They fell flat for me and where I should have been swooning over Ben, I just didn't.

I felt Dorset was more invested in telling the story than giving the characters' voice. This book didn't quite reach the balance between character and plot development. I would have rather seen her falling for Ben. I can understand a crush, but for her to declare feelings of love seemed a bit off, especially since we readers didn't see their interactions prior to the book starting. Ben is a guy Selkie has been crushing on and is one of her few friends that she looks forward to seeing in Boston Commons. I would have preferred more development there to make it believable. That always bothers me because if you're going to write a story set during modern times and disrupt a normal life, surely there should be a little freaking out and disbelief that another world with mythic creatures exists! I also wasn't crazy about the romance. I found it a bit hard to believe that Selkie just accepts who she is and this new world without a second thought. There is a prophecy that states Selkie is one of four who will bring down the Seelie Court, so that added twist really helped beef up the story also.While the storyline ended up becoming more enjoyable, unfortunately the characterization did not. The story does pick up however, and I found myself wondering how Selkie would get to the Otherworld to save Ben and face off against the mother she's never known. I would have rather Dorset really build up the Otherworld. Yes, it's important to see how Boston is the hotspot to get to the Otherworld, but I could have done without a lot of the history we received. more is important, but I almost felt it wasn't the right kind. I was bored for a good portion of the book, as it took so long to get to the good stuff. If I didn't have the sequel to read, I probably would have thrown in the towel then. In fact even at 31% I felt pretty meh about the book.

Despite my issues with this one, I did end up liking it overall and am interested in the sequel. The two Courts are fascinating to me, so I was looking forward to seeing how Dorset would put her own spin on the lore.

I love books about the fae and even more so when they incorporate the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Review 1: I first saw this one sitting at the Sourcebooks booth at BEA and after seeing the pretty cover and finding out it involved the fae, I knew I was in.

The Girl Who Never Was by Skylar Dorset