Review: Fairyvision (Songs of Magic #5) by J.L. Bryan

My reviews of books 1-4 in this series can be found here: book 1, book 2, book 3, book 4

Fairyvision

(Songs of Magic #5)

J.L. Bryan

2/15/13

Format: ebook

Source: from author for review

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Purchase: Amazon / B&N

The fifth book in the Songs of Magic series!Jason, Erin, and the other Zebras go on a world tour with their enchanted instruments, only to encounter the mysterious supernatural Folk of India and the Far East. While they tangle with their record company, Erin tries to avoid dealing with the secrets she's learned about herself, while Jason pieces together a mystery surrounding a very special golden guitar called Caliburn.In Faerie, Aoide the Lutist and her troupe finally return home from their long adventure. They're struggling to get new gigs, but Aoide senses opportunity in the form of special new magic mirrors that can broadcast concerts, plays, and other entertainment all over Faerie...

I had just finished reading a rather disappointing book when I decided to finally dive into J.L. Bryan's Fairyvision, the fifth book in the Songs of Magic Series. Now, I have plenty of books to read and many I need to read, but, after a super meh book, I knew I needed a great read, so I turned to one of the few series that never disappoints or fails me...and Fairyvision was beyond awesome!

No matter how much time has passed since I read each of the books in this series, each time I open a new one it feels like coming home and hanging out with a group of my besties! I've come to love the Songs of Magic series THAT much,and Fairyvision is another fantastic edition. In this fifth book, the now super famous Rioting Zebras are sent on a world tour and encounter new, fierce magical creatures (and overly enthusiastic fans) in Japan, India, and Australia. Followed by a camera crew taping a reality show, tempers start to fly among the Zebras and fame begins to take its toll. In Faerie, Aoide and her merry group of musicians also find fame and issues when T.V comes to this magical world. Both bands have gotten the fame and wealth they wanted, but the price they have to pay may end up too high.

I love everything about Fairyvision and Bryan does everything right in this book: the world-building, the storytelling, the humor, and the characters. Like books 1-4 before it, Fairyvision is a wild and uber fun ride full of the fantastical and funny.

There's real magic in Bryan's storytelling and he hits ALL the right notes! Even though this is the fifth book in the series, the superb and captivating storytelling hasn't slowed down at all. Bryan still manages to surprise and dazzle me with each new book. The world-building simply rocks! The world of Faerie is created with such vivid imagination and head-spinning creativity, and I just adore it all! This world is all explosive color, sparkle, and whimsy, but also has elements of wonderful eeriness. In Fairyvision we get to explore even more of Faerie and meet new and exciting creatures, places, plant life, and customs , and I have no idea where Bryan comes up with all of the crazy-awesome stuff! Two words: Cupcake Harvest...I like to think my cupcake-ness rubbed off on the dear author ;)

One of the things I love best about this series, is the humor. Silly humor, snarky humor, ironic humor, plain laugh-out-loud humor...these books have it all. Bryan infuses so much great humor in the Rioting Zebra's journey from a nothing band to a world-wide phenomenon and creates such a smart tongue-in-cheek look at materialism, the entertainment industry, and life in general.

The heart of this series remains to be the well-crafted and developed characters. Bryan has created so many layered and believable characters; some that readers will love, some that will make you laugh, some that you love to hate. The four teenage members of the Rioting Zebras continue to be some of my all time fave characters! I love feisty Erin, sweet Jason, friggin awesome Dred, and even ironically whiny Mitch. These are characters that feel real, feel like friends, and who readers will continue to root for.

Fairyvision takes readers on an exciting and unpredictable trip all around our world and Faerie, and has one heck of an ending (seriously J.L. Bryan?! You end it like that?!) that has me SO ready for book six.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: The Songs of Magic series will delight and enchant both older and younger readers (it's totally appropriate for middle-grade readers). Fairyvision is a fantastic fifth edition in a rockin' series that I can't recommend enough. If you're a fan of the series, pick up this book now, and if you haven't started the series yet, get to it! A MUST read book in a MUST read series....you can get book one for FREE for Amazon Kindle.

MY RATING

J.L. Bryan

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J.L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on English Renaissance and Romantic literature. He also studied screenwriting at UCLA. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Christina, dogs Violet and Tiger Lily, and cats Shadow and Sue.

Review: Fairyland by J.L. Bryan

TITLE: Fairyland                        SERIES: Songs of Magic #4 AUTHOR:J.L. Bryan                 PUB DATE: 6/12 FORMAT: ebook SOURCE: from author in exchange for honest review

Jason and Erin’s urgent mission takes them deep into the colorful and deadly wilds of Faerie, full of bizarre and rude creatures, and past the glittering volcanic islands of the Southward Sea.

In man-world, Mitch and Dred try to prepare for a live concert in front of millions of viewers while half their band is missing. The record company is furious with them, and so are a certain violet-haired fairy and her banshee wolf friend, who finally catch up with them in Los Angeles.

In Faerie, Queen Mab and the leprechaun Aonghus Mac Lobhar enter into a secret agreement over a new kind of magic that will change fairyland forever...

THREE WORDS: Rockin’ Fantastical Fun!

MY REVIEW: So, if you’ve read my previous reviews of books one, two and three of the Songs of Magic Series by J.L. Bryan then you know just how much I love this series! And guess what…book four, Fairyland, is my absolute favorite so far! Which means this book is awesometastic and fantabulous!

Picking up right where book three leaves off, Fairyland finds Erin and Jason in (wait for it)…fairyland! The evil dullahan has taken Katie into Faerie and Erin, Jason and Grizlemor go after them and find themselves up against strange and dangerous obstacles in this fantastical world. After making a deal with some clurichauns the three must go on a mission across fairy land in order to retrieve a special bug in exchange for Katie’s freedom. Meanwhile, in L.A. Mitch and Dred must prepare for a concert without half the Rioting Zebras, with Aoide and Liadan hot on their trail and just a little peeved. And everybody encounters some unexpected surprises.

Author J.L. Bryan really rocked this one! Packed full of fantastical adventure, jamming music, electric romance, awesome characters and superb world-building, Fairyland is the perfect mix of fun, fantasy, humor and excitement.

There’s quite a bit going on in this book, in both Faerie and man-world, but the story flows effortlessly and seamlessly. Bryan continues to bring an absolute wonderful and fresh sense of humor to every page. I love how laugh out loud funny these books are, without ever being cheesy or over the top. And the story is hip and current, while at the same time appealing to all ages.

I was so excited to explore the world of Faerie with Erin and Jason and I’m completely in love with this world! Bryan has created a very eclectic Wonderland meets Narnia kind of world that dazzles and sparkles with fantastical originality. This fairy world is as enchanting as it dangerous and as beautiful as it is forbidding, with frogs the size of mountains, volcanoes that spew jewels, clever pixies, hungry loan sharks (of the oceanic type), hippie mermaid thieves, rivers of chocolate and peanut butter cup flowers, oh my!

I loved journeying with Erin and Jason through Faerie, but Dred and Mitch’s run-in with Aoide and Liadan is as equally entertaining. I’m still Dred’s #1 fan and have a huge crush on this feisty gal! Aoide continues to fall in love with man-made music and there’s a lot of awesome music appreciation in this book, from Ella Fitzgerald to Buddy Holly to Led Zeppelin…for those about to rock, this book salutes you ;)

The love sparks continue to fly between Erin and Jason and there’s even some long awaited smoochin’. I really love these two together and how natural their relationship has progressed. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating, this is a romance that readers will believe in and be invested in completely! There’s also some long awaited exploration of Erin’s mysterious, otherworldly specialness…I won’t spoil it for you, but I’m totally loving the direction this part of the story is taking.

The book concludes with a little mystery and suspense and excitedly sets up the fifth book and I cannot wait to read the next book!

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: This series continues to captivate and enchant with its humor, thrills and wonderful characters and settings, and Fairyland hums with awesomeness. A MUST read book and series!

MY RATING

Find the author: Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

Purchase: Amazon / B&N / Smashwords

J.L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on English Renaissance and Romantic literature. He also studied screenwriting at UCLA. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Christina, dogs Violet and Tiger Lily, and cats Shadow and Sue. 

Review: Fairystruck by J.L. Bryan

Be sure to check out my review of Fairy Metal Thunder and Fairyblues

TITLE: Fairystruck                   SERIES: Songs of Magic #3 AUTHOR: J.L. Bryan              PUB DATE:  3/17/12 FORMAT: e-ARC SOURCE: from author in exchange for honest review

The sequel to Fairy Metal Thunder and Fairy Blues.

With their first single shooting up the Billboard charts, the Zebras hit the road as the opening band for an epic stadium tour across America. The future looks bright for the band, if they can survive the rioting fans, Queen Mab of Faerie, the dullahan, and the evil teddy bears.

Aoide the Lutist and Liadan the banshee wolf cross into man-world on the trail of the stolen fairy instruments. Aoide is shocked at the strangeness of life among the humans, but she also learns about a thrilling new kind of music never heard in Faerie...rock and roll.

THREE WORDS: Rock. And. Roll…*throws up the double horns*

MY REVIEW: Sinister teddy bears. Evil dollhouses. Rabid fangirls…no, this isn’t a Justin Bieber music video (eww!!!). It’s the rockin’ fun in Fairystruck, the third book in the Songs of Magic series by J.L. Bryan.

Picking up where the second book leaves off, in Fairystruck we find Jason, Erin, Mitch and Dred- aka the Assorted Zebras, aka the Rioting Zebras- living the rock and roll dream as their #1 hit “The Sugar Dance” skyrockets them to fame. As the opening act on the Smoov-Moov tour, the Zebras find themselves touring across the US, traveling in a rickety old schoolbus with their new tour manager. Aoide the faerie and Liadan the banshee find themselves in man-world, on the hunt for the missing magical instruments. While Aoide and Liadan must navigate in a strange world, the Zebras must contend with enthusiastic fans, eccentric rappers, controlling music execs and sinister teddy bears…yep, teddy bears!

I always have so much fun when reading the Songs of Magic series and in Fairystruck the fun, laughs and music keep flowing! J.L. Bryan continues to expand his enchanting and rocking world, while further developing his engaging characters.

In this volume we find all our favorite characters in new and exciting places. The Assorted Zebras, who have been renamed the Rioting Zebras, are thrust into the spotlight, playing in front of huge crowds, and Bryan has depicted this experience with laugh out loud humor, while keeping the story fresh and hip. The teenage characters get to live out this bigger than life fantasy and I love feeling like I’m experiencing everything with them.

Bryan continues to explore Jason and Erin’s romantic feelings toward one another and I like that we actually get to see these feelings develop naturally, instead of simply having them thrust into our faces. And both Jason and Erin continue to be awesome characters. Mitch, however, is easy to cringe at as he becomes more and more of a greedy sell out. But, I’m glad Bryan has decided to take his character in this direction because it’s a really realistic depiction of how one might act when they’ve been handed the chance at fame and success. Dred just continues to be friggin awesome! I love that snarky drummer girl!

I was a little disappointed that we don’t spend too much time in Faerie with Aoide and her band, but I really loved experiencing our world (man-world) through her eyes. She’s such a cute, endearing character and so much fun to read about.

The path to musical fame and success is not so simple (thank goodness!) and the Zebras must go up against all the things evil Queen Mab sends their way, including gargoyles and teddy bears. Crazy, violent, sharp object wielding teddy bears! You’ll never look at Teddy Ruxpin or Paddington Bear the same way again (not that they weren’t totally creepy before). I love that these books don’t take themselves too seriously and are all about the good humored mockery of pop culture and fun, over the top situations.

In the end we find Jason and Erin in a very unexpected (but awesome!) place and I cannot wait to see what happens next!

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: The Songs of Magic series is my go to series when I want a fun, entertaining read that is guaranteed to make me laugh and Fairystruck is no exception. This book and series are definite MUST reads!

MY RATING

Find the author: Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

Purchase: Amazon / B&N / Smashwords / Apple

J.L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on English Renaissance and Romantic literature. He also studied screenwriting at UCLA. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Christina, dogs Violet and Tiger Lily, and cats Shadow and Sue.

Guest Post and Giveaway: J.L. Bryan- Fairystruck Book Launch

Happy Monday, Cupcakes! I'm very excited to have author J.L. Bryan here today to celebrate the launch of the newest book in his Songs of Magic Series- Fairystruck! Both book one, Fairy Metal Thunder, and book two, Fairy Blues, are awesome reads and you have the chance to win a copy of both, below. But first let's learn more about some of the fun research that has gone into writing this music filled series...

Fairystruck (Songs of Magic, Book 3) Book Launch & Giveaway!

J.L. Bryan

Today, Aeicha was kind enough to host the book launch for Fairystruck, the third book in my Songs of Magic series (thanks, Aeicha!).


I thought it would be fun to give some background on the research that went into these books, which follow a teenage garage band who acquire enchanted instruments from the fairy world and go on to become international rock stars, as well as enemies of Queen Mab of Faerie.

Part of the research has included reading lots of autobiographies of actual rock stars so that I could accurately portray the experiences involved.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Life by Keith Richards.  This was the first one I read and still possibly my favorite of them all.  The guitarist, singer, songwriter and founding member of the Rolling Stones relates all aspects of his life with amazing honesty.  It was fascinating to read how they started as a dirt-poor blues cover band, spending every waking second listening to American blues albums and taking the songs apart in order to learn how to play the blues.  Another aspect of this story that impressed me was how his experiences as a rock musician and numerous run-ins with the law led to a kind of political enlightenment, in which he decided that political power is an illusion.  Politicians in the 1960s were terrified of the huge, wild, young crowds at rock concerts, and the Rolling Stones and other major bands were carefully monitored by the Nixon administration as threats to national security, which Richards finds hilarious.

Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, and Destiny by Nile Rodgers.  Rodgers is most famous as a producer who seemed to touch every major act in the 1970s and 1980s, producing hit records for David Bowie, Madonna, Prince, and other huge stars.  This book was very educational about the process of making songs, and hit songs in particular.  

I Am Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourne.  This was a really funny and wild book!  Ozzy and Keith Richards had very similar childhoods, growing up in bleak, bombed-out industrial areas still wrecked from World War II.  

I Slept with Joey Ramone by Mickey Leigh and Legs McNeil.  Mickey Leigh tells the life story of his brother Joey Ramone from childhood to his death, a fascinating and tragic story.  The book offers rich insights into the history of the Ramones and the early days of punk rock in the United States.  It was interesting to read about a band that was far more influential than they were successful in the traditional sense.  While the Ramones didn’t have hit records, the importance of their music to the history of continues to grow.

Currently reading: Bit of a Blur, by Alex James, the bassist for Blur.  So far, I’m just at the teenager-learning-to-play phase of the book, but I’m enjoying it so far!

These are just a few of the books I’ve enjoyed along the way.  Reading all of these autobiographies has gone a long way to enrich the Songs of Magic series while making their characters’ experiences as realistic as possible.  It’s also pretty fun research!

Thanks for reading!  And thanks again to Aeicha for hosting me today!

You are very welcome! It's been awesome having you here today :)

J.L. Bryan is the author of The Paranormals series (Jenny Pox, Tommy Nightmare, Alexander Death) and the Songs of Magic series.

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The Songs of Magic series on Amazon:

Fairy Metal Thunder / Fairy Blues / Fairystruck

My Reviews:

Fairy Metal Thunder / Fairy Blues

Win Fairy Metal Thunder & Fairy Blues!

In celebration of the launch of the third book, Fairystruck, in his Songs of Magic Series, author J.L. Bryan is giving away a copy of the first two books in the series- Fairy Metal Thunder and Fairy Blues!

Giveaway will run from 3/19 - 3/24

There will be one winner.

Open Internationally:

             If the winner is a US resident they will receive paperback copies

            If the winner is an international resident they will receive ebook copies

Fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter

• Must be 13+ to enter
• One main entry per person
• Winner will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours
• I am NOT responsible for lost or damaged prizes in the mail