As soon as I discovered Unseelie would be a YA Fantasy novel featuring a female autistic MC, I knew I had to read it. Excitingly, there has been an increase in fiction featuring autistic characters in the last year—however, there are still very few books with autistic characters that aren’t actually about autism or aren’t contemporary. As much as I love reading contemporary novels, I was thrilled to hear about this fantasy book, which follows Seelie, an autistic changeling, and her twin sister Isolde.

Something I found interesting about Unseelie is the allegory for changelings. Seelie is autistic, and this is mentioned in the synopsis, but her being a changeling is also a clear metaphor for autism, or any sort of difference deemed so by society. As a changeling, Seelie constantly feels othered and isolated from those around her. There’s a quote in the book about how people see changelings as less than human, how they don’t feel any empathy, and when the changeling child doesn’t turn out exactly as the parent wants, they resent the child’s existence. This is unfortunately an opinion a lot of society shares about autistic people. I love that the book used Seelie being a changeling to describe her autism, because I feel like it’ll be a good way to educate those who are unfamiliar with it, or those who are misinformed, about the kinds of things autistic people go through daily.

In regard to Seelie herself, my heart broke for her. The situations she was thrust into must have been an absolute nightmare for her. As someone who thrives on routine and consistency, Seelie’s life was flipped upside down time and time again. She had a hard time coping with these sudden changes, which can be seen in the form of meltdowns, shutdowns, and issues controlling her emotions throughout the book. Those around Seelie are never entirely sure how to help her when she’s overstimulated, which makes it even more difficult for her to cope. Even so, she’s determined to reunite her family and preservers with her head held high. I can’t describe how happy it made me to see a strong character who is crazy powerful dealing with something like overstimulation. We need to see more of this kind of rep!

While I did love Seelie’s character and her journey (which I thought was authentically and realistically portrayed!), I didn’t relate to her as much as I expected to, since we share a lot of mannerisms. Our personalities are very different, which is why I think I had a harder time connecting to her. Even so, this didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the book, or her character. It was just something I’d been hoping for.

Aside from her character, though, the plot of Unseelie was well-developed with some exciting twists and turns woven in throughout. I enjoyed the first fifty percent of the book, but it was the last fifty percent that had me on the edge of my seat and unable to put the book down. A specific plot line happens (sorry for being vague—I don’t want to spoil anything) that was at the same time both fun and nerve-wracking, and from there, the anticipation kept rising.

The only part of this book that I didn’t love was the building romance between Seelie and Raze. It wasn’t until the last thirty percent that I finally bought into the fact they cared for each other more than sort of friends and begrudging allies. I like their dynamic a lot, but I’m not sure how I’ll feel about it if they become involved romantically. Part of me is hoping their friendship will be focused on first before a romantic relationship, should there be a sequel.

Speaking of, I’m desperately hoping for a sequel to Unseelie! There’s still a lot of questions I have left, and so much more to be explored, both through Seelie and her sister Isolde. I haven’t heard anything about it yet, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Overall, I really enjoyed Unseelie, and I’m so happy to have authentic autism representation in a fantasy book. I hope to see even more soon!

I was very excited to read Unseelie as an autistic woman. Autistic main characters are few and far between, and I was thrilled by the premise of a character's autism being central to an adventurous, magical story. Ultimately though, I feel like something in Unseelie fell a bit flat.

I really enjoyed the book's magic system and setting. I wanted to learn more about the faerie worlds and how they cross over to the human ones, in addition to more about the changeling premise. The situation regarding the latter confused me, especially toward the end.

Seelie was an interesting protagonist at first. I liked how intertwined her magic and autism were. Her magic mimicked bother special interests/stims and meltdowns as she learned to navigate that part of herself. But at some point, it felt like Seelie's growth in that area stagnated and all her autistic traits fell to the side to focus on the climax of the adventure she was on. In some ways, I had hoped that her autism would play a much more central role in her travels—we mostly saw it cause conflict between characters.

The plot of the story was entertaining but pretty predictable. I wanted a lot more out of our main villain (who is Really Bad for no explicable reason) and a deeper dive into Gossamer and the conflict he posed. I assume that will be more fleshed out in the second book, but I didn't get enough of it in this installment to really make me want to read further.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy of Unseelie! I was so excited to dig into this book, primarily for its autism representation, but also because I’ve always been fascinated by changeling stories. Immediately, Seelie’s wry sense of humor struck me when she said in the first few pages, “I seriously doubt that the faeries of the Unseelie Court will be scared off by what is essentially steak seasoning, but it’s a nice thought.” The found family dynamic in the story has a brief beginning as enemies to reluctant partners to friends, but you knew it was coming a mile away. Raze’s “baby face,” soft yet strong body, and ginger hair with relentless freckles honestly had me making dreamy eyes; this is not a heartthrob look that gets a lot of rep, but it was totally up my alley. Seelie’s issues with her magic, like pushing it down, are definitely metaphors for masking her autism, and I really liked that parallel.

Some things I think this book could have done without was the frequent traveling. I know it’s an adventure story, but there was something about the running, then the driving, then the running, then the falling, then the walking and running, then more falling, then more walking, then even more falling that felt a little too repetitive. I think transitions that required these verbs could have done with less show and more tell, and then shown me the good stuff, like the battles and the stabbing! I also tended to start spacing during the inner monologue and description bits, which is totally normal for me, but what isn’t normal was my skimming during bits of dialogue because there was too much description between lines of conversation. I am too much a completionist to do that, but I actually found myself doing this because I couldn’t bring myself to focus otherwise (my ADHD brain).

In the end, I felt a cliffhanger type ending coming based on how much was left unresolved when I had so few pages left, but it wasn’t a terrible cliffhanger, and I’m looking forward to the sequel. I did ultimately not fully grasp the explanation of what a changeling is at the end. During most of the story I was asking, “but what is a changeling?” And there was no real attempt at an explanation other than, “not human and not fairy,” but then there’s an answer at the end that implies the original thought is wrong, but I still felt like there was no original answer and the final answer was also confusing.

I definitely want to rate this between 3-4 stars.

I was very intrigued by the book's premise but the story didn't quite reach the mark for me. The characters were interesting but they didn't hook me into the narrative and I found a lot of their actions to be repetitive and sometimes frustrating at times. It had great fantasy elements but wasn't executed in a way that felt "fantastic". I was very excited to see a main character with autism and thought those elements were handled well and respectfully.

I’m really disappointed I didn’t like this book. It has a really fun concept (autistic changing????! that’s so fun?????!) but nothing was strong enough to deliver a good, competent, or even fun end result.

All of the characters felt shallow and I didn’t have enough to grab onto them. I was really excited to read Seelie, especially as someone who has lots of processing issues that line up with autism, but I found her to be so annoying?? A lot of decisions she made were frustrating to read, which isn’t necessarily bad cause that’s how interesting plots are set into motion, but I didn’t have a solid enough footing in her head to understand where everything was coming from and so it felt more like she was making decisions out of plot convenience.
The romance was interesting and had the most potential I think, but my interest was still off and on with them.
I found the other side characters to be pretty forgettable, and the villains were non-entities.

The plot was paper thin. 50% and barely anything of substance had happened. It felt like obstacles were thrown at character because that’s what’s supposed to happen in books, instead of an actual organic plot. The first time the characters go into the faerie realm is a perfect example of this.
And the “plot twist” about her sister at the end?? It was just so inconsequential and random. It wasn’t even revealed in an interesting way.

Another main issue I had was the blatant rip offs from Tumblr, ATLA, and LOK.
The whole concept of the book? Changelings are autistic children? Ripped wholesale from a Tumblr post. I can look past that one, because that’s just something to build off of.
But the “horse named Destiny” joke? The horse is now a magical semi-sentient wagon.
“I had to learn to fight because my three bothers are wimps” post?? The only difference is they changed names. That’s it.
And then there’s the the two scenes from ATLA and LOK (Katara hugging Aang after Appa is stolen and he’s having a meltdown, and the stealing breath from LOK) not to mention that the cabbage man is just wandering around for some reason.
Idk I understand taking inspiration from things you love or thing that interest you, but these had the barest veneerer of editing, and it always yanked me from the book.

All in all this book just didn’t hit like I wanted, and that’s sad. It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever read, but it still felt like a waste of time.

I was really excited to read this book! The story quickly pulls you in and I thought it could be a really great read. Unfortunately, it doesn't stick the landing.

Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove looks just like her twin, Isolde but differs in key ways. Seelie is an autistic changeling trying to navigate her unpredictable magic in a mortal world. Seelie and Isolde live on their own after endangering their parents. When a heist goes wrong they find themselves on a journey regarding the history of their kingdom instead of just a quick snatch and grab. Can Seelie harness her magic safely in time to protect her sister and herself?

Three-fourths of the way through the novel, I began to get worried; was Ivelisse Housman setting up for a story I was concerned she couldn't finish correctly? As I got to 80 percent, I was sure this was going to be the case. Unfortunately, I was correct. Housman included several McGuffins and skips forward in time in an effort to deal with everything she has set up. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a series, but the ending makes it seem like it might be. And a sequel would be the only way to finish this first part of the story. I always hate that; I believe each book should be a complete chapter in the saga and stop pulling a Hans in carbonite.

This whole thing is sad because this book is great until then. The story was rich and had gorgeous fantasy elements. An enchanted wagon! Dragons! Faerie magic! Plus the characters deserved better. Of the four travelers, you really see complexities in three of them including the titular Seelie. I was invested in their journey and that ending upset me because I didn't get to see them through to the end.

I'd love for this not to be the end for Seelie and Isolade but I also wish a story was completely finished (even just a small portion of a bigger one).

“Unseelie” by: Ivelisse Housman

16 years ago a mortal walked into the seelie realm to reclaim her daughter. The fae played a game: there are two identical babies, which one was hers and which the changling? The woman made the impossible decision and she took both babies back to the mortal realm.

Seelie (Iselia) is 16. She and her twin are on the run. Their goal is to steal and plunder enough to finally go home to their parents. But Seelie is… different. She has magic, fire, flame, and lightning that, unfortunately, explode from her when she is at her most emotional. It is what led them to have to flee their beloved home. One fated night the attempt to pull off their biggest heist leads to new partnerships and an adventure that is, perhaps, unwanted but opens Seelie’s eyes to an entire realm of possibilities and change. Will they triumph or fail? Tune in to what I think will be a sequel.

So the author, Ivelisse Housman, states that she created Seelie to be an analog for someone who has autism. Obviously Seelie’s thoughts, feelings, behaviors etc aren’t the experience of every autistic person but it does help you to see through the author’s eyes as a person with autism herself. Seelie is uncomfortable with people other than her twin, Isolde. She is emotional and anxious, yet also smart and perceptive. In the end one character’s assessment stays with me, that Seelie is perhaps the most human of anyone he has met. She thinks of things that others do not. She has a strong sense of right and wrong and becomes angry when others are wronged. I liked that. In Seelie I see myself and my child. So all in all I liked it. While this is a YA book, this is a bit on the fantasy side of things for my taste. But I do recommend it for those who love fairies and adventure, as well as seeing how a changling might be treated by the people she has grown up with in town, and others who know her secret. It’s good for those who want to see through the eyes of a person with autism. (Note that I do not think that all people with autism have the same life experiences, the same views, etc. This is through the eyes of one person alone.)
I think I’ll give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I might read a sequel.

I was intrigued by the premise of the book. Sadly, I have to say it wasn’t for me. It was too slow and I didn’t feel like the side characters were well developed. It felt like the same thing kept happening over and over. By the time the story picks up I had lost interest. I would still recommend others read it. Hopefully others can get into it, but for me it’s a pass.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC

A heroine who’s Autistic? That caught my attention! I’m so glad it did.

Unseelie tells us the story of Iselia (Seelie) Graygrove and her identical twin sister, Isolde. Seelie is a changeling (at first I wasn’t sure how a changeling could have an identical twin and both be living in the human world, but that’s explained as the story unfolds). She and Isolde have fled their home and live by their wits and Isolde’s skills as a thief. They look alike, but they are very different in abilities and personalities.

When they go after a legendary treasure at the home of a powerful family, they run afoul of not only the family, but also others looking to steal the same treasure. They flee, and along the way, find that the other thieves have interests in common with them, and they all fall in together. In the middle of pursuit and combat, Seelie is trying to master her unpredictable, unreliable, often dangerous magic that she has spent a lifetime squashing down.

Seelie is a fascinating character! The fact that she is autistic is part of who she is, and it plays a role in her interactions with people and things around her. But it isn’t ALL she is. She’s also a teenage girl who desperately wishes she could return home, who’s afraid of the magic she carries but doesn’t understand. She’s a sister, a daughter, a friend.

The other characters weren’t quite as well fleshed out as Seelie, but were still enjoyable. Raze has potential as a love interest, and the banter/sniping between him and Seelie was entertaining. I also really liked the tension in Olani, between her ability to be a ruthless combatant in a fight and then to gently heal people’s injuries.

It was almost painful to see Seelie realizing that, even though she and Isolde are twins, they won’t always share the same goals and ideas. I’m interested to read the second book in what is to be a duology to see how they handle that conflict. Seelie hasn’t thought much beyond her desperate longing for home. Isolde, now that she’s seen a world of adventure, wants more than just returning to what was.

And this is a young adult fantasy. The characters act like teenagers and young adults, not adults full-grown and mature. Sometimes they make stupid decisions. Sometimes their emotional upheaval is a little bit grating. But they learn from their choices, and they grow as characters. That’s how this thing is supposed to work, right?

The characters are engaging, the storyline intriguing, and Housman’s writing style is positively lyrical. All these elements combine to make this a solid four-star read for me, and to make Housman an author I’ll read more from.

A solid, if cliche-ridden, YA novel with good autistic representation. Iselia "Seelie" is a changling, left from the fae realm in place of her sister, Isolde. Their mother brought Isolde back and raised both children, defying the conventional wisdom that would have had her abandon Seelie. After her unpredictable magic put their family in danger, Seelie and Isolde run away and make their living as thieves. A chance meeting and some contrived twists send Seelie and Isolde after an ancient treasure, one that can change their world forever. Workmanlike prose and mostly conventional plot twists aside, Unseelie is a good read for young fantasy fans. The enchanted carriage and cat-like sprite that Seelie and Isolde call home is adorable, and the sisters' relationship to one another is well-written. Seelie's atypical behavior pushes back on popular portrayals for autistic people as emotionless automatons without shying away from the difficulties her condition creates. The obligatory hetero romance is less endearing, though I'm curious to see where the sequel takes the characters. Not the best book of the year, but not a bad choice at all.

I was really looking forward to this book when I first got it, but when I started to read it I struggled to get into it. It’s an interesting story, but I wonder if perhaps it’s too young for me? I just felt like I was stuck on the surface of the story the whole time.

This is the author’s debut novel (at least according to Goodreads) and she does quite well. I think it’s wonderful that the author gives us an autistic main character since that’s not a representation that I’ve come across too often in young adult novels.

I gave this book 3 stars because I did think the storyline was interesting and there were some great ideas present. I will be interested to see what the author is able to do as she continues writing more books!

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for the eARC!

Unseelie is a YA book that, at its core, is about the love between two twin sisters. According to the author's note, it was inspired by the theory that the origin of changeling children was that they were autistic; which is a fascinating premise. I love that the author was willing to put her entire heart and soul into this novel. They allow us all to experience their point of view in this deeply personal way.

The book was about the fae, but they are closer to the traditional tales and not like most recent books about the fae. I deeply enjoyed the bits of the story in faerie and I applaud the author for not overdoing those scenes. I loved so many things about this book. All of the little touches make it so wonderful; Destiny the enchanted carriage with a mind of its own and Birtch were especially wonderful. There is so much attention to detail that flushes out the world and makes it feel rich without dumping lore on the reader.

The characters were all lovely; Iselia (or Seelie - yes she KNOWS it's an unfortunate nickname) and Isolde were obviously the stars of the show and are both incredibly capable young ladies. They are also not shy about knowing their strengths and weaknesses. Raze is the least toxic man and I adored him. Olani is amazing. Each of them has a completely different voice and they feel so real and flushed out. I can not wait for the conclusion of this duology.

Such a delight!!!

This one was an enjoyable young adult fantasy with an autistic lead character. I loved the portrayal of sister love, even if they aren’t really sisters by blood.

I liked the magic system, the struggle and fear Seelie has with learning to control her magic, and the burgeoning friendship and maybe even love between Seelie and Raze.

I personally can’t speak to how well the representation is but from what I’ve seen from other review from those in the autistic community it seems to be very well done.

I’m definitely looking forward to reading the conclusion to this duology in the future.

This one did start a little slow for me but I'm so happy with where it went eventually! One of my favorite things in fae lore has always been topics of changelings.

Such great rep for autism in the fae world :) I love the author's note in the beginning explaining it all as well, about how they tried portraying neurodivergence without explicitly saying it. That's where amazing characterization comes into play, and Housman delivered on that with Seelie.

I enjoyed this greatly! What good representation for autism, and I just really like the spin on the ‘changeling child’. A fantastic fae story, and a lot better than some others that have come out recently (that have been more focused on, uh… other things… ha!) Highly recommend!!

Iselia tries to be true to herself while still trying to fit in. Luckily she has her twin sister Isolde who helps her navigate tough situations and reminds her that just because she is a changeling doesn’t mean that she is not loved. Circumstances have made it so that Isolde and Iselia are on their own far from home. Yet if they are together Iselia knows that everything will be okay. Yet when they must team up to go on an adventure Iselia is unsure if this is the right choice for her and her sister. Will Iselia be able to embrace who she is or will she continue to hide from her fairy connections.
I want to state that this book is lovely in its representation, yet the plot and pacing were super slow making it very hard for me to want to continue reading. I did finish and I loved the twist at the end. The book is beautifully written, there was just something about it that didn’t draw me personally in.
Thank you so much to Inkyard Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

I've always been interested by the idea of changelings, and how they may have explained neurodivergence when there was not a name for it. This book takes that premise and makes it into an amazing story with a character that is relatable to so many people who don't see themselves in books. It showed how strong a character can be, how they can have a whole adventure and character arc, while still struggling with so many things that may seem invisible. I hope that I get to read more books like these, where a character has disabilities that affect them in their story, but it doesn't stop them from having one.

Seelie was a wonderful protagonist, able to understand that she was different, but that it wasn't a bad thing. Her struggle to go back to how things were, even if they weren't that great for her, was grossly relatable. She feels a sense of safety in the past, in the known, and even if she does have adventures and leaves from there, there is always a nagging want to move backwards. To have it as it was before, even if that isn't possible.

I thought the author also did a great job in explaining what this book was about, instead of leaving the neurodivergence of the character to be discovered by the reader and pushed aside as a character trait. It made me begin to read the book in a different way, notice things I wouldn't have otherwise. The touch thing specifically was brilliant. Sometimes you can be touched, by specific people, and sometimes you will throw up if another person tries to touch you. Wonderfully done.

Synopsis from Goodreads, spoilers below:
Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove looks just like her twin, Isolde… but as an autistic changeling trying to navigate her unpredictable magic, Seelie finds it more difficult to fit in with the humans around her. When Seelie and Isolde are caught up in a heist gone wrong and make some unexpected allies, they find themselves unraveling a larger mystery that has its roots in the history of humans and fae alike. Both sisters soon discover that the secrets of the faeries may be more valuable than any pile of gold and jewels. But can Seelie harness her magic in time to protect her sister, and herself?

I really enjoyed this book! The premise was interesting, and it held my attention even when the plot slowed down - there were some issues I had with the pacing of the story, but overall it moved well enough for me to keep reading. What really kept me interested was Seelie and Raze, and learning more about Seelie's magic. The world building was done well, and I liked that the author explored the mythology of the fae and the firedrakes while also expanding the idea of changelings. I'm really hoping there's a second book, because I want to know what happens when that egg hatches!

I am temporarily putting Unseelie down. I would like to say, though, that the writing is beautiful. And the story immediately draws you in. But I think I'm going to wait for the release of the audiobook to continue. I will update my review then.

Seelie is a changeling who was able to grow up with her human counterpart, Isolde, as identical twin sisters. As much as she wishes and tries to act like a normal human, Seelie's magic and different way of relating to others forces her and her sister to leave home as teens. When they find a magical compass that can lead them to a forgotten treasure, Isolde is excited for the adventure, but Seelie feels quite the opposite. Unwilling to work with two others who must come along, afraid of her own magical abilities, and wary of the magical compass that only works for her, and speaks in her head, Seelie is dragged along on an adventure filled with way too much danger.

When i started the book, I thought it was well written, but the characters were too immature. Seelie had all this magical potential, and she just kept hiding behind her twin sister, constantly complaining about any change or danger that came their way. She's also on the autism spectrum, so she had a difficult time interacting with anyone other than her sister.

Seelie matured a lot throughout the book. Mostly in her own self-confidence about her abilities and her place among humans. I liked her a lot better by the end.

Her relationship with her sister was also nicely complex. Isolde and Seelie grew up looking after each other, and complimented each other's strengths and weaknesses. But they're growing up now and discovering that they don't necessarily have the same vision for their future. And that, like any other change, scares Seelie. Seelie is a homebody. She just wants to return to her happy childhood, and she can't imagine that her sister wants something different. It was nice to see how close the sisters were, and the cracks in their relationship as their lives and wants began to diverge.

The story itself was really good. Set in a world that lives alongside a faery realm, with some time spent in the faery realm, dealing with faeries and with some good and some dangerous humans, lots of magic, and friendships... This is a series I'll be looking forward to continuing.