Review: The Falconer by Elizabeth May

Book Review

The Falconer by Elizabeth May
(The Falconer #1)
Young Adult, Fantasy, Steampunk, Historical Fiction
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Synopsis
One girl’s nightmare is this girl’s faery tale

She’s a stunner.
Edinburgh, 1844. Eighteen-year-old Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, has everything a girl could dream of: brains, charm, wealth, a title—and drop-dead beauty.

She’s a liar.
But Aileana only looks the part of an aristocratic young lady. she’s leading a double life: She has a rare ability to sense the sìthíchean—the faery race obsessed with slaughtering humans—and, with the aid of a mysterious mentor, has spent the year since her mother died learning how to kill them.

She’s a murderer.
Now Aileana is dedicated to slaying the fae before they take innocent lives. With her knack for inventing ingenious tools and weapons—from flying machines to detonators to lightning pistols—ruthless Aileana has one goal: Destroy the faery who destroyed her mother.

She’s a Falconer.
The last in a line of female warriors born with a gift for hunting and killing the fae, Aileana is the sole hope of preventing a powerful faery population from massacring all of humanity. Suddenly, her quest is a lot more complicated. She still longs to avenge her mother’s murder—but she’ll have to save the world first.

The first volume of a trilogy from an exciting new voice in young adult fantasy, this electrifying thriller combines romance and action, steampunk technology and Scottish lore in a deliciously addictive read. (less)

What I thought
This was a reread for me and it was much needed. I read the book way back in 2014 when it first came out. In 5 years I forgot a lot! So I am very happy that I decided to read it again.

I know that the title Falconer has thrown off many people. So I am going to put it here sorry if you feel spoiled however most people miss this brief explanation. I am summarizing this since I am not going to go back and find it, it’s so brief I would have to read most of the book again to find it really its all summed up in like one or two sentences. Okay so way back when before the war those women who fought the Fae used Falcons to slip into the Fae world to see what was going on. From my understanding, they could see through the Falcons eyes. Since these Fae hunters used Falcons they were given the name Falconer by the Fae. So now that we have that out of the way I can tell you how much I enjoyed this book.

When I read this book the first time I did not know what steampunk really was it was after reading it that people put that label on it. Yes, it has steampunk vibes but they are not heavy. Aileana the last falconer that we know of (hey I still need to read books 2 and 3 so I can’t be sure) discovers her “destiny” in the most horrid way, she is witness to her mother’s murder. In this story, Aileana is torn regarding the two sides of her life, but due to the events that happen in the end of book 1, I can not wait to see where she goes from here. I really did not like her father and I hope he is absent from the rest of the series. I get that he is hurting but he is practically abandoning his daughter. She may be 18 now but she was not when he first stepped out. Oh, and the outright forcing her to marry…I get that he can because of the time period but it still makes me want him gone. Sorry for the rant. As much as I did not like this one character I really did like the others and this first book.

If you like strong female characters who battle Fae this is one for you!

My Rating: /5 4 Stars