The Princess and the Orrery (The Pathway Tree Series, book 3)

By F.D. Lee

Blurb: 
Some people think that if their wishes were granted, all their problems would be solved. These people have never encountered a genie...

Seven, the last surviving genie, is out for revenge. Betrayed by the woman he loves, kidnapped, tortured, and separated from the source of his power, his only goal is to punish the people who have wronged him.

That is, until he is forced to work with Amelia.

Amelia is bright, precocious and does not have time for his vendetta. She is working on a machine designed to map the planets, an orrery, and has been promised a permanent home with the Sisterhood of Cultivators if she succeeds. The only problem is, the orrery is a lot more than a simple machine - it is also a doorway. And when a door is left open, anything might come through…

So when Seven realises what it is Amelia is building and the danger it presents, he must make a choice - the hardest choice he has ever faced: to act selflessly.

Can Seven put aside his own wishes in order to play the hero and save the world?

And, more importantly, does he even want to?

The Princess And The Orrery is the third novel in The Pathways Tree series. It heralds the return of the ever-charming genie, Seven, along with fan favourites Bea, Melly, Hemmings, Joan, Mistasinon and Chokey as they pit themselves in a race against time to save the world. Set in the spaces between fact and fiction, myth and modernity, The Princess And The Orrery will have you turning the pages to find out what happens next!

Review: 
I received this book as an advanced reading copy. This book is based from when the genie left after the ball and the reaction department attacked the party.

Throughout this book we discover more about the genie Seven and we go through his kidnapped life with these new people. He isn't treated well as you really expect him too considering he can make wishes come true. But I suppose that's because people don't trust him, this makes me feel sorry for him slightly, but then at the same time I don't feel too sorry as he deserves it in a way, as he is sly and deceitful towards others. This is because he can tell what others want before they even really know.

I then slightly got confused throughout the book because it jumped to the future as Bea has been to the Academy and left after the incident. So I found it quite disorientating at times. Bea seems to still like the plotter quite a lot and carries on with their relationship after the second book was quite good but the way that Mistasinon feels about their relationship is quite complicated. But then at the same time it feels sort of relevant because he has gone through a huge change in such a short time, so things will be a bit a muddled.


With this book generally I did like it, I liked meeting the new characters and discovering how they all linked together near enough by the end of the third book. The only thing that I seemed to think that it was lacking was the plot really, it just didn't really seem to get going or anything interesting really happen. I think this is why the rating is low compared to the other books in this series. It is still a great book generally but I just don't think it is what I needed at this time in my life sadly.

Favourite Characters: Mistasinon

Read: 30/12/18 - 07/12/18

3 stars out of 5

Written by Sammie

The Princess and the Orrery (The Pathway Tree Series, book 3)

By F.D. Lee

Blurb: 
Some people think that if their wishes were granted, all their problems would be solved. These people have never encountered a genie...

Seven, the last surviving genie, is out for revenge. Betrayed by the woman he loves, kidnapped, tortured, and separated from the source of his power, his only goal is to punish the people who have wronged him.

That is, until he is forced to work with Amelia.

Amelia is bright, precocious and does not have time for his vendetta. She is working on a machine designed to map the planets, an orrery, and has been promised a permanent home with the Sisterhood of Cultivators if she succeeds. The only problem is, the orrery is a lot more than a simple machine - it is also a doorway. And when a door is left open, anything might come through…

So when Seven realises what it is Amelia is building and the danger it presents, he must make a choice - the hardest choice he has ever faced: to act selflessly.

Can Seven put aside his own wishes in order to play the hero and save the world?

And, more importantly, does he even want to?

The Princess And The Orrery is the third novel in The Pathways Tree series. It heralds the return of the ever-charming genie, Seven, along with fan favourites Bea, Melly, Hemmings, Joan, Mistasinon and Chokey as they pit themselves in a race against time to save the world. Set in the spaces between fact and fiction, myth and modernity, The Princess And The Orrery will have you turning the pages to find out what happens next!

Review: 
I received this book as an advanced reading copy. This book is based from when the genie left after the ball and the reaction department attacked the party.

Throughout this book we discover more about the genie Seven and we go through his kidnapped life with these new people. He isn't treated well as you really expect him too considering he can make wishes come true. But I suppose that's because people don't trust him, this makes me feel sorry for him slightly, but then at the same time I don't feel too sorry as he deserves it in a way, as he is sly and deceitful towards others. This is because he can tell what others want before they even really know.

I then slightly got confused throughout the book because it jumped to the future as Bea has been to the Academy and left after the incident. So I found it quite disorientating at times. Bea seems to still like the plotter quite a lot and carries on with their relationship after the second book was quite good but the way that Mistasinon feels about their relationship is quite complicated. But then at the same time it feels sort of relevant because he has gone through a huge change in such a short time, so things will be a bit a muddled.


With this book generally I did like it, I liked meeting the new characters and discovering how they all linked together near enough by the end of the third book. The only thing that I seemed to think that it was lacking was the plot really, it just didn't really seem to get going or anything interesting really happen. I think this is why the rating is low compared to the other books in this series. It is still a great book generally but I just don't think it is what I needed at this time in my life sadly.

Favourite Characters: Mistasinon

Read: 30/12/18 - 07/12/18

3 stars out of 5

Written by Sammie

The Academy (The Pathways Tree Series, book 2)

By F.D. Lee

Blurb: 
It should have been a Dream Come True - instead, everything was turning into a nightmare.

Bea is the talk of the town – she is the first fairy to ever be accepted to train at the prestigious Academy. Not only that, but thanks to her, the Mirrors are working again and the fae city of Ænathlin is enjoying a rare moment of prosperity.

So when Bea arrives at the Academy she is determined to keep quiet, behave herself and not, absolutely not, get into any more trouble.

But when things start going bump in the night, Bea just can’t help investigating…

Review: 
Within the prologue of the book we discover a woman being tortured and ends up dying, I believe that we discover who this character is later on in the book, but I couldn't be 100% that it is the character.

The main part of the book starts of with The Raconteur telling stories, and Bea getting ready before leaving for the Academy. Since Bea has been accepted for the Academy she has been getting a mixture of hate and praise mail delivered. 

When Bea arrives at the Academy there is a few people that don't like her, especially Carol who she used to watch plots with, who also got accepted to go to the Academy. Everyone thinks that Bea managed to persuade her plotter to get her a position in the academy, which he did but not for the reasons all the others believe. 

Reading through this book I felt it was a lot quicker paced than the first book and that the characters had developed a lot more. I also found that it was more interesting as the story had developed and it was a different scene than that kept having its own little problems. I also found that I liked it more because it didn't just stick to the scene at the Academy it also went back to the Aenathelin, and we re-visited Merry and Joan. We discovered what they were doing with their lives now that Bea has left them. I found that really good to be honest, because you get some authors who include these sort of characters in the first book and because the main character moves on the others get forgotten, and you are always left wondering what they were doing or how they got on.

The new characters that we meet that I quite enjoyed was Chokey and her brother the thoughts person. These characters I started liking from the very start because they automatically included Bea and their mother had already sorted all of them a room out. Even though none of them had actually met yet or gotten to know each other. The friendship between these three is really interesting because it is just like Bea is back at home because they always stick by her side and follow what she wants to do even though they don't think it's a good idea. But that's what true friends do, they help you  out no matter what.

The discovery of who Bea's plotter is was also a really good, and it sort of made sense how he has different personalities now. It was also nice to revisit things from his past too and meet characters that he knows. It was nice that all of the characters in the end kind of linked up it just fit together perfectly. 

The adventures within this book were a lot more detailed and felt more realistic. At times I did feel sorry for Bea because she just seemed to be getting a lot of bad luck all at once and nothing seemed to go right for her again just like the first book. There was times that I was really proud of Bea too especially overcoming her fears with the witchelin and becoming a totally different person and thinking things through. I found that she was really brave to especially fighting the fae she had to and trying to keep things to herself again so she didn't get anyone else in trouble. 

The next scene I'm about to describe may possibly be classed as a spoiler so if you don't want to know skip this paragraph.
*SPOILER*
I found when Bea tried to overcome her fear of the witchelin quite hilarious, I really did not expect her to do what she did. I was expecting her to smash the bottle and then start killing the witchelin.

I'm looking forward to reading the third copy to see what happens in the next book, as the ending was so sweet I loved it. I want to know what other adventures we will go on and what other plot twists and problems occur with the characters.

Favourite Characters: Bea

Read: 14/11/18 - 22/11/18

4 stars out of 5

Check out Sammie's review of book 3: The Princess and The Orrery

Written by Sammie

The Academy (The Pathways Tree Series, book 2)

By F.D. Lee

Blurb: 
It should have been a Dream Come True - instead, everything was turning into a nightmare.

Bea is the talk of the town – she is the first fairy to ever be accepted to train at the prestigious Academy. Not only that, but thanks to her, the Mirrors are working again and the fae city of Ænathlin is enjoying a rare moment of prosperity.

So when Bea arrives at the Academy she is determined to keep quiet, behave herself and not, absolutely not, get into any more trouble.

But when things start going bump in the night, Bea just can’t help investigating…

Review: 
Within the prologue of the book we discover a woman being tortured and ends up dying, I believe that we discover who this character is later on in the book, but I couldn't be 100% that it is the character.

The main part of the book starts of with The Raconteur telling stories, and Bea getting ready before leaving for the Academy. Since Bea has been accepted for the Academy she has been getting a mixture of hate and praise mail delivered. 

When Bea arrives at the Academy there is a few people that don't like her, especially Carol who she used to watch plots with, who also got accepted to go to the Academy. Everyone thinks that Bea managed to persuade her plotter to get her a position in the academy, which he did but not for the reasons all the others believe. 

Reading through this book I felt it was a lot quicker paced than the first book and that the characters had developed a lot more. I also found that it was more interesting as the story had developed and it was a different scene than that kept having its own little problems. I also found that I liked it more because it didn't just stick to the scene at the Academy it also went back to the Aenathelin, and we re-visited Merry and Joan. We discovered what they were doing with their lives now that Bea has left them. I found that really good to be honest, because you get some authors who include these sort of characters in the first book and because the main character moves on the others get forgotten, and you are always left wondering what they were doing or how they got on.

The new characters that we meet that I quite enjoyed was Chokey and her brother the thoughts person. These characters I started liking from the very start because they automatically included Bea and their mother had already sorted all of them a room out. Even though none of them had actually met yet or gotten to know each other. The friendship between these three is really interesting because it is just like Bea is back at home because they always stick by her side and follow what she wants to do even though they don't think it's a good idea. But that's what true friends do, they help you  out no matter what.

The discovery of who Bea's plotter is was also a really good, and it sort of made sense how he has different personalities now. It was also nice to revisit things from his past too and meet characters that he knows. It was nice that all of the characters in the end kind of linked up it just fit together perfectly. 

The adventures within this book were a lot more detailed and felt more realistic. At times I did feel sorry for Bea because she just seemed to be getting a lot of bad luck all at once and nothing seemed to go right for her again just like the first book. There was times that I was really proud of Bea too especially overcoming her fears with the witchelin and becoming a totally different person and thinking things through. I found that she was really brave to especially fighting the fae she had to and trying to keep things to herself again so she didn't get anyone else in trouble. 

The next scene I'm about to describe may possibly be classed as a spoiler so if you don't want to know skip this paragraph.
*SPOILER*
I found when Bea tried to overcome her fear of the witchelin quite hilarious, I really did not expect her to do what she did. I was expecting her to smash the bottle and then start killing the witchelin.

I'm looking forward to reading the third copy to see what happens in the next book, as the ending was so sweet I loved it. I want to know what other adventures we will go on and what other plot twists and problems occur with the characters.

Favourite Characters: Bea

Read: 14/11/18 - 22/11/18

4 stars out of 5

Check out Sammie's review of book 3: The Princess and The Orrery

Written by Sammie

The Fairy's Tale: A Novel For People Who Don't Trust Fairy Tales (The Pathways Tree Series, book 1) 

By F. D. Lee

Blurb: 
Bea is a lowly cabbage fairy, but she dreams of being an official Fairy Godmother. So when she is finally given a chance to prove her worth, Bea is determined to make a success of it. Besides, how hard can a Happy Ever After story be? Every girl wants to be rescued by a handsome man, don’t they?

Apparently not.

Bea's heroine doesn't want to be in her story, and her hero is much more interested in the ugly sister. The same ugly sister who is trying to overthrow the Kingdom.

Suddenly, Bea must confront the fact that her characters are as real as she is - and just like her, they are determined to go their own way. The problem is, if Bea fails to finish the story, she faces a fate much worse than being put to sleep for a hundred years. 

Now Bea must figure out what Happy Ever After really means - and whose Happy Ever After she's prepared to fight for...

Review: 
This book started of with the main character Bea watching plots as a job, she was secretly changing them to what she thought was better without thinking about the consequences of being caught. The plots are the main story line of a book, they are what cause the characters and others to believe. The more belief there is within the world the less likely the mirrors will break. But it isn't just that simple, there are antis who don't believe in the plots and are determined to make them go wrong so there is no happily ever after within the stories which cause the mirrors to break, or at least what we have been told.

But Bea's life is changing when she is called in for a meeting after handing her latest plot back. I'm not going to go into too much detail about the meeting because it slightly spoils the main part of the book which was really interesting to read.

The start of the book was quite slow in my opinion, and felt quite basic. By basic I mean I felt that the writing style was for a younger audience and wasn't too advanced, this book is aimed at young adults I believe but it feels more early teens. This wasn't such a bad thing it was just not my usual writing style I read.

Once the start had been fully described and more depth of the characters had been discovered I felt that I was more connected to the book. But I did take a break before I got to this part. I read the first 33% but I just felt like I wasn't enjoying it as much as I could have been and I was feeling myself going into a reading slump. But I started again when I was struggling to find something to read, I didn't bother going back to the start as I remembered everything that had happened and I eventually finished it the morning I wrote this review after 9 hours of travelling on a train.

The main part of the book was excellent and Bea and her friends had been developed a lot, I started to understand why they were doing the actions that they were doing, mainly it was just down to their personalities and their past experiences.

The story itself was quite interesting, to have someone watch over these fairy tales and have an insight of how they work is quite good whether this would actually happen I'm not sure, but it was something different and very believable, which made it enjoyable to read. The twists that were included was amazing I wasn't really expecting them to happen but it made the whole book a better read in general.

I felt sorry for Bea as she wasn't certain that she was doing the right thing at time, so was asking her friends for help and advice but never followed it. Which is exactly what I do. But at times I do listen when I am seriously stuck. So Bea was my most relatable character, I'm not too sure she was my favourite though as I'm currently on the border with her and Melly. I'll decide at the end of this review who my favourite character was.

Some of the characters in this book I wasn't a fan of especially Seven and Maria Sophia, I found both of these to be selfish, stubborn and really annoying! At times I did like Seven but my overall opinion of him is that I don't like him. He was helpful at times and allowed Bea to have an insight of a different opinion on the mirrors but he seemed to push his beliefs and opinions on others.

The ending of the book was also another twist. Not something I was actually expecting but it was a well deserved ending, in a way the more I think about the ending the more it actually fits in with the style of book.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series which should be very shortly.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes twists, fairy tales, love stories and sly characters.

Favourite Characters: Melly

Read: 12/10/18 - 12/11/18

4 stars out of 5

Written by Sammie

Check out Sammie's review of book 2: The Academy.

The Fairy's Tale: A Novel For People Who Don't Trust Fairy Tales (The Pathways Tree Series, book 1) 

By F. D. Lee

Blurb: 
Bea is a lowly cabbage fairy, but she dreams of being an official Fairy Godmother. So when she is finally given a chance to prove her worth, Bea is determined to make a success of it. Besides, how hard can a Happy Ever After story be? Every girl wants to be rescued by a handsome man, don’t they?

Apparently not.

Bea's heroine doesn't want to be in her story, and her hero is much more interested in the ugly sister. The same ugly sister who is trying to overthrow the Kingdom.

Suddenly, Bea must confront the fact that her characters are as real as she is - and just like her, they are determined to go their own way. The problem is, if Bea fails to finish the story, she faces a fate much worse than being put to sleep for a hundred years. 

Now Bea must figure out what Happy Ever After really means - and whose Happy Ever After she's prepared to fight for...

Review: 
This book started of with the main character Bea watching plots as a job, she was secretly changing them to what she thought was better without thinking about the consequences of being caught. The plots are the main story line of a book, they are what cause the characters and others to believe. The more belief there is within the world the less likely the mirrors will break. But it isn't just that simple, there are antis who don't believe in the plots and are determined to make them go wrong so there is no happily ever after within the stories which cause the mirrors to break, or at least what we have been told.

But Bea's life is changing when she is called in for a meeting after handing her latest plot back. I'm not going to go into too much detail about the meeting because it slightly spoils the main part of the book which was really interesting to read.

The start of the book was quite slow in my opinion, and felt quite basic. By basic I mean I felt that the writing style was for a younger audience and wasn't too advanced, this book is aimed at young adults I believe but it feels more early teens. This wasn't such a bad thing it was just not my usual writing style I read.

Once the start had been fully described and more depth of the characters had been discovered I felt that I was more connected to the book. But I did take a break before I got to this part. I read the first 33% but I just felt like I wasn't enjoying it as much as I could have been and I was feeling myself going into a reading slump. But I started again when I was struggling to find something to read, I didn't bother going back to the start as I remembered everything that had happened and I eventually finished it the morning I wrote this review after 9 hours of travelling on a train.

The main part of the book was excellent and Bea and her friends had been developed a lot, I started to understand why they were doing the actions that they were doing, mainly it was just down to their personalities and their past experiences.

The story itself was quite interesting, to have someone watch over these fairy tales and have an insight of how they work is quite good whether this would actually happen I'm not sure, but it was something different and very believable, which made it enjoyable to read. The twists that were included was amazing I wasn't really expecting them to happen but it made the whole book a better read in general.

I felt sorry for Bea as she wasn't certain that she was doing the right thing at time, so was asking her friends for help and advice but never followed it. Which is exactly what I do. But at times I do listen when I am seriously stuck. So Bea was my most relatable character, I'm not too sure she was my favourite though as I'm currently on the border with her and Melly. I'll decide at the end of this review who my favourite character was.

Some of the characters in this book I wasn't a fan of especially Seven and Maria Sophia, I found both of these to be selfish, stubborn and really annoying! At times I did like Seven but my overall opinion of him is that I don't like him. He was helpful at times and allowed Bea to have an insight of a different opinion on the mirrors but he seemed to push his beliefs and opinions on others.

The ending of the book was also another twist. Not something I was actually expecting but it was a well deserved ending, in a way the more I think about the ending the more it actually fits in with the style of book.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series which should be very shortly.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes twists, fairy tales, love stories and sly characters.

Favourite Characters: Melly

Read: 12/10/18 - 12/11/18

4 stars out of 5

Written by Sammie

Check out Sammie's review of book 2: The Academy.