Midsummer Night » (First Edition)

FREDA WARRINGTON was born in Leicestershire, England. Before turning to writing, she worked as a graphic designer and illustrator. She has written seventeen novels, including the Jewelfire trilogy, the Taste of Blood Wine vampire series, and A Blackbird in Silver Darkness, all of which have been published in the United Kingdom. The books of the Aetherial Tales trilogy are her first novels to be published in the United States.

A sensuous, suspenseful modern fantasy of love, betrayal, and redemption

Decades ago, in a place where the veil between our world and the world of the Aetherials—the fair folk—is too easily breached, three young people tricked their uncle by dressing as the fey. But their joke took a deadly turn when true Aetherials crossed into our world, took one of the pranksters, and literally scared their uncle to death.

Many years later, at the place of this capture lies a vast country estate that holds a renowned art facility owned by a visionary sculptor. One day, during a violent storm, a young woman studying art at the estate stumbles upon a portal to the Otherworld. A handsome young man comes through the portal and seeks shelter with her. Though he can tell her nothing of his past, his innocence and charm capture her heart. But he becomes the focus of increasingly violent arguments among the residents of the estate. Is he as innocent as he seems? Or is he hiding his true identity so that he can seek some terrible vengeance, bringing death and heartbreak to this place that stands between two worlds? Who is this young man?

The forces of magic and the power of love contend for the soul of this man, in this magical romantic story of loss and redemption.

Publishers Weekly

In this moody and spine-shivering sequel to 2009's Elfland, Warrington takes readers deeper into the workings of the Aetherials, the magical beings who live in the Spiral, and the Vaethyr, who flit between the Spiral and Earth. World-famous sculptor Dame Juliana Flagg lives in Cairndonan, a dilapidated mansion in the highlands of northwest Scotland. Dame J can barely afford to care for herself, much less the mansion and grounds, but she can't tear herself away from the haunting, haunted place. Her uncle mysteriously disappeared from Cairndonan just after WWI, never to be seen again. Sometimes Dame J makes eerie sculptures that she can't bear to show or sell. Is the magic of Cairndonan connected to the malevolent, quasi-mythical Dunkelman? Warrington doesn't miss a beat with this sinister, ghostly tale of some of the darker aspects of the Aetherial world and its denizens' dealings with humanity. (Nov.)