Emma and the Silverbell Faeries (Tales of Widowswood #3)

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.

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.