The Fairies of Sadieville

By: Alex Bledsoe, Claire Bloom

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's Summary

Charming and lyrical, The Fairies of Sadieville concludes Alex Bledsoe's widely praised contemporary fantasy series about the fairy descendants of Appalachia.

"This is real." Three small words on a film canister found by graduate students Justin and Veronica, who discover a long-lost silent movie from more than a century ago. The startlingly realistic footage shows a young girl transforming into a winged being. Looking for proof behind this claim, they travel to the rural foothills of Tennessee to find Sadieville, where it had been filmed.

Soon their journey takes them to Needsville, whose residents are hesitant about their investigation, but Justin and Veronica are helped by Tucker Carding, who seems to have his own ulterior motives. When the two students unearth a secret long hidden, everyone in the Tufa community must answer the most important question of their entire lives - what would they be willing to sacrifice in order to return to their fabled homeland of Tir na nOg?

©2018 Alex Bledsoe, Claire Bloom (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Just suspend disbelief

If you're this far into the whole Tufa deal, you know you've just gotta go with it. Mechanism tossing civilians into mix is little hinky here, but story line requires that skeptical and totally human eye to shove it along. Recurring characters from previous Tufa installments well-played and true (always rewarding). Overall, a satisfying listen, and, of course, voice actor Stefan Rudnicki just plain nails it, even if he can't sing worth a lick.

a fascinating series comes to a close...

There are several titles in this series. Each can be read as a stand alone, but they contain recurring characters and are more rewarding if read in order. The writing is wonderful - creating an enticing, somewhat menacing, atmosphere with vivid characters and an underlying mystery that runs through each novel, adding an appealing layer to the emerging history of the settlement. Elements of romance, sacrifice, humor, tragedy and justice blend with the artistry of folk music and a commitment to traditional craftsmanship. Drama, adventure, excitement, and the occasional murder, are driven by the characters' schemes and rivalries - or incited by unwelcome incursions from outside the community.
These are terrific books and I hope that someday there will be additional tales set in this lovely, challenging, world.

Failed

I loved all of the books in this series except this one. No sense of closure and the end didn't make sense at all. The main couple in this book don't add anything at all interesting to the story. I don't want to go into details because I don't want to give spoilers but after all of the drama and intrigue of the previous books, this one just falls flat.

I'd love to believe that there's pockets of magic.

Two outsiders find an old film and this film brings them to Cloud County in search of a lost city... which in turn caused the Tufa to remember their own lost history...
This is the final episode in the Tufa saga and it's a doozy... Again Alex ties the Tufa magic with their music and with the land... this also dives into Tufa history, and what it means to be Tufa...
Plus I loved that Tanna Tully (Firefly Witch) actually found a place in this book...
And I've come to love Stefan Rudnicki narration, he's by no means a Tufa (he can't sing a lick) but I suspect that he's prolly adopted because he certainly narrates a good story...
I also loved the wrap-up as I'd love to believe that there's enough room for pockets of magic in this world!

A Tufa Reunion

The best characters from the other five books make an appearance in this story. If you’re a conservative, like myself, mentally substitute ‘politician’ for ‘republican’ and you’ll be fine.

I don't want it to end

But if this has to be the last book, I'm glad we had the opportunity to start at the beginning. Thanks Alex, for a terrific romp through fairy.