BLOG TOUR: Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog

Welcome to the next Traveling to Teens book blog tour! Created by the lovely Yan and lovely Carol! Today I'm excited to welcome Cyn Balog author of Fairy Tale!

Cyn Balog is a normal, everyday Jersey Girl who always believed magical things can happen to us when we least expect them. She’s also the Race & Event Manager for several national fitness magazines. She lives outside Allentown, Pennsylvania with her husband and young daughter. Both are 100% human, or so she thinks. FAIRY TALE is her first novel.

From Amazon.com:

A captivating and witty dark fantasy that will have girls lusting after it.

Morgan Sparks has always known that she and her boyfriend, Cam, are made for each other. But when Cam’s cousin Pip comes to stay with the family, Cam seems depressed. Finally Cam confesses to Morgan what’s going on: Cam is a fairy. The night he was born, fairies came down and switched him with a healthy human boy. Nobody expected Cam to live, and nobody expected his biological brother, heir to the fairy throne, to die. But both things happened, and now the fairies want Cam back to take his rightful place as Fairy King.

Even as Cam physically changes, becoming more miserable each day, he and Morgan pledge to fool the fairies and stay together forever. But by the time Cam has to decide once and for all what to do, Morgan’s no longer sure what’s best for everyone, or whether her and Cam’s love can weather an uncertain future.

I loved Fairy Tale. It felt like my own personalized blend of fantasy and reality. Sometimes I'm a bit leery that fantasy books will be so much fantasy that I will be lost, I need fantasy that is extremely grounded in our own reality and I found that with Fairy Tale. It made it all the more exciting for me when fantastical elements were introduced. I just loved the way the author crafted her story.

I loved the three main characters. I just got Morgan and her sense of humor. And Cam and Pip, can you say a sandwich of cute/sweet boys!!!! I loved the push and pull between the three of them, and the relationships that grow and change throughout the book.

I also found the book to be really touching, what a dilemma these characters face, no matter what happens if Cam stays or goes someone is going to be losing. I had an inkling as to what would happen in the end and it did make the most sense but I wasn't really sure which way I wanted it to go, I kind of liked both possibilities. The book hooked me in and I basically had to know what was going to happen RIGHT THIS VERY INSTANT! Ultimately I really liked the ending the author gave us.

I think that Fairy Tale would be a great book for someone to start with if they were interested in the Fantasy genre but were a little unsure. I loved it! Can't wait to see what the author comes up with next!

Fairy Tale was released on June 23rd!

4.5/5 Stars
ARC provided by publisher

And here's an interview with Cyn Balog!

1. Where did you get the idea for Fairy Tale?

I got the idea for Fairy Tale because I wanted to write a paranormal story, but I felt like the girl who learns she is a fairy princess is pretty dull. After all, she’d be the envy of all her friends! I did the “what if” game and asked myself, “What if the fairy was a guy?” I found that much more interesting—imagine a football player trying to explain to his teammates that he’s a fairy.

2. What time of the day do you do your best writing? Any special spot you like to do it in?

If I didn't have any pressing obligations, I would probably say that morning is my most productive time. But now that I have a job and a family, my most productive time is whenever I can get a few minutes of peace and quiet. Right now I write for like, 19 minutes on my lunch hour, in my office. I am blessed to have an actual office with a real door, so I write while snarfing down lunch. And yes I have to clean my keyboard often because I always seem to get crumbs in there!

3. What do you like most about writing for young adults?

I'm still amazed that I can vote and drink, because I still feel like I am 16. Adults are pretty boring; been there, done that. The range of emotions young adults experience are much more fascinating, I think. Plus, I just love it when teens email me loving my book... they're so excited by it, and their enthusiasm is like, virtual Red Bull.

4. What is your favorite fairy tale? Pun intended!

Cinderella! I had a very similar name when I was growing up, so that was what everyone called me. When I was a kid, someone got me the Disney video and I watched it a zillion times. Though I can't say I believe "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes", because last night I dreamt I was being chased by gigantic beetles. Yeah, like I wish that would happen in real life.

5. It sounds like you have had a variety of jobs, which has been your favorite?

Well, other than writing? ;) I used to work in Seaside Park, New Jersey, as a "beach attendant", which just meant badge-checker. All I did all day was make sure people were wearing their badges to get onto the beach (yes, in NJ you have to pay to use the beach). It paid really well, and I got to sit in the sun and read or write the rest of the time, so it was awesome! Plus I also got to wear the coolest little uniform and use a radio and blow my whistle at people who didn't listen to me, which made me feel important. Oh-- and I was barefoot the whole time! I am still trying to find another gig like that.