Layla and her sister are Fae, preparing for a harvest festival. Layla can use a metal sword and change size but has no magic, but unlike Esme, Layla is half human. The girls have been living without parents since the dragon Fauth terrorised the last MAGIC HARVEST. Life in the fae world is rural and usually gentle, but full-blood fae can be cruel as we know, and they make fun of the magic-less girl among them.

Layla sees her sister Esme and their friend Isla snatched by a sinister horseman, who drags them off to the human realm. Taking her life -- and her weapons -- in her hands, brave Layla rushes through the portal as well. She's never been to the human realm, but she's heard the rumours that fae girls have been disappearing. On the other side of the portal, she doesn't know if any magic will work or if the evil will overpower her. But she's got to try to save her sister. If her dark skin, white hair and green wings don't give her away, that is...

Layla searches for Esme in modern Edinburgh. I can't agree with the author's portrait of police work. The police literally abduct this strange girl off the street, forcibly and without arresting her, and when she changes to small size they stuff her in a birdcage, put her on the table of one man's flat, and all but one troop off to the pub. No, I don't think so.

The "well-intentioned" police are investigating a human called Connor Davis, who has been dealing in contraband and may even be trading in fae women, it seems. If Layla can bring herself to work with them, she has a better chance of finding Esme and Isla. I was interested in one of the locations visited, Mary King's Close. This is somewhere I've been, a medieval street of homes which was walled up during the Black Death. We are not told that an antibiotic would kill the plague, although there's a point when this would be useful. Quite a lot of confusion occurs so it's best to call this an urban fantasy. Amid desperate fights and problems, Layla also has to overcome a nay- saying spirit within her. The adventure is suitable for mature teens or adults.

Mary Karlik is a Texan with Scots roots. She has continued the story with the Fairy Trafficking series, so if this one MAGIC HARVEST grows on you, as it might, see where the next book Magic Heist will lead you. Watch out for the dragon.

Book Summary

Young fae girls are disappearing.

Layla has never belonged to the fairy realm – at least, half of her hasn’t. She’s never known anyone with human blood, not even her father. When she was three, the dragon Fauth attacked the fairy festival, murdering her fae mum & stepfather. Frankly, some fairies think she should’ve been eaten too.

As she grew, despite being called names like “fuman” for being a half-blood, she’s discovered that being half-human isn’t terrible. She may lack magic, but she is immune to iron sickness, and she can wield a sword with elven skill.

Magic in the human world is disastrous.

Sixteen years later, when Layla’s half-sister is kidnapped and taken through a portal to the forbidden human realm, Layla rushes to the rescue. She’s older and stronger, and she’s not about to let her last living family member be taken from her without a fight.

Only someone who belongs to both worlds can find the truth.

The portal spits her out in the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, but neither her sister or the kidnapper are anywhere to be found. Stuck in a world she only knows from school books, Layla forges unlikely alliances to find her sister. As she becomes tangled in the dark world of fairy trafficking, magic harvesting, and murder, Layla will have to find the strength within if she is to survive and save her sister.