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The Falconer (The Falconer, #1)

Elizabeth May

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Dec 30, 2013 Danielle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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THE FALCONER is one of those books that just radiates FEELS, you can practically see the awesome vibrate off of it but I’ll admit we didn’t get off to the best of starts. The first half of the book while interesting, hooked me just enough to keep reading but it was the second half that really set off at a blistering pace, grabbed my attention and had me race to finish and then there is ”that” ending…I lie prostrate at the feet of Elizabeth May, yelling Read more reviews at What Danielle Did Next

THE FALCONER is one of those books that just radiates FEELS, you can practically see the awesome vibrate off of it but I’ll admit we didn’t get off to the best of starts. The first half of the book while interesting, hooked me just enough to keep reading but it was the second half that really set off at a blistering pace, grabbed my attention and had me race to finish and then there is ”that” ending…I lie prostrate at the feet of Elizabeth May, yelling “Why? You evil, genius – why????” while she probably kicks me in the face to go away. Nice!

It’s 1844 and Aileana Kameron has just survived the worst year of her life. The night of her débutante ball should have been the high point of her young life but instead she witnessed the brutal murder of her mother at the hands of a Faery and realised that all the bedtime stories of her childhood were true. Having to face the accusatory stares of her peers while trying to repair her fractured reputation at the local soirées of Edinburgh’s finest families after months out of the spotlight is enough for any young lady to handle but add avenging the murder of her mother against an enemy no-one believes exists is sure to complicate things. Spending her nights prowling the dark shadowy streets and murdering countless Fae whilst being trained by the mysterious and handsome Kieran McKay to finally face her mother’s murderer, Aileana must put aside former ambitions of marrying well and garden parties with tea and finger sandwiches, after all this lady has a world that needs saving.

The Falconer was such a fun read containing all the elements that for me spell a fabulous book. A wonderful heroine, amazing secondary characters, compelling plot, historical fiction and tons of kick ass action. It also had an extra dimension to it that I admit was a little nervous about – Steampunk. I confess I have read next to nothing from this sub-genre but I found it fascinating although slightly jarring at first with the mix of all these far-fetched inventions intermingling with my familiar knowledge of the time. I loved the Scottish setting although I would have loved for it to have been depicted more in the book. I did love the mythical theme and the development of the Faery world and it was fascinating how May developed this incredibly complex and fascinating infrastructure with different levels of Fae and their respective powers. The use of Gaelic was both a welcome sight and a personal embarrassment as it proved that like most Irish people who’ve gone through 12 years of learning the language my fluency extends to “an bhfuil cead agam dul go dtí an leithreas?” which translates to “can I go to the toilet?” and not much else so the lesson was appreciated (for the most part). The action scenes were fantastic, I loved May’s descriptions of Aileana’s battles with the fae, I felt they were believable and realistic and I enjoyed them immensely. The steampunk aspect really makes its presence felt here especially with all of Aileana’s gadgets and inventions which were a fun extra

The character development was stellar and for me Aileana was one of the most impressive portrayals of a female character in YA fiction in a long time. I loved her depth and how willing she was to admit to her imperfections but rather than hand-wringing and wailing she acknowledged those imperfections were more so in the eyes of the society and for her were her greatest strengths. Her blood thirst for revenge is more often seen in male characters so it made a refreshing change to see it displayed from a woman. Caught between two worlds, the veil has dropped from Aileana’s eyes and the old ways of tea parties, dowrys and coy glances across the dance floor are no longer enough. Seeing she has a purpose to play in the world and that as a woman has more to offer than she has previously been taught, it was heart-warming to see her rail against the social mores and demand more. The stunning revelation that she is in fact one of the famed “Falconers”, legendary female warriors adds weight to her convictions and her strength grows with each broken rule, disapproving glance and stinging bruise.

While this is very much Aileana’s story, there are two male characters that must be highlighted deservedly so . Enigmatic and handsome, Kieran McKay, the man who vows to help Aileana taste revenge; his dynamic with her was fascinating and I loved how their relationship developed in a realistic slow-burning manner. The star of the show however has to be the hilarious pixie Derrick, a sheer bundle of joy, he is Aileana’s confidant who lives in her closet doling out wise remarks and barbed insults with frightening speed, I enjoyed every scene he made an appearance in and adored his friendship with Aileana. It was clear to see the genuine love and affection the two had for each other.

As I mentioned above, it took me a while to settle into my groove with this book which on reflection I believe had more to do with my unease and unfamiliarity with the light touches of Steampunk in the novel but once I got my head around it I felt the book flowed extremely well. May’s writing is fresh, easy to read and packed with humour and emotion.

The last few chapters in particular highlighted May’s talent for writing a gripping, swashbuckling adventure story with plenty of FEELS. I could not put the book down and ached for the characters as the plot unfolded building up to a tension filled crescendo and then…THAT ENDING! Are you kidding me? My heart, it is tormented by the final sentence and I am aching to find out what happens next.

The Falconer is a mesmerising, assured, enthralling début and one I highly recommend! So…yeah READ IT!

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Sep 18, 2013 Pili rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014-review-pile-reading-challenge

When I first heard about The Falconer I was super intrigued, even if I'm not the biggest fan of books about the faeries. So when I was approved on Edelweiss for an ARC of it, I was so very happy about it!

Aileana is an aristocratic young lady with a secret and with scars, both physical and emotional, and all of them very well hidden. After a very traumatic night when she saw her mother being murdered by one of them she has spent her nights hunting the Faery. But she has to keep her proper lady im When I first heard about The Falconer I was super intrigued, even if I'm not the biggest fan of books about the faeries. So when I was approved on Edelweiss for an ARC of it, I was so very happy about it!

Aileana is an aristocratic young lady with a secret and with scars, both physical and emotional, and all of them very well hidden. After a very traumatic night when she saw her mother being murdered by one of them she has spent her nights hunting the Faery. But she has to keep her proper lady image as much as possible after high society seem to blame her for her own mother's murder. I loved how she was both driven by revenge and trying to keep appearances up, while at the same time learning more about who she really is.

I loved how this world is a mix of fantasy, steampunk and a bit of historical fiction! Aileana always seems to be tweaking some invention or other, and since her mother's murder she's been working on new weapons to fight & destroy the faeries. She's even managed to build a flying device (also known as ornithopters)! There's dances and meetings for elevensies and proper society with expectations for women to marry and stay at home (very much Victorian/Edwardian society). And then we get all the tiny glimpses at the faeries, first mostly from Aileana's hunts, and then we learn more about them at the same time that she does.

As far as the rest of the characters goes, all are quite well developed and some are simply adorable! Derrick, Aileana's pixie is both funny and slightly annoying on occasion, but I loved him when he got all protective of Aileana. Kiaran McKay is Aileana's mentor and so much more... He's one of the most powerful faeries but he also hunts his own people. There's so much we don't know about him and we keep on learning more about him at the same time that Aileana does. Their relationship is fantastic and it's the kind of romance that you want to continue to progress and once some of the burning happens, you just want more flames! Catherine is Aileana's friend and despite knowing she's being kept in the dark, she's loyal and tries to help Aileana in every way she can. Gavin, Catherine's brother and Aileana's old crush, returns from England with some secrets of his own and soon gets mixed into the battle.

There isn't exactly a love triangle, but Gavin and Kiaran both are a big part of Aileana's life and get even more involved the more the story progresses. Even the fact that both seem to be part of Aileana's life managed to not bother me, which is quite saying something, since most hints of any triangulation irks me to no end!

The ending was quite abrupt and very much cliffhangery, which left me all "nooooo, you can't end it like that there!", so now I'm bitting my nails to get my hands on the next books and see what happens next! Very well deserved 4 to 4.5 stars! ...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Emma marked it as to-read

Jun 30, 2016 Pili is currently reading it · review of another edition

Jan 01, 2019 Rawan marked it as owned-tbr · review of another edition

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