Katastrophe Chef

I received an advance review copy for free through BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Skeleton Faerie mixes two of my favorite genres – fantasy and post-apocalyptic. I loved the descriptions of the magical creatures, and the skeletons overall were a terrifying concept. It digs deep into lore and mythology with a mix of romance.

It takes place nearly a hundred years after the nuclear war of 1989, and people are eeking out an existence in the last remnants of civilization in a walled-in city. Gus and his fellow scavengers go out searching for usable wreckage for the city, and on his most recent excursion, he runs into what he thinks might have just been a daydream, Saorise – a faerie with moth wings, while he was looking for books on mythology and lore.

In this future world, lore, myths, and religion are pretty much banned as heresy, so Gus hiding books on lore in his apartment is a huge risk, and he has to smuggle in the books when he finds them.

After a magical attack, Gus is accused of murder and heresy and is saved by Saoirse and her cohorts. That’s when he learns that the barrier between realms is breaking down, and he’s the one who can help save at least one of the worlds.

Overall, the plot and concept is really interesting and worth the read.