Calla
A YA paranormal romance by Christina Bauer
“I swear on Beyonce you should read Bauer’s books because I love them so much I can\’t even. I\’m going to stop gushing now.” – Literary George
Big news in Pixieland! The Blue Fairy is sending our fave pixie, Calla, and her crush, Dare, on a mini-quest. Unfortunately it’s an adventure that requires a lot of togetherness. We’re talking tons of touching, people.
Blue believes that since Calla and Dare are just friends, then this situation shouldn’t be awkward.
It’s totally awkward.
***A 45,000+ word diary written by Calla***
“I absolutely love Christina Bauer’s style, full of action, intense scenes, and characters that will test one’s imaginations to the max!” – Tome Tender Book Blog
PIXIELAND DIARIES
1. Pixieland Diaries
2. Calla
3. Dare
Excerpt
Day Seventy-One
Dear Diary,
Today I drop some diabolic retaliation harmless prankster fun on my new royal subjects, the summer elves.
Trust me, they totally have it coming.
Why the revenge? Yesterday I held my first formal court as Queen of the Summer Realm. It should’ve been a bunch of long chats with all my elfy nobles.
Only no one showed up.
We are not amused.
Time to get tricksy.
Today marks my second formal court… as well as my mega payback prank. While I write this, I sit upon a throne of red flowers. The shade goes perfectly with my pink hair, matching wings and violet eyes. And let’s not forget my ermine cloak; it adds a splash of white to the look. Clutch.
Yet appearances come second to my dazzling plan for the morning. Although my subjects been avoiding me for weeks, that will end once the court doors reopen in just a few minutes.
I’ve so got this.
Sighing, I soak in the beauty of this moment. A huge atrium towers around me. Sunlight pours in through the open ceiling. The walls and tiles are painted gold. A pile of tiny purple bags sit in the middle of the floor.
Hello, elf bait.
Those packets hold fairy dust, which is powerful magic that any fae wants. My prank lies in how these bags also contain… wait for it… a freezing spell. Grab one and you can’t leave the room until I say so.
My scheme is so brilliant, I can’t stand it.
There will also be plenty of witnesses for my glorious success. My parents, Poppa and Muti, wait nearby. So does my best friend and major crush, Prince Dare of the Winter Elves. Let’s not forget my buddy Bilge, the hobgoblin, and his piggy familiar, Oinky. Two summer elf guards—I call them Blond and Blonder—hang out by the back wall.
Speaking of the guards, they look expectantly in my direction. The moment has come to set aside my journal—it magically shrinks into a locket that hangs about my neck—and get ready for the fun to begin.
Prank on.
– Calla
~Follow the rest of the tour
Review
In a book world saturated with very serious stories of faerie and the terrible things that happen to humans there, this was refreshing. It’s fairies with fun and sass. Calla’s voice is unique and definitely got personality. The diary writing style reminded me of Princess Diaries, only Calla seemed to be writing as things were happening and not summing up with dialogue and such. There were moments where I wondered how she was possibly writing in her journal with what else was going on, but it’s faerie. There’s magic. It works.
There’s even a handsome and brooding prince. Though, he’s very light on the brooding, which I appreciated. Like the story itself, he was a breath of fresh air in terms of fae royalty. He and Calla also make a great team.
I did feel a disconnect between Calla’s voice and age. I found out pretty early on that she’s 16, but her voice sounded younger, maybe 11 or 12. As a result, it startled me every time there was YA (rather than MG) romance scenes. I had to constantly remind myself how old Calla was, which drew me away from the reading experience.
All in all, this is a fun romp through faerie and all it’s trickery. If you’re looking for a lighthearted fae alternative, definitely give this a shot.
About Christina Bauer
Christina Bauer thinks that fantasy books are like bacon: they just make life better. All of which is why she writes romance novels that feature demons, dragons, wizards, witches, elves, elementals, and a bunch of random stuff that she brainstorms while riding the Boston T. Oh, and she includes lots of humor and kick-ass chicks, too.
Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.
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Giveaway
Christina Bauer will be awarding a Faerie Forest Journal (USA ONLY) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
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Thanks for hosting!
Sounds like a great read.
The artistry of the cover is eyecatching.