Review: The Falconer by Elizabeth May

The Falconer by Elizabeth May

Release date: 26th September 2013

Publisher: Gollancz 

Reason for reading: Historial urbanish fantasy with fae-hunting? Erm, yes

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Buy: Waterstones | Hive

Goodreads synopsis

One girl's nightmare is this girl's faery tale. 

She's a stunner.
Edinburgh, 1844. Eighteen-year-old Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, has everything a girl could dream of: brains, charm, wealth, a title — and drop-dead beauty.

She's a liar.
But Aileana only looks the part of an aristocratic young lady. She's leading a double life: She has the rare ability to sense the sìthichean — the faery race obsessed with slaughtering humans — and, with the aid of a mysterious mentor, has spent the year since her mother died learning how to kill them.

She's a murderer.
Now Aileana is dedicated to slaying the fae before they take innocent lives. With her abilities and her knack for inventing ingenious tools and weapons — from flying machines to detonators to lightning pistols — ruthless Aileana has one goal: Destroy the faery who destroyed her mother.

She's a Falconer.
The last in a line of female warriors born with the gift for hunting and killing the fae, Aileana is the sole hope of preventing a powerful faery population from massacring all of humanity. Suddenly, her quest is a lot more complicated. She still longs to avenge her mother's murder — but she'll have to save the world first.

My thoughts:

The Falconer instantly appealed to me for a couple of reasons. One, I'm a big urban fantasy fan but have only read one other historical UF title which was Grave Mercy. Two, The Falconer sounded a little bit like Grave Mercy. Three, The Falconer sounded a little bit like Grave Mercy crossed with the Fever series with a little bit of steampunk added in, and it totally was. 

Lady Aileana Kameron might be a nobleman's daughter, but lately she's much more at home with her skirts torn to shreds, clutching a deadly crossbow and facing off with a faery than she is dancing at a ball with her many suitors. I really felt for Aileana because not only was she having to fight these faeries that just insisted on showing up at the most inconvenient times but she was having to deal with her mother's death and the fact that practically everyone, even her father, thought her responsible. Regency Britain was not a place where you wanted to cause any controversy, especially as a young, unmarried woman and unfortunately for Aileana, and despite her many attempts to appear reputable, controversy seems to follow her around just as doggedly as the fae she's always fighting.

I loved how we jumped into Aileana's journey a year after her mother's death, after all the initial realisations, explanations and training, it made the whole plot feel more vibrant and was a lot less bogged down by exposition and revelation. The different castes of fae and elements of their lore were explained naturally, as we came across them, which felt really refreshing.  I was a little unsure about the steampunk aspect, as myself and steampunk haven't always gotten along, but it felt super natural, not at all shoehorned in or over explained, which I think can sometimes be a bit of an issue as authors can feel the need to describe every tiny detail of every gadget/outfit/device just to show that it's steampunk. I loved how this element really tied into the plot with Aileana's fae-hunts, and how it added another aspect to her personality with her inventions. Aileana is smart, smart and capable and inventive and I really felt for how she was so constrained, both by society and by herself, as she couldn't make herself give up her need for revenge. She was really easy to like and admire, and I just wanted everything to go right for her.

I loved Derrick as a character, he provided much needed comic relief and it was nice that Aileana had a supportive presence. I was such a fan of Kiaran, as I was always going to be and I loved how that element of the plot unfolded. The big surprise character-wise for me was Gavin. Not the sort of character I'd normally like, but he was so supportive and noble and took everything in his stride and was just so perfect and I...really liked him. 

I felt that after the initial adrenalin burst of the opening few chapters, the pace of the book slowed down and it took me a while to get re-invested in the story, but once I was I absolutely flew through the fast-paced tension-filled final part. The ending was such a cliffhanger, the kind that made me absolutely desperate for the sequel but that also makes the wait for it so, so delicious.  

TL:DR; The Falconer really works as a historical urban fantasy novel, the steampunk elements only enhancing its appeal. With a cast of likable and interesting characters, an enjoyable lack of exposition and a cliffhanger ending that will leave you begging for the sequel, it's perfect for light fantasy fans. 

Review: The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Knight (Iron Fey #4) by Julie Kagawa
Publisher: MIRA Ink
Released: October 26th 2011
Rating: 3/5

Goodreads description:

Ash, former prince of the Winter Court, gave up everything. His title, his home, even his vow of loyalty. All for a girl… and all for nothing.

Unless he can earn a soul.

To cold, emotionless faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl— smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the (unwelcome) company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end— a quest to find a way to honor his solemn vow to stand by Meghan’s side.

To survive in the Iron realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. At least, no one has ever passed to tell the tale.

And then Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that turns reality upside down, challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

My thoughts:

Reading this, I couldn't help but think of that Buffy episode where Spike gets a soul. This is how I imagine that episode looking if it were dragged out and Spike had taken people with him. 

I finished the Iron Queen with, as I imagine most people did, an OMGG!!!!  and immediately bought this for my kindle. I settled down, prepared to fall back in love with all the characters, to get transported to a magical world and go on an epic quest to the very ends of the Earth...literally.

Unfortunately, this time, that didn't happen. I don't know what it was, but the story didn't grip me as much as the previous 3 did, and without that avid attention, I began to notice the flaws.

Ash's narration was a lot duller than I expected it would be. He was a lot less snarky, less witty than I imagined, instead coming across as bland. I disliked his constant asides, his musings about the past, his revisitings to events we've heard about countless times. I got fed up with all that and honestly, a little fed up with Ash too.

Puck as well, I found irritating, and even Grimalkin, the wonderful Grimalkin, lost some of his appeal. I've said it all this week but I don't actually think Julie Kagawa is that good of a writer, despire being an amazing creator of stories, and by this book we're seeing a lot of repetition in terms of conversations, banter and memories. I got fed up of hearing Ash referred to as 'ice-boy' or 'prince' or Ash moaning about Puck's inability to stay quiet, or still, or out of trouble. I don't feel like there's been much organic growth in terms of the characters and so I've struggled to make any lasting connections to them.

The plot seemed to be dragged out, I did get a bit fed up of the trip at a few points. Though I did like the final bit, with the tests, I thought that was clever though again I could see several points where Julia Kagawa has pulled inspiration from other things (the riddle, for example, hello Fifth Element?) and ultimately it was unshockingly predictable.

For me, there was a general air of not caring very much present throughout this. I felt a bit like Julie Kagawa was coerced into writing it because it'd sell loads of copies, not because she actually wanted to. I also had issues with the editing; at one point a character shows up knowin exactly what Ash wants to do and then later in the book asks him about his quest. Plus the constant repetition of words/phrases/actions etc really should have been addressed. I think reading all 4 in very quick succession (just over a week, I think) has really impacted my view of them. Having each one so fresh in my mind has really allowed me to draw comparisons and notice similarities more than I usually would. Whilst this is a shame as I think it has affected my enjoyment of this final book, I enjoyed reading a series in it's entirety in one fell swoop, not something I get to do often.

I really wanted to like this, having loved the previous 3, but ultimately I think I would have preferred it if this one hadn't been written, if we'd been given the tragic ending of The Iron Queen instead of this half-hearted attempt at a happily ever after. 

Review: The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Queen (The Iron Fey #3) by Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Mira Ink
Released: 21st October 2011

Rating: 4/5

**This is the third book in the series and therefore the description and my review may contain spoilers for the first and second books**

Goodreads Description:

My name is Meghan Chase.


I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back.

My thoughts:

This is definitely my favourite of the quadrilogy (I've read them all now) and I'm so glad that I actually decided to read this series! The Iron Queen picks up pretty much where The Iron Daughter left off. Cast out into the human world, Meghan and Ash have an exhilirating yet frightening prospect....freedom. Freedom from the fey world, from their manipulative parents, from the rules that keep them apart...but what do they do now?

When  I finished The Iron Queen I thought, where can they go from here? Surely, we weren't going to have a book full of Ash's first day at school, Ash's first homework assignment, Ash's first shopping trip...and thankfully, we didn't get any of that. If possible, this book was more action packed and full of more twists and turns than the previous two.

I did warm to Meghan slightly in this book, she shouldered more responsibility for herself, learning how to fight rather than just blindly crashing around and relying on others to save her skin. She made some pretty tough calls in this book and ultimately, I think I did end up respecting her...though it took a lot longer to happen than I would have liked. 

The plot of this one was....intense. I liked how they were all dragged, reluctantly, back into the action on the promise of a prize too tempting to forfeit. I loved all the action scenes and dramatic moments and build-up, it all worked really well together to create an enchanting tale.

Again, I struggled with the writing, especially when it came to Puck. Understandably he was feeling a little hurt  in this book, but I got so, so fed up of his dialogue. EVERYTHING was said with a smirk or a sneer or a leer. NOTHING could just be SAID oh no, there needs to be a verb in there too. I think Puck's dialogue really demonstrates what I mentioned about the weaknesses of Julie Kagawa's writing in my review of The Iron Daughter earlier this week. I found myself wishing her editor had had a bit more of a backbone and said "actually, Julie, Puck's already smirked 14 times this chapter, how about we just have him say that line normally, hmm?". It did bug me, and it did pull me out of the story slightly.

The ending though, boy was that ending worth it. I think I pretty much held my breath for most of it. I was pretty sure I knew how it was going to end, but for a while there it seemed to be going in totally the opposite direction to the point where I actually stopped and thought "surely she wont go through with this!" It was very intense and very emotional and I cursed myself for having not bought The Iron Knight before finishing this!

As mentioned at the start, this is my favourite of the series. I liked the level of growth in Meghan, how all the plot strings and characters came together and especially the huge, dramatic and emotion-ridden finale. It would be a 5, if it weren't for my continued niggles about the writing.

Review: The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey #2) by Julie Kagawa
Released: May 2011
Publisher: MIRA Ink

Rating: 4/5

**This is the second book in the series and therefore the description and my review may contain spoilers for the first book**

Goodreads description:

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.
Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

My thoughts:

I find this series so addicting; once you pick it up it's really hard to put back down. I flew through this book, desperate to find out what happens in the aftermath of The Iron King.

We start off with Meghan in the Winter Court, having been brought there after her contract with Ash. I found Meghan especially annoying during this time. She already knows that she and Ash cannot be together, that she really shouldn't reveal the extent of their feelings for each other, yet she pretty much goes and does it anyway! She also cried a lot in this book and that annoyed me too. I really wanted to tell her to pull herself together and get a grip.

Prince Ash was back to his frozen self, yet you get hints of his true feelings for Meghan throughout. I didn't really find this totally realistic, I think it was too obvious how he felt for Meghan all the way through. If I'm honest, I don't think Julie Kagawa is that strong a writer. Her stories are imaginative and engaging and full of adventure, but they're let down by the way they're told. I never felt the relationship between Ash and Meghan to be totally realistic, and whilst it definitely improves the longer it goes on, I was never fully convinced.

However, the plot really saves this book. Forced to flee the winter court into the mortal realm, needing to recover a stolen object to avoid all out war, I was totally riveted. I loved everything about the plot, it was action packed, with rest stops when we needed them, with a host of colourful characters both new and returning. I really loved Leannansidhe, she was a personal favourite of mine. Ironhorse too, excelled in this book.

The end blew me away; I don't think I expected that AT ALL and it made me very glad I already had The Iron Queen waiting for me ;)

This is the sort of series you fly through, desperate for the answers and I love that about it. Whilst I do take issue with the writing and some of the characters, the complex worldbuilding and well crafted storylines really save it for me. I'm glad I decided to give this series a shot.

Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa
Released: 1st February 2011
Publisher: MIRA Books
Rating: 4/5

Goodreads description:

Meghan Chase has never fit in at her small-town high school, and now, on the eve of her 16th birthday, she discovers why. When her half brother is kidnapped, Meghan is drawn into a fantastical world she never imagined--the world of Faery, where anything you see may try to eat you, and Meghan is the daughter of the summer faery king. Now she will journey into the depths of Faery to face an unknown enemy . . . and beg the help of a winter prince who might as soon kill her as let her touch his icy heart. The Iron King is the first book in the Iron Fey series.


My thoughts:

I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did, but I loved it! I LOVED the sort of adventure/quest aspect of it, it reminded me of Eragon or Percy Jackson in that way: action-packed and full of problems to solve and obstacles to overcome. I've not read a good fantasy book for a while so I really appreciated that element.

I loved how Julie Kagawa stuck to traditional fey lore with the Unseelie and Seelie courts and yet adapted it with the including the Nevernever and other such things. I loved the sort of moral to the story with the iron fey being because humans have become so technically minded and not all imaginative and fantastical any more, that was really clever. I loved how closely the fey world is tied to the human world and yet how derisive the fey are towards humanity. 

Character wise I really liked Puck and Grim. What IS it about sarcastic cat characters that is SO appealing? I love Mogget in Sabriel and what's-his-name in the Inheritance series (It's been a while since I read it) so Grim was an excellent character. I love how you never know what his motivations are, or what he's upto or anything. I loved how Puck was the  same Puck from Midsummer Night's Dream, he really is a total trickster but h could be serious when needed. He provided some much needed light relief in the book.  I liked Ash too, of course, as a love interest and a character. He's definitely the sort of love interest that appeals to me, but I wish he'd stayed all frosty for a bit longer. He thawed a bit too quickly for my liking, and the romance between him and Meghan was again a bit too quick. I like long, dragged out affairs. Meghan...we had a bit of a love/hate relationship. She was SO stupid sometimes and so frigging reckless. She knows she's going into Faerie and that it's dangerous so she packs one change of clothes and a can of coke...what the hell??? Where's your sleeping bag girl! Your survival kit! Trail mix! WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT? I also hated the way she kept rashly making deals with various fey, offering them 'whatever they wanted' and saying that she'd 'do anything' and THANKING them despite being repeatedly told TO NOT DO ANY OF THAT. I wish she'd been a bit more level-headed. 

So overall, I loved the plot, I loved the world-building, I loved most of the characters but I wish the romance had panned out a bit differently (personal preference) and I wish I'd liked Meghan more. I am totally addicted to this series now though, at the time of writing this  I've just finished The Iron Queen (OMG the *end*) and have the Iron Knight ready to go on my Kindle. You really get sucked into the plot and I desperately want to know what happens, and this is a great achievement for the author.

Review: Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr

Darkest Mercy (Wicked Lovely #5) by Melissa Marr
Publisher: HarperCollins
Released: 22nd February 2011
Challenge: TBR reading challenge
Rating: 4/5

  **Note this is the FINAL book in the Wicked Lovely series therefore this review will have unavoidable spoilers for the previous books**

Goodreads description:

The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey.

Aislinn tends to the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan works from afar to strengthen his court against the coming war. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life.

Love, despair, and betrayal ignite the Faery Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win . . . and some will lose "everything."

The thrilling conclusion to Melissa Marr's "New York Times" bestselling Wicked Lovely series will leave readers breathless.

My thoughts:

When I finished Radiant Shadows when it came out TWO YEARS AGO my face was like this:

6 months later, my face was like this:

And when I finally picked up Darkest Mercy, having owned it FOR A WHOLE YEAR, my face was like this:

Why? Oh Iri. Iri, Iri, Iri. My darling Iri. Irial, one of my all-time favourite book boyfriends...WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOU *wails inconsolably* 

However, upon *finally* finishing Darkest Mercy, my face is no longer like that. Because wow, Melissa Marr, you really know how to finish a series off in style. When Radiant Shadows finished, I remember thinking, how the FRICK will this be solved? War seemed unstoppable, everyone was dead, dying, missing or new to their role and not in their full powers. 

I was slightly confused about some details because of the 2 year break, but I couldn't bring myself to read Radiant Shadows again, so I soldiered on. I sorta felt like not much happened for the majority of the book, because it had to follow so many people, all of which had chapters from their POVs, there was a lot of buildup. When we did get to the climax though....wow. I was speeding through, frantically reading to find out what would happen. 

I love the characters in this series, I think there's only really Keenan that I'm not a fan of, but does anyone like Keenan really? Donia was as strong as ever, Aislinn really came into her own and Niall...well. We'll not talk about Niall. I was intrigued about Seth, by how much he actually knew in advance, the idea of seeing threads of the future really intrigued me and I loved the clever little move he did towards the end, though it was never explained whether it worked or not...I assume it must've. If you've read it, you (hopefully) know what I'm talking about. I really liked the introduction of Far Dorcha and Ankou. Their role was...kinda creepy yet cool. I didn't really get all the bargains he struck though, some of them never seemed to come to fruition and I just wondered what the point of some of them was....? With any war, there will be deaths. I think the characters that did lose their lives were cleverly chosen. It's such a balancing act; you can't kill off the main, main characters yet if you kill off people no one cares about, where's the emotional impact? Where's the realism? I think Melissa Marr did strike a good balance on this aspect. 

On one level, I really enjoyed the mixed POVs. Like I said, I love all these characters. It's funny, because none of them are human, and yet they all feel so, so human. Their emotions, their actions, their quirks, they're all so human. I loved that about them and I loved seeing them all. Yet it did lead to the story feeling a little disjointed and a little stunted. 

The ending was so, so clever. I loved how the Irial thing was resolved. I ADORE Irial and his relationship with Niall and how everything worked out in this area was really clever. I'd LOVE a spin-off novel following these two *sigh*. Everything else was tied up pretty neatly it seems...usually this is something I'd object to but I just LOVE all these characters SO much that I wanted a good ending for them. 

Overall, I think this lacked a little of the impact and action of the previous books, but it was a fantastic finale to what has long been one of my favourite series. I just want to say a quick thank you to Jess from Gone With the Words for pushing me to FINALLY read this. Thank you, Jess...you were right, it wasn't as bad as I expected ;) 

Review: Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey

Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey

Release date: January 5th 2012

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Rating: 4/5

Goodreads description:

For seventeen years, Eloise Hart had no idea the world of Faery even existed. Now she has been abducted and trapped in the Rath of Lord Strahan, King of Faery. Strahan was only meant to rule for seven years, as Faery tradition dictates, and then give up his crown to another. But he won't comply, and now chaos threatens both worlds. 

The only one who can break his stranglehold on the Faery court is his wife. . . Eloise's aunt Antonia. Using Eloise to lure Antonia, Strahan captures his wife, desperate to end the only threat to his reign. Now Eloise must become the rescuer. Together with her best friends Jo and Devin, she must forge alliances with other Fae, including a gorgeous protector named Lucas, and Strahan's mysterious son, Eldric—who may or may not betray them.

My thoughts:

When Alyxandra Harvey mentioned Ian Somerhalder twice in her prologue I thought "this is going to be good" and to a certain extent, it was. Stolen Away is  written in the style I've come to expect from Ms Harvey, snappy and precise with not an excess word in sight. Her main characters Jo and Eloise have instant personalities, traits and mannerisms--something I think Harvey is very good at. I also really liked Devin, he played his part as the long suffering male friend well. The rest of the characters I could kinda take or leave. There wasn't much development there and they were pretty cookie cutter. I was pretty disappointed by this as usually Harvey's characters are very three-dimensional. The two love interests in particular were fairly bland; stereotypes rather than characters in their own right. Isadora was one of the best characters and it's not surprising that she was the one with a fully developed and interesting backstory.  

The plot was interesting and didn't dwell too long on describing ALL the different types of fairies and all their different kingdoms and allegiances etc, the details of which I always feel bog a story down. However, at the same time, the plot felt a bit sparse. As though some over-zealous editor had cut out too much of it. This meant the whole story felt a bit rushed, and of course added to the under-developed character dilemma. 

It's a shame really because I feel this story had a lot of potential and can't help feeling like, at just 227 pages, there was some room left for embellishment. If you're a fan of fae stories, or of Alyxandra Harvey in general, this is a quick and enjoyable read--perfect for an afternoon. 

Wondrous Strange -Review

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
Uk publishing date: 1st October 2009
UK publisher: Harper Teen

Description: 17 year old Kelley moved to New York in the hopes of becoming an actress. She secures the understudy role to Titania in a production of A Midsummer's Night dream. But when the actress playing the Faerie Queen has to step down, suddenly Kelley is thrust into the limelight. As she struggles to embody the role, in Central Park another struggle is going on. One between changelings, recruited as Janus' by Auberon the Faerie King to protect the  barrier between the faerie and human worlds, and the faeries attempting to cross over.




My thoughts:

This was one of those books I was really looking forward to reading. I'd read somewhere it was similar to wicked lovely, which I loved, but for some reason I just never got round to buying it. I was bought it for my birthday so was happy I eventually got to read it. Sadly, I was bitterly disappointed. I just couldn't connect with the characters or the plot at all. Kelley annoyed me, Sonny-the love interest-seemed very two- dimensional. The whole premise of the book is based on Kelley having to step up to play Titania, whilst at the same time Sonny, a changeling, is guarding the barrier between the fae and the human worlds, to prevent faeries crossing over. The book contained an early twist which was blindingly obvious. To be honest, I didn't even finish it to see if there were any later twists. The only part of the book I enjoyed was the Kelpie, Lucky, who followed Kelley home. To me, the plot development seemed obvious and predictable, I didn't continue reading to see if I was proved right or wrong, because this was just one of those books I simply could not get into.

So, sadly I give this book 1/5


Has anyone else read this? What did they think? Should I persevere and try and finish it, or is it as bad as I suspected?