Review Detail

Conceptually, The Forgotten Ones drew me in with the Irish folklore. Stories of faeries are interesting to me and that was the reason I picked it up. In the Danaan trilogy, I found the folklore on which it was based to be good, and while it had lot of potential overall the book had shortcomings. I found the characters to be one-dimensional – with no motivation explained or any character development. I could go with the childhood friends for Ethan and Allison, but any interaction Allison had with the Danaan, including her father Liam and others like Aodhan or even Aofie, I couldn’t get them, like something was missing. It was all expression and dialogue – no understanding behind them. I was left wondering why this character helped her or why this character was reacting in a certain way to her. Secondly, the storytelling felt stilted and the breaks in plot did not give a good enough indication of a timeline, especially in the first half. The scene ends on a solemn statement or with Allison making up her mind about something and bam, it’s the next day (maybe) and I am left wondering what happened in between.

I would say only the back-story saved this book and the story between the lines added some depth. There was some bigger secret lurking behind Allison’s existence but it was just hinted at. The ending, while meaning to be a cliffhanger, just felt abrupt. Also, with the length of the book, it felt rushed. It could have had more depth, more back-story and more character development. This book is a maybe, and while I did not enjoy this immensely, I am holding out for the sequel to make up my mind on the trilogy.