Book Rating: PG
Language: PG (uses of b*stard, d*mn, h*ell. Pretty mild language)
Violence: PG (There is a lot of fighting. Aileana says time and time agin how covered in blood she is. About three major "battles" throughout the course of the novel).
Sex: PG (Innuendos. Guy sneaks into girl's room at night and stitches up her back. Lots of quivering (Parks and Rec, anyone?) A couple very nondescript kisses).
Alcohol/substance use: G (Sure, they're underage and drinking whiskey all the time, but it's the mid 1800s, there was no age limit!)
To start off, I have a huge love/hate relationship with this book. Like, it was good, not great. The plot was steady and kept me interested. I actually liked the main character (which can be rare this day in age). The thing was that it had the same basic character plots as any other YA novel that I've read.
I'll get the bad stuff over with so we won't be left with a bad taste in our mouths at the end. The thing was...it was basic. You have the main character, Aileana. Her mother's just been killed, her father's distant and barely even looks at her because hey, she looks just like the woman he was so in love with. The girl happens to be stunning. The prettiest girl in town just about, but she harbors a dark secret. She's secretly a fae assassin. She sneaks away from parties and slaughters these creatures with the weapons strapped to the leather bands under all those petticoats.
To add on top of that, we've got a love triangle. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good love triangle. It just has to be written right like in Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices trilogy. This one however, I didn't care for in the slightest. You have the dark brooding fae with a deep secret and emotional detachment issues and then you have the high-born childhood friend who loves slurping down whiskey and drowning his sorrows whenever he gets the chance. WHO TO CHOOSE?! I didn't particularly like either Gavin or Kiaran. I just feel like they didn't add anything. At least we know who Aileana leans more towards throughout the entire book which is better than the upset heroine pressing her hands to her temples and crying out "I don't know which one to pick!"
Now, onto the good stuff. Honestly, as I was reading through this novel, I kept thinking about what a great movie it would make. The author set up all these great battle scenes that I could see cinematically. There was this one great scene where Aileana is out fighting some kind of fae and they're in this clock tower both drenched from the rain and she ends up sliding down the clock tower in these huge petticoats and I just kept thinking, "wow, this would be amazing on the big screen."
Not only did it have cinematic potential, but I found myself really liking our heroine, Aileana. This is difficult for me because I've read so many book with basic main characters, but I thought she had a certain kind of spunk to her. She was smart and brave but still managed to be broken and vulnerable. She felt like someone I could know. Someone who has real human qualities and is not just written to fill up the pages of a book. I believed her as an eighteen-year-old. She was sometimes moody, sometimes hung up on the chills she got when just being around someone she liked, she was stubborn. I know a lot of authors struggle with finding an authentic teen voice, but I feel like May has done it.
Speaking of bravery...the fae. I loved them. The species were an entire character in and of themselves. They were dark and mysterious. Unfeeling. I liked how they were portrayed. Some were hideous with their skin falling off their bones, some had wings, others were hounds, and then there were the fae like Kiaran and Sorcha who were inhumanly beautiful.
Overall, this was a fast and fun read. I enjoyed it. I just didn't enjoy the basic character profile. I didn't enjoy the love triangle where one member of the triangle was only of value for like three chapters. But I did enjoy the fast-paced plot and the main character (along with her pixie friend, Derrick. I could have a whole paragraph dedicated to him because he's so great). I'm excited to read the next book to see where it takes us.
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