Early Review – The Falconer by Elizabeth May (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 288 pages
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Release Date: May 6, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1452114231
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Falconer series
Source: Review Copy from Publisher
Rating: 5/5 stars
I got a copy of this book through Librarything’s Early Reviewers program to review. So thank you to Librarything and Chronicle Books for making this available for review. This book was a super fun read and I really really loved it. It was just such a fast-paced fun story.
Aileana Kameron is the daughter of a Marquess…and she is also a Falconer. Falconers have special abilities (think Buffy the Vampire Slayer) that allow them to combat the evil and dangerous Fey. For the last year a rebellious Fey named Kiaran has been training Aileana to fight, but more and more Fey are appearing. When Kiaran tells Aileana that the seal that holds the Fey prisoner is about to break, Aileana is concerned that her training won’t be good enough to reseal the prison containing the Fey. Aileana is forced to put aside her obligations to polite society to save the city.
I loved this book. It was a fun and quick read about a young girl who has special powers and hunts fey. She does all of this while trying to maintain a proper upbringing as a young lady of privilege. It reminded me a lot of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles in tone but with fey instead of vampires…and it is aimed at YA not adults. It also reminds some of Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series (but it is set in Victorian times and aimed at YA). Additionally Aileana’s power are a bit Buffy the Vampire Slayerish.
Aileana is delightfully tough, while still being somewhat vulnerable at times. I enjoyed her spunk and wit throughout. She was a lot of fun to read about.
There are also some absolutely stunning male leads too. Kiaran is delightfully mysterious and surprisingly tender towards Aileana at times. Aileana also has a suitor named Gavin who has special powers of his own. The three of them end up working as a somewhat dysfunctional team to combat these vicious fey.
The story is fairly simple but still very engaging. I was just automatically pulled into it and really loved all of the characters right away.
I will say that this book isn’t a masterpiece, or even anything all that ground-breaking, but it was just so much fun to read that I adored it. The writing flows effortlessly and I love reading about fey.
Pretty much this book had a ton of things I like in stories: a young woman secretly fighting monsters, Victorian society, a mysterious male lead, some well done romance, steampunk, fey, and tons of action. So it was just one of those books that was just an absolute delight for me to read.
The only huge disappointment for me was that the story ends pretty much in the middle of a battle and end with a horrible cliffhanger…now I am dying to know what happens next! I am also not a huge fan of authors who end their books with giant cliffhangers…authors shouldn’t have to bait their readers to keep them reading a series.
Overall I would definitely recommend reading if you like to read books about Fey. It was a very fun read with engaging characters, lots of action, and lots of evil Fey. Just keep in mind this is a pretty fluffy and fun read, there’s not a lot ground-breaking or spectacular here…but it’s a solid book that is a fun read. I will definitely be reading more books in the series.
This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge