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booksavvyreviews's review
3.0
Admittedly, I binge read Immortal Circus a few years back and loved it. Ever since I've stalked A.R. Kahler and have waited for some news reads to grab up. I did, and for a while, these sat in my kindle/audible account until I sat down to craft.
Lo! I have finished Pale Queen Rising, the first in a new series and for those familiar or not with Kahler, this series takes place after the Immortal Circus. If you're not familiar with the story you may want to pick up the prior trilogy, why? Because a lot of questions that may arise are answered in that book. While it isn't absolutely necessary, I do sincerely encourage you to pick up the prior series, because this book doesn't explain [in depth,] the key things you may need to know.
Onward!
Claire is the Queen's assassin and happens to be her adopted daughter, but for this book, she seems to be more of her P.I. more than anything. Someone is stealing dreams from the winter and summer court and Mab as well as her brother, Oberon, are becoming upset. Mab sends Claire out to investigate and is led to the Immortal Circus, which sparks some interesting interactions.
For those of you who ARE familiar with the prior series, we meet Kingston again, the magician and now ringleader of the circus. Melody is back, too. And with the visit to the circus brings back some unbidden memories that are supposed to be locked away.
I found Claire to be a touch too abrasive for me which prohibited me from connecting with her and because it mostly focuses on her as the mystery of who is stealing the dream, who the pale queen is or where she resides, I wasn't as invested as I thought I should have been. That coupled with the vague detail in regard to the plot and the happenings, I just wasn't connected with this story as much as I wanted. However, I was interested in the idea. That being said I will definitely be reading the rest of the series because it is fairly intriguing.
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Lo! I have finished Pale Queen Rising, the first in a new series and for those familiar or not with Kahler, this series takes place after the Immortal Circus. If you're not familiar with the story you may want to pick up the prior trilogy, why? Because a lot of questions that may arise are answered in that book. While it isn't absolutely necessary, I do sincerely encourage you to pick up the prior series, because this book doesn't explain [in depth,] the key things you may need to know.
Onward!
Claire is the Queen's assassin and happens to be her adopted daughter, but for this book, she seems to be more of her P.I. more than anything. Someone is stealing dreams from the winter and summer court and Mab as well as her brother, Oberon, are becoming upset. Mab sends Claire out to investigate and is led to the Immortal Circus, which sparks some interesting interactions.
For those of you who ARE familiar with the prior series, we meet Kingston again, the magician and now ringleader of the circus. Melody is back, too. And with the visit to the circus brings back some unbidden memories that are supposed to be locked away.
I found Claire to be a touch too abrasive for me which prohibited me from connecting with her and because it mostly focuses on her as the mystery of who is stealing the dream, who the pale queen is or where she resides, I wasn't as invested as I thought I should have been. That coupled with the vague detail in regard to the plot and the happenings, I just wasn't connected with this story as much as I wanted. However, I was interested in the idea. That being said I will definitely be reading the rest of the series because it is fairly intriguing.
- Website - Facebook - Instagram -BookTube -
ampersammich's review against another edition
4.0
Recieved a free signed copy of this at Jet City Comic Fest earlier this month. I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would from the description. I noticed a lot of people complaining about a lead Mary Sue, but felt all the characters had reasons to be as they were. I'm looking forward to seeing what is in store next from this author and also now want to read his previous works. Pick this up if you are looking for a new twist on paranormal fantasy in a modern setting.
linneaschiff's review
3.0
It's not the worst book in the world, that's for sure. The writing is clean (I found only one typo), but it was so slow. I was bored through the entire thing. Not once did I get excited for feel my blood pumping. I saw every twist and turn and figured all the surprises out immediately. I was disappointed in the book. Claire's voice almost put me to sleep and I found her to be a very non-intriguing character. The creativity was...lacking. I saw many ideas that come from other books but without a spin of their own (true names being used to control, witches making contracts with basically demons, etc).
If you want a fast read with little thought and no suspense, I guess this book would be for you. But I'm not about to sing it to the world, nor will I show interest in the sequel. The book was boring, but harmless. Not worth anyone's time.
If you want a fast read with little thought and no suspense, I guess this book would be for you. But I'm not about to sing it to the world, nor will I show interest in the sequel. The book was boring, but harmless. Not worth anyone's time.
prpltrtl946's review
4.0
Twisted faerie story.
You have to expect sick and twisted when dealing with the faerie Queen's assassin. And we get it in this story. I had the read and listen version and love the narrator. She adds a lot to the story with her snarky tones!
You have to expect sick and twisted when dealing with the faerie Queen's assassin. And we get it in this story. I had the read and listen version and love the narrator. She adds a lot to the story with her snarky tones!
jlw_writes's review
4.0
I really liked this one. It's kind of weird to like Claire, I mean, she's an assassin for crying out loud, but I don't just like her . . . I love her. Her character is something fresh and different for me (maybe not for you, but for me), and I enjoyed reading things from her point of view.
The plot is pretty good. There is some basic fae folklore most are familiar with (if you know anything about the fae that is), and some that is either made up on the author's part or from some random lore I've never heard of. I liked the mystery and the details of the world.
Mab is the typical Faerie Queen. If you've never read about a queen of the fae, let me explain. She's like that popular girl in high school who stole your favorite t-shirt, your boyfriend, and your hopes and dreams. Well that and she's generally into blood, pain, and torture of any kind. FYI, I still don't dislike Mab. She's not my favorite, but she's okay.
Eli is great. Demon's other people wouldn't touch with a 10-foot astral pole? I'm in. Bring him on.
Kingston. I don't know how I feel about him yet. I did realize after I read this book there was a previous series based off of the Immortal Circus (titled Immortal Circus bw), but I totally want to read it now. The reviews for the final book weren't great but that was because everyone felt it didn't end. Now there's this new series and I imagine it's filling in gaps people had but I can't be sure because I haven't read it yet!
Oh. I'm trying to remember the name of the lady who was the barmaid and the ugh... Unicorn bar. It had a different name, you know who I'm talking about. I like her. She's great.
I really like Kahler's style of writing. It was fun to read and kept me turning the digital pages. And that's saying something because I'm not a huge fan of digital books (with one author as an exception), and I usually just read them randomly while I'm waiting for friends to show up when we've made plans.
Anyway, if you like stories about the fae, or the circus, or sarcastic female assassins, or you're just looking fora interesting story, check this one out. It's pretty good.
I did receive a free e-copy of this book as part of the Kindle First program, in case you're wondering.
The plot is pretty good. There is some basic fae folklore most are familiar with (if you know anything about the fae that is), and some that is either made up on the author's part or from some random lore I've never heard of. I liked the mystery and the details of the world.
Mab is the typical Faerie Queen. If you've never read about a queen of the fae, let me explain. She's like that popular girl in high school who stole your favorite t-shirt, your boyfriend, and your hopes and dreams. Well that and she's generally into blood, pain, and torture of any kind. FYI, I still don't dislike Mab. She's not my favorite, but she's okay.
Eli is great. Demon's other people wouldn't touch with a 10-foot astral pole? I'm in. Bring him on.
Kingston. I don't know how I feel about him yet. I did realize after I read this book there was a previous series based off of the Immortal Circus (titled Immortal Circus bw), but I totally want to read it now. The reviews for the final book weren't great but that was because everyone felt it didn't end. Now there's this new series and I imagine it's filling in gaps people had but I can't be sure because I haven't read it yet!
Oh. I'm trying to remember the name of the lady who was the barmaid and the ugh... Unicorn bar. It had a different name, you know who I'm talking about. I like her. She's great.
I really like Kahler's style of writing. It was fun to read and kept me turning the digital pages. And that's saying something because I'm not a huge fan of digital books (with one author as an exception), and I usually just read them randomly while I'm waiting for friends to show up when we've made plans.
Anyway, if you like stories about the fae, or the circus, or sarcastic female assassins, or you're just looking fora interesting story, check this one out. It's pretty good.
I did receive a free e-copy of this book as part of the Kindle First program, in case you're wondering.
tracisbooks's review
3.0
I got this as a kindle first book forever ago, but decided to read the immortal circus series first (by accident, but I'm glad I did since this book goes with that, kind of) and this one just didn't capture my attention like the first series. It was still good, just not what I expected after the first series.
hazelalaska's review
3.0
I was looking forward to this book, because the premise was really intriguing, but the execution was lacking. That doesn't mean the book was bad, but it wasn't great either. It was just solidly in the middle, so I don't have that much to say about it. It was entertaining enough, though, since I finished it within three days. I didn't love it enough to continue with the series, however. Maybe I would if I were getting it from the library, but I don't want to spend money on another book I'm probably not going to enjoy.
I think this fits more into the adult category based on some situations and language, but I thought the plot was trying to be YA. I was confused as to Claire's age for much of the book because she initially seemed like she was maybe in her 20s, but then in her interactions with Mab she seemed a bit younger than that, maybe 17 or 18. She actually is in her 20s, but I feel like this might have been better as a YA book with the sex and language toned toned down a bit. This book felt like a mash-up of Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and The Mortal Instruments.
I was a bit confused and conflicted about Claire's relationship with Mab. At first, she seems to be afraid of Mab, but then when we see them together, she is talking back to her and says she does so on a regular basis, constantly toeing the line. I was also confused for the first third of the book how Claire could be mortal if Mab is her mom. Then we find out that she is not actually her real mother and that Claire was kidnapped as a child. I felt like this should have been included much earlier in the story. I felt like I needed to know more about Claire for her to feel like a real person. She has been trained as an assassin by Mab and is used by her as a tool, but what was it like for her, making her first kill? What was her relationship with her Mab when she was a child? For years she doesn't seem to question the fact that she was kidnapped as a child, which is strange, even though she has known for a long time that this is the case.
I think a lot of the sex could have been toned down or taken out and this could have been YA. One of my problems with Claire was that she seemed to lust after every person she met, and it got annoying after a while. It also left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth when I found out the author is male. Yes, Claire is supposed to be a sexy assassin who grew up in the faerie world where faeries are known for not having a lot of inhibitions, but even so it felt like this was maybe the exploration of a sexual fantasy or something, or the author just didn't really know how to write from the perspective of a young woman. I, as a 22 year old, couldn't relate to Claire on any of this, though of course everyone is different. It just got a little annoying because most of the characters we meet are described based on whether she finds them hot and whether she wants to have sex with them, and it felt very objectifying,
The plot was okay, but it did meander a little bit. I have not read any of the author's other books, but this does have connections apparently to the Immortal Circus series. Despite that, I didn't have a problem understanding what was going on or predicting certain things.
Spoilers!
Claire was an okay character. Most of the time she was okay, and I didn't love her or hate her. I did question what her moral code was, though, because she has no qualms with her partner in crime, Eli, has to be paid in human souls. She does specify no kids in her agreement, but he is allowed to eat innocent people who are not the bad guys Claire is chasing. Claire also didn't really care how other mortals were treated by the fey, despite actually being mortal herself, perhaps with the exception of Roxie. Claire also has never really cared about her mother or potential mortal family, despite knowing she was kidnapped as a child, but as soon as she learns her mother's name, she suddenly becomes obsessed. It didn't really make sense to me how suddenly she learns her mother's name and then she cares, when she never did before. Maybe there is a magical explanation for it, like it was part of the spell that erased her previous memories, but the way it was written made no sense.
I was disappointed in the ending as well. I had been hoping for a reveal of who the Pale Queen was, but it was not revealed. Toward the end, I also didn't really feel the tension ramping up above what it had been. Maybe this is a consequence of the meandering plot, but I didn't feel like I was on the edge of my seat for the ending. It didn't grip me and left a lot of questions unanswered. We don't get to see what Claire's mother is like, and even though Oberon is mentioned a ton throughout the book, we don't get to see him either.
I think this fits more into the adult category based on some situations and language, but I thought the plot was trying to be YA. I was confused as to Claire's age for much of the book because she initially seemed like she was maybe in her 20s, but then in her interactions with Mab she seemed a bit younger than that, maybe 17 or 18. She actually is in her 20s, but I feel like this might have been better as a YA book with the sex and language toned toned down a bit. This book felt like a mash-up of Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and The Mortal Instruments.
I was a bit confused and conflicted about Claire's relationship with Mab. At first, she seems to be afraid of Mab, but then when we see them together, she is talking back to her and says she does so on a regular basis, constantly toeing the line. I was also confused for the first third of the book how Claire could be mortal if Mab is her mom. Then we find out that she is not actually her real mother and that Claire was kidnapped as a child. I felt like this should have been included much earlier in the story. I felt like I needed to know more about Claire for her to feel like a real person. She has been trained as an assassin by Mab and is used by her as a tool, but what was it like for her, making her first kill? What was her relationship with her Mab when she was a child? For years she doesn't seem to question the fact that she was kidnapped as a child, which is strange, even though she has known for a long time that this is the case.
I think a lot of the sex could have been toned down or taken out and this could have been YA. One of my problems with Claire was that she seemed to lust after every person she met, and it got annoying after a while. It also left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth when I found out the author is male. Yes, Claire is supposed to be a sexy assassin who grew up in the faerie world where faeries are known for not having a lot of inhibitions, but even so it felt like this was maybe the exploration of a sexual fantasy or something, or the author just didn't really know how to write from the perspective of a young woman. I, as a 22 year old, couldn't relate to Claire on any of this, though of course everyone is different. It just got a little annoying because most of the characters we meet are described based on whether she finds them hot and whether she wants to have sex with them, and it felt very objectifying,
The plot was okay, but it did meander a little bit. I have not read any of the author's other books, but this does have connections apparently to the Immortal Circus series. Despite that, I didn't have a problem understanding what was going on or predicting certain things.
Spoilers!
Claire was an okay character. Most of the time she was okay, and I didn't love her or hate her. I did question what her moral code was, though, because she has no qualms with her partner in crime, Eli, has to be paid in human souls. She does specify no kids in her agreement, but he is allowed to eat innocent people who are not the bad guys Claire is chasing. Claire also didn't really care how other mortals were treated by the fey, despite actually being mortal herself, perhaps with the exception of Roxie. Claire also has never really cared about her mother or potential mortal family, despite knowing she was kidnapped as a child, but as soon as she learns her mother's name, she suddenly becomes obsessed. It didn't really make sense to me how suddenly she learns her mother's name and then she cares, when she never did before. Maybe there is a magical explanation for it, like it was part of the spell that erased her previous memories, but the way it was written made no sense.
I was disappointed in the ending as well. I had been hoping for a reveal of who the Pale Queen was, but it was not revealed. Toward the end, I also didn't really feel the tension ramping up above what it had been. Maybe this is a consequence of the meandering plot, but I didn't feel like I was on the edge of my seat for the ending. It didn't grip me and left a lot of questions unanswered. We don't get to see what Claire's mother is like, and even though Oberon is mentioned a ton throughout the book, we don't get to see him either.
sherylubookquitous's review
3.0
3.5
Pale Queen Rising had some strengths but also some weaknesses that kept me from being fully present in the experience. I can live with an unlikeable narrator who, by the end, is still a sympathetic character, but I questioned if the tone and bravado was a cover for a character who was not so sure of herself. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough for me by the end to determine if the narrator was unreliable.
The story was good, although at times it meandered a bit - albeit not so much I found it annoying. The concept of "dream" and fairy contracts worked for me and the internal / external threat kept the plot moving along, even if at times it was predictable.
The characters were a mixed bag - Clare wasn't the most sympathetic hero, and as mentioned I question her tone and bravado, regularly debating if it was just poorly done, or if it was intentional to hide something more intentional about the character. Her demon side-kick was well done, as was the Immortal Circus Ringmaster, but Queen Mab was flat (and questionable as to how she actually impacted Clare beyond what Clare tells us) as was the character, Roxy, that Clare's 'casual relationship' personality fell for. I get that love / attraction aren't always rational, but beyond a physical attraction, I couldn't figure out what made Clare feel as she did throughout the novel.
Unfortunately that particular concern made question how a character like Clare could miss such important clues and made the end less impactful than it could have been otherwise.
Pale Queen Rising had some strengths but also some weaknesses that kept me from being fully present in the experience. I can live with an unlikeable narrator who, by the end, is still a sympathetic character, but I questioned if the tone and bravado was a cover for a character who was not so sure of herself. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough for me by the end to determine if the narrator was unreliable.
The story was good, although at times it meandered a bit - albeit not so much I found it annoying. The concept of "dream" and fairy contracts worked for me and the internal / external threat kept the plot moving along, even if at times it was predictable.
The characters were a mixed bag - Clare wasn't the most sympathetic hero, and as mentioned I question her tone and bravado, regularly debating if it was just poorly done, or if it was intentional to hide something more intentional about the character. Her demon side-kick was well done, as was the Immortal Circus Ringmaster, but Queen Mab was flat (and questionable as to how she actually impacted Clare beyond what Clare tells us) as was the character, Roxy, that Clare's 'casual relationship' personality fell for. I get that love / attraction aren't always rational, but beyond a physical attraction, I couldn't figure out what made Clare feel as she did throughout the novel.
Unfortunately that particular concern made question how a character like Clare could miss such important clues and made the end less impactful than it could have been otherwise.
kurenai's review
2.0
Not sure what I thought about this book. I almost dropped it completely at the beginning because of how boring I found the main character, Claire. She was cocky, annoying, and full of fantasy cliches on far too many levels. However, I was stuck in many queued lines today with nothing to do and decided to continue on and actually finished the book.
Overall I found it to be a pretty standard urban fantasy with characters that weren't very well fleshed out and plot twists that were pretty obvious. As the story moved forward Claire became a little less roll-your-eyes ridiculous and the author seemed to warm up to his voice a bit better. I don't think I'll continue on with this series but I can say it isn't as bad as I originally thought which was a happy surprise.
It is a decent, quick read that I would almost put at the YA level for simplistic writing style if not for the whole assassin thing and perhaps toe-dipping into some slightly sexier scenes. Still, I was entertained in the end so I can't complain too much.
vmp5062's review
3.0
Claire, the main character, is the daughter of the dark faerie queen, who works as her assassin. It's an interesting idea but the book has a lot of telling, not showing. For a book so short I would have expected less time describing clothing and decorations and more time making character interactions more believable. That being said the book had some strengths in the weapons the action scenes, though I do wish more of the scenes had been the main character kicking ass instead of a demon doing her work for her.