Review: WHEN TINKER MET BELL by Alethea Kontis

Earlier this year, Kristen Painter announced that she'd opened up her Nocturne Falls Universe and that various authors would dabble in the world with new original offerings. I wasn't sure what to make of this, especially since I'd never read the original NF titles. But I love Alethea, and I was willing to give it a try. I'm so glad I did! THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND WOLVES stood on its own and introduced me to a world of new characters. WHEN TINKER MET BELL is even better, and blends the contemporary with the fantastic in a way that made my heart sing and want to read more from Kontis right away--which always happens when I finish one of her books.

Check out BroadwayWorld's Review of THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND WOLVES now!
Both books are stand-alone companion novels!

While the first novel, THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND WOLVES, centered around Kai and Finn, WHEN TINKER MET BELL stars Kai's best friend, Bellamy. You can still see cameos from Kai and Finn, too, which is a lot of fun! You don't have to read one book to read the other, either. TTACAW took place at home and explored the town and family connections and was very much about the weird instant connection between the two main characters. WTMB, on the other hand, takes place at school. Kai is lucky enough to be a local townie, so we didn't see much of the school the first time around. Bell, however, stays at the boarding school, as does one of her best friends, Ranulf "Tinker" Tinkerton. I loved exploring the school and the new setting. Readers also get to visit the Goblin World this time around, which added a dash of the whimsy and wondrous that I've come to love so much from an Alethea Kontis book. It also blends different fairy tale elements together, for example, bits of Cinderella and some Goblin Lore.

Bellamy and Tinker are two unlikely friends. Bell is a fairy, and everyone is always drawn to her. They want to touch her and get some of her magical dust to improve their life a little bit. Tinker is the first person who didn't want anything from her. He's a goblin, and goblins are allergic to fairies, so he literally can't touch her without breaking out into hives. Bell wanted a friend who wanted her, not her magic, and Tinker wanted a friend who didn't think he was weird or odd. The two became instant friends, and now, those feelings are morphing into something more. But how can you ever have a relationship with someone you can't even touch?

When Tinker finds out that the Goblin King has forsaken his heir and passed the mantle on to Tinker instead, his world turns upside down. Becoming the Goblin King means he takes on more human characteristics--but it also means leaving his friends, not to mention, never seeing Bellamy again. He doesn't want to be heir, but does he really have a choice?

I don't want to say much about this book because #spoilers, but it gave me all the feels. There was definitely a scene in chapter seven that gave me a heart-punch of happy tears, that feeling where you know people have good hearts and you just get so emotional for no reason, but everything becomes so feel-good? That makes no sense, I know. But that's just one scene to evoke so much emotion. I really loved following Tinker and Bell's journey and seeing how they would overcome their obstacles. I love that they were already friends and that we weren't exploring a brand-new connection this time around. I loved both new settings. I sincerely, truly hope that Alethea Kontis continues writing books in the Nocturne Falls Universe because they are amazing and I love all the facets of mythology and folklore she's exploring with each new book.

These are fun, fast reads that you hold close to as you're reading and don't want to say goodbye upon finishing because the characters have become your friends and parting is always such sweet sorrow!