The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard Review

Posted June 27, 2013 by Asheley in Uncategorized / 4 Comments

The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard
Series: The Danaan Trilogy #1
Publish Date: May 15, 2013

197 Pages
Source: Author for review – Thank you!
Find It: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N



Allison O’Malley’s plan is to go to grad school so she can get a good job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She has carefully closed herself off from everything else, including a relationship with Ethan, who she’s been in love with for as long as she can remember.

What is definitely not part of the plan is the return of her long-lost father, who claims he can bring Allison’s mother back from the dark place her mind has gone. Allison doesn’t trust her father, so why would she believe his stories about a long forgotten Irish people, the Tuatha de Danaan? But truths have a way of revealing themselves. Secrets will eventually surface. And Allison must learn to set aside her plan and work with her father if there is even a small chance it could restore her mother’s sanity. -(from Goodreads) 



The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard 



My Thoughts: OF COURSE I chose to read this book because 1) HELLO that cover and 2) I am a sucker for fantasy books that deal with fey. I love them, I love them, I love them – the mythology, the rules of the courts, everything. 


The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard begins with the feel of a contemporary as we grow to learn a little bit about main character Allison O’Malley and her family and friends – her schizophrenic mother, her crush Ethan, and the rest of the gang. Allison is a little bit of an oddball around the area as she doesn’t spend very much time hanging out with the rest of her peers – she spends a great deal of time helping her grandparents care for her mother. Pretty early into the book, Ethan steps out and professes his feelings for Allison and she reluctantly begins to open up to having a relationship with him, but just as things are starting to go well for them, some crazy things start happening. 


First of all, a new guy comes to town – Liam. Liam, the man who turns out to be her father. Liam, who is fey. Here is where the magical world mingles with the “real” world – and things get really interesting. Liam isn’t the only fey in town, and Allison’s world sort of goes crazy. One minute she doesn’t know her father and has a schizophrenic mother, and the next minute she meets her father – who is magical – and finds out that what ails her mother isn’t actually schizophrenia but something that can be traced back to an interaction with the fey from years and years ago. PLUS it might actually be possible for her mother to get better. 


Naturally Allison is interested. And skeptical. And confused. And wonders what the heck just happened? But just as she’s trying to get her bearings and come to grips with everything, some of the not-so-great fey come around, her mother turns up missing, and stuff gets real. Allison has to work with Liam to make things right. 


And then there’s Ethan. Allison can’t forget about him. Cause she really does actually like him. But how in the world can she explain to him what is happening with her? 


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I enjoyed The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard, but guys, I almost felt like this would almost be a given because I enjoy fey books and mythology so much. I loved that the groundwork was put out there in the beginning in a way that felt a big contemporary, so it was comfortable, and then BOOM the magic starts happening. 


Now, when the magic starts happening and the fey start coming to see Allison, I have to admit that there are quite a few of them. And they come with their very interesting names. It’s not easy to pronounce the names and it isn’t easy to keep the people straight so I feel like if people will have any trouble with the book, it’ll be with this. A pronunciation guide at the beginning of the book would be helpful. (There is one, guys, but it’s actually at the end of the book – didn’t realize it until I was done reading on the Kindle.) Luckily for me, I’ve read and loved and actually own some of these books that have great pronunciation guides in them, so I wasn’t flailing as much as I could’ve been because I was a little teensy bit familar.  


As far as characterization goes, Allison is a pretty neat gal. She’s got a lot on her – a bit of stress, I guess – but it’s because she feels responsible and wants to help out. I loved that she was learning to let loose a little bit and live like a normal 21-year-old…and then everything started going crazy. BUT then when all of the magic started happening, Allison became stronger because the stakes were pretty high for her mother and she loved her mother so much – she was such a take-charge kinda gal, and I really liked that. I also enjoyed Ethan as a romantic interest, even though the romance had to take a bit of a back-seat to the other stuff that was going on in the book. Ethan seems like a really cool guy and was a great, respectable male character. And Liam, I enjoyed him as well. 


Other than that, the mythology was a lot of fun. There is a king and queen, of course, as always. And there are good fey and bad fey, of course, as always. I adored Liam as fey, and Allison’s mother with her role in the story. I adored all of the fey that we met along the way (especially Aodhan, pronounced Ay-den), even the ones that were sort of on the fringes of the fey society. I loved Tir na n’Og (I always do!) and the imagery it invoked. I thought the ending was a little bit short or abrupt, but it leaves a pretty doggone good starting-off point for the next book in the series. I wish there would’ve been a little more Allison-Ethan interaction in terms of the romance, but perhaps that will come later? And I’d have loved a little more Allison-Liam bonding as far as their father-daughter relationship goes, but they really didn’t have time to bond with all of the craziness that was going on – I’ll keep my eyes peeled for that in the next book as well. 


Ultimately, this was a fun, super quick, fey story – the beginning of a series. I’m interested in seeing what happens next with these characters and in this story as a whole. I fell in love with the cover and I would recommend The Forgotten Ones to fans of New Adult books, fantasy, and stories with fey. 


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Laura Howard lives in New Hampshire with her husband and four children. Her  obsession with books began at the age of 6 when she got her first library card. Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High and other girly novels were routinely devoured in single sittings. Books took a backseat to diapers when she had her first child. It wasn’t until the release of a little novel called Twilight, 8 years later, that she rediscovered her love of fiction. Soon after, her own characters began to make themselves known. The Forgotten Ones is her first published novel.

Follow Laura Howard:  Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook / Website

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The Forgotten Ones will appeal to fans of:

New Adult Fantasy
Romance: Slowly Developing. No Triangle.

The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard
is currently available for purchase.

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And now for the Giveaway – 

just fill out the rafflecopter to enter!










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Do you guys like fey books?
What are some of your favorites? 
Recommend some for me, please!




Asheley

About Asheley

Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.

You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.

Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!

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4 responses to “The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard Review

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