Review: The Whispers of the Sprite

Title: The Whispers of the Sprite
Author: Joanna Mazurkiewicz
Publication Date: October 7, 2012
Source: Author
Summary (from Goodreads):
When Ania moves from London to Swansea city in Wales she is hoping that her life will get a bit more exciting, after all she is running away from her controlling mother to taste more freedom and feel more independent. Everything seems to be going the way she wanted until she almost dies while taking a quiet walk around the beach in the late evening.

When she opens her eyes, nothing seems the same...

She starts seeing people that no one else is able to notice. An enchanting looking man keeps following her and Ania’s life seems to getting more exciting than she ever wished for.

After the attack something changes inside her, she has been blessed with the new frightening gift of seeing and hearing sprites all around her... the magical creatures that only existed in folklore, myths and legends of Britain.

Gabriel is attractive and handsome but no ... he is not a vampire. He keeps coming back and Ania feels an instant connection between them but this might get her into more trouble. Supernatural romance is not on her mind right now.

Because he is forbidden to even touch her ... the line between the death and love has never been so thin and the sprites won’t stop whispering until ... she will choose to love or abandon Gabriel. 

The Whispers of the Sprite is one of those books that make me think I should start reading more YA novels. Especially paranormal YA novels like this one. I admit, the summary didn’t really pull me in, and if it hadn’t been for the paranormal element I probably would have passed. But I’m really glad I didn’t!

Ania leads an ordinary life with a controlling mother until she is finally able to escape and head off to college. But things don’t go as smoothly as she had planned, and on her first night in a new city she is attacked and wakes in the hospital with a new kind of gift. Ania now has the ability to see Sprites—more commonly known as fairies.

Sprites are assigned a human to watch over and unknowingly provide guidance to. They’re like a guardian angel of the fairy world. Gabriel is Ania’s fairy protector and when she wakes in the hospital he is astonished that she is able to see him—something he isn’t aware that could be done. But the Sprites live a certain way, have rules that can’t be broken unless they want to face death. One of those rules being humans cannot know about them, Sprites are forbidden to reveal themselves to non-mortals.

The story follows these two on a journey of love and discovering a world Ania didn’t know existed. But it isn’t just a love story; there is also an element of mystery to it. The author has you wondering about so many things while reading this novel. From who attacked Ania, to how she and Gabriel can be together when he is betrothed to another fairy and forbidden to even speak to a human without the threat of death. (Although, I was a little confused on this part since no one has ever had the ability to see Sprites before Ania so how could they communicate with them?)

Ania did irritate me a few times with the things she did—like using George (an ex-boyfriend) to make Gabriel jealous. Even though I wasn’t a George fan, to flip out on him like she did when she invited him to see her was a little much. Her moods went from one extreme to the next so fast it was like emotional whiplash.

I wish there had been more Gabriel—I didn’t feel like I could connect to him because there was hardly any information given about the character. But I suppose this will be cleared up in the sequel?

There is a cliff hanger at the end of this novel, but it’s not one that leaves you feeling completely unsatisfied. It feels right where the author left it off to continue it in the next book. I, of course, was frustrated as all hell because I just want to know now how it all plays out, but I will definitely be looking forward to the follow up The Dark Night Whispers.

**I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. 

.5