About the Book:
Title: Unseelie
Author: Ivelisse Housman
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Release Date: January 3, 2023
Pages: 432
Genre: YA Fantasy
Synopsis:
Twin sisters, both on the run, but different as day and night. One, a professional rogue, searches for a fabled treasure; the other, a changeling, searches for the truth behind her origins, trying to find a place to fit in with the realm of fae who made her and the humans who shun her. 
Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove looks just like her twin, Isolde… but as an autistic changeling trying to navigate her unpredictable magic, Seelie finds it more difficult to fit in with the humans around her. When Seelie and Isolde are caught up in a heist gone wrong and make some unexpected allies, they find themselves unraveling a larger mystery that has its roots in the history of humans and fae alike.
Both sisters soon discover that the secrets of the faeries may be more valuable than any pile of gold and jewels. But can Seelie harness her magic in time to protect her sister, and herself?
Review:
*I received an e-arc via Netgalley and the publisher for review. All thoughts are my own*
I thought this was a solid debut from author Ivelisse Housman! If you like stories about sisters, fantasy, fae, and good autism rep, I think this one is for you. I really appreciated the author’s note regarding how they’re neurodivergent, and how they wanted to include this by having an autistic main character. They wanted to write a book that they wish they’d had as a teen. It was amazing to read about a character who has meltdowns and sensory issues in a good light. I am not neurodivergent, but as a mom of two neurodivergent teens, I was very impressed.
Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove looks just like her twin sister, Isolde, but they couldn’t be any more different. Seelie is an autistic changeling trying to navigate her very unpredictable magic, and Isolde is more of an adventurer looking for the opportunity for treasure. Seelie has been finding it harder and harder to fit in with the humans around her. The two girls wind up becoming involved in a heist gone wrong and make some unexpected and unwanted allies, Raze and Olani. As their journey progresses, they find themselves unraveling a mystery that has roots in both humans and faes alike.
They soon discover that the secrets of the fairies may be more valuable then jewels or gold. The question is, can Seelie harness her magic in time to protect her sister and herself?
I really enjoyed Seelie and Isolde’s adventures and the relationships they develop with their unexpected allies. I loved watching them get chased through faerie realms and I loved Birch the Brownie, he was an unexpected treat! I felt that the pacing was kind of slow in the beginning and then it really picked up towards the end, and then it just ends. We were left with a bit of a cliffhanger, and I didn’t know until recently that this is a duology, so just be prepared for that. I had gone in thinking this was a standalone, and clearly it is not.
I recommend this book, out now! I will definitely read the sequel, as I need to see how this all plays out.
About the Author:
Ivelisse Housman has been writing stories her whole life.
At all seven schools she attended throughout her childhood, she was infamously “that kid who gets in trouble for reading during class, but stubbornly refuses to stop.” Raised in a Puerto Rican-American home, she’s always been fascinated by stories about standing between two worlds. She was diagnosed with autism when she was 15, which made everything before and after that make a lot more sense.
After switching majors way too many times, she remembered that writing was actually a career that people can have and wrote her first novel while finishing her degree in graphic design. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains with her high school sweetheart/archnemesis and their two beloved rescue dogs.
ashleighsbookshelf.com 
I had similar opinions about this book too. I really enjoyed the characters and world, but didn’t know it wasn’t a stand alone. The pacing did slow in the middle, but then did pick up. I’m not sure if I’ll read the sequel–I’ll have to read the premise to know.
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I might have to read it, just to find out what happens. 😂
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