I would like to thank Curiosity Quills Press for providing me with a free electronic ARC of this book, via Netgalley, for an open and honest review.

Okay, let’s start off by saying I am a big fan of Mr Cox’s work and have read and reviewed a few of his books now. This includes the first two books in the ‘Tales of Widowswood’ series… ‘Emma and the Silverbell Faeries’ being book three.

I loved the first book – ‘Emma and the Banderwigh’ (except for the original abrupt ending Mr Cox then fixed), and I enjoyed Emma and the Silk Thieves too. And yes, I DID enjoy ‘Emma and the Silverbell Faeries’… just not as much. And I wish I could explain why.

There was just something about this third book that didn’t sit me in my happy, contended reader zone as much as the previous two books in this series. I found the way the faeries spoke annoying by the end of it, wishing they would just not talk, and I swear there was a part where the geography was switched around and the swamp and the ruins were interchanged… but I am geographically challenged at the best of times and so freely admit to that last one maybe just me being me… But, yes, as good as this story was, it just didn’t sit right for me.

The writing was the usual excellent level of narrative and imagination I have come to expect from Mr Cox, but the storyline came across as half-thought out and forced at times… but, again, I freely admit to that possibly being my own fault and me mis-reading the whole book/story vibe. I mean, we all read, interpret and react to the written word differently. The tone, pace and emphasis is down to the reader, no matter how good the author is. So I freely admit to maybe reading more into the tale than was really there. But, yes, my brutally honest self does just feel that there was just not as much depth and life breathed into ‘Emma and the Silverbell Faeries’ as there was into the first two books. It came across a bit as hitting that mid-series slump.

Oh heck, what would I know? The story was good, the writing excellent, the editing satisfactory to my picky standards… maybe I was just in a bad mood when I read it and the fault lies totally with me? Let’s go with that as Mr Cox is an excellent YA/ NA author and I don’t want my whiny review ruining his reputation. I would much rather help promote him as he writes great books.

Would I recommend this book to others?

Yes I would. It could, I guess, be read as a stand-alone tale… but the reader would be doing themselves an injustice if they did that. Read the whole series!

In fact, I recommend people wanting to read a creative, original fantasy YA series read this one from ‘Emma and the Banderwigh’ on. If you’re a YA wanting a word of mythical creatures, nature, and earth magic – choose the ‘Tales from Widowswood’ series. Much better than Harry Potter… Just saying.

Would I buy this book for myself?

Yes I would, and not simply because it was the third book in a series I have been enjoying. And even though I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first two, I would still happily own it and reach for the next book in the series when it comes out. It was not a bad book or bad writing… I just happened to not enjoy it as much. Meh, I am a diva, live with it. ;-)

In summary: A good follow up book in an outstanding YA fantasy series.

I’m go glad to be back with Emma and her family. In her last adventure, Emma and her sister were taken by the Banderwigh’s but they are now safely home and trying to overcome their fears and nightmares. Living next to the forest, Emma begins to feel a presence within the forest which when asked, her mother also feels. After what happened with the Banderwigh’s, Emma promised that she wouldn’t run off alone again but as she gathers water for their stew, Neema approaches her and begs for help.

Neema, a fairy from the forest, informs Emma that the faeries are getting hurt and they urgently need her assistance. As they exchange words, Emma tells Neema that she must tell her mother before going with her but Neema insists that they leave immediately and that Emma will only be gone a few minutes. Being a druid, Emma knows that she has a responsibility to protect the forest and everything in it and since time is of the essence and it will only be a few minutes, she leaves with Neema. I sense danger right away but then question: are faeries dangerous?

Emma is magically shrunk so she fits into the fairy realm. Emma discovers more about the attacks upon the faeries as she talks to the faeries and to the Fairy Queen. It’s hard to understand some of the faeries as they speak, as their words are scrambled. The beginning of the sentences is at the end and some words are not included to make a full sentence so, I just went with what I thought they meant to say as I read their remarks. It’s an amazing world that Emma has walked into.

It’s not long before Emma personally experiences an attack and while using her druid powers, she brings the situation under control. The attacker is Mawr and he provides valuable information and becomes a memorable character for the remainder of the novel. Emma with Neema beside her, must confront the powers who are conflicting evil upon the faeries. As a young druid, Emma has much to learn, but she has heart and compassion and those two things push Emma through when times get tough.

I thought this was a fun, entertaining children’s chapter book. I liked the relationships that Emma built while in the fairy realm. I liked how she was worried about how much time she had been gone from home, how she was worried about how much trouble she was going to be in and then, how the faeries kept trying to convince her that she had only been gone a few minutes. Emma knew that she had spent days in the fairy realm, so how could what they were telling her be true? I loved the ending of this novel, it was outstanding and I couldn’t have asked for a better ending.

I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and Curiosity Quills Press in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book I've read by Matthew S. Cox, and I've loved each book in the Tales of Widowswood series. Emma is such a strong and lovable character. This book was different from the first two in that Emma's family does not play as big a part in this one. Emma is with the Silverbell Faeries for the majority of this book. In their world, time moves differently.. Emma is very worried that her family will be worried about her, but the faeries reassure her that they won't be..
The only issue I had with this book was that since the faeries don't speak English properly, a younger reader would have a hard time deciphering what they are saying. They speak sort of like Yoda. There were even parts where I wasn't sure what they were saying.
All in all, this is a very good follow up to the first 2 books in the series.

Emma and the Silverbell Faeries (Tales of Widowswood #3) by Matthew S. Cox is a book for middle grades or pre-teens. It is the third book in the series but could be read without reading the other two because the author catches the reader up well. In this book, Emma, despite her promise not to go wandering off, she does anyway to help the Fairy Queen. She ends up on some wonderful adventures, some I wish I had, and some not so much! She is gone days and days! She is worried she will be trapped in Fairy land too. She is concerned that her mom will be worried. It is a great fun tale with suspense and laughter. Great addition to this series! I got this book from NetGalley and and review is voluntary.