Review: The Falconer by Elizabeth May

The Falconer (The Falconer #1)

by Elizabeth May 

 Heiress. Debutant. Murderer. A new generation of heroines has arrived.

Edinburgh, Scotland, 1844

Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, was destined for a life carefully planned around Edinburgh’s social events – right up until a faery killed her mother.

Now it’s the 1844 winter season and Aileana slaughters faeries in secret, in between the endless round of parties, tea and balls. Armed with modified percussion pistols and explosives, she sheds her aristocratic facade every night to go hunting. She’s determined to track down the faery who murdered her mother, and to destroy any who prey on humans in the city’s many dark alleyways.

But the balance between high society and her private war is a delicate one, and as the fae infiltrate the ballroom and Aileana’s father returns home, she has decisions to make. How much is she willing to lose – and just how far will Aileana go for revenge?

Source: Edelweiss ( Thanks Chronicle Books!)

My Thoughts:

I've been dying to read this book since I read the author's hilarious "review" on Goodreads. I screamed for joy when my request was accepted in February but I stopped myself from reading because I knew it was out in May. So sorry for the delay because I nicely forgot what month it was out in. (In my defense, there is one edition which comes out in July)

The Falconer is a book I'm not sure how to rate because I enjoyed it but I wasn't addicted to it for some reason and I kept having a hard time getting back to it. 

I'm going to do a slightly different review for this.

The Positives

World building:

I love the whole world that Elizabeth May introduces us to in this novel. It's a hybrid world that has elements of the Victorian era and is full of futuristic technology. It's a mix of fantasy, steampunk and still comes under the genre of young adult. Before starting this novel I wasn't too sure about the world it would be set in but the author combines things we know with futuristic ideas quite well. It's a creative world that is known as well as unknown at the same time.

Action:

This book is action packed. I loved the fact that there was a heroine that could really kick @$$ in the novel. There's lot of fighting and action in this book. Some of the negatives are nicely glossed over because you're too busy enjoying the action. 

The weapons and the terminology :

Some of you might think this comes under world building but I love some of the innovative weapons that the protagonist invents in this. I also loved the terms that are used . Especially the one for fairies. 

Unpredictable

The whole plot is pretty unpredictable especially the ending. The ending REALLY surprised me. It's a cliffhanger( which is little annoying) but in my opinion it was completely unexpected. The action was also unpredictable. Anything could happen at any time and I loved that! 

Negatives

Relationships

- Relationship between Aileana and Kiaran

I just didn't buy it. He doesn't exactly treat her well. It's a really messed up relationship. It's hard to even comprehend why she tolerates him anymore let alone likes him. I just didn't understand it. I'm not saying that I didn't like Kiaran as an individual. He really fascinated me but I guess I didn't feel the spark between Aileana and Kiaran

- Relationship between Aileana and Gavin

I actually liked their friendship but then things escalate VERY quickly (trying to avoid spoilers) and it gets too weird. I was confused whether Gavin even likes her as a friend in the middle because their relationship is not defined well and just keeps changing. I felt sorry for Gavin and I really didn't like how his character is barely developed but still keeps turning up in important moments. I also didn't like Aileana's hot and cold whatever it is with him. One second she's all "He's my best friend."

Next moment she's almost forgotten about him.

It was also really weird how even though they meet each other after years and have NEVER fought together. The first time they team up they're like the Avenger's Black Widow and Hawkeye. (Atleast they had a lot of implied history together)

Instant Perfect TEAM synchronization 

Holding my Interest/Originality

While I was reading the book I was thoroghly invested in it but for some reason once I stopped I didn't feel like going back to it.I think the reason for that could be that even though the concept of the book is different it is a hybrid of things I have read before.Like the world of faeries reminded me of the world introduced in the Fever series. 

On the fence / Mixed feelings 

Heroine

The protagonist is someone I really liked in the beginning because she wasn't helpless and was working towards a goal. As the story progressed I started liking her less and less. I love the complexity of the emotions that the character goes through. I even liked the fact that she is a grey character but for some reason I liked her more before I found out her complex backstory. The more we get to know about her past the more complex her character becomes and it does add more depth to her character but I guess I just liked her more when she was a killing machine.(I'm weird I guess) I also didn't like some of the decisions she made and how she treated some characters especially the male interests. So that is also one of the reasons why I didn't like her as much as the story progressed. 

My Rating:

I have no idea how to rate this . I just don't know how to rate it. I guess on Amazon I will rate it as 4 but I just don't know . It's a good book but it didn't blow me away. If I had to I would give it a range of 3.5-4 stars.