Book Review: Damselfly by Jennie Bates Bozic

She's not the only one playing for the cameras

This book was in no way what I was expecting. After reading the blurb I was not sure what the story was actually going to be about, was it dystopian, fantasy or romance? If anything it was all three and more. The phrase that best encapsulates this story for me is that it is more than meets the eye. 

The story revolves around Lina.  Lina is a six-inch tall 15 year old girl when we meet her, not to mention she also has wings.  Lina was created by the Lilliput Project to solve problems in the world. It is never really mentioned in the book what the issues in the world are, how they happened or how pint-sized human beings could solve anything, but these are not the issues dealt with in this story. 

The story deals with the fact Lina has fallen in love, the unfortunate thing is that it is with a boy (Jack)  she met online and he knows nothing about the fact she could fit in his pocket. However, these are the least of Lina's problems. Her creator, the cold and calculating Dr. Christiansen has plans for Lina to star in a reality TV show where she will meet 6 'toms' all the same size her and choose one to marry and they threaten Jack's safety if she doesn't co-operate. 

Now if you have made it this far in my summary you might think this sounds like quite a romance driven story. In fact it sounds a lot like the bachelorette for pixies. But like I said a lot more is going on here then meets the eye.  The romance element takes up a good portion of the story but what really builds and drives the story is Lina's awareness that not everything is quite as it seems and her determination to find out what is really  the motivation behind the reality TV show and why there are 6 toms and only one Thumbelina. This part of the story was thrilling and I found it really gripping in these places. I struggled a bit with some of the 'date' scenes but these picked up pace as the story developed. 

I really liked the character of Lina.  The story is written from her perspective and I really enjoyed the fact it remained that way the whole time. Considering she is such a tiny person her personality is really dominating and strong throughout the story and I really liked her.  The toms are interesting but you only really get to know a bit about two of them and the rest remain quite shrouded in mystery, as I think this is a series starter I imagine the next story might develop these characters more. 

This is a super original story and I think its a very impressive concept and should make a strong series. I personally think this is a great read for younger fantasy/dytsopian fans or even to get avid romance readers to try another genre. 

I enjoyed this book and younger fans will love it!

I was provided with a copy of this book for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.