I finally finished Lonan and Ash’s journey in the Folk series. The final book, King of Death, came out in November of last year, but I didn’t get around to reading it until recently. I re-read the first two books, Mortal Skin and Forgotten Vows, and loved them even more the second time around. The Folk series tells the age old tale of human taken from home, brought to fae lands, and forced to shed his mortal skin. And how is he supposed to do that? Pssh, he has to figure that out on his own. Oh, and to ensure that he does so, he’s monitored by the evil fae queen’s dark, misunderstood, assassin son. We love a sad, broken boy here at Swoon.

Okay, so maybe this isn’t an “age old tale”, but it contained some of my favorite things about a Lily Mayne novel. First is her master level world building skill. I’ve talked about this before, but somehow (I can only assume sorcery) Lily is able to paint large, specific, highly imaginative worlds that engage all five senses. From the climate to the weight of a cauldron, we are brought in and experience the story like we’re watching a movie, like we’re living in the cottage with Lonan.

Side note, I recently learned that not everyone visualizes books in their head. Some have a running narrative – the actual words. Um, what? When I read, my whole reality ceases to exist and all I see and feel is the story, like I’m an NPC in the game. It’s kind of weird if you think about it too hard. Like, you know when you’re driving and you realize that you’ve been daydreaming for the last 20 minutes, but at the same time, you’ve been operating a fast moving metal box? The human brain is strange.

Another thing about Lily that baffles me is her seemingly unending creative well for writing monsters and creatures. Granted, in this one, everyone is a type of fae, but each one has different physical qualities and powers. This is a little bit of a spoiler, but throughout the series we learn about, essentially, three different lands. The appearance and powers of these creatures correspond with their habitats, from cold weather adapted to warm weather adapted to temperate forest dwelling. Lily thinks of everything.

She took a break in between the second and third book because, as she posted a while back, she struggled to get into writing the third book. So, honestly, going into it, I was nervous that I wasn’t going to like it. Oh was I ever wrong. This book is long, full of angst and conflict, heartbreak, and rich story development. I can see why she had a tough time writing it because it’s dense, but so well done. Mayne’s writing has matured so beautifully. She takes more risks with the storyline now, forcing her readers to hang on through long stretches of strife and trusts that we will stick with it.

So now let’s talk about the collaboration Lily did with Nikole Knight. Okay, so wrote about this a while ago, but Nikole Knight hurt my feelings many times over in her stunning Fire & Brimstone Scrolls series. These two beautiful genuses have come together to write the Black Oasis series, two books from which have been published: Whispers in the Dark and Bump in the Night. I’m only half way through the first book and, man, I am kicking my feet in delight. This is a queer, monster/human romance series – also known as Katie’s Catnip. Whispers in the Dark asks the question: what if the monster under your bed wasn’t something to be feared, but actually a sweet cinnamon roll, who just wanted to protect you from your awful abusive family? What if the humans are the bad guys and the monsters are the heroes? This book is a warm hug. Seriously. So if you need something like that in your life…which…you know you do…highly recommend.

All of this is to say that if you haven’t read any Lily Mayne, what are you doing with your life? Dive into the Monstrous series if you want a serious dystopian epic, Deep Earth Dating or Goliaths of Wrestling series if you want to laugh, the Folk series if you want to feel your feelings, Death’s Bloom if you want to be thoroughly terrified, and, of course, Black Oasis series if you want to be hugged. Lily’s extensive back catalog has just about anything you’d want. She’s quickly becoming one of my top favorite authors because of her incredible writing and imagination.

If you’ve read any Lily Mayne, let me know!