The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Long

Synopsis: The trees swallowed her brother whole, and Jenny was there to see it. Now seventeen, she revisits the woods where Tom was taken, resolving to say good-bye at last. Instead, she's lured into the trees, where she finds strange and dangerous creatures who seem to consider her the threat. Among them is Jack, mercurial and magnetic, with secrets of his own. Determined to find her brother, with or without Jack's help, Jenny struggles to navigate a faerie world where stunning beauty masks some of the most treacherous evils, and she's faced with a choice between salvation or sacrifice--and not just her own

Review: I love the types of books that the summary above describes, so I had high hopes for this book. And… *drum roll please* The Treachery of Beautiful Things met my expectations. Let me just begin by saying how COOL it was that there were characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (by Shakespeare). I am a huge fan of Shakespeare, so when Queen Titania, King Oberon, and Puck showed up I was so excited! Also, I loved Jack and Jenny’s (Jenny is the main character) romance – it was very subtle, so it didn’t take over the storyline, but it was awesome, nonetheless. Jack was probably my favorite character in the whole book. He was very… complex and the writer wrote him very, very well. Plus, he was really, really, hot in my mind. Jenny, however, was a great character, too. She wasn’t annoying like a lot of YA fiction female characters are. She had her stupid moments – but everyone typically does, so that was cool. Many fairy novels are light and fluffy and girly – but this book was not like that AT ALL. It had some downright creepy moments (Hello… The woods?!). It was an incredible, creative take on the idea of fairies! I loved it! The plot was well-developed and interesting - I was never bored. Ever. I mean, how can you be? (Again I say… THE WOODS?!) So, go read this book! I feel like this book was supposed to be a novel by itself with no sequel, but I would love the author to do a spin-off with different characters in the same world. I will definitely read more books by this author… and yes, this book is going on my “favorites” shelf. It has got to be one of my favorite books (hence why I call it my “favorites” shelf) to get up there, so obviously this is a really good back. Do yourself a favor and read this book! Read, read, read! I’ll talk to y’all later! :)

Reviewed by: MARIA