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juliapatt2007's review against another edition
4.0
Wow this book pulls you in right away Aileana or Kam, (short for Kameron) as she is known throughout the book, is a kick ass heroine! Her backstory is left intentionally vague at the beginning of the book which annoyed me at first but as you read more her backstory is revealed. I enjoyed the way the author revealed her backstory at key points, it kept me engaged throughout the whole book looking for more. The book does end on a cliffhanger so I rushed to check out the next book in the series The Vanishing Throne.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
Kiaran is very much the bad boy love interest (the tension between Kam and Kiaran throughout the book).swaye's review against another edition
2.0
*SIGH* S'disappointing.
The Falconer starts off with a bang and then just fizzles out due to repetition and a complete lack of chemistry between characters. Not my cup.
The Falconer starts off with a bang and then just fizzles out due to repetition and a complete lack of chemistry between characters. Not my cup.
lizbethandthelifeinbetween's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
perfectly mediocre.
I don't want to be mean in saying that, but everything about this book has been done better. For a debut, it's good, but it needed more work. The writing style was basic (I will say it was much better in the snippet of the next boom which makes me slightly more inclined to continue with the series), the characters felt a bit flat, lacking some depth and nuance, and in trying to set this book in Scotland instead of a fictitious world, the author created a lot of problems for herself. First, it was hard to place the time period as the silhouettes of the skirts described do not line up with the early 1900s, despite all other clues (electricity and locomotives) suggesting that is when this takes place. If the faeries end up instigating WWI in the next book I'll let this slide, but historical fantasty was not the right move.
I think this would be a good introduction to fantasy for a newer reader of the genera, as it has a lot of very popular tropes. They were all surface level and not overly developed, but not terribly executed either. It's one of those books where you sit there thinking oh if these few things were tweaked or changed this wiild be an easy 4 or 5 Star read because there is honeslty nothing wrong with the book, it's just painfully mediocre at times and struggled to stand out in any meaningful way. This was published in 2014 before we had such a great fantasy boom, so I'm not sure it woild recieve the attention it got back then if it was published today.
I do think trying to set this in historic Scotland is what truly limited this book's potential. I an alternative world, it could be well known that faeries are doing their faeries business, thus creating new challenges for the MC to keep her faerie murdering under wraps. Also, I think having a generic monster would have been better than faeries, it seemed so out of place at times save for the fact that it's in Scotland and that's the place of faerie stories. That also could have pushed the author to develop the monsters a bit more, as the faeries felt very monolithic despite attempts to make different types and ranks of faeries. It never felt truly clear what the real threat was besides them killing people and having some powers.
I have a lot to say about how the MC was trained to do this battle as well. A lot of it would be solved if the characters weren't so flat. It makes it hard to see why Kiaran is even bothering with the MC when she is so Vengeful and clearly unable to overcome it, and the reasoning feel like a cop out. It makes the end battle feel unearned in my opinion.
All of these are more symptoms of mediocrity, because nothing felt bad per se, just not particularly good either. It's a good foundation, however, you can't live in a foundation, you need to finish your house.
I don't want to be mean in saying that, but everything about this book has been done better. For a debut, it's good, but it needed more work. The writing style was basic (I will say it was much better in the snippet of the next boom which makes me slightly more inclined to continue with the series), the characters felt a bit flat, lacking some depth and nuance, and in trying to set this book in Scotland instead of a fictitious world, the author created a lot of problems for herself. First, it was hard to place the time period as the silhouettes of the skirts described do not line up with the early 1900s, despite all other clues (electricity and locomotives) suggesting that is when this takes place. If the faeries end up instigating WWI in the next book I'll let this slide, but historical fantasty was not the right move.
I think this would be a good introduction to fantasy for a newer reader of the genera, as it has a lot of very popular tropes. They were all surface level and not overly developed, but not terribly executed either. It's one of those books where you sit there thinking oh if these few things were tweaked or changed this wiild be an easy 4 or 5 Star read because there is honeslty nothing wrong with the book, it's just painfully mediocre at times and struggled to stand out in any meaningful way. This was published in 2014 before we had such a great fantasy boom, so I'm not sure it woild recieve the attention it got back then if it was published today.
I do think trying to set this in historic Scotland is what truly limited this book's potential. I an alternative world, it could be well known that faeries are doing their faeries business, thus creating new challenges for the MC to keep her faerie murdering under wraps. Also, I think having a generic monster would have been better than faeries, it seemed so out of place at times save for the fact that it's in Scotland and that's the place of faerie stories. That also could have pushed the author to develop the monsters a bit more, as the faeries felt very monolithic despite attempts to make different types and ranks of faeries. It never felt truly clear what the real threat was besides them killing people and having some powers.
I have a lot to say about how the MC was trained to do this battle as well. A lot of it would be solved if the characters weren't so flat. It makes it hard to see why Kiaran is even bothering with the MC when she is so Vengeful and clearly unable to overcome it, and the reasoning feel like a cop out. It makes the end battle feel unearned in my opinion.
All of these are more symptoms of mediocrity, because nothing felt bad per se, just not particularly good either. It's a good foundation, however, you can't live in a foundation, you need to finish your house.
kokechii's review against another edition
2.0
This book bought me at Scottish folklore. And then lost me because... of everything basically.
I was disappointed at how unoriginal it was? And I didn't like the voice of it. It just neither bad nor good and I don't care enough to continue with the series.
I was disappointed at how unoriginal it was? And I didn't like the voice of it. It just neither bad nor good and I don't care enough to continue with the series.
priya_amrev's review against another edition
2.0
Finished in a couple of hrs. It was okay, although not what I was looking for at this point. The story was kind of interesting but the romance was badly done and could have been left out entirely.
candelibri's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.0
Dude…what?
Like, the potential was right there and I’m left with…whatever that was. The cliffhanger left me with barely a twitch of surprise but also…why does so much seem to be missing from this? This feels like a book 2, not a beginning. So much character development is just thrown out and disregarded and the plot points are just thrown about haphazardly.
What a waste.
Like, the potential was right there and I’m left with…whatever that was. The cliffhanger left me with barely a twitch of surprise but also…why does so much seem to be missing from this? This feels like a book 2, not a beginning. So much character development is just thrown out and disregarded and the plot points are just thrown about haphazardly.
What a waste.
will_overthink's review against another edition
4.0
I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Falconer was published May 6, 2014 by Chronicle Books. The sequel, The Vanishing Throne, was published June 21, 2016, and the third book in the series, The Fallen Kingdom, comes out June 13, 2017.
Steampunk Edinburgh, 1844, is essentially devoid of fairies. For the moment.
Lady Aileana Kameron is supposed to be a delicate flower in a garden of delicate flowers, trying to foist her sweet scent, and her considerable dowry, upon some respectable, eligible man. But the gossips whisper murderer behind her back, and they are almost correct.
Since witnessing the vicious murder of her mother, Aileana has let her rage transform her. And she uses that rage to destroy fairies who hunt humans. She is the Falconer, the last of her kind, and she has no idea what is coming.
I love books that combine things that don’t normally go together, in this case: Steampunk and the Fae. Alongside her ancient fae-slaying abilities, Aileana is also an inventor and mechanic.
All together, The Falconer is an interesting, fun read! My main critique is that there are a bunch of side characters that have the potential to be super interesting, but they aren’t given much screentime, as it were. Aileana’s best friend Catherine is willing to break the rules, but never does except to cover for Aileana. Catherine’s brother Gavin is given some juicy traits, but the consequences of those traits are ignored except when being used to further the plot. Other characters fall into tropes for their type, and it felt like all of the character development went to our leading lady.
I gave this book four out of five stars, for being quick and emotional and exactly in my genre wheelhouse. I’m surprised this book didn’t show up on my radar earlier! I’m picking up the sequel tomorrow and highly anticipating the next book in the series!
Steampunk Edinburgh, 1844, is essentially devoid of fairies. For the moment.
Lady Aileana Kameron is supposed to be a delicate flower in a garden of delicate flowers, trying to foist her sweet scent, and her considerable dowry, upon some respectable, eligible man. But the gossips whisper murderer behind her back, and they are almost correct.
Since witnessing the vicious murder of her mother, Aileana has let her rage transform her. And she uses that rage to destroy fairies who hunt humans. She is the Falconer, the last of her kind, and she has no idea what is coming.
I love books that combine things that don’t normally go together, in this case: Steampunk and the Fae. Alongside her ancient fae-slaying abilities, Aileana is also an inventor and mechanic.
All together, The Falconer is an interesting, fun read! My main critique is that there are a bunch of side characters that have the potential to be super interesting, but they aren’t given much screentime, as it were. Aileana’s best friend Catherine is willing to break the rules, but never does except to cover for Aileana. Catherine’s brother Gavin is given some juicy traits, but the consequences of those traits are ignored except when being used to further the plot. Other characters fall into tropes for their type, and it felt like all of the character development went to our leading lady.
I gave this book four out of five stars, for being quick and emotional and exactly in my genre wheelhouse. I’m surprised this book didn’t show up on my radar earlier! I’m picking up the sequel tomorrow and highly anticipating the next book in the series!
elisavaz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
É um bom livro, mas acredito que a história poderia ter se desenvolvido melhor. Nós começamos o livro quando as coisas já estão acontecendo, de forma que eu não consegui me conectar da forma que deveria com os personagens, muito menos com o relacionamento amoroso que tem no livro. O final também foi péssimo. Terminou num cliffhanger muito sem sentido.
Outra coisa, não achei que o amor do Fae pela falconer se justificou. Ela era uma pessoa interessante, perseverante, complexa, mas não entendi porque o cara se apaixonou por ela, ainda mais quando parece que ele ainda não se curou do amor passado. Além disso, acho meio nojento ele se interessar pela tatatatatatatatatatatataraneta da mulher que ele amou. No fim parece que ele está só projetando algo nela.
Os acontecimentos foram tão rápidas nesse livro, que ele mal começou e o fim do mundo ia acontecer. Pior que isso, não parecia que tinha urgência pra agir perante o acontecimento
?????
Outra coisa, não achei que o amor do Fae pela falconer se justificou. Ela era uma pessoa interessante, perseverante, complexa, mas não entendi porque o cara se apaixonou por ela, ainda mais quando parece que ele ainda não se curou do amor passado. Além disso, acho meio nojento ele se interessar pela tatatatatatatatatatatataraneta da mulher que ele amou. No fim parece que ele está só projetando algo nela.
Os acontecimentos foram tão rápidas nesse livro, que ele mal começou e o fim do mundo ia acontecer. Pior que isso, não parecia que tinha urgência pra agir perante o acontecimento
?????
cmitchell2781's review
4.0
7/10
I was not a fan of Aileena's overwhelming bloodlust. Like...I wouldn't even call it vengeance, it was just bloodlust. I enjoyed the premise of the story, but unless Aileena is part Fae are something, her overwhelming submission to darkness is ridiculously extreme. I like Kiaren, although I definitely don't trust him. The writing was imaginative and immersive, and the inclusion of streamline elements was excellently done.
I was not a fan of Aileena's overwhelming bloodlust. Like...I wouldn't even call it vengeance, it was just bloodlust. I enjoyed the premise of the story, but unless Aileena is part Fae are something, her overwhelming submission to darkness is ridiculously extreme. I like Kiaren, although I definitely don't trust him. The writing was imaginative and immersive, and the inclusion of streamline elements was excellently done.