Sunday, August 30, 2015

The Falconer

Title: The Falconer (The Falconer #1)
Author: Elizabeth May
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
Cover: 10/10

"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 a rare ability to sense the sìthíchean—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 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 a 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.

The first volume of a trilogy from an exciting new voice in young adult fantasy, this electrifying thriller combines romance and action, steampunk technology and Scottish lore in a deliciously addictive read."

***

Life has been so hectic lately, it took me way longer than it should have done to finish The Falconer; especially because there's very little not to love about this book.

I'm a sucker for historicals, so that probably helps. But the plot itself is beautifully woven, and the reveals are expertly delivered. May does a great job of keeping the balance between showing the world and introducing new characters, and keeping the pace at a level that will keep the reader interested.

And Kam was an absolute delight of a narrator. Spunky and self-assured, she is deeply flawed, and she knows it. She owns her flaws and uses them to her strength.

But what I loved, loved, loved about The Falconer was that, while the romantic elements certainly ran in an undercurrent throughout the novel (hard not to, when the society depicted is one that still places so much emphasis on marriage), it by no means eclipsed the actual plot; and, most wondrously, the love interests played other parts in the novel, rather than just pretty furniture for girls to fight over. Even more shockingly, all the attention and love wasn't instantly directed to the boys - yes, they're beautiful, but they also serve as very important plot elements (and I'm saying 'them', when really it's just 'him', but I had to include Gavin in there, because of reasons... though I adore the fact that May didn't try to make it into a love triangle with him).

Definitely give this one a read! It's filled with action, and all around amazing characters (I want a Derrick!)

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