Clover

CLOVER by Nicole Kilpatrick is a YA fantasy novel that follows Clover, a girl who has spent her entire life with luck. What she doesn’t know though is that on her eighteenth birthday, she will lose it all and discover a very handsome leprechaun, Finn, has been looking over her all these years. When Finn finds out that his longtime boss Alistair may have sinister plans for the girl, he vows to protect her, bringing Clover to the Seelie Court and Queen Helena. Getting there unscathed, however, is going to be difficult, but with a shapeshifting friend and a jilted clurichaun on their side, Alistair has severely underestimated his opponent.

To start with, I love a good Fae story, and I really enjoyed the Celtic folklore woven into this one. It gave the genre a fresh take, and in the same way TWILIGHT challenges the stereotypical vampire, this book challenges how we generally imagine leprechauns. Similar to the Cullens, leprechauns have to wear a strong glamour because they shine without it in a way that would be too much for a human to witness. In fact, leprechauns are devastatingly attractive and tall, contrary to popular belief, making Finn a swoon-worthy protagonist.

The greatest success of this novel is how intricately Kilpatrick weaves the plot while leaving plenty of room for the unexpected. Though I was able to guess at some plot developments, there were many moments in which I was pleasantly surprised, which can be difficult to do in this genre. Another of Kilpatrick’s strengths is that she’s great at creating characters we really root for. Even the smaller characters, such as Anna, have a clear backstory and distinctive traits, so it was easy to imagine existing in their world.

That being said, I would have loved to ship Finn and Clover more, but I found it a bit hard to reconcile knowing he was an adult while he watched over Clover, and then the minute she became of age, he essentially fell in love with her. The human-mythic creature-romance doesn’t normally bother me, but I had to work a little harder to get on board with this one. Still, I love both characters individually and admit they do have a lot of sweet scenes. Also, there’s a mini-love triangle, which is one of my favorite tropes to ever exist. However, it doesn’t occupy the main plot, so for those who don’t enjoy that, you won’t be too distracted by it.

Overall, I highly recommend CLOVER to those who want to be swept away to the lands of the fairies. The plot is smart, the characters are endearing, and the setting couldn’t be more magical. Literally.