Brianna Hai isn't quite human, but as the owner of an occult shop, her job manages to hide a few of her stranger aspects--not that she has to do much hiding from the tourists who buy the shop's ineffective baubles. Her real concern is for those like her, the Fae, who know she's an exiled royal from Faerie, though the enchanted protections she sets around her shop usually keep the otherworldly visitors in line.
She doesn't know that Nick Antonelli, a police officer whose brother works in Brianna's shop, has been asked by federal agents to keep an eye on her. After Nick witnesses a magical invasion of the shop, Brianna realizes she's not as safe as she thought. More than that, the attack reveals that her father, the High King of Faerie, is in danger. Brianna returns to the deadly faerie courts in order to help him. Unfortunately, the two brothers insist on joining her. Unable to fend for themselves in Faerie, the brothers require her protection and put her in greater danger.
While readers of other literature involving the faerie realm will find the courts and culture in The Exile familiar, C.T. Adams's approach to the land and its occupants is new and refreshing, making this version of Faerie very much her own. In this story, human culture has encroached on this magical land, influencing its architecture and protocols, and is a cause of great tension within the Faerie courts. The Exile is a suspenseful, fun, urban fantasy rich with visceral detail, from the human-influenced structure of the Faerie buildings to the reality-defying beauty of the Fae creatures that inhabit the magical world. --Justus Joseph, bookseller at Elliott Bay Book Company