Magic Harvest (Fairy Trafficking, #1) (2024)

With magic, fairies, and Scottish accents... What more could I ask for? I loved Mary's concept from the first time I heard about it, and this book is just so much fun. It's fast-paced contemporary fantasy, and now I'm anxiously awaiting Magic Heist! Two thumbs up!

This is a story about a Fae girl who travels through a portal to the human world, specifically Edinburgh, searching for her sister who has been kidnapped. While in a mature crime book we would anticipate all kinds of dire happenings to trafficked women, this tale sticks firmly on the YA side, though it is no less disturbing.
I like that our heroine is half Fae, an outcast in every society, determined to get on with life anyway and make the most of her talents. She also has to fight off a nasty nay-saying entity inside her, which seems quite unfair. Using Mary King's Close, which I have visited, as a setting was a nice idea.

I dislike the reprehensible police work shown, unlikely human behaviour as well as a good way to get fired. The plague, the Black Death, can now be cured by an antibiotic, but nobody mentions that or even wonders about it. The writing seemed a lot more polished at the start and jumped around once the Fae get to our world. YA readers, especially girls, will be happy with the story while the heroine is followed but less so with the second narrator. While there is a conclusion, this is a partial end and the tale will continue.

I downloaded an e-ARC through Net Galley and Fresh Fiction. This is an unbiased review.

I received a free copy of this ebook ARC from the author, publishing company, and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Layla is half-human and fairy who has a hard time fitting in with the rest of the fairies. When her sister Esme and another fairy are captured by a human and taken through a portal to another world, Layla follows hoping to save her. Will she succeed? Read on and find out for yourself.

This was a pretty good YA Fantasy novel and the first one I have ever read by Mary Karlik. It was very action-packed and fantastical. If you love stories about Fairies and more, definitely check this book out when it comes to bookstores in September.

This was a unique read. Karlik has a voice that fits well with this adventure about faeries. Her writing is quite good and it was well polished; however, it didn’t pull me in. Honestly, it bordered on boring. I think this mostly had to do with the descriptions, they simply weren’t colourful and unfortunately, this affected the world building as well. The plot was a little hard to follow since it felt like there wasn’t much movement. It seemed a little stagnant.
I really liked Layla. She was independent, protective, and brave. Yet, she wasn’t perfect, she struggled immensely with being an outcast. A major thing that bugged me, though, was that I never quite figured out what she looked like. There was a vague description, but I never formed a solid picture in my mind. The detective team Layla worked with were so cute. I loved their camaraderie. One thing, though: it would have been nice to get to know them a little better. It felt like we were just scraping the surface.
Overall, this was a decent book and if you are really into YA about faeries you might enjoy it!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story a lot. I'm convinced that if I hadn't had training and studying for certification, I'd of finished this book in one sitting. It was entrancing! I was rooting for everybody! I do have to disclose that there is a minor bully trigger warning. It's brief but it's there.

The characters were, for the most part, very relatable. There were times that they came out a tad bit robotic. But that was very rare. I was rooting for all the good guys!

The narrator did a fantastic job with this book as well. Her accent was a bit distracting. In a good way of course. It was very entrancing. I believe she added to the story very nicely! I hope she narrates the rest of the series!

It was a sweet and fresh read! It reminds me of Riley Bloom series by Alyson Noel, and I enjoyed this book a lot.
For those looking for lighter read but fae-themed, you can try this one! Layla is a dependable lead and I love the human boys gang too. The world building is a tad confusing, but better as the story progressed. Loved it!

I got sent this book in exchange for a honest review, all my opinions are my own and thank you so much to the publishers for sending me this book!
I didn't enjoy the plot of this story much and made it through about 30% of this book.

Magic Harvest by Mary Karlik is book one in the Fairy Trafficking Series that I listened to on audio narrated by Ruth Urquhart. The book does end on a cliff hanger but book two Magic Heist is already released on audio.

This is the first book of Mary’s that I have read and it definitely won’t be my last. This was a very enjoyable young adult fantasy. She did a great job tying in the fairy world with the human world.

Ruth did an amazing job narrating. I absolutely loved her accent for this book. I felt like it brought authenticity to the fairy world.

#AudiobookObessionReviwer #AudioBookObsession

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♥ BLOG POST ♥
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Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book.

Layla is a half-caste fairy, half human and half fey and above all, a complete outsider amongst her people. And while she has an immunity to iron (unlike her other fairy friends), which gives her the ability to fight, she doesn't have any magic, which makes her a target for mockery and bullying. One day however, her sister and her friend get kidnapped by a mysterious entity and taken into the human world, and Layla must venture out into this unknown world in order to save them.

Writing
Overall, the writing of the book was alright. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't overwhelming spectacular either. The only thing that I noticed was that certain parts of the writing were a bit choppy. There were certain scenes (especially during some of the fights) where I had to go back and reread certain passages because a lot happened in one sentence, which made it hard to follow. What I also think is that the writing style declined when the Layla left the fairy realm and went into the "real world". The descriptions were a lot more detailed and full of life when Layla was still in the forest but when the plot focused on the human world, I unfortunately found the descriptions and the writing to be a bit boring.

World building
What I absolutely loved about this book was the mythology behind it. The fairy world and their magic was by far the most interesting aspect of this book. I would have loved to have spent many more chapters exploring the hidden fairy forest, but unfortunately most of this book plays out in the "real world". While I'm personally not an export in this field, it's obvious that Celtic mythology and folklore definitely play a big part in the foundation of this book and its plot. For example, we are introduced to the cràdh, a spirit which has taken refuge inside Layla and saddens and burdens her soul. Overall, I would say that the world building - the fairy world and its rich history in general - definitely stands out as the best part of this book. I would have definitely loved to have seen more of the world-building and fairy world explored in the book.

Characters
I loved Layla as a character! She was headstrong, defiant, fierce, bad ass and everything else you could want from a strong female lead. While you can definitely tell that she greatly suffers from being an outcast and also from her cràdh, she fights against her demons and ultimately grows and becomes a stronger fairy.

Unfortunately, the other characters just didn't interest me as much. Ian, Jack and Buzzard were all interesting in their own way, but they lacked that special unique spark of personality that I know and love so much from other fantasy books. I would have really liked it if the author would have explored more aspects of their detective operation and gotten into some more background in their lives, especially the history between Ian and Miranda. Their personas just lacked that special something, which is really a shame because a good chunk of this book focuses on their interactions.

Plot
The plot itself was fine, although I would have preferred it to have explored some more environments than just that one underground cave where the Harvester was and the church. Most of our characters stay in one area for most of the book which (at least in my opinion) made the plot end up feeling a bit dragged and boring at some parts. The plot also sort of felt a bit repetitive, since most of the scenes either consisted of fighting off something with magic, worrying about the fairies, or discovering the underground cave. However, the saving of the fairies and finding out what was actually being done to them was definitely super exciting and was packed with a lot of action, which I really appreciated.

The twist at the end, where Ian gets turned into a dragon was probably the most shocking part of the book as I did not expect that to happen. Like, what even?! I'm really intrigued to see how that will develop in the following books and it definitely added a whole layer of excitement to the plot.

Closing thoughts
I did enjoy reading this book, although it definitely could have done better in certain areas. Mostly, what really made this book stand out to me was the world-building (the mythology, the fairy history, Celtic roots, etc.) and Layla herself. The plot was alright but fell short in some ways. I would be interested in picking up the next book when it comes out though, since the ending of this book definitely sets up an interesting story for the sequel.

**Disclaimer: I received an Advanced Reader Copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way impacted my review.**

Prior to actually sitting down and reading Magic Harvest, I thought that the premise was intriguing. I’m also always down for a YA Fantasy Mystery, so that’s another point of why I was interested in Magic Harvest.

And on that point of Magic Harvest being a YA Fantasy, Layla is a character who in this first book is 19 years of age. So while Magic Harvest could definitely be in the New Adult age category, the story as an innocent character who discovers not only more of herself, but…the outside world as well.

Layla goes through such a character growth. At the beginning of this story we see how Layla’s PTSD has changed her life and how she’s lived with it. And then by the end of the novel we see Layla conquer her fears.

As much as I wanted to predict anything, I couldn’t—-so that’s a plus! AT first I didn’t know what to predict–and then I couldn’t predict anything. The synopsis for Magic Harvest doesn’t really give anything away. Frankly, I hoped that the ending to Magic Harvest would be a happy one. And what I could predict didn’t happen at all, heh. While I was reading this story it was difficult for me to pinpoint where the story would go.

There were few things that I didn’t like. For the most part, I for sure thought that a certain someone was going to be Layla’s father, so when I read that that character started to have feelings for Layla I was grossed out. But then it turned out that said character is too young to be Layla’s father.

I actually for sure thought that we’d find out who Layla’s father is, but I guess we’re to find out in book two (2)!

What I liked about Magic Harvest was that the plot got underway pretty quickly! I actually really liked how the story was first in the magical world, and then turned into our world.

I’m being vague about this next part that I liked, but I’ve got to be vague if you don’t want spoilers! So, when the plot gets underway in the second chapter I know right, so quick!, there’s a scene that plays out which gives the reader a quick insight as to how the rest of the story could play out.

What surprised me the most about Magic Harvest was the second point of view we read from! Throughout Magic Harvest we still read from Layla’s point of view for the most part. So I enjoyed the brief moments we read from this second point of view. I genuinely thought that Magic Harvest would have been a book I marked as Did Not Finish, had this second POV not come into play.

Another thing that I liked about this story was the mad dash that the characters go on. Speaking of which, the action moments within Magic Harvest were a delight to read!

I could see why someone would think that parts of this story felt forced, but for me, the story was an enjoyable read. If you want to sit back and not predict anything while you’re reading a story, then I definitely recommend Magic Harvest to you!

Overall, I enjoyed my reading of Magic Harvest, and I’m looking forward to reading book 2.

I give Magic Harvest, 3 stars.

Review Published on: https://museofnyxmares.wordpress.com/...

*I was provided with an ARC of this book through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5/5 Stars

I liked this book quite a lot, it started off strongly, and the relationship between Layla and her sister in the opening chapters was really well done. The writing was so enjoyable and descriptive, that I was completely drawn into the story. There was a certain magic surrounding it whilst Layla was in the Fairy Realm that was fascinating. The struggle that Layla had with being half human and half fairy was powerfully done and I felt so sorry for her, she was such a sweet individual that she barely even fought back and I desperately wished that she would. Therefore I was delighted when her confidence began to grow as the novel progressed and she learned to trust herself, I was extremely proud of her.

Despite the Human Realm giving Layla some much needed confidence, I much preferred when the story was set in the Fairy Realm. I wouldn’t quite say that I lost interest when Layla entered the Human Realm, but I just wasn’t as engrossed in the story as before. Although, on the other hand, I did like the characters that Layla joined alliances with when she got there. I can only say that I liked these characters, as they weren’t that developed if I’m honest. Layla definitely carried this novel, the rest of the characters just weren’t as strong. I didn’t mind this too much, as I think that Layla was a great character, she was strong and yet vulnerable, courageous but still listened to guidance, and her growth was amazing. The author did a brilliant job of giving Layla a realistically adaptable personality, as she was so mild and motherly when it came to her sister, but with others she stood her ground at times and had some funny one liners. This variation was tremendous!

Other than Layla, the next best thing was the magic in this book. It makes me so happy when authors take the time to develop the magic, instead of just showing the character doing something magical. It was wonderful how the characters had to sometimes rely on things in the natural world, such as herbs and combine it with candles and their own inner force. The description of how the characters did magic was great, as there were just little touches that made it seem more real, like a conjured ball of light being too hot the first time, and so the character drops it. I loved these little details! I also thought that the sparks of romance between Layla and one of the characters was adorable, it was so innocent and organic, barely concentrating on physical attraction, which is a lovely change from most YA books.

This was an easy read, and I can’t complain about Layla, the magic, or the story of the fairy trafficking, but something was missing for me that I can’t quite put my finger on unfortunately. It was still a good book, so I would recommend it.

Magic Harvest is straight up fantasy. It's magical. It's dark. It's fantastic.

We have Layla, a half-faerie/half-human, who is shunned by the rest of her family because she is a half-breed. Layla knows nothing of her human father, but her mother is fae. Her mother is also dead, along with her stepfather; they were eaten by a dragon. Yep, a dragon.

Layla is older now, but she's still terrified that the dragon will return one day and kill more faeries. She's especially worried about her sister Isla, who is determined to have her freedom away from her half-breed sister. Not even Isla wants to be seen with her. Layla is hurt, but she lets her sister go. Unfortunately for Isla, she and her friend Esme end up kidnapped and taken to the human world.

Layla is determined to save her sister, but when she arrives in the human world herself, she is nowhere near prepared for what she discovers.

The story is really intriguing because it touches on a subject that a lot of fantasy stories usually don't deal with: trafficking. I'd expect to see something along those lines in a crime novel (suspense/thriller) or something like that. I think that's what made Magic Harvest so unique. Faeries weren't just being kidnapped; they were being, well, harvested for their magic. It's kind of dark, actually.

I really liked the characters of Layla and Ian. Layla just wants to fit in and do the right thing, but she's shunned for being different. And Ian is just an overall good guy. He doesn't question the existence of faeries, nor does he balk at offering assistance to Layla when she goes to track down her missing sister. He's pretty great.

The character of Connor, though... well, he sucks. He's awful, and I hated him with a fiery passion. Sure, he doesn't get a ton of actual "screen time," but he's definitely a horrible, bad, evil person.

There were some interesting twists in the book that I didn't expect, but it made me enjoy it even more. I was kept on my toes throughout the entire story, and that's definitely a plus. I like stories like that.

The only thing I really wanted, and I assume will be touched upon in the coming sequel(s), was more backstory for Layla. I wanted to know more about her father and how she came to be a half-breed. I suppose I'll have to wait and see...

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with Magic Harvest, and I quite liked the story a lot. I'm looking forward to the next book.

4 stars from me!

This is the first book in the Fairy Trafficking series, by Mary Karlik, of which I received an ARC of the second book, Magic Heist. It is published by one of my favourite small publishers, Ink Monster, which also publishes another of my favourites, the Alpha Girl series!

This book started off with a very interesting premise, someone is kidnapping fairies and after her half-sister and the only family she has left is taken, a half-fairy half-human girl enters the human world to save her. The books setting was really vivid throughout, whether they were in the fairy world or the human. The author took every opportunity to describe the setting in great detail.

The story was quite interesting, with a mystery (albeit small and relatively predictable) and some really suspenseful parts. I really enjoyed the mixture of mythology into the fantasy, without overpowering the story. They were explaining the origin of some of our myths in the story, not mashing our myths into a story. The ending was a little abrupt, but since I was able to go right into the next one it didn’t really bother me.

The only gripe that I had with this novel was the characterization outside of the two main characters. Every guy in the team of humans felt exactly the same, beyond the leader and the second-in-command, and when there were multiple characters being introduced at any time they always felt the same. The main female character was pretty well done and the main male character was different from the rest, but when he was narrating it was uninteresting to me, I don’t know how I feel. Most of the time he was only narrating for the parts where it was completely necessary to move the plot along because the female character was not around, but I didn’t like his narration style.

When I sat down to write this I was totally going to give this 4 stars, but after realizing that most of the review is a negative, I feel like the book didn’t really speak to me, so I’m dropping it half a star. I am still looking forward to continuing this series, as I am already into the second book, but I hope that the author’s writing grows a little form this book to the next.

3.5 stars

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Magic Harvest is definitely being added to the list of books that I will strongly suggest my daughter read. There is virtually no cursing, just a hint of romance (and it's very minimal), wonderful fantasy aspects, but most importantly...an amazing heroine. Layla is selfless, courageous, forgiving, and stays determined even when things look bleak. She's not perfect and does briefly lament when she encounters a set-back, but she is very quick to bounce back with more determination and faith that she will find her sister. She takes the weight of the world on her shoulders in the form of saving all of these fairies that have been kidnapped. She starts the story with being meek and very passive about how her community and family views her (she's a half human/half fairy and has no magic) but as she searches for her sister, she finds strength and worth. I really loved her.

Ian and his team were great. I was sort of surprised by how quickly they accepted that fairies were real, but at the same time, it was kind of refreshing. There was no need for Layla to prove herself and there was very little ignorant prejudice from the team. My favorite team members were Theo and Buzzard. Buzzard is this gruff brute of a guy who has a good heart at his core. I loved reading his gentle scolding and encouraging of Layla. Theo is a wealth of knowledge of technology and aspects of the magical world. He can read tea leaves and knows where to find even the most obscure ingredients for the concoctions that Layla creates. The relationship between Layla and Ian is special. They start out as reluctant allies and end the story being very close friends. They have a special kinship and the synopsis for book 2 strongly hints at a possible romance between them. Yes, please!!

Mary Karlik is a new-to-me author who I will definitely be following. I've already marked my calendar to count down until the release of book 2, Magical Heist.

When I first started reading I was immediately drawn into Mary Karlik’s writing. It’s not uncommon for authors to have the same overall idea of a fairy world. Bright sky, everything a beautiful green, etc. However, Karlik was able to explain this same landscape in a way I’ve never read so it was really interesting. When we entered the human world you could definitely see and even feel the difference. It was dark, dirty and busy. I will admit I wish we would have gotten more landscapes/locations in the human world (the characters kind of stayed in the same 3 places the whole time). Especially since Karlik described several different places in the fairy world.

The story starts in Layla’s fairy world and when her sister is taken she enters the human world. Layla is determined she will find and save her sister even if she has to do it alone. That’s when she runs into Ian and his team. They spend the rest of the book searching and trying to free Layla’s sister and other fairies that were captured over time. I loved the plot line of this book. It was very unique and interesting. It was interesting to read how different the human characters were from the fairy.

There wasn’t really a romantic aspect to this book. However, I can definitely tell this book sets up the sequel to allow for more romance. It’ll be interesting to see how it progresses and how the characters interact.

I will admit it was a little hard to read the book at certain points. It was almost like the author was really excited about a scene and as a result she explained it really fast. A couple times I had to go back and reread a couple paragraphs because I was afraid I was missing something.
The ending of this book was fantastic!!! I cannot believe the plot twist Karlik threw in and now I’m dying to find out what happened. I can’t explain more without spoiling anything but I will say this, if you like a good cliffhanger this is definitely the book for you!

Actual Rating: 3.5

Dragons! Fairies! An elf! And... Humans?

Magic Harvest is a story of a fairy who has lived as the outcast all her life. She’s been mocked and attached by bitter attitudes. But when her dear sister is taken from her, she’ll stop at nothing to save the only person she loves. Even venturing out to the human world.

I liked this book because of Layla’s fierce attitude and because of how cool she was. Although she had a hard time believing in herself, she wouldn’t stop trying to get to her sister. If it had been me in this situation, I would’ve just given up. Layla was an amazing heroine.

I also enjoyed the connection she had to Ian. I’m a sucker for clean, YA romance and I was excited to see a connection between them. I won’t say anything more for now, that way I don’t spoil the book. Anyways, I also liked Ian’s character. For a human who had just found a real life fairy, he took it pretty well😂😂😂

I think that the reason I didn’t absolutely love this book is because I’ve been in the mood for only realistic teen romance. I’m sure that if I read this book again, I’d come back and give it a higher rating. So I guess what I’m trying to say is that the author didn’t do anything wrong. The book was awesome!!!! It’s just that I wasn’t completely in the mood for it.

Thank you to Xpresso Book Tours, Ink Monster Publishing, and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book!!!(Yeah... I’m not quite sure how I ended up with two ARCs, but okay then.) I truly enjoyed this book and I’m already psyched for the release of book two!!!!

Layla is a fairy but unlike other fairies, doesn't possess magic. When her younger sister heads off to the great fete despite Layla's warnings, Layla has no choice but to follow her. A sudden attack from an unknown creature leaves Layla's sister and other fairies captured and hauled off into the human world. Determined to save them, Layla follows.

The world building in the beginning chapters was well done. It's easy to picture the fairies and their natural surroundings through lovely details which open up an almost magical world. The author wastes no time in diving right into the story and makes the issues between Layla, her sister and the other fairies clear. And the story with the dragon definitely draws sympathy and pulls into the tale.

Despite all of these good things, this story didn't completely grab me. Layla is an amazing character with a wonderful personality, but the others fall a little flat. While the beginning chapters grab attention and submerse the reader into an intriguing world, it moves a bit slow at times. The movement into the human world was a bit sudden and lacked the descriptions which made the scenes so vivid before. While there are unexpected twists and turns, it wasn't enough to hook into the pages. But it wasn't bad either. The plot moves along and offers moments of excitement at times, insuring that this is a great book for the reader. But this reader wasn't me.

I received a complimentary copy through Netgalley and found in interesting enough to want to leave my honest thoughts.

Layla has a hard time fitting in with the fairies. She is half fey, half human, and has no magic. However, when her half-sister is kidnapped, she seems to be the only one who will be able to save her. It is time to face her fears and get to know her strengths.

It took a while for the story to get going, but when it did it flew high. The first 1/3th of it took place in fairy land, the rest of it took place in Edinbourgh. I really like that the old city-under-the-city is used in this story, and the use of Gaelic was a nice touch. Mary Karlik did a wonderful job combining the sweetness of fairies with a strong plot and a fair amount of action. For people who are interested in these kind of topics, Magic Harvest certainly is a must-read.

I received a free copy through Netgalley in turn for an honest review.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book.

The author's idea as a whole was very intruiging and interesting and it is presented to us well, but it seemed a little slow. If you're a fantasy fan, this is a good listen. If you were listening for the romance aspects of this story, it falls kind of short. There are hints at possible chemistry between the main characters, but they are very subtle. We mostly experience are taken on a journey to rescue the main character's sister. I'm intrigued to see where the author wants to take us next.

I liked the narrator's performance and the accent that is used throughout. Great job!

I enjoyed the way Ruth Urquhart brought these characters to life and I just love her Scottish accents! I could tell who was who very easily which was brilliant.

I liked the idea behind this book, those poor fairies! I enjoyed watching the relationships build and the world they inhabited. I didn't see the twists which was good. And I really liked how feisty Layla is, but she doesn't let it rule her. Overall an enjoyable listen

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a book I wanted to read when it first came out. I’m a fan of paranormal mysteries and this one seemed to check all the boxes. Family issues? Check. Power issues/self discovery? Check. Possible romance? Check. Though at first Layla was a bit irritating, she grew on me as she grew up and into herself. Other than that, this was a fun story, and book 2 is looking like it’s joining the list.

So good I wanted to cheer at the end! I loved the premise. And the writing. And the characters. And the... Well, suffice it to say, I loved the book. Pretty much everything crucial to this book wraps up at the end, but there's plenty of side threads to carry this series onward. No cliffhangers! Yay!

This was listed as YA but anyone who enjoys a good fantasy will like it. I like the way it alternated between character POV's which lets the reader in on things about one character the other character doesn't. It's well plotted and structured with suspense building. I'm looking forward to reading the next book.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher but I DNF at 20 percent. The writing was choppy and the style of writing was horrible. I usually like books about fairies so I was surprised I couldn't make it through this one.

What a fascinating read! Magic, fairies and dragon's make up this fun read!
Great world building, exciting characters and a storyline that keeps you sucked in! Adventure, fantasy and chills complete this book!

Fairies and magic

I absolutely loved this book . My first time reading this Authors books . I love her creativity with the charities and their stories .
Happy reading everyone .
I do plan on reading more of Mary's books

Creative World of Fairies

A young fairy with a unique gift that saves her sister and other fairies who were kidnapped and held in bondage. From fairy world to Scotland, Layla's journey to find and rescue her sister is met with colorful characters and intrigue. A wonderful read.

Wonderful story

This book had it all. A brave fairy fighting for her family, an evil dragon. It was bloody, moody, humorous and just good fun!

Loved

Easy and fast read, caught my attention right away. It could k d have been edited better though. I can't wait for t :) ed next one

Good

loved the unusual premise. Kept my interest throughout. Combined humans, faeries, and dragons where it all worked. looking forward to next book