The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill by Rowenna Miller

book 6, apparently

In my continual effort to survive the everyday, my goal of completing 100 books by the end of this year is naturally going swimmingly. Here we are, in the middle of April, and I am on book 6.

I would feel worse about this except I am focused on much more serious matters, like the fact that I am currently in the middle of a gnarly healing phase with my trauma, which means my body is just having a great time.

Which is why it’s kind of weird I even wanted to read this book. The things that Delphine goes through felt really familiar in a no good, horrible sort of way. But that is the wonder of hard situations being handled by an author who knows what they are talking about and can also write.

"A warm-hearted yet fierce fairy tale."―H. G. Parry

In the early 1900s, two sisters must navigate the magic and the dangers of the Fae in this enchanting and cozy historical fantasy about sisterhood and self-discovery.

There is no magic on Prospect Hill—or anywhere else, for that matter. But just on the other side of the veil is the world of the Fae. Generations ago, the first farmers on Prospect Hill learned to bargain small trades to make their lives a little easier—a bit of glass to find something lost, a cup of milk for better layers in the chicken coop.

Much of that old wisdom was lost as the riverboats gave way to the rail lines and the farmers took work at mills and factories. Alaine Fairborn’s family, however, was always superstitious, and she still hums the rhymes to find a lost shoe and to ensure dry weather on her sister’s wedding day.

When Delphine confides her new husband is not the man she thought he was, Alaine will stop at nothing to help her sister escape him. Small bargains buy them time, but a major one is needed. Yet, the price for true freedom may be more than they’re willing to pay.

Summary from Goodreads

My Review

The summary does not give you a good idea of the way Rowenna Miller can describe a relationship that was built on false pretenses and then slowly morphs into every woman’s nightmare.

In the same vein, if this story was completely focused on that one thing, I would not have read it, nor would I have been able to enjoy it as much as I did.

Overall, The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill is about sisterhood and the dangers of the path that leads to the easiest way out. During the course of the story two sisters, Alaine, the oldest, and Delphine, just starting out in life (which in the early 20th century means getting married) are navigating the sudden changes that life brings on unexpectedly - with the subtle help of the fairies.

It is this subtle beginning that slowly builds to deadly consequences over the course of the story. I found the way Miller played realism and straightforward fairy-tale rules against each other just the right mixture for my preferences. I also appreciated her fairies: deadly, but without malice, with their own rules that near the end made sense in a sad sort of way.

If I’m making this story sound like a bummer, I want to disabuse you of that notion. While there is tension whether Delphine will be able to get free, whether Alaine will lose everything, there is also hope and resilience and ingenuity of the prosaic and fairy kind.

I did appreciate the author’s ability to describe - with talent and ability to hold a reader’s interest, might I add - the slow descent into the real unreality that is realizing that you are a victim of someone you once trusted. Delphine’s journey, while seen through the lens of an early 20th century woman, is both modern and sadly as old as time. But also healing in an odd way. Women who have gone through something similar will find validation in the experience of reading Delphine’s situation and not only realize they can relate, but that they also now have the words to describe something done to them.

The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill was a pleasant surprise in both ending and execution. There were some unexpected twists, sure, but also things hoped for that were executed with enough drama and the feel-good nature of a modern fairy-tale to please many types of readers.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes their cozy fairy tales with a bit more tension, drama, and danger, but without the world-altering events of an epic. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy strong female protagonists in every sense of the word, not just with the ability to punch a villain into oblivion. Those who like their fantasy with a dose of historical fiction will also enjoy Miller’s foray into early 20th century small agriculture town of middle America.

Have you read a fantasy lately that balanced on the tightrope between realism and fairy tales? Or do have some recommendations of fairy-tales or fantasies that are intertwined with dynamic historical fiction? Let me know in the comments, and if you have read The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill, let me know what you thought!