Frey by Melissa Wright

This is the worst book I’ve ever read. The only thing it has going for it is the fact that I was able to get through it, but even so, I had to force myself. I was originally drawn to the elf/fairy aspect of it, and being that it was free, I figured I’d try it out. Unfortunately, I soon discovered why it was free- because it’s absolutely terrible! 

The writing is so disconnected and all over the place. Sentences do not flow at all. A lot of parts don’t even make sense because they aren’t explained enough. Often, we’re told what Frey is thinking, without any explanation or logical reasoning as to why she’s feeling that way. There’s no sense of time. One moment it’s day, and the next, it’s night. And during the day that there is, very little seems to happen. Aside from the usage of magic, the fantasy aspect is minimal and unconvincing. 

I couldn’t even tell what the plot is supposed to be. It’s about Frey, whose magic is bound, and is being hunted by the elf Council. But aside from running, and training, there’s really no solid plot. What is supposed to happen? What are the characters goals? What is all of this crappy writing leading up to? I have no idea because as far as I could see, there were no goals for the majority of the story.

The main character, Frey, is overly clumsy, and clueless. Despite ‘training’ for the entire book, she remains weak and helpless. She spends a lot of time tripping on roots, running, and sleeping. She laughs inappropriately, and is shocked by obvious things. She cannot focus on anything for any amount of time. She faint and falls a lot. She kills a bird because its singing annoys her...yeah. Overall, her character, like the writing, was just all over the place. She is not likable or believable. Surely she has some kind of untreated mental disorder.

As soon as Chevelle is introduced, Frey becomes strangely obsessed with him. Immediately after seeing him for the first time, she goes to the library to research his family! What?? After that, he is always there around every corner, waiting for her. And later on, when Frey’s running away, trying to avoid capture, Chevelle catches up to her and she gives in in an instant. She could even run away again, yet she doesn’t. 

Chevelle’s character is equally confusing. For the majority of the book he is hard and distant, angry all the time, for no obvious reason. Except for the weird lust between himself and Frey, he conveys no emotions. And despite the fact that Frey thinks he hates her, she still has a crush on him.

The diary Frey reads toward the end, which ties into the ending, was at least a tiny bit enjoyable, and unlike the rest of the book, made some sense. However, having it broken up by single sentences to tell us what Frey was doing, as if to remind us that we’re reading a story within a story, was unnecessary, and shows the author’s immature writing abilities. Having forced my way through this goalless story, the ending was at least somewhat satisfying, despite remaining confusing like the rest of the book.

The entire story is disconnected, and anti-climactic. Frey’s inability to think coherently, and the fact that she is blatantly left out from knowing where they’re going for the entire book, made the narrative cloudy and confusing. The whole book seems to be cloaked in the fairy dust that Ruby uses on Frey in order to keep her from thinking for herself.

The fact that there are two more books in this series is comical, especially the fact that they cost money. This one was not even worth being free. The author should have to pay you to read it. I can only imagine what kind of plotless stories will succeed this one. 

I recommend this book to no-one. I wrote better than this when I was in middle school. God, it was so bad.