The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May

Title: The Vanishing Throne
Author: Elizabeth May
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Release Date: June 21st 2016
Source: E-arc from the publisher.  Thank you Chronicle Books! 

Summary from Goodreads:

The second book in the Falconer trilogy is packed with surprises and suspense.

Aileana Kameron, the Falconer, disappeared through the portal that she was trying to close forever. Now she wakes up in the fae world, trapped and tortured by the evil Lonnrach. With the help of an unexpected ally, Aileana re-enters the human world, only to find everything irrevocably changed. Edinburgh has been destroyed, and the few human survivors are living in an uneasy truce with the fae, while both worlds are in danger of disappearing altogether. Aileana holds the key to saving both worlds, but in order to do so she must awaken her latent Falconer powers. And the price of doing that might be her life.

Rich with imaginative detail, action, fae lore, and romance, The Vanishing Throne is a thrilling sequel to The Falconer.

Review

The Falconer came out of nowhere for me. It sounded up my alley so I gave it a try and loved it. But there was one of the worst cliff hangers, so I patiently had to wait for The Vanishing Throne. The Vanishing Throne picked up right where The Falconer left off. (I found it helpful to reread The Falconer before starting The Vanishing Throne.)

Aileana is one kick butt female lead. She faces some serious struggles; she is held captive, tortured, learns ugly truths, and has to fight bad guys all while dealing with the destruction of her home. Kiaran- what a character, he is good but then he is bad, he has no feelings but then he is passionate. He is all over the place in some ways but based on his background that is understandable. The reader learns more about Kiaran and pieces start to fall into place. I admire that he remains fairly honest, he does not hide away from his character or his brutal past. These two characters truly make the story worth reading.  The secondary characters are a nice addition as well but Aileana and Kiaran are fantastic.

If I were to describe The Vanishing Throne in a couple of words it would be action-packed and high intensity. I was almost taken back by the amount of fighting and intense scenes. Elizabeth May throws the reader right into battle with Aileana; you feel nervous, worried, and powerful with her. I cannot wait to see what the next book holds!

Stacking The Shelves (169) - June 25th

Stacking the Shelves - hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews - features books that you bought, borrowed, rented from the library, received for review, etc.

Upcoming Reads

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The Vanishing Throne (The Falconer #2) by Elizabeth May
Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby #3) by William Ritter
The Crown's Game (The Crown's Game #1) by Evelyn Skye
Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories

What books are stacking your shelves??

The Falconer by Elizabeth May

Title: The Falconer
Series: The Falconer #1
Author: Elizabeth May
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Release Date: May 6th 2014
Pages: Hardcover, US, 336 pages
Source: EW

Summary from Goodreads:
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?

What I Liked

• Aileana.  One of my absolute favorite things about the book is the main character, Aileana.  She is a fighter, she is full of sass and full of revenge.  Aileana is far from perfect, making her a stronger character - not to mention she is a girl engineer during a era where that is not socially acceptable. **Cheers for smart girls!!!**
• The relationships.  Both the romantic and non-romantic relationships where spot on.  The tension between the Aileana and her love interests was great.  The friendships were also a nice addition.  Aileana had a best friend, Catherine, and a faery Derrick, who lived in her closet.  Each character had a unique role in the story and kept me grinning throughout.  
• The Scottish Lore.  Having recently visited Scotland, I absolutely loved reading about places where I have been, like the Edinburgh Castle. The story takes place in a steampunk Scotland, so picture lots of greenery, castles, Victorian dresses, cool inventions, and fancy parties.  
  

  
• The plot pacing.  I felt instantly captured in the story; the plot was fast paced with plenty of action and fight scenes.  

What I Didn't

• Some of the vocab.  This is probably just a me issue but the story uses both Scottish and faery words that I just cannot pronounce.  When I cannot pronounce a word it makes it harder for me to remember what they mean therefore I had  to refer to the glossary quite frequently. 
• The cliffhanger.  HOLY MOLY!   Although I thoroughly enjoyed the plot pacing once of the least favorite parts of the story was the ending.  Granted I am excited for the next book but I would have loved just a bit more resolution.  

Bottom Line

The Falconer reminded me of why faery books are awesome.  I definitely recommend The Falconer if you want to read an awesome story that has faery fighting and a Scottish 'lady' that must save the city all while attempting to manage society's expectations; you have to be okay with a cliff hanger though!