Series: The Falconer #1
Published by Chronicle Books on 2014-05-06
Genres: Action & Adventure, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic, General, Historical, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 288
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Edinburgh, 1844.
Beautiful Aileana Kameron only looks the part of an aristocratic young lady. In fact, she's spent the year since her mother died developing her ability to sense the presence of Sithichean, a faery race bent on slaughtering humans.
She has a secret mission: to destroy the faery who murdered her mother. But when she learns she's a Falconer, the last in a line of female warriors and the sole hope of preventing a powerful faery population from massacring all of humanity, her quest for revenge gets a whole lot more complicated.
The first volume of a trilogy from an exciting new voice in young adult fantasy, this electrifying thriller blends romance and action with steampunk technology and Scottish lore in a deliciously addictive read.
So here is what happened. I saw the book around and dismissed it – no idea why, but somehow I didn’t care enough to read it. Then, Jenny (Supernatural Snark and my never-wrong-when-it-comes-to-books-we-both-love friend) told me to pick up The Falconer as soon as I can , because it totally reminded her of The Fafever series from Karen Marie Moning.. Uhm… OK! Get me the book now 🙂
Delicious Genre Mix Up with a fierce heroine!
I love it when authors effortlessly mix up genres and here, we find a fantasy like story based in the Victorian aged Scotland filed with elements of Steampunk. It’s a wonderful mix, that one I can tell right away. The setting lures the reader in right away, with a heroine who comes from old money and who used to spend her time with beautiful gowns on balls to dance with young gentlemen before she became an assassin of the fey! After Aileana saw her mother being killed by fey she made it her mission to kill all the fey and avenge her mothers death. This turned her from being a girly to a fierce heroine, who doesn’t care about anything else apart from killing the next fey…
This dedication made her both fierce, strong and fearless – it left her also pretty much alone and also a little sad. She cannot tell anyone about what she sees and why she turned so drastically after her moms death. Even more, her father is utterly cold and not much help either.
Mysterious Protector, Teacher and .. more?!
Kierran is of course what draws us girls in the most. He’s the mysterious Fae who seems to hate the fey just like Aileana does – but his reasons escape us for most of the book. He teaches Aileana to slay and kill and he does it with no excuses. He’s cold , deadly and we have no idea what he’s up to! Also, we wonder constantly if there is more to him, that he has maybe feelings for Aileana – but we are just as clueless about him and his motifs as Aileana.
But he’s what gives the story an edge, a dark secret that turns the story from nice to awesome, the secret that raises the stakes for not just Aileana but everyone else!
Oh and .. I should say that I just love this cold mysterious bastard? Yes, I’m like that:) But in literature these are the men/boys that draw me in!
Dark, explosive fierce and amazing!
The story filled with these amazing character was awesome! In the beginning it was a little slow and it took me a little while to get into it, but then… oh then it picked up paces incredibly and soon the slow beginning was forgotten. I should mention a few of the side characters who were no less awesome, I loved Alieana’s best friend who was wonderfully loyal, and then there is Derek – Oh Gosh he was so cute! A tiny little pixie who got drunk on honey, he was the cutest!
And. I shouldn’t leave this review without mentioning the romance. The romance was there, but I expect it to be even stronger in the next book. It took a while for the romance to hit off and then it was not as sizzling as I was hoping it to be… Still!! The story left me amazed, dazed and happy that Jenny told me to read it:)
Bewitched Rating
Bottom Line
The Falconer by Elizabeth May was an dark, edgy blend of genres filled with all the good things we know from Steampunk, historical settings and the blend of fantasy. While Alieana is a fierce, strong heroine the mysterious Kierran drives the story to a new high and his secrets and enigmatic persona draws us in and holds us captive!
 
 
 
 
 
Watch The Trailer
Latest posts by Danny (see all)
- INTENSITY by Sherrilyn Kenyon – Excerpt & Giveaway - September 8, 2017
- Locked in Temptation – Q&A withBrenda Jackson & Giveaway - August 4, 2017
- Locked in Temptation by Brenda Jackson – Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway - July 26, 2017
This does sound good! I’m intrigued by Kierran. I haven’t read a good fae story in awhile. Although the word Sithichean sounds like a strange race of aliens.
Alison (@AlisonCanRead) recently posted..Feature and Follow Friday #197
Reply »
It did have a touch of KMM in it, didn’t it? Wonder if she was an inspiration… And I enjoyed the mash-up of genres, too. Plus, Kierran! I still have my doubts about him and many questions.
Mary @ BookSwarm recently posted..It’s not you, it’s me: Genres across the board
Reply »
A book about my favorite periode of time. Can not wait to check out this and a very lovely cover. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Elin recently posted..New tv favorite: Call the midwife!
Reply »
You didn’t steer me wrong with Stolen Songbird, so once again I’m going to take your word for it and add The Falconer to my TBR list. I love both steampunk and fairy novels, so how can I say no to a book that combines the two?
D. @ The Nerdy Journalist recently posted..Open Road Summer by Emery Lord
Reply »
This looks good, love a fierce heroine!
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
Missie recently posted..Review of Alice in Zombieland
Reply »
This one sounds really cool and I love that cover!! Very fierce indeed. I think I would probably fall head over heels for Kierran too. Cold and mysterious men just attract me, can’t explain that 😛
Angel (Spare Reads) recently posted..Review: This Song Will Save Your Life
Reply »
I love this cover and the more reviews I read for this book the more I want to pick it up. I may have to very soon and bump it up in my TBR pile.
Stephanie recently posted..Release!!! — Stone of Destiny by Laura Howard
Reply »
The Kim Harrison Hollows series also has a little pixie that would get drunk on honey! I will have to check this one out it sounds good for sure.
Reply »
Argh my comment was eaten by the browser! Anyways this sounds good and. I will check it out. The Hollows series by Kim Harrison also has a pixie that gets drunk on honey!
Tabitha (Pabkins) recently posted..Book Binging (4)
Reply »