Tree Shepherd's Daughter (Faire Folk, Book 1)

LibraryThing member knielsen83

Interesting start to a trilogy about a girl who can speak to trees and use their power to heal. There are some great characters and some intrigue that should keep the trilogy enthralling.

LibraryThing member NCDonnas

Tree Shepherd's Daughter (Faire Folk, Book 1) The Tree Shepherd's Daughter is set at a renaissance fair in Colorado where the MC Keelie Heartwood finds herself being shipped to live with her father after her mother's unexpected death. Shortly after arriving at the Fair, Keelie, resentful of what

she believed was her father's neglect over the past 15 years of her life, finds herself drawn to the people, the environment, and even, grudgingly, her father and his psycho cat Knot. She soon finds out that the folk at the Renn Fair are more than what they appear to be and so is she. She has some weird affinity to wood and some strange abilities as well. Keelie struggles with accepting who and what she is while at the same time dealing with a murderous red-capped gnome that seems to be cause no end of havoc. She wonders if she will be willing or able to give up the world of malls and makeup for this strange new life among trees and people who seem to forget what century it is. I can't stress enough how much I loved the atmosphere of this book. The descriptions of the setting, the merchants and their wares, the trees, the people, and the creatures both magical and mundane at the renaissance fair took up a large part of the book but I wasn't bored by it at all. Those descriptions are what drew me into the story and made me actually want to be there, to live among all of those eccentric people, to watch the Muck and Mire show with Tarl, to munch on Fairy Winkberry muffins at Mrs. Butters shop, and to walk among the trees hoping to catch a glimpse of a fairy, sylph, or sprite. Where this book fell short was in the plot. The maniacal little red-cap guy that was causing all the chaos seemed to be doing so for no apparent reason and the whole thing was disconnected and kind of silly. I still have no idea what happened to him or if the issues are resolved but some things happened with a necklace and some lightning and something about a book and singed eyebrows. There were some other shady characters introduced that pop up in the story intermittently but their place in the story was kind of mysterious as well. Ultimately the plot was so disjointed and confusing that I'm not really sure where the author was trying to go with it. I think I would have liked the story better if it would have just been about Keelie coming to grips with her mother's death and reconnecting with her father in this magical setting. The plot seemed to take away from the parts of the story that I enjoyed. I hate when a story goes in a direction other than where I want it to take me. I will definitely continue with this series though because I thoroughly enjoyed the setting and most of the characters, especially Knot the wicked cat and Ariel, the half blind hawk. I'm hoping the rest of the series will improve and I'll be able to continue enjoying this wonderful cast of characters.

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LibraryThing member ahappybooker

Tree Shepherd's Daughter (Faire Folk, Book 1) The Tree Shepherd's Daughter is set at a renaissance fair in Colorado where the MC Keelie Heartwood finds herself being shipped to live with her father after her mother's unexpected death. Shortly after arriving at the Fair, Keelie, resentful of what

she believed was her father's neglect over the past 15 years of her life, finds herself drawn to the people, the environment, and even, grudgingly, her father and his psycho cat Knot. She soon finds out that the folk at the Renn Fair are more than what they appear to be and so is she. She has some weird affinity to wood and some strange abilities as well. Keelie struggles with accepting who and what she is while at the same time dealing with a murderous red-capped gnome that seems to be cause no end of havoc. She wonders if she will be willing or able to give up the world of malls and makeup for this strange new life among trees and people who seem to forget what century it is. I can't stress enough how much I loved the atmosphere of this book. The descriptions of the setting, the merchants and their wares, the trees, the people, and the creatures both magical and mundane at the renaissance fair took up a large part of the book but I wasn't bored by it at all. Those descriptions are what drew me into the story and made me actually want to be there, to live among all of those eccentric people, to watch the Muck and Mire show with Tarl, to munch on Fairy Winkberry muffins at Mrs. Butters shop, and to walk among the trees hoping to catch a glimpse of a fairy, sylph, or sprite. Where this book fell short was in the plot. The maniacal little red-cap guy that was causing all the chaos seemed to be doing so for no apparent reason and the whole thing was disconnected and kind of silly. I still have no idea what happened to him or if the issues are resolved but some things happened with a necklace and some lightning and something about a book and singed eyebrows. There were some other shady characters introduced that pop up in the story intermittently but their place in the story was kind of mysterious as well. Ultimately the plot was so disjointed and confusing that I'm not really sure where the author was trying to go with it. I think I would have liked the story better if it would have just been about Keelie coming to grips with her mother's death and reconnecting with her father in this magical setting. The plot seemed to take away from the parts of the story that I enjoyed. I hate when a story goes in a direction other than where I want it to take me. I will definitely continue with this series though because I thoroughly enjoyed the setting and most of the characters, especially Knot the wicked cat and Ariel, the half blind hawk. I'm hoping the rest of the series will improve and I'll be able to continue enjoying this wonderful cast of characters.

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LibraryThing member ahappybooker

Tree Shepherd's Daughter (Faire Folk, Book 1) The Tree Shepherd's Daughter is set at a renaissance fair in Colorado where the MC Keelie Heartwood finds herself being shipped to live with her father after her mother's unexpected death. Shortly after arriving at the Fair, Keelie, resentful of what

she believed was her father's neglect over the past 15 years of her life, finds herself drawn to the people, the environment, and even, grudgingly, her father and his psycho cat Knot. She soon finds out that the folk at the Renn Fair are more than what they appear to be and so is she. She has some weird affinity to wood and some strange abilities as well. Keelie struggles with accepting who and what she is while at the same time dealing with a murderous red-capped gnome that seems to be cause no end of havoc. She wonders if she will be willing or able to give up the world of malls and makeup for this strange new life among trees and people who seem to forget what century it is. I can't stress enough how much I loved the atmosphere of this book. The descriptions of the setting, the merchants and their wares, the trees, the people, and the creatures both magical and mundane at the renaissance fair took up a large part of the book but I wasn't bored by it at all. Those descriptions are what drew me into the story and made me actually want to be there, to live among all of those eccentric people, to watch the Muck and Mire show with Tarl, to munch on Fairy Winkberry muffins at Mrs. Butters shop, and to walk among the trees hoping to catch a glimpse of a fairy, sylph, or sprite. Where this book fell short was in the plot. The maniacal little red-cap guy that was causing all the chaos seemed to be doing so for no apparent reason and the whole thing was disconnected and kind of silly. I still have no idea what happened to him or if the issues are resolved but some things happened with a necklace and some lightning and something about a book and singed eyebrows. There were some other shady characters introduced that pop up in the story intermittently but their place in the story was kind of mysterious as well. Ultimately the plot was so disjointed and confusing that I'm not really sure where the author was trying to go with it. I think I would have liked the story better if it would have just been about Keelie coming to grips with her mother's death and reconnecting with her father in this magical setting. The plot seemed to take away from the parts of the story that I enjoyed. I hate when a story goes in a direction other than where I want it to take me. I will definitely continue with this series though because I thoroughly enjoyed the setting and most of the characters, especially Knot the wicked cat and Ariel, the half blind hawk. I'm hoping the rest of the series will improve and I'll be able to continue enjoying this wonderful cast of characters.

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LibraryThing member Jennifer35k

It seems in the last two decades people have become fascinated with the world of the forest people. Whether it is the old-fashioned pixie fairy that is known in traditional folklore or the hauntingly beautiful elf from Lord of the Rings series, both men and women cannot get enough of them. Very

rarely is there a book that tells the tale of a contemporary brownie or an elf living in a modern world. So often people assume that elves or fairies in general choose to isolate themselves to their traditional environments. This book is a far stretch from this belief. It is a simple story of a young girl named Keelie that has had her world upturned. Her mother has recently died in a tragic accident and she suddenly finds herself on the door step of her estranged father. Not wanting to accept her fate, Keelie intends to leave as soon as time allows her too. As the days progress Keelie begins to develop a love/hate relationship with her father and his environment. On one hand she enjoys the locals that live near her, but at the same time she cannot grow into her role there. With her relationship growing she slowly discovers her father’s secret? Can she accept her father for who he is and realize that she is half of him? Can Keelie make a new life for herself with her father? Is there a reason Keelie is there and does she have a higher calling?

I found myself easily enjoying this book due to its uniqueness. I have read several different types of elf books in my past, but I have never read one quite like this. I enjoyed her attitude and found that I could actually relate to her frustrations with moving (I just moved myself). I enjoyed the variety in characters and found it to be very colorful. It was smooth and kept me interested. I think I only put it down when I fell asleep from exhaustion after moving furniture from this past couple of weeks! I honestly have to recommend this book to any age group. It is a great read and if you are a huge fan of the Fae or anything with fairies or elves than you have to read this!

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LibraryThing member Ralphd00d

The synopsis of this one sounded somewhat interesting to me, even if it more Young Adult themed, so I picked it up to read. Right from the start I was introduced to the main character, who to me seemed nothing but a spoiled, whiny brat. From there, I did enjoy the story, as far as how magic is

introduced, the different kinds of magic and types of people ... all at a Ren Fair of all places. I just couldn't get away from this whiny brat though. IT began to get a bit irritating.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and when I have the chance, I will be checking out possible other books in this series (I have not looked yet to see if there are more). I thought the author's creativity in putting a fantasy/magic story in a modern day setting was done very well.

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LibraryThing member jennybeast

Ugly cover, decent book. I'm intrigued enough with the characters to want to read the next in the series. And I really like the renaissance fair as a setting for the supernatural. That's just fun.

LibraryThing member Treebeard_404

Dealing with a 15-year-old girl is difficult. Reading about people dealing with a 15-year-old girl is difficult.

by Gillian Summers

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