Love, Treachery, and Other Terrors by Katherine Campbell

What a fun novel. I don't think I've read anything like it. It is part fantasy (there are fairies), part historical religious commentary, part spiritual warfare, part romance, part a coming of age story, and maybe even part allegory. It has quirky characters, clever plot twists, humor, and spiritual lessons about revenge and forgiveness and growing into God's calling.

The plot begins with the princess of a medieval country wanting to be queen and freeing two dastardly fairies so they can grant her wish. But the fairies are a conniving pair and make life miserable for the citizens of the kingdom. While the princess had murdered her older brother, she had let her younger brother travel to another kingdom. There he comes to grips with his calling from God.

The story is fun and well written but I enjoyed even more the allusions and symbols. One has to know a bit of church history and theology to get some of it, like arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. There are also references to Christian rituals, like the Divine Office. And I couldn't help but wonder if the fairies represented angels, both the good and the fallen. The bad ones sure worked hard at temping people to do evil.

This is an entertaining novel. I enjoyed it and will be looking for the next tale from her.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Katherine Campbell is a humor lover and writer of fairy tales. She is a homeschool graduate from New Jersey and published her first book, a children's novel, at age nineteen. She studied entertainment media at John Paul the Great University in San Diego, where she met her husband. She returned with him to his home state of Washington. You can find out more about her and her work at https://katysfables.com/.

BookBaby, 250 pages.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the author. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)