story, and the characters more familiar, this became easier to follow.
A further proofread is necessary to weed out spelling mistakes and missing words, which while not prolific, are enough to stand out. There are also some clumsy sentence constructions, which need shortening considerably. On the whole, the writing style is passive, and the dialogue tags tend to tell something that is already obvious. There is one unannounced shift in POV, but otherwise it stays steady, with each character getting their own section or chapter. Filter words, and delaying action with the use of the “began to/started to” formulation needs weeding down.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and any reader of fantasy fiction is sure to love this book. I offer 4 out of 5 stars, which translated to the Review Board’s rating scale would equal 8 out of 10.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I'd discovered this book decades ago (even though I mightn't have had the context to enjoy it as much as I did). It has everything that I like best about the Narnia Chronicles, George MacDonald's books, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

It is a high fantasy story with Oberon, King of the Fairies (the Empire), Titania Mirrowmorn, the Fairie Queen, and Puck and his hobgoblins (the Rebel Alliance) in exile on earth.

I love how the author appears in his own novel as a professor of folklore, studying the muddied record of the Civil War in Fairie and the subsequent Exile.

I love Appendix A where the author clears up his definition of what a "hobgoblin" is by discussing Professor Tolkien's inconsistent reference to it in The Hobbit (which, the author states, Tolkien later recanted).

Rather than read just another book, I'm moving onto the 2nd book in this trilogy as fast as I can get it downloaded into my Kindle app.

[MattD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her Unwelcome Inheritance, though not a long book, draws one in and also draws on a long history of fantasy writing that many current writers ignore. Wootton relies on many different elements of "faerie" tales as backstory, but places these old stories in a modern context and with a fresh plot involving interesting characters. Featuring a rare (to non-vampire fantasy) strong teenage female lead, Her Unwelcome Inheritance skilfully weaves a plot that pits protagonist Petra Godfellow against the ancient Oberon family, who is seeking to resume its place at the head of Faerie - at all costs. This first book about Petra's struggle against not only the Oberons, but also her own emotions and opinions about what is and is not real, sets up what is sure to be an exciting series.

[Jennylou · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been following Mr. Wootton's work for over half my life; given that fact, it took me an abysmally long time to order and read his book. Once I had it in my hands, I could not put it down - and progressed straight on to the sequel. This first novel does not disappoint; the story is engaging and the writing excellent. I very much enjoyed the literary references; knowing the author's tremendous love of literature, I'm quite certain there were references I missed. I found it easy to sympathize with Petra and am very eager for installment #3 of her story!

[Jim Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended read, could not put the book down. Can't wait for the sequel.

[AnnMichelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish my highlights could just speak for themselves.
First, this book may have best first chapter I’ve read in quite a while. It starts out fast and furious and quite alarming, and you have to know just why these two women are doing the shocking things they’re doing. I’d rather not give away any spoilers on this because it would take away the fun of it. Since there’s a child in a stroller outside, you figure there must be some reason, and these people probably aren’t evil, but you must read on to find out why in the world they’re doing what they’re doing. Thankfully, all is made clear by the end of the chapter.
That then leads to the question of why they felt the need to do with they did.
We then fast forward until the child in the stroller, a girl named Petra, is approaching about 18 years old. We discover the two women are her mother and her aunt, though im keeping my eye on the aunt. She’s good but there’s obviously more than meets the eye. I think.
All is well until the past comes back to haunt them. A man has been stalking Petra’s mother and through magical means has found that she is at least alive. We realize the young girl is special in some way and that unfolds throughout the book.
There are some incredibly original concepts I’ve not run into before. Though I believe fairies and magical folk are represented in a more traditional than modern (it’s 2021 now) way.
I loved some wonderful bits of strange fancy phrased just right. I marked a few of them and hope they show up. I sensed traces of C.S. Lewis, possibly my most beloved writer and wiseman; certainly only writer I actively have sought every possible scrap of anything he ever wrote. He led me to other writers such as G.K. Chesterton, who was ridiculously brilliant but I can only digest one of his essays at a time. While Lewis feels as though I’m talking to an old friend and I could read easily forever. I’m not sure why I mention this, except it reminds me to say what I think I loved most about this book were the little surprise presents of some cleverly written and wise moments. Either in conversation or an observation. I marked a few as they could be “quotable quotes” all by themselves.
The story has an unusual mix also of different flavors; I don’t know how else to explain it. Sometimes there’s a slight touch of Alice in Wonderland or some other influence I recognize but couldn’t place. So, it’s like rainbow sherbet versus just fairy flavored sherbet.
The story of our young heroine is alternated with the story of our potential, I believe, young hero. We meet him as a child also, suffering from a mysterious illness. His father seems genuinely concerned, while his grandfather is so very, very creepy.
At first, you don’t connect the two but as the story unfolds, again we discover why the young boy has his mysterious bouts of illness. What’s surprising is the father. Again, I’d rather not give away any spoilers. I believe I can say however that this clan is obviously magical from the get-go, and has an agenda that includes finding Petra’s mother.
But then it’s discovered that she has a daughter and this changes everything. I believe the mother remains clueless as to why she is being tracked but maybe not. Anyway, once this secret is discovered, Petra’s life changes because she now must be protected. We don’t know why exactly the Father, Oberon is his fairie name, so very much wants to get a hold of her. But Petra’s life now changes forever.
Our young heroine is sent off to her honorary godfather, who is adorable, wise, and obviously kind. And fey. It’s nice to know for sure for certain, this personage is good, kind and wise as well as generous. Because many of the characters, well you’re just not sure for a time as to which side they might fall on when it comes to friend or foe.
Petra was about to begin college anyway so it works out well.
We are introduced to a professor from the college she will be attending while she is in hiding at her godfather’s home, and with the help of her allies, our heroine begins to learn more about the world of magic and fairies.
What I liked most were the surprising little packages of wisdom, or lovely verse sprinkled throughout the book.
The way the book ends left me terribly worried about both our young (possible) hero and heroine both.
Which means I will have to continue on in trilogy, because I can’t make a good prediction as to what’s going to happen, or why, and I got hooked into caring what happens to them both. And there’s mysterious questions that need answers.

[Thor R · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book and at some parts I did. The reference materials and worlds that the author drew from are a carbon copy list of my favorite fantasy stories; it was fun to see some characters that I thought I’d never see again (characters from Narnia, Peter Rabbit, etc). The Steameria was a great little idea. The writing was pretty good too.
The book would have been better served if it started on page 50, the antagonist had more information and had figured it out themselves, the world building relegated to briefer episodes or later books, the protagonist made more key decisions, and the ending had involved solving a problem (or narrative arc), discovering a key piece of info, or the protagonist making an irreversible decision.
I love the author’s goodreads book reviews (they’re one of the reasons I keep coming back to the app). His reviews compelled me to try his book. I’m glad he wrote the book because it’s the kind of story that fits my sentiments and tastes, even if it falls a little short of what I think is good story telling.

[Robert Sloan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Petra is a regular 17-year-old who doesn’t believe in fairies, but they are determined to believe in her. Her paranoid mother raised her to be wary of all things fantastical, so when multiple sources tell her she is the descendant of chief hobgoblin Puck, who rebelled against Oberon, king of the fairies, centuries ago, she has her doubts. But with Oberon’s descendants still searching for her family, she may not have the luxury of disbelief for long.

This was a creative tale that draws inspiration from European folklore as well as Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I enjoyed the way Wootton imagined how the descendants of fairies might live in the modern world. The magic system is just as fun and unpredictable as one might expect for Puck and his mischief. The combination of the familiar and the unique come together to weave an entertaining story.

[E.H. Alger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous! What a great and unique read Her Unwelcome Inheritance is! It’s a low fantasy about Petra, a college student who reluctantly discovers that she’s descended from Robin Goodfellow (or Puck, from Midsummer Night’s Dream) and that Oberon, a skin-crawlingly horrible version, is after her.

There’s a lot of scholarship hidden within this story, made clear in the book’s appendix which lists the fifty works of fantasy, fairytale and mythology that are subtly referenced within its pages - everything from Homer to Bram Stoker, to the Grimm Brothers, Susanna Clarke, C.S. Lewis, etc. I picked up on a few, but feel I want to read it again to find all of them! I particularly loved getting reacquainted with Jadis (from The Magician’s Nephew) - she was always one of my favourite C.S. Lewis characters.

Petra is a strong and likeable character and I found her family and friends also convincing and interesting. Oberon’s nasty colleagues are splendidly nasty! I also enjoyed the cheeky way that the author put himself in the book as a mild-mannered professor who seems to be Petra’s friend until he suddenly appears to betray her - will he turn out to be the villain of his own story?

After some wonderfully-written and spine-tingling magic in the last couple of chapters, the book ends on such a huge cliffhanger that I’m going to have to get the next book in the trilogy immediately!